Face of Defense: Detroit Native Draws on Experience

What a great article about another Marine considering his troops, his family. He is always there for the younger troops. In the article it states: "A lot of Marines know I'll do whatever I can for them and believe in them. If they are going to fail, it doesn't matter," he said. "I just want them to put forth whatever they can, give them the benefit of the doubt as much as I can. A lot of times, doubt is the only thing keeping the Marine from doing it. I mean we all got here somehow, trying to be the best." His understanding and patience don't go unnoticed. Many of the Marines in the platoon look up to Marchioni as a leader. "He is more like a father figure," said Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Andrew Nelson, a gunner and squad member. "With the kind of personality he has, before he chews you out, he'll talk to you about what you did wrong, instead of making you feel stupid. It's just the way he is, and it just works." 01/23/2012 08:24 AM CST Face of Defense: Detroit Native Draws on Experience By Marine Corps Cpl. Meredith Brown 2nd Marine Logistics Group CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan, Jan. 23, 2012 - Nicholas Marchioni enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2000 as an infantryman. Like many others, he completed his four-year contract and headed back home to start a new chapter in his life.

Face of Defense: Father, Daughter Bring Past to Life

Face of Defense: Father, Daughter Bring Past to Life By Air Force Senior Airman Rae Perry 4th Fighter Wing SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C., Jan. 18, 2012 – For Air Force Master Sgt. Marty Stanton, 4th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle management superintendent, and his daughter, Alicia, restoring pieces of the past is something they both enjoy. Air Force Master Sgt. Marty Stanton and his daughter Alicia, 12, pose for a photo in front of their 1977 Toyota Celica GT at their home in Goldsboro, N.C. Alicia has helped her father in the garage since she was 3 years old and enjoys working and hanging out with him. Stanton is a 4th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle management superintendent. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Rae Perry (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Stanton said he has loved working on cars since he was in high school. Unable to afford the equipment for welding class, he settled on body shop. From there, he added, shaping and bending metal to fix cars became a passion. "I really liked fixing something, so no one could tell what was done," Stanton said. "It's like bringing a car or truck back to life. I just can't get enough." When Alicia was 3 years old, she became curious about what her dad was doing in the garage, so she put on her mother's black boots to check it out. "She said, 'Daddy, I want to help you today.' I mean, what can you say?" Stanton said with a chuckle. "It sounded like a great idea." During their first project together, Stanton taught Alicia how to remove the chrome rings on his 1967 Corvette Stingray. "I went over grabbed a small pry spoon and showed her how to take the hub caps and beauty rings off of my Corvette," he said. "She took the pry bar, put it under the ring and pushed on it. The beauty ring came off [and] rolled around on the floor. She started jumping up and down, waving the pry bar around, just celebrating." From there, Alicia has helped her dad with the family business. "My favorite part is hanging out with my dad and working on cars," Alicia said. "It's kind of like a family thing." Even though she is only 12, she already has her first car, which she and her father plan on restoring for her 16th birthday. "I was excited about getting the Celica," Alicia said. "I just wondered if I was too young, but my dad's thinking was that it would take a couple years to get it fixed up." The 1977 Toyota Celica GT fastback, five-speed with a 2.2 liter motor, is heavily styled off older Ford Mustangs. Many Japanese car clubs have given the car the nickname “Tokyo Pony.” "Since Alicia is part Japanese, and it's a Japanese muscle car, I figured that was a perfect fit," Stanton said. "I'm not going to give my beautiful, young, 16-year-old daughter a Mustang to drive around town in, but it looks just like a Mustang, except it's cooler, because it is Japanese." "I'm looking forward to doing the paint job," Alicia said. "It's going to be Dodge Viper blue with white racing stripes." The car has a standard transmission, but Alicia is not afraid of learning how to drive it. "My mom is actually really good at driving stick shifts, so I'm going to learn from both my mom and dad," she said. Although the car is far from being able to be driven on the road, the father-daughter duo looks forward to fixing it up. "I'm just really happy that my daughter and I are going to get to restore her Celica together," the proud father said. Stanton said he plans on fixing cars, not only for the Air Force, but until he can no longer do it. "I cannot get enough of it," he said. "I'll probably be doing this until I'm in a wheelchair, then I'll get Alicia or one of her sisters to push me around. I'll just keep sanding or doing stuff with my hands until I can't anymore."

