Marines reflect on Myanmar relief effort

By David Allen, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, July 11, 2008

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The Marines of Combat Logistics Regiment 3 departed here for the Cobra Gold military exercise with no idea they would end up helping provide relief to thousands of cyclone victims.

When Cyclone Nargis tore across Myanmar on May 2, the Marines were preparing for the start of the annual Cobra Gold in Thailand.

But it didn’t take the unit’s 240 Okinawa-based Marines — most of whom have returned — long to switch gears from a combat-training posture to relief mode, working around the clock to provide pallets of supplies for the support effort, dubbed "Operation Caring Response."

On May 12, after delays caused by the reluctance of the Myanmar government to accept international assistance, a U.S. Air Force C-130 loaded with relief supplies was allowed to land in Rangoon. It was the first of 200 relief flights delivering more than 3.3 million pounds of much-needed supplies that the U.S. military would send into the country to assist international organizations providing relief.

Much more could have been accomplished, U.S. military officials said. Myanmar denied offers to use long-range helicopters to distribute supplies to the hardest-hit areas of the country and refused the assistance of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the USS Essex Ready Group, which was diverted to international waters off the coast of Myanmar for more than three weeks.

However, the Okinawa-based members of CLR-3 never let politics get in the way.

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Marines Far Surpass Recruiting Goal

May 13, 2008
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The Marine Corps far surpassed its recruiting goal last month and could eventually be more than a year ahead of schedule in its plan to grow the force to 202,000 members.

All military services met or exceeded their monthly recruiting goals in April, with the Marine Corps signing 142 percent of the number it was looking for, the Pentagon said.

The Army signed 101 percent of its goal, recruiting 5,681 against a goal of 5,650. The Navy and Air Force met their goals - 2,905 sailors and 2,435 airmen.

The Marine Corps enlisted 2,233 recruits against a goal of 1,577.

"The Marine Corps, if they continue to achieve the kind of success they have had, could meet their growth figures more than a year early," Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told Pentagon reporters. That would mean by around the end of 2009.

Stretched thin by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon last year recommended that the Army be increased by about 65,000 soldiers to a total of 547,000, and the Marines be increased by 27,000 to 202,000.

Recruiting is easier in a slow economy, which limits other job possibilities that are available. But officials also noted that the Army and Marines have added recruiters as well as bonuses and other special benefits to attract more recruits in the midst of the unpopular war in Iraq.
© Copyright 2008 Associated Press
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