Five years ago, two Marines from two different walks of life who had literally just met were told to stand guard in front of their outpost's entry control point.

Minutes later, they were staring down a big blue truck packed with explosives. With this particular shred of hell bearing down on them, they stood their ground.

I had heard the story many times, personally. But until today I had never heard Marine Lt. Gen. John Kelly's telling of it to a packed house in 2010. Just four days following the death of his own son in combat, Kelly eulogized two other sons in an unforgettable manner. 

From Kelly's speech:

Two years ago when I was the Commander of all U.S. and Iraqi forces, in fact, the 22nd of April 2008, two Marine infantry battalions, 1/9 “The Walking Dead,” and 2/8 were switching out in Ramadi. One battalion in the closing days of their deployment going home very soon, the other just starting its seven-month combat tour.

Two Marines, Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter, 22 and 20 years old respectively, one from each battalion, were assuming the watch together at the entrance gate of an outpost that contained a makeshift barracks housing 50 Marines.

The same broken down ramshackle building was also home to 100 Iraqi police, also my men and our allies in the fight against the terrorists in Ramadi, a city until recently the most dangerous city on earth and owned by Al Qaeda. Yale was a dirt poor mixed-race kid from Virginia with a wife and daughter, and a mother and sister who lived with him and he supported as well. He did this on a yearly salary of less than $23,000. Haerter, on the other hand, was a middle class white kid from Long Island.

They were from two completely different worlds. Had they not joined the Marines they would never have met each other, or understood that multiple America’s exist simultaneously depending on one’s race, education level, economic status, and where you might have been born. But they were Marines, combat Marines, forged in the same crucible of Marine training, and because of this bond they were brothers as close, or closer, than if they were born of the same woman.

The mission orders they received from the sergeant squad leader I am sure went
something like: “Okay you two clowns, stand this post and let no unauthorized
personnel or vehicles pass.” “You clear?” I am also sure Yale and Haerter then rolled their eyes and said in unison something like: “Yes Sergeant,” with just enough attitude that made the point without saying the words, “No kidding sweetheart, we know what we’re doing.” They then relieved two other Marines on watch and took up their post at the entry control point of Joint Security Station Nasser, in the Sophia section of Ramadi, al Anbar, Iraq.

A few minutes later a large blue truck turned down the alley way—perhaps 60-70
yards in length—and sped its way through the serpentine of concrete jersey walls. The truck stopped just short of where the two were posted and detonated, killing them both catastrophically. Twenty-four brick masonry houses were damaged or destroyed. A mosque 100 yards away collapsed. The truck’s engine came to rest two hundred yards away knocking most of a house down before it stopped.

Our explosive experts reckoned the blast was made of 2,000 pounds of explosives. Two died, and because these two young infantrymen didn’t have it in their DNA to run from danger, they saved 150 of their Iraqi and American brothers-in-arms.

When I read the situation report about the incident a few hours after it happened I
called the regimental commander for details as something about this struck me as
different. Marines dying or being seriously wounded is commonplace in combat. We expect Marines regardless of rank or MOS to stand their ground and do their duty, and even die in the process, if that is what the mission takes. But this just seemed different.

The regimental commander had just returned from the site and he agreed, but reported that there were no American witnesses to the event—just Iraqi police. I figured if there was any chance of finding out what actually happened and then to decorate the two Marines to acknowledge their bravery, I’d have to do it as a combat award that requires two eye-witnesses and we figured the bureaucrats back in Washington would never buy Iraqi statements. If it had any chance at all, it had to come under the signature of a general officer.

I traveled to Ramadi the next day and spoke individually to a half-dozen Iraqi
police all of whom told the same story. The blue truck turned down into the alley and immediately sped up as it made its way through the serpentine. They all said, “We knew immediately what was going on as soon as the two Marines began firing.” The Iraqi police then related that some of them also fired, and then to a man, ran for safety just prior to the explosion.

All survived. Many were injured … some seriously. One of the Iraqis elaborated and with tears welling up said, “They’d run like any normal man would to save his life.”

What he didn’t know until then, he said, and what he learned that very instant, was that Marines are not normal. Choking past the emotion he said, “Sir, in the name of God no sane man would have stood there and done what they did.”

“No sane man.”

“They saved us all.”

What we didn’t know at the time, and only learned a couple of days later after I
wrote a summary and submitted both Yale and Haerter for posthumous Navy Crosses, was that one of our security cameras, damaged initially in the blast, recorded some of the suicide attack. It happened exactly as the Iraqis had described it. It took exactly six seconds from when the truck entered the alley until it detonated.

