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VOLUME 75, EDITION 33
The
GL BE SERVING CAMP LEJEUNE AND SURROUNDING AREAS SINCE 1944
22nd MEU mortarmen fire M-224 mortar system during field exercise | 4A d
Marines
receive Purple Heart medal | 5A THURSDAY AUGUST 8, 2013
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eMarine connects service members, family LANCE CPL. JOSHUA W GRANT Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
Advancements in technology and the internet make gathering information easier than ever. With eMarine, service members and their families have access to all of their units’ upcoming events and schedules at the click of a button. Marines, sailors and their spouses can learn and share important information and events happening in each individual unit through eMarine, a completely
customizable and personable website. The eMarine website is designed to be an online, 24-hour extension of a unit’s Family Readiness Officer. A Family Readiness Officer functions as the overall liaison between a Marine’s family and their unit. Family readiness officers manage each unit’s eMarine page. “eMarine is considered by the commandant to be the primary method of communicating to Marines, sailors and their families,” said Bill Vornheder, a family readiness program trainer with Marine Corps Family Team Building. “It’s designed to meet the needs of the
largest population in the Marine Corps, Marines under the age of 25, but eMarine is still somewhat of a mystery to a lot of people.” The Marine is able to invite a maximum of four family members to access a specific Marine Corps unit’s page. The families are then given access to the Marine’s unit page. A unit’s page can be customized and may contain varying information, but many units publish training and deployment schedules, said Vornheder. “They have the one stop capability,” said Vornheder. “It’s their connection to everything going on
with their Marine or sailor, and it also provides all the resources and points of contact that may be needed.” Every eMarine page includes forums which encourage interaction and streamline communication within each unit, stated Vornheder. “We want people to take an ownership in their eMarine page,” said Vornheder. “If their unit’s eMarine page does not have the resources or information they are looking for, or is not appealing to them, then that is the feedback they need to give to their family readiness officer.” eMarine is a great, closed loop
system for getting information to only the people who need to see it, said Mark Seymon, Family Readiness Officer for 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. “It’s a one stop shop for families to get information and photos from the unit, especially when the unit is deployed,” said Seymon. “It allows secure information we can’t put on an 800 number to be displayed like deployment return dates and training schedules.” For more information on a unit’s eMarine page or to gain access, visit www.eMarine.org or contact your unit’s Family Readiness Officer.
Photo by Pfc. Jose Mendez Jr.
Marines with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, patrol the outskirts of combat town during an amphibious operation training exercise aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, July 24. Marines and equipment were transported from the USS Wasp to Onslow Beach on hovercraft, also known as landing craft air cushion vehicles.
Marines conduct simulated rescue PFC. JOSE MENDEZ JR. 2nd Marine Division
Marines and sailors with 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, conducted an integrated training exercise with Marines from the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion which began July 21 aboard the USS Wasp and ended July 24 aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. The amphibious operation was designed to test the amphibious capabilities of the units taking part in the training. “Amphibious training like this should be
done more considering the Marine Corps is amphibious. We have strayed away from that due to the war we are currently fighting,” said Cpl. Nathan D. Shaw, the 1st squad leader with Company K, 3rd Bn., 8th Marines. Marines lived aboard the USS WASP for three days before loading vehicles aboard Landing Craft Air Cushion vehicles. Humvees, 7-ton trucks and M1 assault breacher vehicles were loaded on to the LCACs. First to depart the ship were the Marines of 2nd CEB. “We are assaulting the beach. When
the LCAC pulls up, the ABVs come off,” said Lance Cpl. David R. Jones, a combat engineer with Mobile Assault Company, 2nd CEB. An ABV is capable of clearing mine fields, filling in a tank ditch and plowing down mounds of dirt. “With the ABVs, we will simulate clearing a mine field, filling in a tank ditch which will be a few meters deep and plowing down berms in order to pave the way to combat town for the infantry unit,” said Jones. When the second wave of LCACs came ashore, the beach was ready for Co. K to
unload their humvees and 7-ton truck. “CEB allowed us to make it to shore,” said 2nd Lt. Allen Dustin, a platoon commander for Co. K and Cedar Rapids. Co. K quickly loaded the vehicles and started to move out to combat town. The mission was to rescue two U.S. citizens and evacuate them to a U.S. Embassy. “We are conducting non-combatant evacuation operations in order to pick up two U.S. citizens,” said Shaw who was the vehicle commander. He was in charge of transporting the Marines tasked with setting SEE RESCUE 7A
CAMP LEATHERNECK, AFGHANISTAN
Turret gunner shares first patrol in Afghanistan
Inside
CPL. PAUL PETERSON 2nd Marine Logistics Group
A small sun canopy rippled violently over his head. The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle jostled him between the walls of his gun turret. It was his first mission in Afghanistan, and Cpl. Kenneth Benton, a technical controller with Combat Logistics Regiment 2, Regional Command (Southwest), found himself in the solitary position as the gunner covering the rear of a more than 20 vehicle convoy. Cramped in the claustrophobia-inducing walls of his turret, Benton hunkered behind his M-240 machine gun and scanned the menagerie of Afghan vehicles milling behind his truck. A haze of “moon dust” sand filtered through the small gap at his waist, clouding Benton as he scanned the exposed rear of the convoy. Anything and everything could be a threat - or simply people carrying out the menial chores of life. “It was something different I never expected before,” said Benton. “You have to calm yourself down, remain level headed and stay vigilant.” He grimaced through the welder’s mask he used to shield his face from the pelting desert sand, his solitary machine gun pivoting – left and right, left and right. “We are in their country, and we can’t just take over their roads,” said Benton, who admitted the traffic gave him a case of the nerves. “You learn to deal with it – You really have to keep an eye open for anything that doesn’t look right, but at the same time you have to understand that
Devilpups’ first preseason practice 1B
Photo by Cpl. Paul Peterson
Cpl. Kenneth Benton, a technical controller with Transportation Support Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, Regional Command (Southwest), grimaces in his machinegun turret during a combat logistics patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan, July 25. they’re here. They’re going to stay here. This is their country.” The entire convoy pressed forward as Benton stared back into the cloud of dust kicked up by the line of vehicles. Infants balanced on bicycle handles while their parents moved from one Afghan village to the next. Small cars darted between the looming American trucks as Benton called
down possible threats to the crew inside. “It can get hot and dusty sometimes, but it’s not too bad,” he said with a smirk. “It’s manageable.” The constant exposure to the arid climate and dust blistered Benton’s skin, and the thick armored hull nearly deafened him to the voices of Marines inside his vehicle. The crew bellow SEE GUNNER 7A
2013 Sneads Ferry Shrimp Festival
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