RECENT DOD TRAINING PHOTOS FROM HAWAII, CALIFORNIA

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT  

A Marine provides security for UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters taking off after inserting Marines for an enemy village assault exercise during Operation Lava Viper on Pohakuloa training area, Hawaii, June 10, 2015. The Marines are assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ricky S. Gomez.

Marine Cpl. Colton Derick lays down for cover during a simulated enemy explosion during an integrated training exercise on Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., June 13, 2015. Derick is a rifleman assigned to the 4th Marine Division's Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, Marine Forces Reserve. U.S. Marine photo by Cpl. Ian Ferro.

U.S. MILITARY CONTINUES RELIEF EFFORT IN NEPAL FOLLOWING EARTHQUAKE AFTERSHOCK

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Right:  Nepali soldiers unload aid and relief supplies delivered by a U.S. Marine Corps UH-1Y Venom helicopter assigned to Joint Task Force 505 in Nepal’s Kavrepalanchowk district May, 11, 2015, during Operation Sahayogi Haat. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Jeffrey D. Anderson.  

DoD Continues Humanitarian Efforts in Nepal Following Aftershock
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2015 – Despite the magnitude-7.3 earthquake aftershock today, the Defense Department continues to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster response to the people of Nepal, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren told Pentagon reporters.

“Today, a magnitude-7.3 earthquake struck the Dolahka district in the central region of Nepal, approximately 50 miles northeast of Kathmandu,” he said.
The U.S. Geological Survey considers this to be the largest of more than 100 aftershocks that followed the magnitude-7.8 earthquake on April 25, Warren said.

‘Helping Hand’

The colonel said members of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s disaster assistance response team, including urban search and rescue personnel, in coordination with the U.S. military’s Joint Task Force 505, are conducting aerial assessments of Dolahka and the surrounding areas to view the extent of recent damage.

The department has committed approximately $7.5 million to this effort of the $10 million Defense Secretary Ash Carter approved in Overseas Humanitarian Disaster and Civic Aid funds, Warren said.

He also confirmed the international airport in Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu remains open and that all DoD personnel who are present in the region “have been accounted for and are safe.”

Warren provided an update to reporters on Operation Sahayogi Haat -- Nepalese for “helping hand,” –- the name given to U.S. military efforts in the region.
More than 300 U.S. military personnel are now in Kathmandu supporting the operation, he said.

500-plus Flight Hours

Warren noted that in addition to the personnel response, there have been more than 515 hours of flight time logged, 480 tons of aid delivered and 993 civilians transported during the operation.

“This is all headquartered at III [Marine Expeditionary Force],” he added.
“We’ve got three [UH-1Y] Huey’s, four Marine Corps MV-22B Ospreys, two Marine Corps KC-130 Hercules, and four Air Force C-17 Globemasters.”

“We have established an intermediate staging base in Utapao, Thailand,” Warren said. “We’ve got approximately 270 personnel there, so that is how we’re flowing these heavy-lift ‘birds’ through.”

At this point there are no plans for additional personnel, but the situation is under constant assessment, he said.

MARINES TRAIN AT HIGH ANGLE SNIPER RANGE IN HAWAII

FROM:  U.S. MARINE CORPS

Aug 07, 2014

Camp Pendleton, Calif. - Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Reconnaissance Detachment, execute a high angle sniper range during their WESTPAC deployment on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, July 31, 2014. The 11th MEU and Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group are deploying as a sea-based, expeditionary crisis response force capable of conducting amphibious missions across the full range of military operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Evan R. White/Released) 

U.S. MARINES IN AFGHANISTAN DEPART FORWARD OPERATING BASE NOLAY TO CAMP LEATHERNECK

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

U.S. Marine Corps trucks wait in place as the sun sets on Forward Operating Base Nolay for the last time before departing the Sangin Valley in Afghanistan's Helmand province, for Camp Leatherneck, May 4, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joshua Young.

U.S. Marines and sailors prepare to leave Forward Operating Base Nolay in Afghanistan's Helmand province, for Camp Leatherneck, May 4, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joshua Young.