You can watch the last six seconds of their young lives. Putting myself in their
heads I supposed it took about a second for the two Marines to separately come to the same conclusion about what was going on once the truck came into their view at the far end of the alley. Exactly no time to talk it over, or call the sergeant to ask what they should do. Only enough time to take half an instant and think about what the sergeant told them to do only a few minutes before: “… let no unauthorized personnel or vehicles pass.”

The two Marines had about five seconds left to live. It took maybe another two seconds for them to present their weapons, take aim, and open up. By this time the truck was half-way through the barriers and gaining speed the whole time. Here, the recording shows a number of Iraqi police, some of whom had fired their AKs, now scattering like the normal and rational men they were—some running right past the Marines. They had three seconds left to live.

For about two seconds more, the recording shows the Marines’ weapons firing
non-stop…the truck’s windshield exploding into shards of glass as their rounds take it apart and tore in to the body of the son-of-a-bitch who is trying to get past them to kill their brothers—American and Iraqi—bedded down in the barracks totally unaware of the fact that their lives at that moment depended entirely on two Marines standing their ground. If they had been aware, they would have know they were safe…because two Marines stood between them and a crazed suicide bomber.

The recording shows the truck careening to a stop immediately in front of the two Marines. In all of the instantaneous violence Yale and Haerter never hesitated. By all reports and by the recording, they never stepped back. They never even started to step aside. They never even shifted their weight. With their feet spread should width apart, they leaned into the danger, firing as fast as they could work their weapons. They had only one second left to live.

The truck explodes. The camera goes blank. Two young men go to their God. 
Six seconds. Not enough time to think about their families, their country, their flag, or about their lives or their deaths, but more than enough time for two very brave young men to do their duty…into eternity. That is the kind of people who are on watch all over the world tonight—for you.

SEE ALSO: Follow the U.S. Marines as the descend on a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan >

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A recent viral video showed President Barack Obama walking past the Marine standing outside his helicopter, before turning around and walking back to salute him.

It inspired us to look into the elite military unit that handles this work.

Marine Helicopter Squadron 1 does it with complex precision, flying decoy helicopters and support aircraft in addition to the high-tech custom bird that holds the president.

HMX-1 has been doing it for more than 50 years with zero mishaps.

National Geographic took a rare behind-the-scenes look at the unit in 2008. We've broken out the highlights.

Marine Helicopter Squadron 1 was founded in 1947, initially to develop helicopter tactics in warfare

Dwight Eisenhower was the first president to fly in a helicopter, during this ride to Camp David in July 1957

Just a few months later, Eisenhower was vacationing in Rhode Island when he was needed at the White House. Rather than make the 45 minute drive to Air Force One, he took an HMX-1 helicopter that was on standby nearby in case of emergencies. The trip took just seven minutes

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Canada's Guy Cramer, a camouflage expert, wants the record corrected.

Recently we wrote about how the Army's $5 billion uniform debacle started when Marines adopted a digital camouflage uniform. The Army wanted its own new uniforms — and so the waltz down the expensive yellow brick road of uniform failure began ...

Cramer, however, pretty much says the Marines stole the idea for digital camouflage from Canada:

The USMC became very interested in [Canadian Digital Pattern camouflage] once the pattern had been validated by both Canada and NATO ... the USMC was granted permission to use the same pattern (but in different colors). The USMC used the exact same print screens and recolored the pattern to meet their requirements even going so far to call the new coloration MARPAT (the Marines made a slight change to the print screens adding a small USMC Globe and Anchor to print every few feet).

So at least in terms of inspiration Canada shoulders some of the blame for the Army's stupendous waste of funds on camouflage that doesn't camouflage. But don't expect them to get a bill or anything anytime soon.

The U.S. Army, consequently, and a bit ironically, has decided to ditch the digital camouflage after all. They're spending another $4 billion on something called "MultiCam."

SEE ALSO: Here's a timeline of the U.S. Army's uniform disaster >

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Seven former Marines and seven active duty Marines are among 50 people arrested thursday in Southern California for reportedly operating a massive crime ring.

There were a total of 64 indicted, and 14 are still at large.

The Marines were allegedly stealing and selling military equipment from Camp Pendleton, to include night-vision goggles and kevlar helmets, reports ABC.

From the report:

The sting, dubbed "Operation Perfect Storm," also netted 92 stolen vehicles, methamphetamines and ecstasy, and 10,000 rounds of ammunition and high capacity magazines. The value of the stolen goods was estimated at $1 million, according to authorities.

The San Diego District Attorney told reporters that the suspects were caught on camera in a sting.

If proven guilty, this won't be the first time Marines got caught selling Department of Defense property off-base. A Marine pleaded guilty in 2010 to selling spent shell casings to an off-base civilian recycling center. Also just this year at Pendleton, three contractors were indicted for the theft of $3 million in medical equipment from the base.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is contributing to the drug ring investigation. The suspects could spend upward of 25 years in prison.

