Category Archives: Marines

Run For The Wall runs through Williams

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WILLIAMS — The motorcycle riders of Run For The Wall arrived in Williams May 17 which is their traditional first stop of their ten-day trek to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. Their goal is meet up with the riders of Rolling Thunder and participate in Memorial Day events. The goal of the groups is to bring awareness of those who gave their lives for their country and those still missing in action.

The riders were threatened with rain, but the rain held off until about 7 p.m. The group started arriving at about 5:00 p.m. with the main group arriving about twenty-minutes later. They stopped at the American Legion Cordova Post #13 for sustenance and rest provided by the Legion, local citizens and the Route 66 Young Marines.

While many people tend to take extra pains to thank Veterans for their service during the Memorial Day weekend, Northern Arizona Gazette would like to remind everyone that Memorial Day is a solemn day of respect for those who were killed during the many conflicts the United States has been involved in. We would prefer that you go to the local cemetery, find a Veteran’s grave and lay flowers. Veteran Service groups, such as the American Legion and Veterans Of Foreign Wars hold ceremonies that you can attend.


Northern Arizona Gazette has been following Run For The Wall since 2005. It is sad to note that over the years, less of our Vietnam Veteran brothers have been able to make the ride and many have passed. We are happy to report that younger Veterans from recent conflicts, such as Desert Storm and Afghanistan, have taken up the ride. About a hundred motorcycles participated in this leg of Run For The Wall. There are three routes that riders take.

After an overnight stay, the riders left promptly at 8 a.m. May 18. The weather was perfect for their send off.

Annual Armed Forces Day Cross-Band Test Set for May 7 – 8

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NATIONAL — The US Department of Defense will host this year’s Armed Forces Day (AFD) Cross-Band Test, Friday and Saturday, May 7-8, in recognition
of Armed Forces Day on May 15. The event is open to all radio amateurs. For more than 50 years, military and amateur stations have taken part in this exercise, designed to include amateur radio and government radio operators alike.

The AFD Cross-Band Test is a unique opportunity to test two-way communications between military and amateur radio stations, as authorized under FCC Part 97 rules. These tests provide opportunities and challenges for radio operators to demonstrate individual technical skills in a tightly controlled exercise in which military stations will transmit on selected military frequencies and will announce the specific amateur radio frequencies being monitored.

The schedule of military/government stations taking part in the Armed Forces Day Cross-Band Test and information on the AFD message is available on the MARS website at, http://www.dodmars.org/home/armed-forces-day-2021.

Marine veteran bicycles through Williams to benefit charity

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marine-640-15-06-05-01WILLIAMS — Last Friday, June 5, Air Force veteran, Detective Bob McCarty, escorted Marine veteran Toran Gaal through Williams on his bicycle trek to Arlington. His mantra is, The only limits in life are those we set on ourselves.

Toran left San Diego Monday June 1 followed in the chase car by Brian Reilly with the goal of reaching Arlington, Virginia in 52-days. You can follow the ride at Toran’s web site or on Twitter.

Both men are amputees from Afghanistan, but Torin does not concentrate on that. He meets in competition, surfs, does public speaking tours and even finds time to coach basketball.

On the ride he carries two flags. The American flag; the symbol of the freedom for which he fought. The other is the Marine Corps flag which represents him—the Marine. In his continuing service to the Marine Corp, this ride is to benefit the Semper Fi Fund.

Williams remembers those who passed

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20150525aaWILLIAMS — After the graduations, the parade, the roping and all of the other Memorial weekend activities, Williams ended with a memorial service to honor those who went to serve our country and did not return.
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Veterans and the families of loved ones who have passed gathered in the Williams Cemetery to honor their memory. The solemn occasion was accompanied with a 21-gun salute and the playing of taps by Lu Carle. Volunteers assisted in the placing of flags to mark the resting places of veterans. Some with only a small marker to indicate their presence.
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The event was scheduled by “Perico” Avila and the American Legion Cordova Post #13. Father Killian of St. Joseph The Worker Catholic Church gave the invocation.

Unfortunately, due to a scheduling conflict, we could not get the names of all of the participants.

ISIS forces repelled by Iraqi forces

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isis-assesAccording to a FOX news report, Iraqi Security Forces repelled an attack by ISIS on an air base in Anbar province. Reports were that more than 300 Marines training Iraqis might be surrounded.

It turns out that the reports were exaggerated. Apparently eight terrorists attempted to break into the facility.

According to FOX news annalist General Jack Keane, the attempt was simply to get headlines. It appears that the U.S. Marines were never in danger.

SOUTHCOM Commander keeps eye on Ebola situation

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Gen. John F. KellyMarine General John F. Kelly, Commander of U.S. Southern Command, gave a warning to the National Defense University on Wednesday that the spread of Ebola to Central and South America could cause a mass exodus to the United States from fear. Some with the Ebola disease could illegally enter the United States for treatment.

