Right: Sgt Calixte Defay, the incoming assistant detachment commander (left, seated), meets with
Det Cmdr GySgt Anderson to review
internal security procedures as Sgt
Josh Lassiter listens in.
Below: The Marine quarters at the
American Embassy, Algiers are located inside the embassy compound—providing for a rapid response to any emergencies.
ED VASGERDSIAN
first MSG post. During his deployment to
Iraq, as a military refrigerator repair technician (military occupational specialty
(MOS) 1161), Smith said, “I did everything but repair refrigerators.”
Sgt Sean P. Michael was off duty tuning his guitar on the outside patio when he
heard a sour note from a different source.
His two tours in Iraq, a dull roar, plus a
plume of black smoke coming from downtown told him the embassy had not been
targeted. Nearby, a Foreign Service National (FSN) who drove for the Marines
talked excitedly on a telephone. Sgt Michael had all the reasons in the world to
believe that this morning was going to be
different.
The insulation in the MSGQ prevented
anyone inside from hearing the blasts.
With radio in hand, GySgt Anderson
stepped outside for a view of what Mi-
chael reported and contacted the MSG on
duty. There had been a string of suicide
attacks in Algiers since April 2007, and
Anderson, who had been posted to the
country since October 2006, knew the
drill.
The Duck-and- Cover alarm from the
Marine on duty was simultaneous with Anderson’s order to REACT, thereby triggering a rapid response for Smith, Michael
and the Marines below deck, including
Capt Swantner, to put on protective gear
and head for the embassy.
A unique characteristic about MSG
duty is the value placed upon Marines in
their ability to perform duties beyond their
MOS. Sgt Armando Uribe, a 24-year-old
Marine from Montebello, Calif., is an aircraft communications systems technician
(MOS 6412), but also has collateral duties as Response NCO. His emergency re-
sponse plan would be the blueprint for the
detachment to follow.
Uribe had tried three times previously
to get into the MSG program and was
turned down. “For one reason or another,
I didn’t get the chance,” he said. His persistence paid off, culminating in his graduation from MSG School in 2005 followed
by postings at Baku, Azerbaijan, and Lima,
Peru.
SSGT JAMES MILLER, MSG SCHOOL, QUANTICO, VA.
Assistant Detachment Commander Sgt
Josh J. Lassiter is a Marine with a broad
range of skills, including aviation, accounting, water survival school combat
instructor and weapons training instructor. With prior MSG duty in Moscow, and
Bern, Switzerland, and a college degree
in criminal justice, Lassiter provided outstanding assistance to GySgt Anderson.
First on his agenda was to assure that all
MSG taking positions were uniformed as
mission ready. Check.
Post 1
All vehicles, visitors and employees attempting to visit the embassy must first
pass through local security guards who
are under contract as FSN employees.
Beyond this initial entrance is Post 1, the
main entrance to the embassy chancery
and what might be called the embassy’s
nerve center. A Post 1 position is found
in all embassies where an MSG detachment is present. Surrounded by a virtual
network of electronic surveillance gadgetry, all employees, visitors or guests
must pass under the scrutiny of the Marine on guard.
On Dec. 11, the youngest Marine with
the least number of years in the Corps and
the newest member of the detachment
was in charge at Post 1. Lance Corporal