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A few days ago, I posted a speech Marine General John Kelly gave to eulogize two brave Marines who greeted certain death with a handful of hot lead and a pair of wide open eyes.

Well, just yesterday, Kelly gave another unforgettable speech at the 5th Marine Regiment Operation Enduring Freedom Memorial Dedication ceremony.

In a thick Boston accent, Kelly touched on the inherent multiculturalism in the Marine Corps, as well as the very nature of military service, best characterized by the word "sacrifice."

Then he eulogized all the lost Marine infantrymen of the 5th Marine Regiment ( — next to the dirty 1st — ) the most decorated and experienced regiment in the Marine Corps.

Kelly himself lost a son to combat in Afghanistan, and he related directly with the families of those who fell in America's most recent wars.

He said to the Marines and families:

You will all soon enough finish your military service and go home to the cities, to the villages, to the hometowns that you come from, all across America.

You will hopefully find wonderful spouses and raise children who are at least as good as you are. Who will hopefully bring you great pleasure.

For sure, you will put on a lot more weight, many of you will lose your hair, but regardless or where you go, how fat you get, or what you do for the rest of your life, never forget, and be proud, till the day you die, that you served your country.

And in many cases, fought and died for it.

And never forget your buddies, that never made it home.

Remember them for the heroes they are, for the commitment they made, for the price they paid, and pray for their families and their loved ones, and their friends, they left behind.

Keep memorial day sacred, for this purpose. Never forget. We owe them at least that much.

And now, to the precious Gold Star families:

To the moms and dads, sisters and brothers, spouses and friends of the fallen — I am sorry.

From the bottom of my own broken heart, I am sorry.

...

I think I can accurately say that from the moment you were informed of his death, you have struggled endlessly with the question as to whether it was worth it ...

Every time I have asked it, I have come up with the same answer ...

...

It came to me the day I stood beside his grave at Arlington, as men exactly like him, folded his flag, so lovingly.

I realized the question was not mine to ask, or to answer. That it didn't matter what I thought, only what he thought.

The answer was his to give, and he gave it by his actions of that day.

For the entire life that brought him to the instant he was lost.

...

When he went down, he was exactly where he wanted to be, doing exactly what he wanted to do. Surrounded by the best men on this earth, his Marines and his Doc. And I thank them for caring for my boy, after God in his wisdom, and for his own purpose, took him to eternity.

That is the answer to all my questions. I need nothing else.

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Amid anti-government demonstrations planned for this weekend, roughly 200 combat-capable U.S. Marines in southern Europe have been put on an alert status should they need to protect the U.S. Embassy or American citizens in Egypt, CNN is reporting.

The Marines were told to be ready to deploy within an hour, and would be flown in via MV-22 Osprey, the Marine Corps’ rapid deployment aircraft.

A state department spokesman told CNN that the move is precautionary, and that the U.S. fully expects the Egyptian security forces to be able to protect the American diplomatic facilities.

The move comes less than a year after a diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya was attacked by Islamic extremists who killed four Americans, including the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens.

The Obama administration has faced harsh, largely partisan, criticism for what some have deemed as a failure to respond to the attack in Libya. 

Military experts have stated that there was no way military assets could have reached Benghazi in time. Officials appear committed to ensure that doesn’t happen again.

President Obama is presently on the second day of a five-day trip to Africa.

SEE ALSO: Report: US Citizen Killed In Violent Clashes In Egypt

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An animation video recently posted to YouTube highlights the close relationship that exists between deployed service members their dogs.

It’s creator, Marine veteran Maximilian Uriarte, is a bit of a legend in the Marine Corps community when it comes to telling the untold story of life in the Marines.

In 2010 he started a comic strip called Terminal Lance, that candidly and humorously addressed many of the nuances of life as a junior enlisted Marine.

Uriarte made the animation, which he wants you to know is not yet finished, based off of his own dog, Charlie.

“I mostly just made the video because I love him! But also, as a story teller I've always been more interested in the stories that people don't really tell,” Uriarte said. “We've all seen the story of a Marine going to war from the point of view of the Marine, but no one really thinks about telling it from a less obvious point of view like his dog back home.”

The video, called “A Dog and His Boy” shows a Marine deploying to war, leaving his wife, and assuring her that everything would be okay, and that their dog, Charlie, is there to be with her.

All is fine until one day, two Marines in dress uniforms knock on the door and inform the woman that the Marine has died.

Charlie runs away, to a field where he and the Marine used to play, and remembers his departed best friend.