According to DoD News,

“By the end of the year, there’s supposed to be 1.4 million people infected with Ebola and 62 percent of them dying, according to the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention],” Marine Corps Gen. John F. Kelly said. “That’s horrific. And there is no way we can keep Ebola [contained] in West Africa.”

The General said if the disease gets to countries like Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador, it will cause a panic and people will flee the region.

“If it breaks out, it’s literally, ‘Katie bar the door,’ and there will be mass migration into the United States,” Kelly said. “They will run away from Ebola, or if they suspect they are infected, they will try to get to the United States for treatment.”

He also noted that transnational criminal networks could smuggle those carrying Ebola to the U.S. southern border. This was the reported situation with M-13 gang members and children with diseases being smuggled by the Mexican drug cartel into the US with Mexican government knowledge several months ago.

Kelly spoke of visiting the border of Costa Rica and Nicaragua with U.S. embassy personnel. At that time, a group of men “were waiting in line to pass into Nicaragua and then on their way north,” he recalled.

“The embassy person walked over and asked who they were and they told him they were from Liberia and they had been on the road about a week,” Kelly continued. “They met up with the network in Trinidad and now they were on their way to the United States — illegally, of course.”

According to KeysInfoNet web site

The U.S. Coast Guard so far this fiscal year has interdicted almost 950 Haitians at sea trying to reach South Florida.

That figure refers to normal illegal attempts to enter the US and not because of a current Ebola outbreak.

Science of Us web site reported that a DoD official issued the following statement:

We expect our combatant commanders to prepare and plan for all manner of contingencies and threats. That’s their job. Our focus remains on supporting the international community and the government of Liberia in their efforts to stop the spread of Ebola in Western Africa. That’s our commitment. We remain in close contact with our friends and partners in the international community as together we look for ways to assist against this deadly disease. It’s important for everyone to be thinking carefully about all aspects of this deadly disease. That’s what General Kelly is doing.

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3-star: Marine Corps ‘prepared to assist’ with recovery of Tahmooressi from Mexico

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Marine Sgt. Andrew P. Tahmooressi in 2012. (Facebook) - Marine Corp Times

Marine Sgt. Andrew P. Tahmooressi in 2012. (Facebook) – Marine Corp Times

(June 18) – As veteran Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi nears three months in a Mexican prison, a Marine Corps three-star general says the Marine Corps is standing by to help him.

Tahmooressi, who left active duty in 2012, was arrested by Mexican officials March 31 after crossing the border at San Ysidro with guns and ammunition in his truck in what he claims was an innocent mistake. His plight, reported by a number of media outlets, has spurred a massive wave of public support.

In a letter this week to Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., Marine Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs Commander Lt. Gen. Robert Milstead said the Corps has limited ability to help Tahmooressi, but was willing to do whatever possible to bring him back.

“I understand … this matter rests appropriately within the U.S. Department of State’s capable hands,” Milstead said. “While it is not within the Marine Corps’ purview to unilaterally intervene in matters involving a foreign government, I assure you that we are prepared to assist as necessary to the greatest extent permissible under law.”

Read more at The Marine Corp Times

Run for the Wall arrives today

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r4tw-2006-01FLAGSTAFF/WILLIAMS – The riders of Run for the Wall are expected to start arriving in Williams in two groups today. The first group will arrive and continue on to Flagstaff while the second will stop in Williams.

The first group of Vietnam veterans will start arriving at about 4:30 and will stop for fuel before continuing on to Flagstaff.

The second group will arrive at about 6:30 and start the traditional Run for the Wall motorcycle parade down historic Route 66. They will proceed to the American Legion Cordova Post #13 to be served dinner by volunteers from Williams.

Run for the Wall is an annual event in which Vietnam veterans ride to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. arriving on Memorial day. The event is over twenty years old and the mission is to allow healing for Vietnam veterans and their families and to call attention to the fact that the national government has still not demanded a full accounting of prisoners of war and those missing in action from the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Marine Corps delays pull-up requirement for women

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marines_femalesThe Marine Corps has delayed the requirement for female Marines to do three pullups because most women have so far been unable to pass the test.

For 40 years, male recruits were required to perform three pullups to prove their upper body strength for combat, where they would need to carry heavy equipment and potentially lift themselves out of mud walls. Starting Jan. 1, female recruits would have been required to do the same.

Read more at FOX News.

Pentagon requests plan to close stateside commissaries

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commissaryTasked by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to find ways to preserve force readiness amid sharply falling budgets, his comptroller and the Joint Staff have asked the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) for a plan to close all stateside base grocery stores, say military resale community sources.

Time will tell if this is just the loudest warning shot yet fired by a department desperate for budget relief, or if stateside commissaries, still enormously popular with military families and retirees, are viewed by current military leaders as a costly relic burdening a financially stressed force.

Under Secretary of Defense Robert Hale, the department’s top financial adviser, and Air Force Lt. Gen. Mark F. Ramsay, director of force structure, resources and assessment for the Joint Staff, reportedly requested the plan in a meeting with military personnel policy and commissary officials.

More details at Stars and Stripes.