Leatherneck Magazine

BASES, STATIONS & VETERANS
We—the Marines

Edited by Col Walt Ford, USMC (Ret)

COL WALT FORD, USMC (RET)

Cpl Anja Akstin (left) of the Quantico Marine Band was the youngest Marine present for the women Marines’ February birthday celebration hosted by the DC- 1 Chapter of the WMA. She was joined by the oldest Marine, former PFC Iona (Crim) Gilbert, who served as a truck driver at MCB Camp Lejeune, N.C., during World War II, and BGen Margaret Brewer, USMC (Ret), the first female general officer in the Corps.

WMA Marks 65th Anniversary
Of Continuous Proud Service

■ The Women Marines Association, founded in 1960 to preserve and promote the history and traditions of women Marines, marked the 65th year of women on active duty in service to our Corps during February.

The DC- 1 Chapter of the WMA hosted a luncheon at The Clubs of Quantico on Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., Feb. 9 to mark the anniversary. Other chapters also celebrated the historic occasion.

The DC- 1 Chapter guest speaker was former Marine Captain Vernice Armour. Armour is the Corps’ first African-American female pilot to fly AH-1W Super Cobras in Operation Iraqi Freedom. She also is recognized as the nation’s first female African-American combat pilot, and since leaving active duty has been deeply involved in shaping America’s future as a leadership coach and motivational speaker.

The history of women serving on a continuous basis in the Marine Corps goes back to the establishment of the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve in February 1943. Then on June 12, 1948, the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act was passed by Congress, ensuring women were a permanent part of the regular Marine Corps. While laws prohibit the assignment of females to ground combat skills that would place them in harm’s way, the nature of the current global war on terrorism has seen women in the forefront of battle.

Whether it is the women Marines who 32 LEATHERNECK APRIL 2008

volunteer to search Iraqi or Afghan females in hostile areas; women engineers clearing roadways; female motor transport operators who drive in convoys down routes in the face of improvised explosive devices; female pilots flying medevac missions, escort of transport helicopters or other missions, women in the Corps are combat multipliers.

Later this year, the 25th Biennial WMA Convention and Professional Development Conference will be held Aug. 28- Sept. 3 in Houston. You may find out more about the WMA and the upcoming conference online at www.womenmarines.org/.

Leatherneck

All-Marine Grapplers Take On
World’s Finest in France

■ Marine wrestlers from the All-Marine Wrestling Team traveled to Creteil, France, to compete in the 13th Annual Cristo Lutte International Invitational wrestling tournament in January.

During the Greco-Roman style tournament, the Marines squared up with world-class competition from several countries, including three world champions and six other world medalists.

“In wrestling you have to train and compete with the best to become the best,” said Major Joseph D. Hicks, All-Marine wrestling coach. “That’s why we travel. That’s why we come out here to France or Moscow or Brazil; you have to continually challenge yourself to succeed in this sport.”

For the Cristo Lutte tournament, the All-Marine team took two wrestlers as part of a larger USA Wrestling delegation. Hicks said when the entire team is not competing in a single event, he matches the wrestlers with the expected level of competition in the event.

“We have wrestlers at various levels of experience on the team—some who have been wrestling their entire life and are knocking on the door of becoming Olympians, and others who may have only wrestled in high school,” Hicks said. “We try to match them up with the expected