As the video fades to black the text reads: “Dedicated to all those who have the ultimate sacrifice...”

“Of course, it's sad when a Marine or other service member is killed in action; but the impact of it is greater than we realize,” Uriarte said. “It's easy to see a name, a photo or a number of those killed on the news, but it's another to think about all of the individuals in their life that now face an empty void where they used to be.”

Check out the video below:

SEE ALSO: Top Marine Says America Will Be At War For A Long Time

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The military’s attempt to integrate women into combat roles continues to have trouble getting off the ground, as two more women have washed out of the Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course, according to Dan Lamothe at the Marine Corps Times.

Neither of the two women could pass the Combat Endurance Test at the start of the Marine Corps' grueling Infantry Officers Course.

Of the 10 women who have thrown their hats in the ring at IOC so far, just one has passed the Combat Endurance Test, and she dropped out of training with a stress fracture in her foot a week later.

Of the 77 Marine lieutenants who attempted the course, 18 failed the Combat Endurance Test.

Earlier this year, the Pentagon ordered the service branches to evaluate the standards in their combat units as part of the effort to lift the combat exclusion on women in the military.

In January, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos said“There's no intention on my part of changing anything within the IOC curriculum.”

Amos plans to run a total of 100 female Marines through the course, leaving 90 school seats up for grabs. Consequently, if a female Marine passes IOC, she won't get the designation — since the program is still considered under a pilot, preliminary status.

And so a major hurdle in the future of women in Marine Corps combat operations remains uncleared, for now. As Army Ranger Battalions and Navy SEAL units institute plans to integrate women by 2015 and 2016, respectively, it remains to be seen when women in the Marine Corps will be able to join infantry units.

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As chaos unfolds in Egypt, the U.S. Embassy is closed, and the Marine Corps is positioning assets to be able to respond to the crisis.

Some 500 Marines with a special-purpose Marine-Air Ground Task Force have been moved from Spain to Sigonella, Italy, to be better positioned should the U.S. need military force to respond to the crisis in Egypt, according to a report from Stars and Stripes.

On Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called Gen. Abdul Fattah al-Sissi, the Egyptian Defense Minister who is pulling the strings in Egypt, multiple news sources reported.

The U.S. has long enjoyed a close military relationship with the Egyptian forces, and al-Sissi is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that U.S. military officials have pleaded with military leaders in Egypt not to conduct a military coup, as under U.S. law, that would immediately trigger a stop to foreign aid.

Egypt is the second-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid money, after Israel. 

And so the U.S. has an enormous foreign policy stake in Egypt, and deployed this special military unit to the region in May, amid reports of planned anti-government demonstrations in Egypt.

"The reason we are here is to provide a scalable force to respond to unexpected crisis," Maj. Zane Crawford, unit's operations officer, said in a Marine Corps report in May. "We can rapidly deploy to support missions, such as embassy reinforcement, tactical recovery of aircraft, and personnel and noncombatant evacuation operations."

This comes after the Pentagon and the Obama administration endured heavy criticism for a perceived inability to respond militarily to an assault on a U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, last year that left four Americans dead.

SEE ALSO: LIVE: CRISIS IN EGYPT

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The change for U.S. Marine Matthew Callahan came when he "snapped" his leg.

It was his first deployment to Afghanistan with 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. He was an "assaultman," a Marine specialized in assaulting hardened positions.

He was sent to the Wounded Warrior Battalion to recover, where he picked up a camera and started On-The-Job Training (OJT) to be a combat correspondent.

"I feel being a former infantryman gives me a better perspective and will serve me well in telling the stories of Marines from the ground combat element especially. Civilians have a genuine interest in knowing about the ins and outs of Marine life and I have a genuine desire to tell them. It's incredibly satisfying and a wicked good time," Callahan told Business Insider.

He must be having fun, because in our opinion his Instagram feed — bridgingthegap__ — is one of the most fascinating in the military.

Snipers set up a snap firing position.

bridgingthegap__

Watching friends rappel. Dirty as hell.

bridgingthegap__

Yeah, they look happy.

bridgingthegap__

The northern Virginia apartment of a prominent libertarian and gun rights activist was raided by police just days after he posted a video on YouTube of him apparently loading a shotgun in Washington D.C.’s Freedom Plaza.

Marine veteran Adam Kokesh was arrested by U.S. Park Police on charges of drug and weapons possession, according to a Washington Post report by Trishula Patel and Justin Jouvenal.

Fox News is reporting that Kokesh is refusing to leave his cell for arraignment.

A statement posted on Kokesh’s website describes a raid with numerous law enforcement vehicles, including two helicopters and a light armored vehicle, and roughly 20 SWAT team members.