U.S. MARINES, GEORGIAN SOLDIERS PARTICIPATE IN "OPERATION CYCLONE" IN AFGHANISTAN

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

U.S. Marines and Georgian soldiers board a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter as they prepare to participate in an air assault mission during Operation Cyclone near Passau village in Afghanistan's Helmand province, April 12, 2014. The Marines are assigned to Georgian Liaison Team 11, and the Georgian soldiers are assigned to Bravo Company, 31st Georgian Light Infantry Battalion. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Dustin D. March.

A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter prepares to land in a field to extract U.S. Marines and Georgian soldiers during Operation Cyclone in Passau village in Afghanistan's Helmand province, April 11, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Darien J. Bjornda.

U.S. MARINES FIRE HOWITZERS DURING SSANG YONG 2014

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Above Photos:  U.S. Marines fire rounds from a howitzer during Ssang Yong 2014 on Su Seung-ri range in South Korea, April 3, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Lena Wakayama.

U.S. MARINES PARTICIPATE IN EXERCISE SSANG YONG 14 IN SUESONGRI, SOUTH KOREA

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

U.S. Marines fire a practice rocket from a high-mobility, artillery rocket system during a live-fire exercise on Rodriguez range, South Korea, March 28, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Lauren Whitney.

U.S. Marines position a high-mobility, artillery rocket system during a live-fire exercise on Rodriguez range, South Korea, March 27, 2014. This is the first time the system been deployed and fired within South Korea. The Marines are assigned to Delta Battery, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Lauren Whitney.

RECENT U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT PHOTOS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

A U.S. Marine Corps mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle provides security in the Now Zad district in Afghanistan's Helmand province, Feb. 16, 2014. The vehicle is assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. The unit supported Afghan forces conducting an operation in the area. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Sean Searfus.

U.S. Marines shield themselves from the blast of a breaching charge explosion during Exercise Cobra Gold 2014 in Ban Chan Krem, Thailand, Feb. 14, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Adam Mille.

RECENT AFGHANISTAN PHOTOS FROM U.S. MARINE CORPS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Eddie Glowacki unstraps a fuel barrel at an Afghan army base near Forward Operating Base Nolay in Afghanistan's Helmand province, Jan. 27, 2014. Glowacki is a generator mechanic with a security force advise and assist team, which is assigned to the Afghan army's 2nd Brigade, 215th Corps. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joshua Young -

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Eddie Glowacki provides security for Marines at an Afghan army base near Forward Operating Base Nolay in Afghanistan's Helmand province, Jan. 27, 2014. Glowacki is a generator mechanic with a security force advise and assist team, which is assigned to the Afghan army's 2nd Brigade, 215th Corps. The Marines frequently received enemy fire while refueling generators for surveillance towers. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joshua Young -

RECENT U.S. MARINE CORPS PHOTOS FROM AFGHANISTAN

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

U.S. Marines conduct rocket range training outside of Camp Leatherneck in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Jan. 31, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Eric S. Wilterdink

A U.S. Marine fires a shoulder mounted rocket during rocket range training outside of Camp Leatherneck in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Jan. 31, 2014. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Eric S. Wilterdink.

RECENT U.S. MARINE CORPS PHOTOS FROM TACLOBAN, PHILIPPINES

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
A sign displays thanks to all agencies involved in relief and recovery efforts in Tacloban, Philippines, Nov. 23, 2013. U.S. troops, multiple government agencies, international aid groups and militaries assisted in providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to affected areas throughout the island nation following Typhoon Haiyan. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Master Sgt. Antoine Robinson.

A van is abandoned in the middle of a swamp outside of Tacloban, Philippines, Nov. 23, 2013. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Master Sgt. Antoine Robinson.

U.S. MARINES TRAIN WITH FRENCH LEGIONNAIRES ON CAMP DES GARRIGUES, FRANCE

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
11/06/2013

U.S. Marines Train With French Legionnaires On Camp Des Garrigues, France.
French legionnaires embark an MV-22B Osprey assigned to the Marine air-ground task force for crisis response on Camp des Garrigues, France, Oct. 30, 2013. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Michael Petersheim.

