USMC Birthday

WASHINGTON — Faced with a rise in suicides among Marines, the service is ordering training for all immediate supervisors — sergeants and corporals — to become more involved and knowledgeable about the intimate details of the lives of their young charges.

“We as Marines always try to do the hard thing,” Master Sgt. James Dinwoodie says in a training video aimed at promoting sensitivity to emotional problems Marines may be suffering. “Well, sometimes you need to do the soft thing.”

Through July 16, there have been 30 confirmed or suspected Marine suicides this year. There were 42 during 2008, the highest since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There have also been 89 attempted suicides this year, compared with 146 attempts in all of 2008.

The rate of Marine Corps suicides in 2008 reached 19.5 per 100,000, approaching the civilian rate of 19.9.

Having done the Suicide prevention training right after 9/11 and 2 years after, it wasn’t as much of a problem. But with repeat Tours to IRAQ and now Afghanistan, something has to happen and help change the problem.

Read the rest of the article on USA TODAY here: Program aims to curb Marine Suicides.

D/C

Tijuana off-limits to U.S. Marines

Citing a wave of violence and murder in Mexico, the commanding officer of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton has made the popular military “R&R” destinations of Tijuana and nearby beaches effectively off-limits for his Marines.

The order by Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland restricts travel into Mexico by the 44,000 members of the unit, many of whom have had multiple tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and other combat zones under their belts — or are there now.

The limits were first put in place for the Christmas holiday. Last week the commander extended the order indefinitely, said Mike Alvarez, civilian public information officer for the unit at Camp Pendleton.

“The situation in Mexico is now more dangerous than usual,” he said. “The intent is just to look out for the Marines’ safety and well-being.”

Tijuana has been a popular attraction for Californians since Prohibition days, when legal liquor was unavailable north of the border. In more recent times, its 18-year-old drinking age, cheap prices, gambling, beaches, tourist-oriented businesses and bars have attracted civilians and off-duty military from the San Diego area and elsewhere.

Marines & Sailors Off Limits to Tijuana

San Diego, heavy with Navy and Marine presence, adjoins the Mexican border and Camp Pendleton is in northern San Diego County, about 50 miles from the border.

Fallen on hard times

These days, sidewalk restaurants along Tijuana’s main tourist street, Avenida Revolucion, often are empty. Tourists are buffeted by barkers and merchants desperate for U.S. dollars. Visitors may be approached with offers of drugs or prostitution as well.

Tijuana, like Ciudad Juarez across the border from El Paso, has been hit particularly hard by the drug violence that has spread across Mexico. Tijuana saw its bloodiest year ever in 2008 with 843 killings, compared with 337 the previous year.

The violence in Tijuana grew toward the end of last year and continued this year with numerous execution-style slayings. Many of the bodies were found decapitated. The State Department has issued a travel alert for Americans going to Mexico.

Officials from the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana regularly check with Mexican police and jails for Americans in trouble, and U.S. military Shore Patrol officers check daily. Alvarez said “there have been incidents from time to time” but did not know how many Marines have gotten into trouble.

Helland’s directive requires written approval from a lieutenant colonel or higher-ranking officer for travel across the border — whether for official business, to visit family or for leisure, known in the military as rest and relaxation, or R&R.

Marines venturing over the border also must complete anti-terrorism training, receive a military security briefing and “use the buddy system,” that is travel with a companion 18 or older, according to Helland’s order.

Most of the affected Marines are at Pendleton, but some are at other bases in Southern California and Arizona. And 13,500 members of the unit are currently deployed overseas, said Alvarez, a retired captain and helicopter pilot who served three tours in Iraq.

As part of the order, Marines who cross the border on approved travel must carry contact information for the U.S. Consulate General and the Border Shore Patrol.

The restrictions don’t apply to the more than 75,000 active duty Navy sailors in the area, but they are required to inform their chains of command if they cross the border, said Lt. (j.g.) Lenaya Rotklein, public affairs officer for the Navy Region Southwest Command at San Diego.

For Marines, the order is enforceable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Violators could face a court-martial.

“It’s a lawful order,” Alvarez says. “As Marines, we obey lawful orders.”