Lt. Pamela Smith, with the U.S. Park Police, told the Post that a search warrant was executed Tuesday evening at Kokesh’s home in Herndon, Va., in search of a weapon.

On July 4th, the 31-year-old activist uploaded a video to YouTube of him loading a shotgun. Possessing a loaded weapon is a violation of the District’s strict gun laws.

“We will not be silent. We will not obey. We will not allow our government to destroy our humanity. We are the final American revolution. See you next Independence Day,” Kokesh said in the video.

This after he planned a "10,000-strong" July 4 march on Washington of people with rifles. Needless to say, it didn't happen.  

This is not Kokesh’s first clash with authority. He previously had his honorable discharge from active duty downgraded to general under honorable conditions for wearing his uniform to an anti-war protest. He also once heckled Sen. John McCain during the 2008 presidential campaign and was briefly detained by authorities. 

Watch the video of Kokesh below:

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The public has always been fascinated by the training that US Special Operations Forces receive. What goes in to making an elite warrior? What skill sets are cultivated and polished in these young men?

At places like the JFK Special Warfare Center and School, our Special Operations personnel train for the austere environments which they will face overseas. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of the training is not secretive in nature. However, there is one closely held training secret within the Special Operations community. That secret is out now, and activist groups and politicians are now trying to prevent our soldiers from receiving this life saving training.

It is called Live Tissue Training (LTT), or more often known as the “Goat Lab.” Rumors have persisted in the public sphere about the goat lab for decades. Journalists like Jon Ronson heard bits of information about it, but had no idea what live tissue training was actually about. This led him to come up with some completely absurd conclusions about why Special Forces medics maintain a stock of live goats on Ft. Bragg.

The reality is that these goats are used by the SOCM (Special Operations Combat Medic) course to help train our Special Operations medics to work on casualties under the most realistic conditions possible in a simulated environment; training them as we fight. SOCM does not just train Special Forces medics, but also Navy SEAL and Ranger medics as well. These are the very best combat medics in the world. I’ve seen them in action myself, and have 100% confidence in the product that comes out of the SOCM course at Ft. Bragg.

I have even been able to participate in Live Tissue Training myself a few times, as a Special Forces Weapons Sergeant. I found it to be some of the best training I ever had.

This is how it works: soldiers first receive classroom training of life saving medical procedures that they may have to use on their buddies in combat. These techniques range from putting a tourniquet on an amputated limb (the concept proven to the public at large in the recent bombing in Boston), to more complicated procedures like inserting a chest tube or performing a cricothyrotomy.

After the classroom sessions, a training area is set up with stretchers and live goats are brought into the room. A veterinarian supervises this entire block of training to ensure that the Live Tissue Training is conducted properly, and that the training is executed to the highest professional standard. The veterinarian injects the goats with anesthesia to put them under.

At this point, injuries that mimic those that soldiers would be confronted with in combat are induced to the animal. For example, a seasoned medic may use a scalpel to cut into the goat and sever its femoral artery. The students now have to apply the training they’ve received to save the goat’s life. The veterinarian patrols the room, while senior medics individually supervise the students. The vet will also inject the animals with more anesthesia  as needed. The animals are kept completely unconscious throughout the training to make it as humane as possible. The instructors make sure that the participating medics get as much training value out of this exercise as possible, and then afterwards the goat is euthanized.

This training may shock and horrify some of you. We live in a society that has become extremely politicized, and animal rights is one of the few issues that people of any political persuasion can get on board with. Nobody wants to promote unnecessary suffering, human or animal. It is fair to say that this includes those at the SOCM course, and those of us who participated in LTT. This training is done because it is the most realistic medical training that a SOF soldier can receive; training that will and does save lives in combat.

Today, groups like PETA are engaging in political activism to try to shut down LTT in the SOCM school house at Ft. Bragg. This can’t happen. It will literally kill our soldiers. Groups like PETA have convinced certain politicians that the same quality training can be done on mannequins or medical training dummies. This simply is not true. There is nothing more realistic than living flesh and blood. Trust me, many Special Forces medic students would rejoice if they never had to see another goat again. But the training goes on because the concept is combat proven.

If you have ever wanted to do something to support the Special Operations community and our soldiers, now is the time. Sarah McLachlan cries on TV for abused animals, but let’s be realistic about war and about the quality of training our soldiers receive. We owe American soldiers the best training possible to ensure their survival, and mission success on the battlefields to which they are deployed.

Don’t let groups like PETA kill our Special Operations troops over misplaced concern or political correctness.

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While Marine Recon got its start in World War II, with the Raiders and the 1st Marine Division’s Amphibious Reconnaissance Company, much of what Recon is today is thanks to Marine Test Unit 1.