U.S. WILL CONSOLIDATE FORCES IN JAPAN

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Hagel Details U.S.-Japan Consolidation Plan for Okinawa
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2013 - The United States and Japan have announced a new plan that will reduce the U.S. footprint on the island of Okinawa while ensuring an operationally effective U.S. force presence in the region, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said today.

The plan, released today in Tokyo, is a key step forward in implementing the 2006 Realignment Roadmap. It details every step needed for consolidating U.S. forces in Okinawa and gives conditions-based dates for the land returns.

When fully implemented, the plan will result in the return to Japan of about 2,500 acres of land now used by U.S. forces. The returns are essential steps in the realignment agreement, officials said, aiming to ensure a stable presence for U.S. forces in Japan.
"Our plan calls for the immediate return -- upon the completion of certain necessary procedures -- of certain facilities and areas on Okinawa," Hagel said in a statement announcing the plan. "The United States will then return additional locations once replacement facilities are constructed, and when a sizeable contingent of U.S. Marine Corps forces relocate ... outside Japan." The Marines will move to Guam and Hawaii, he added.

The secretary thanked Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for his personal leadership and attention to the plan, which required months of close coordination between senior leaders from the two countries and from U.S. Forces Japan and the Marine Corps.

The Defense Department and Japan's Defense Ministry will work to implement the plan, Hagel said, in concert with working to resolve replacement facility issues to avoid the indefinite use of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma at Camp Schwab-Henoko Bay while maintaining alliance capabilities.

Progress last month on the replacement facility includes a landfill permit request filed by the Japanese government with the Okinawa prefectural government for the facility, and a Japanese contribution of $114.3 million to build facilities for U.S. Marine units relocating to Guam.

"Now more than ever, it is essential that the United States maintain a geographically distributed and sustainable force throughout Asia that can provide for the protection of Japan and our other allies, and U.S. interests," Hagel said. "We are resolved to focus our bilateral efforts on modernizing the alliance to meet emerging security challenges in the region."

Hagel said completion of the plan shows what can be achieved through hard work associated with the ongoing U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region.

"I look forward to continuing to partner with Prime Minister Abe and his administration to advance the bilateral security relationship of the United States and Japan," he added.

RECENT U.S. MARINE CORPS PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. MARINE CORPSMarines provide supportive fire with the AT-4 shoulder-fired rocket launcher as part of movement-to-contact training during Exercise Iron Fist 2013 at aboard Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., Jan. 31, 2013. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Lonzo-Grei Thornton

　
Marines shoot shoulder-launched multipurpose assault weapons during Exercise Iron Fist 2013 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., Jan. 31, 2013. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Demetrius Morgan

U.S. WORK IN AFGHANISTAN CONTINUES IN 2012

 

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Engaging Greeting - U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Julie Nicholson shakes hands with an Afghan child during a mission in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, July 8, 2012. Nicolson is a female engagement team leader assigned to Marine Headquarters Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force. U.S. Marine Corps courtesy photo

　

Moving Higher - U.S. paratroopers serving as an over watch element move their observation post higher on a hill during combat operations in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, May 19, 2012. The paratroopers are assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod

RECENT PHOTOS FROM THE U.S. MARINE CORPS

FROM: U.S. MARINE CORPS
Coalition Forces Conduct Presence Patrol in Farah Province
A coalition force member talks to a villager during a presence patrol in Afghanistan's Farah province, Dec. 16, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau.


　

A coalition force member speaks with a villager during a presence patrol in Afghanistan's Farah province, Dec. 16, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau.

A small Afghan boy salutes coalition force members during a presence patrol in Afghanistan's Farah province, Dec. 16, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau.

 

USO WRAPS-UP TOUR

Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia, senior enlisted advisor to Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, hosts this year's final USO holiday tour show on behalf of the chairman at Patch Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany, Dec. 17, 2012. DOD photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

USO Wraps-up Annual Holiday Tour Show in Germany
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service

STUTTGART, Germany, Dec. 18, 2012 - Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia, senior advisor to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, hosted the final stop of this year's USO holiday tour show here yesterday on behalf of the chairman, the tour's sponsor.

Battaglia attended the show with his wife, Lisa.