Military Families Take Care of Each Other

Mrs. Dempsey: Military Families Take Care of Each Other By Cheryl Pellerin American Forces Press Service DURHAM, N.C., Jan. 18, 2012 – Caring about military families comes naturally to the wife of the nation’s top military officer. She’s been an Army spouse for nearly 36 years, and their three children have served in the Army. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife, Deanie, enjoy a USO show with service members at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Dec. 16, 2011. Through social media and contacts with service members and families, Deanie Dempsey discusses issues that include programs for military families overseas, jobs for military spouses, military family health, and her travels with the chairman. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Cody Ramirez (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Since Oct. 1, when Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey became the 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Deanie Dempsey’s full-time job has been to communicate in every way she can with military families about topics that affect them. “Wounded warriors have always been near and dear to my heart, but [I’m interested in] pretty much any of the family issues,” Dempsey told American Forces Press Service during a trip here with the chairman Jan. 13. “We’ve done a lot with spouse employment and post-traumatic stress disorder,” she said, “and making sure we take care of [military families] and not break faith” with them in a time of defense budgetary constraints. Through accounts on the social media websites Twitter and Facebook, through contacts with service members as she travels with the chairman, and even through personal notes to military spouses, Dempsey discusses everything from programs for military families overseas and jobs for military spouses to military family health and her travels with the chairman. In December, she joined her husband on his first USO holiday tour as chairman, a fast-paced trip through five countries in six days. In Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Germany, they hosted four celebrities and brought holiday gifts to troops that included hockey equipment, soccer equipment, holiday cards from schoolchildren in the United States, and 10,000 cupcakes donated by DC Cupcakes in Washington. “I thought [the USO tour] was absolutely amazing, and I was really impressed with the stars,” she said. The celebrities were recording artist Jordin Sparks, actress and model Minka Kelly, seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry and comedian Thomas "Nephew Tommy" Miles. “They were good people who really were thrilled at the prospect of going to see troops,” Dempsey said. “If they smiled for one picture, they smiled for a million, and they were working on as little sleep as we were.” On the last night of the tour, she and the chairman had a small ceremony with the celebrities. “Marty got up and said some things about each one of them, and they were all in tears by the end,” she said. “They got that the week was about the soldiers, not about them, and the joy that they brought to all those service members for that week.” On the stop in Iraq, the Dempseys joined Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and other U.S. and Iraqi military officials at the closing ceremony for U.S. Forces Iraq. “Today I attended the casing of the colors in Baghdad and it was pretty emotional,” she wrote in a Facebook post Dec. 15. “As I sat there listening, I couldn't help but think of my family members (husband, son, daughter) who all were a part of this effort,” Dempsey wrote. “I felt like I was representing all spouses and mothers who couldn't be here. I also thought of all those who had paid the ultimate sacrifice. We will never forget you.” Dempsey calls being a military spouse, especially as the wife of the nation’s top military officer, a full-time job. “All through Marty’s career, we’ve always taken that command-team philosophy seriously, so I support him,” she said. When the chairman travels stateside, Dempsey said, his hosts at the military facilities he visits “always want to show the general everything that’s perfect and good.” “Then I go and talk with spouses and … find out there is a lot of good, but there also may be something that’s not so good, and they’re not afraid to tell me,” she said. “I think that’s the benefit of having somebody else there -- another set of ears.” As Dempsey supports the general in his hectic schedule of work and travel and communicates with military families to share her strength and experience, she continues an ancient tradition among military families to look out for each other. “It is unlike any other occupation,” she said. “I used to tell people I could get in the car on the East Coast and drive to the West Coast and never spend a night in a hotel. “It might be that I haven’t seen you in 15 years, but if I’m driving on I-70 through Kansas and you’re at Fort Riley … you’re telling me to come over, because there is that close-knit family atmosphere where you want to take care of everybody because you’ve been there,” she added. “It’s what we do.”

From the Soldiers' Angels Warehouse facebook page: Angels it is time to RESTOCK THE SA WAREHOUSE: BEEF JERKY TUNA POUCHES PEANUTS PEANUT BUTTER AND CRACKER SNACKS RAMEN NOODLES TOOTHBRUSHES TOOTH PASTE RAZOR SHAVE CREAM TRIAL SIZE SHAMPOO TRIAL SIZE CONDITIONER TRIAL SIZE DEODORANT TRAIL SIZE BODY WASH WE CAN DO THIS ANGELS!!

Six Marines KIA on Jan 19, 2011

PLease keep the six Marines that were KIA on January 19, 2012 and their families in your thoughts. Capt. Daniel B. Bartle, 27, of Ferndale, Wash. Capt. Nathan R. McHone, 29, of Crystal Lake, Ill. ... MSgt. Travis W. Riddick, 40, of Centerville, Iowa. Cpl. Jesse W. Stites, 23, of North Beach, Md. Cpl. Kevin J. Reinhard, 25, of Colonia, N.J. Cpl. Joseph D. Logan, 22, of Willis, Texas. These Marines died January 19, 2012 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. They were assigned toMarine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363, Marine Aircraft Group 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

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