In 1946, Col. Robert Cushman (later to become Commandant of the Marine Corps) authored a staff report to the Commandant, Gen. Vandegrift.  In this report, Col. Cushman argued that the kind of mass amphibious landings of WWII were no longer viable on the nuclear battlefield–the massed amphibious formations moving into a relatively small beachhead would be easy targets for tactical nuclear weapons.  He presented the idea that the Marine Corps had to broaden its focus to a dispersed area of operations up to 200 miles deep, spreading its units around so as to make smaller and harder to hit targets.  In this way, a single nuke couldn’t take out the better part of a Marine Division.

At the time, Col. Cushman’s concepts for increased mobility and dispersion weren’t within the Marine Corps’ capabilities.  It wasn’t until the helicopter operations in Korea in 1951 that it began to look like it was possible.

In 1954, Commandant Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr. ordered the formation of Marine Test Unit 1 in order to work out new tactics, equipment, and techniques for the nuclear battlefield.  Originally intended to consist of a regimental headquarters and service company, an infantry battalion, a 75mm anti-tank platoon, a mortar platoon, a 75mm pack howitzer battery, along with a medium helicopter squadron, three scout helicopters, and supported by six F9F-2 Panther attack aircraft, it took some doing to put it together.  The air wing didn’t want to cough up the air assets, citing “operational commitments.”  But on July 1, 1954, the unit was activated at Camp Horno, aboard Camp Pendleton, CA.

There were four broad mission taskings assigned to the unit.  1.) Evolve organizational concepts for the Marine landing force under conditions of nuclear warfare.  2.) Determine requirements for lightweight weapons and equipment to permit maximum tactical exploitation of nuclear weapons.  3.) Develop tactics and techniques responsive to the full employment of nuclear weapons.  4.) Evolve operational concepts, transportation requirements, and techniques to enable fast attack force ships and submarines, or a combination of such shipping and airlift, for movement to the objective area and ship-to-shore movement.  In addition to these objectives, there were thirty further tasks presented in the form of questions that the Marine Corps wanted Test Unit 1 to answer.  Among these questions (although rather far down the list) were reconnaissance requirements.

In March, 1955, Test Unit 1 participated in Desert Rock VI, a tactical nuclear weapons exercise in Nevada.  Marines from Test Unit 1 were in the air, in helicopters, minutes after nuclear detonation, conducting a successful maneuver to contact in a nuclear environment.  (An analysis of radiation exposure these men endured can be found here.  It’s a bit technical, but it lays out the data available.)

It was after Desert Rock VI that Test Unit 1 really started to look at new reconnaissance requirements, and in September of 1955, the reconnaissance platoon was formed, with an officer and 13 enlisted men.  The officer chosen was Capt. Joseph Z. Taylor, who had until recently been a company commander with 3rd Reconnaissance Bn. in Japan.  The enlisted personnel were mandated to be between the rank of Corporal and Staff Sergeant (though Bruce F. Meyers, in his first-hand history of 1st Force, Fortune Favors the Brave, says that in the case of outstanding candidates, they would select Marines of the rank of PFC or Lance Corporal), be second-class swimmers at minimum, volunteer for parachute duty, and any under the rank of SSgt had to be unmarried.  It was going to be hazardous duty and hard training.

While the initial training covered ground reconnaissance, much of which was already known by the Marines who volunteered, and SERE, it was in 1956 that things really started to get off the ground, as Captain Taylor and his Marines were finally able to get quotas to Jump School at Fort Benning.  All of them passed with flying colors, especially as Meyers, who had already been a qualified parachutist (the only one in the unit at the time) had set up a pre-jump package for the men who were going to Benning.

After Jump School, the primary focus of the reconnaissance platoon became expanding the Marine capability for parachute insertion, extending the reach of Marine Reconnaissance beyond what helicopters and ground insertion could provide.  They became free-fall jumpers, and began to jump every type of parachute available, including the Navy’s QAC and QFB parachutes, T-7A (standard reserve chutes at the time), and conical parachutes.  They even had to jump in a full pressure suit.  They encountered not a few problems in the course of this intensive parachute test-jumping, including hard openings, line-overs (where at least one of the parachute suspension lines is looped over the canopy–this prevents the canopy from fully inflating), and blown panels.

In addition to testing parachutes and different opening delays, the Marines were also expanding the list of aircraft they could jump from.  Their jump logs included transport aircraft from all four services.  Their most important, however, was to be the TF-1 Trader.

