Pacific Marines Stories

Wing Commander Darryl Cockroft, commanding officer of 209 Expeditionary Support Squadron, from Napier, New Zealand, talks to Dr. Jonathan Coleman, New Zealand Minister of Defence, during exercise Southern Katipo 2013 at Timaru Airfield, New Zealand, Nov. 15. SK13 allows our service members to collaborate with partner countries to achieve mutual security goals, address shared concerns and continue to enhance our interoperability. - Wing Commander Darryl Cockroft, commanding officer of 209 Expeditionary Support Squadron, from Napier, New Zealand, talks to Dr. Jonathan Coleman, New Zealand Minister of Defence, during exercise Southern Katipo 2013 at Timaru Airfield, New Zealand, Nov. 15. SK13 allows our service members to collaborate with partner countries to achieve mutual security goals, address shared concerns and continue to enhance our interoperability.

Lance Cpl. Ryo Bolanos, the youngest Marine and a forward observer with 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company ceremoniously receives cake from Chief Warrant Officer 4 Gordon Butler, oldest Marine and motor transport officer with Combat Logistics Regiment 15, from Greenbush, Minn., at the 238th Marine Corps birthday celebration during exercise Southern Katipo 2013 aboard Linton Military Camp, New Zealand, Nov. 10. SK13 is designed to improve participating forces’ combat training, readiness and interoperability as part of a Joint Inter-Agency Task Force. - Lance Cpl. Ryo Bolanos, the youngest Marine and a forward observer with 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company ceremoniously receives cake from Chief Warrant Officer 4 Gordon Butler, oldest Marine and motor transport officer with Combat Logistics Regiment 15, from Greenbush, Minn., at the 238th Marine Corps birthday celebration during exercise Southern Katipo 2013 aboard Linton Military Camp, New Zealand, Nov. 10. SK13 is designed to improve participating forces’ combat training, readiness and interoperability as part of a Joint Inter-Agency Task Force.

Warrant Officer Class 1 Rodger Moana, senior weapons instructor with 1st Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, New Zealand Defence Force, from Palmerston North, New Zealand, gives a brief during the initial stages of exercise Southern Katipo 2013 at Linton Military Camp in Linton, New Zealand, Nov. 4. The purpose of SK13 strengthens military to military relationships and cooperation with partner nations and the New Zealand Defence Force. - Warrant Officer Class 1 Rodger Moana, senior weapons instructor with 1st Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, New Zealand Defence Force, from Palmerston North, New Zealand, gives a brief during the initial stages of exercise Southern Katipo 2013 at Linton Military Camp in Linton, New Zealand, Nov. 4. The purpose of SK13 strengthens military to military relationships and cooperation with partner nations and the New Zealand Defence Force.

Kumu hula(hula instructor) Makua Kalani Apana, the instructor for the Iroquois Point Elementary School, places a lei on Lt. Gen. Terry G. Robling, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, Sept. 15. The students performed a traditional hula as part of the centennial ceremony for Marine Corps Officers’ Quarters here. The three Renaissance-style, single-family homes, including the “Chesty Puller House,” were completed in 1913. - Kumu hula(hula instructor) Makua Kalani Apana, the instructor for the Iroquois Point Elementary School, places a lei on Lt. Gen. Terry G. Robling, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, Sept. 15. The students performed a traditional hula as part of the centennial ceremony for Marine Corps Officers’ Quarters here. The three Renaissance-style, single-family homes, including the “Chesty Puller House,” were completed in 1913.

People's Liberation Army Capt. Wang Weijin samples purified water from the U.S. miniature deployable assistance water purification system at a disaster site in Biang, Brunei Darussalam, June 19 as part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief and Military Medicine Exercise (AHMX). Engineers with China, Singapore and the U.S. demonstrated their water purification capabilities to senior leaders at the disaster site. Weijin is a Chinese engineer. - People's Liberation Army Capt. Wang Weijin samples purified water from the U.S. miniature deployable assistance water purification system at a disaster site in Biang, Brunei Darussalam, June 19 as part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief and Military Medicine Exercise (AHMX). Engineers with China, Singapore and the U.S. demonstrated their water purification capabilities to senior leaders at the disaster site. Weijin is a Chinese engineer.

Charles W. Beadling, left, director of the Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine, greets Dante Lantin, (center) assistant secretary of the Philippine Department of Transportation and Communications, and Vincente F. Tomazar, director of Region 4A, Office of Civil Defense, during the Philippine Multi-sectoral Pandemic Disaster Exercise held in Makati, Philippines, Sept. 10. As with other bilateral exchanges, this event reinforces the mutual commitment shared between the Philippines and the U.S. to enhancing the effective response capabilities to regional threats. - Charles W. Beadling, left, director of the Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine, greets Dante Lantin, (center) assistant secretary of the Philippine Department of Transportation and Communications, and Vincente F. Tomazar, director of Region 4A, Office of Civil Defense, during the Philippine Multi-sectoral Pandemic Disaster Exercise held in Makati, Philippines, Sept. 10. As with other bilateral exchanges, this event reinforces the mutual commitment shared between the Philippines and the U.S. to enhancing the effective response capabilities to regional threats.

MARINE CORPS BASE, Hawaii – Lance Cpl. George A. Reynoso, a vehicle operator for the motor transportation section, Headquarters and Service Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, takes some practice shots before teeing off in the 4th Annual MarForPac Golf Tournament at Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course here, June 1. “(This tournament) is great for morale, and we’re pumped,” said Reynoso, 21, from Ventura, Calif. “I went out and bought these socks, so I’m definitely ready.” The afternoon golf outing gave MarForPac service members and civilian personnel a unique opportunity to build unit cohesion outside the workplace. - MARINE CORPS BASE, Hawaii – Lance Cpl. George A. Reynoso, a vehicle operator for the motor transportation section, Headquarters and Service Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, takes some practice shots before teeing off in the 4th Annual MarForPac Golf Tournament at Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course here, June 1. “(This tournament) is great for morale, and we’re pumped,” said Reynoso, 21, from Ventura, Calif. “I went out and bought these socks, so I’m definitely ready.” The afternoon golf outing gave MarForPac service members and civilian personnel a unique opportunity to build unit cohesion outside the workplace.