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Marines

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan

News Stories

Archive: January, 2003

Moondogs arrive in Iwakuni

The Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 3 Moondogs arrived on Station Jan. 17 for a six-month tour under the Unit Deployment program. The Squadron, consisting of approximately 170 Marines and five EA-6B Prowler aircraft, is joining the Iwakuni team from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. The primary mission of the Moondogs will be

Terrorism awareness discussed during emergency Town Hall

In light of recent changes to policies aboard the Station, Col. Dave Darrah, Station Commanding Officer, called an emergency Town Hall meeting Jan. 16. The meeting was held four times throughout the day so all service members and their families could attend. Each meeting kicked off with a few words from Darrah then the microphone was turned to Maj.

Surface Division harbors responsibilities

It is high tide, and as a storm brews in the clouds above, white-capped waves lash at the hull of a boat as it cuts through them and heads out to sea. A Sailor mans the helm and scans the red horizon, while an armed Marine stands vigilant by his side. The 15 Sailors who make up the surface division of the Airfield and Harbor operations department

Unit reaches 60,000 mishap-free hours

Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron's Flight Operations Department celebrated a milestone by reaching 60,000 Class A mishap-free flight hours Jan. 8. The department achieved this by having no accidents which resulted in the loss of life or damage in excess of $1 million. Although FOD now only flies C-12s, many of the unit's 60,000 hours were

Monkeys run wild in 2004

Thursday will be the start of a very interesting year as it marks the Chinese New Year and the beginning of the year of the monkey. There are several legends explaining the "junishi," the 12 animal signs of the Oriental zodiac. One legend said that Buddha called all the animals of the world to come and pay homage to him, however only 12 came. The

Iwakuni pilots train for combat

Several Station units recently travelled to Okinawa, Japan, to sharpen their air combat skills and maintain mission readiness. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 212 and several Marines from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 242 picked up shop Dec. 1-20 and deployed to Kadena Air Base. While on the installation the

PMO searching for railway suspects;Recent incident possibly involving service members under investigation

A group of about 20 Marines are being sought in connection with an incident aboard a local train Dec. 27. The suspects are accused of harassing the train's conductor and two are accused of entering the conductor's compartment and attempting to interfere with the train's operation system. According to a Provost Marshal's Office report, the incident

Experiencing Japanese hospitality;Marine notes differences between American, Japanese degrees of kindness

Being a Marine in a foreign country can have many disadvantages. You don't speak the language, and traveling becomes an adventure in itself. What you don't expect though is for your foreign hosts to treat you better than your own country does. I recently embarked on a trip that brought me and a few of my friends a great distance from the Station.

Southside Mess Hall earns recognition for excellence

The Station's Southside Mess Hall was announced Dec. 2 as runner up in the 2003 Major General W.P.T. Hill Memorial Awards as the second best garrison mess hall in the Marine Corps. An evaluation group that tours every garrison and field mess hall Marine Corps-wide decides the winners of this annual award. The group is made up of an official from

Station Red Cross seeks volunteers;

In 1859, Henry Dunant came upon the aftermath of a bloody battle in Solferino, Italy, between the armies of imperial Austria and the Franco-Saridini alliance. At this battle, Dunant witnessed some 40,000 men lying dead or wounded. The young Swiss man noticed none of the wounded men were receiving medical attention. So he organized the locals to