One of the chief objectives of this testing was to expand Marine parachute capability to carrier aircraft.  The TF-1 was the primary carrier-capable transport aircraft at the time.  On July 26, 1956, the Test Unit 1 Recon Marines actually inserted from the USS Bennington by TF-1, parachuting into El Centro.  It was the first parachute insertion from a carrier.  They also conducted the first Marine parachute jumps out of a jet aircraft, in this case the two-seat F3D Skyknight, in August of the same year.

Not everything being done by Test Unit 1′s Recon platoon was jumping, however.  At the time, when working with helicopters, pathfinders were extremely important.  The pathfinder would find and mark the LZ for the helos to come in.  This entailed a considerable amount of work; the pathfinders had to parachute in, move undetected to the chosen LZ, set up comm with the rear, determine the LZ’s suitability, mark it, and talk in the aircraft.  Much of the techniques for this pathfinding were developed by the Test Unit 1 Marines themselves.

In January, 1957, Test Unit 1 participated in the large-scale amphibious landing exercise Operation Ski Jump.  The Marines were going to parachute into DZ Case Springs to conduct pathfinder and reconnaissance operations in advance of the rest of the exercise.

It went bad.

Severe winds that had not been detected beforehand caught the Marines’ parachutes, dragging them along the ground before they could be collapsed.  Lt. Ken Ball, Cpl Ben Simpson, and PFC Matthew J. O’Neill were all killed, their skulls crushed. Both Simpson and O’Neill had been dragged over 1,000 feet.  Parachutes at the time did not have quick-releases; the parachutist had to stand up to collapse his canopy, and the severity of the winds made it impossible.  Several other Marines were knocked unconscious when they were dragged, but survived.  As a result of the fatalities, the Capewell canopy release was installed on all Marine parachutes, allowing a parachutist to release his canopy if he is being dragged.

In April and May of 1957, Test Unit 1 began to wind down.  Its mission had been accomplished, and as part of it, the concept of 1st Force Reconnaissance Company had been born. 1st Force was established on June 19th, 1957, largely made up of the Marines from Test Unit 1′s Recon platoon.  Test Unit 1 was dissolved on June 30, 1957.

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There's been a huge debate going on about if women can handle the rigors of combat. The gist of our coverage has been this: without dropping standards, it will be tough, but not impossible.

The female brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner in the ring with this Marine proves it's possible, if nothing else.

He goes at her hard:

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On July 11, family, friends, and colleagues gathered to say their final goodbyes to three firefighters who were part of the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots who died in Arizona wildfires .

Those three recieved military honors because they weren't only firefighters, they were also U.S. Marines.

"Going in I knew that this was a big deal," said Marine Cpl. Chelsea Flowers Anderson, the military photographer who documented the honors. "I wanted to do these families and these men justice."

You can find Flowers' write-up on the funeral here, it's definitely worth a read.

On June 30, 2013, 19 Granite Mountain Hotshot firefighters gave their lives protecting the community of Yarnell, Ariz., from a wildfire. Among those killed were three Marine veterans: Cpl. Jesse Steed, Lance Cpl. Travis Turbyfill and Cpl. Billy Warneke.

Nearly half the Hotshots were dedicated family men, including Travis, who wanted to become a structural firefighter so he could spend more time with his family.

Fellow members of the Hotshots carry Travis’ casket into Heights Church in Prescott, Ariz, July 10. The camaraderie between the Hotshot crew members was similar to what Travis and the other Marine veterans had experienced while in the Corps.

Marine Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler would be 132 years old today, were he still alive.

He was twice awarded the Medal of Honor, for his heroism during several combat tours in Central America. He took part in World War I, the Banana Wars, and the Boxer rebellion in China.

Consequently he became quite the anti-war activist in his older age. He even put a stop to a real-life potential military coup against F.D.R.

If Butler were around today, engagements like Iraq would have him simply astounded.

Not only is it the most violent since the middle of the American invasion, but it's also grown to become the second-leading nation for oil production in OPEC (first would be Saudi Arabia).

The irony would not be lost on Butler, who toured the U.S. in 1933 giving a speech he called "War is a racket."

Eventually he turned the speech into a book.

Here's an excerpt:

War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.

I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag. 

I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.

There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its "muscle men" to destroy enemies, its "brain men" to plan war preparations, and a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism. 

It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.

I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested. 

During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.

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On the eve of his sentencing, a former Marine wrote an apology letter to the two federal employees he admitted to plotting to kill, The New York Daily News reported.

Dejvid Mirkovic, 38, arranged to pay two undercover federal agents posing as hit men $40,000 to decapitate a federal judge and prosecutor tied to the fraud conviction of his business associate.

He also wanted their heads preserved in formaldehyde as souvenirs, The New York Times reported.

"I am a complete idiot for getting involved in this incident," Mirkovic wrote in his remorseful letter, according to the Daily News.