Service members' wives, husbands, sons and daughters attended the event to see their favorite celebrities.

This year's USO holiday tour show featured Washington Nationals Major League Baseball players Ross Detwiler and Craig Stammen; Matt Hendricks from the National Hockey League's Washington Capitals; comedian Iliza Schlesinger, winner of NBC's Last Comic Standing and country music singer Kellie Pickler and her band.

And USO President Sloan D. Gibson and Shane Hudella of "Defending the Blue Line," an organization that donates hockey equipment to military families, accompanied the tour show.

"It was certainly a different sort of demographic, and dynamic [when compared] to the other shows that were more troop oriented because they were in-country, in Afghanistan," Battaglia said. "So, I think it provided the entertainers and athletes another side of their U.S. armed forces overseas, and [they saw] that protection and defense of the nation doesn't only come from the service member.

"It also comes from the sacrifice of the family, having to serve overseas and away from home as well," he added.
Lisa Battaglia, a former Marine herself enjoyed the family aspect of the final show.

"I liked it a lot, because most of the time we see the military members," she said. "I know they truly appreciate the USO, but [I enjoyed] being able to see these young kids out there, able to enjoy what's going to be a great holiday season ... [and] let their hair down and hang out with their friends.

"I think it was great, and a nice ending to the tour," she added.

The sergeant major deemed the USO tour a hit, with stops coming in Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and two stops in Germany -- Stuttgart and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

"It was a great success," he said. "Just having the opportunity to witness troops across the [area of responsibility] -- Afghanistan and beyond -- with smiles on their faces especially around this time with Christmas.

"You know, with a comedian telling a joke, or singing a country song that may be one of their favorites, or a sports fanatic getting an autograph or a handshake from one of the athletes," he continued. "Just seeing a smile on their faces is pretty invaluable, and it accomplishes the USO's mission, writ large, with providing morale to the troops."

The USO holiday tour's entertainers came all the way from the U.S. and maintained a strenuous schedule, the sergeant major said.

"The [itinerary's] ruggedness was only driven by trying to get them to as many [bases] as we possibly can, even if we had to split them up to see as many troops as we could so they could have that face-to-face engagement," Battaglia said.

"Nobody wants to watch this on AFN," he added. "They want to see it in person -- that was the objective, that was the goal, and it was accomplished."

RECENT U.S. MARINE CORPS PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. MARINE CORPS

U.S. Marines assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), land at Camp Dwyer, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Nov. 27, 2012. HMLA-169 conducted Operation Aero Hunter in Southern Helmand. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Keonaona C. Paulo
　

U.S. Army Capt. Peggy Hu, Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team civil affairs officer, speaks with a local child during a routine patrol in the Zabul Province, Afghanistan, Nov. 21, 2012. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Patrice Clarke

RECENT U.S. MARINE CORPS PHOTOS

 

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSECoalition force members engage insurgents during an Afghan-led security patrol in Farah province, Afghanistan, Dec. 7, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau 　

Afghan National Police watch as their commander engages insurgents during an Afghan-led security patrol in Farah province, Afghanistan, Dec. 7, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

 

FROM: U.S. NAVY
121207-O-GR159-001 PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (Dec. 7, 2012) Maj. C. R. Clift, a Marine Corps test pilot, flies BF-1, an F-35B Lightning II, on a short take off and vertical landing mode mission. The flight marked the 1000th developmental test flight for the F-35B Lightning II in the program's program's system development and demonstration phase. The F-35B is the variant of the Lightning II designed for use by the U.S. Marine Corps, as well as F-35 international partners in the United Kingdom and Italy. The F-35B is capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings to enable air power projection from amphibious ships, ski-jump aircraft carriers and expeditionary airfields. The F-35B is undergoing flight test and evaluation at NAS Patuxent River, Md., prior to delivery to the fleet. (Photo by Dane Wiedmann/Released)

　

121210-N-QM601-167 ATLANTIC OCEAN (Dec. 10, 2012) The multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), left, the amphibious dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) and the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21) transit the Atlantic Ocean. Iwo Jima, the flagship of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group with the embarked 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24th MEU), is currently deployed to support maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Scott Youngblood/Released)