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MARINE MECHANIC IN AFGHANISTAN SAVES LIVES

Sgt. Christopher Lemke, a mechanic with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369, discovered a never-before-seen maintenance issue in a UH-1Y Huey. For his potentially life-saving find, Lemke was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, on Jan. 12. During a routine inspection, Lemke found that the transmission pylon beam and the main beam joint, which secure the aircraft's transmission to the airframe, were disintegrating. "No one else had ever found such an issue, but when we looked at another aircraft we had in phase, it had the same problem. There was a fault in the design of the aircraft," Lemke said. He was not scheduled to inspect that part of the aircraft, an area so difficult to reach that maintainers call it the "hell hole," but his diligence paid off. Lemke's find led to a corps-wide inspection, resulting in an engineering advisory report addressing a manufacturing defect found on multiple UH-1Y aircraft.
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Also Read: Marines control air in Southwestern Afghanistan

 

WOUNDED MARINE SURPRISES COMRADES AS THEY RETURN HOME

Cpl. Greg Caron, member of 1st Battalion, 25th Marines, traveled from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., to Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass., to welcome his fellow Marines upon their return from California. The last time Caron saw the members of his unit was Nov. 11 in Afghanistan, when he lost both his legs after a roadside bomb exploded. The Marines lined up to greet Caron after they got off the plane. "Seeing him just stand made everything complete," said Sgt. Andrew Delrossii. After their arrival, the Marines had a homecoming ceremony on the reserve base in Plainville, Mass. The unit gave Caron a military pennant decorated with the dates and places of their tour of duty and phrases including, "Out of pain and suffering the strongest souls emerge." Caron, who recently began walking with prosthetic legs, will return to Walter Reed with his wife, where he will continue several more months of therapy and treatment.
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WOUNDED WARRIORS FIND THERAPY IN FLORIDA KEYS DOLPHINS

Thirty wounded military veterans participating in the three-day Soldier Ride cycling event in Florida experienced a different kind of therapy on Jan. 13. The service members had an interactive session with dolphins at the Dolphin Research Center, swimming with the animals or learning training techniques. They traded flipper shakes and signaled the dolphins to perform a variety of behaviors. For 26 year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Michael DeLancey, the experience was rewarding. "I was a little nervous cause I wasn't knowing what I was getting into; touching it (the dolphin) and things like that, but they're very friendly, and within a minute that went out the door," said DeLancey, who was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot in Iraq in 2006. The Soldier Ride began in Miami on Jan. 12 and ended in Key West on Jan. 14. Soldier Ride, a Wounded Warrior Project initiative, takes place across the United States in support of veterans severely injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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THANK YOU

VOLUNTEERS STEP UP SO NO MARINE STANDS ALONE Jennifer Iddins has spent the past five years making sure no Marine stands alone after the graduation ceremonies at Parris Island, the Marine Corps boot camp near Beaufort, S.C. Iddins personally packs bags of goodies for the Marines into what she calls Stand Alone Marines (SAM) bags. Iddins' mission is to hand these treats to Marines who have no family or friends at the graduation. The graduation on Friday, Jan. 13 was very emotional as it was Iddins' last day last day of handling out SAMs, as her husband has been ordered to Naval Station Great Lakes near Chicago. After hearing about her endeavor, nine to a dozen volunteers have stepped up to ensure that no Marine stands alone on graduation day. Read More   NAVY SECRETARY LIKES SAN CLEMENTE'S PARK SEMPER FI Navy Secretary Ray Mabus visited Park Semper Fi in San Clemente, Calif. on Jan. 16. At the park's center is the Marine Monument, which Mabus called "a wonderful tribute to the Marines by the city of San Clemente." Park Semper Fi was built with community donations in 2005 and overlooks the San Clemente Pier. Mabus commended the city for its support of neighboring Camp Pendleton. "The fact that the citizens of San Clemente raised the money, established this park honoring the Marines and particularly the fallen Marines means a whole lot to the Navy and Marine Corps family. It speaks volumes about the people of San Clemente," he said. While touring the park, he met with Jo Seitsinger, mother of Sgt. Danton Kyle Seitsinger, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2004. A bench in Park Semper Fi is dedicated to the Marine's memory. Mabus also attended a dedication ceremony Jan. 17 at Camp Pendleton for a new barracks named after Lance Cpl. Donald Hogan, a San Clemente Marine killed by a roadside bomb in 2009 in Afghanistan, and to present the Navy Cross to Hogan's parents. Read More

Upcoming Events:

Mid-Winter National Staff Conference 2012 The Marine Corps League Mid-Winter National Staff Conference will be held February 16, 17 and 18, 2012 at the Tysons Corner Marriott in Vienna, VA. The room rate is $95 per night, single or double. Please make your room reservation directly to the Tysons Corner Marriott no later than January 20, 2012 at (703) 734-3200.  Be sure to tell them you are with the Marine Corps League. 2012 National Convention