"I feel completely ashamed and disgusted that I could deliver such a horrific message," he added.

Mirkovic's business partner, Long Island con man Joe Romano, allegedly hatched the scheme from jail because he wanted revenge against Judge Joseph Bianco and U.S. Assistant Attorney Lara Gatz. The judge and prosecutor put him behind bars for selling $40 million in fake collectable coins.

Mirkovic pleaded guilty during his trial in March, and the court will sentence him on Thursday, August 1. He faces 24 to 30 years in prison, the New York Times reported.

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Lance Cpl. Myles Kerr knew what he had to do when 9 year-old Boden Fuchs lost the group he was running an annual 5K race with and asked Kerr for help.

"'I was just doing what any man would do," Kerr said via Twitter, when an image of him running with the boy went viral on Facebook.

Kerr lagged back from his group and made sure the boy finished the race, encouraging him the whole way.

The original poster, SEAL of Honor, even wrote Kerr a motivational message that resembles an official award citation:

By his unwavering commitment to help those in need through his ability to inspire others by his unequivocal level of motivation, Lcpl Kerr reflected great credit upon himself and was keeping in the highest traditions of the United States Marine Corps.

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Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James Amos allegedly sought to have investigation documents classified that could have possibly incriminated him under article 37 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for unlawfully influencing an investigation.

Now the Commandant is under investigation, Chuck Hagel’s top military advisor is caught in the middle of it, and one of the Marines court-martialed in the Taliban urination scandal says it’s why he should be exonerated.

In early 2012, after a video surfaced appearing to depict three U.S. Marines urinating on Taliban corpses, Amos ordered a full investigation.

He appointed a tremendously well respected Marine general, Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, to head the inquiry. At the time, Waldhauser was the commanding general of both Marine Corps Forces Central Command and I Marine Expeditionary Force. He now serves as the senior military advisor to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

“Rest assured that the institution of the Marine Corps will not rest until the allegations and the events surrounding them have been resolved,” Amos said in a statement shortly after the incident came to light.

Over the course of his investigation as convening authority, Waldhauser determined that the most suitable punishment for the Marines involved was nonjudicial punishment, which is less serious than court-martial.

But a recent statement by Waldhauser to the Department of Defense inspector general obtained by CNN details how Amos tried to influence Waldhauser's ruling during a meeting in February 2012.

"I do not necessarily remember the exact words or sequence of what was said, but the [Commandant] did make a comment to the effect that the Marines involved needed to be ‘crushed,'" Waldhauser said, according to the statement. "The CMC went on to say that he wanted these Marines to be discharged from the Marine Corps when this was all over."

Waldhauser pushed back.

"The CMC told me that he could change the convening authority on the cases, and I responded that would be his prerogative," he said in the statement. 

That's not exactly true — it would be a violation of Article 37 of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice for a person of a higher rank to attempt to influence “the action of any convening, approving, or reviewing authority with respect to ...  judicial acts.”

Later, Waldhauser said he received a call from an aide to Amos who said the commandant regretted how their meeting went. He later spoke with Amos personally, who admitted to Waldhauser that he crossed the line. 

But Waldhauser was indeed removed as convening authority in the case. 

He received a call from Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, who at the time was the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. Dunford now commands all coaliton forces in Afghanistan. Dunford reportedly told Waldhauser that Amos regretted what he had said, but because he did, he had to remove  Waldhauser as the convening authority.

This has all come to light because one of the accused in the case, Capt. James Clement, has filed a motion for dismissal in the case, contending that Amos violated Article 37 and improperly influenced the case. 

What's more, Amos and his legal team allegedly sought to have documents classified that would have revealed his attempted unlawful influence over Waldhauser.

The commandant is also being investigated by the Pentagon's inspector general because one of the other Marines involved in the case, then Maj. James B. Conway, was allowed to be promoted while his peers were placed under administrative review. Conway is the son of Amos' predecessor, retired Marine Gen. James T. Conway.

A spokesman for Hagel said the defense secretary had confidence in Amos' ability to serve as commandant. 

SEE ALSO: Top Marine Says America Will Be At War For A Long Time

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A recent post in the Fiscal Times quipped that Afghanistan may be the "Marines' last fight."

It's a common argument, made most especially following the end of a war, which typically precede shrinking defense budgets.

Well, in terms of fighting, the Marines have historically proven themselves in two theaters: war and Congress.

They've been around for 237 years, and here's 49 reasons why.

Unlike its sister services, Marines attract the youngest recruits, and train the fittest men and women.

Basic physical fitness standards — even for the guys who sit in offices — are the most difficult of any service.

Even the basic weapons qualifications are tougher.