5/27/2008 By Pfc. Jerry Murphy , Regimental Combat Team 1

Habbaniyah, Iraq —

Habbaniyah, Iraq (May 27, 2008) – When he first had thoughts of joining the military, 42-year-old Petty Officer Second Class 2nd Class Adam F. Kinney, a hospital corpsman with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, was laughed at by recruiters because of his age and doubted by many who thought he couldn’t physically do it.

Through determination and triumph, Kinney overcame the odds and proved to all doubters he wasn’t just some wannabe trying to fulfill a childhood fantasy.

“I had a lot of doubters,” said Kinney, a resident of Elizabethtown, Ky. “But when someone tells me I can’t do something, the first damn thing I’m going to do is prove them wrong.”

Growing up, Kinney wanted to become one of two things: either a lawyer or be in the Military. After spending four years in the Army’s enlisted commissioning program in the 1980s, he had to choose whether to take a full commission in the Military or take the offer to attend Law School at Samford University in Alabama.

“In the small town where I am from, attorneys were very respected,” Kinney said. “So I decided to become a criminal attorney. I didn’t really understand the concept that doing something you love will eventually make you money as opposed to doing something just to make money, so I did what I wanted to do then.”

Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Kinney wanted to do his part, but thought his age would deter him from joining the Military.

“After 9/11, I wanted to do something but I thought I was too old,” he said. “So I became a volunteer fireman, went to emergency medical technician (EMT) school and got in great shape.”

For Kinney, that was not enough.

“I felt like I owed something to the Military. I regretted not finishing,” said the Appalachian State graduate. “As you get older, you have regrets and doubts about yourself and one regret of mine was not finishing out my military commitment.”

So in 2004, Kinney weighed through his options and decided that the Marines would present the biggest challenge for him and stepped into the recruiter’s office.

“I know this may sound a little moto, but I wanted to join with the best and the Marines are the best, but when I stepped into the office, the first recruiter just laughed at me because of my age,” he said with a smile. “There was this (gunnery sergeant) in the back who overheard the conversation and he pulled me aside and said ‘You’re too old to join the Marines, but there is another way.’ He said that I could be a Navy Corpsman and go green-side, which is being a doc for Marines.”

Upon hearing the decision that her, then 38 years-old, husband had decided to join the Navy, Kinney’s wife LeaAnn did not understand but supported him.

“From the first day we met, I knew that this was an unfulfilled obligation he had,” said LeaAnn. “I am so proud of him and what he’s doing, but I always tell him that it is so hard to be proud of something I hate so bad and by hate I mean being away from him.”

Not only does Kinney’s being away affected his wife, but also his two sons Trevor, 16, and Jackson, 9.

“I hated to see him go but I am proud of him serving his country for us,” Jackson said.

Trevor agreed, saying: “Personally, I couldn’t stand it. Every night, my mom cried herself to sleep. At first, I couldn’t comprehend why he did it, but as time has passed, I have come to realize that this was not a choice but a privilege for him to defend something he loves.”

Upon graduation from boot camp and graduating second in his class at the seven-week field medical course at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Kinney reported to the 4th Tank Battalion located at Fort Knox, Ky., where he begged and pleaded to deploy to Iraq.

“I asked anyone and everyone if there was a unit I could deploy with and it just didn’t seem like it was going to happen,” Kinney said. “Then HM1 Winkle from Echo Company, 2/24 showed up at the drill center and we hit it off. He mentioned that 2/24 was deploying and he said he would see what he could do for me. Literally two weeks later, he called and told me ‘Pack your bags, your going to Iraq.’”

With the news that her husband was deploying to the war-torn country of Iraq, LeaAnn could not believe it.

“I thought my world had come to an end. I was devastated,” she said. “How could this happen? How will I ever make it without him?”

Though it has been painful on his family, LeaAnn acknowledges that his experiences have changed him for the better.

“He has learned a lot about himself since he has been gone and has found strength that even he didn’t know he had; physically, mentally and spiritually.”

More than half way through his seven-month deployment in the al-Anbar Province of Iraq, Kinney is more than excited to return home and begin his “new life” with his family.

“This experience has turned my entire life around. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I get home, but whatever I decide to do, it will be something that I love. I can’t wait to get home.”

When asked if he would do it again if he could go back, he replied by saying: “I can’t wait until my second pump.”

Anyways. here is the video.