Tag: U.S. Marine Corps

No word from the Marine Corps if this cluster infection is from the Omicron variant, but Japanese civilians with ties to the base did test positive for Omicron:

A third employee at Camp Hansen, a Marine Corps base on Okinawa, has tested positive for the omicron variant of the coronavirus as new cases on the installation approached 200 since Friday.

The worker, a resident of Uruma city in her 40s, was a close contact of the first positive case, though the genetic code of the virus infecting her differed from the first patient, Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki said at a press conference in Naha on Monday night.

The number of new COVID-19 cases at Camp Hansen has risen to “about 200,” up 20 from the previous day, Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday morning. Kihara said the Japanese government understands the concerns of Okinawans.

“U.S. Forces Japan is taking stricter measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” he said. “Considering the possibility of omicron variant cases, they are testing actively, tracing the close contacts, and isolating those who might be infected.”

A cluster of new cases emerged among newly arrived Marines in a rotational unit, according to Marine Corps Installations Pacific on Friday. Neither the Marines nor the Japanese government has commented publicly on whether the cluster included omicron cases. The installations command on Friday said the infected Marines had no contact with the population outside the base.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It did not take long for this case to come to its inevitable conclusion of a guilty verdict:

 A Marine officer pleaded guilty on Thursday to several criminal charges in connection with viral videos he posted criticizing senior officials during the messy U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying that he knew he was being disrespectful and wanted to call out what he perceived as “incompetence.”

Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, a combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, testified that he knew he was defying orders and that his life began “spiraling” after he posted his first video in August. He said his wife left him, fellow Marine officers turned their backs on him and the Marine Corps opened an investigation into his actions. Scheller said he continued posting after receiving positive feedback from backers, including elected officials.

“Many Gold Star families, junior enlisted Marines and members of Congress reached out to support my statements,” Scheller said, referring in part to the families of service members who died in the line of duty.

Scheller pleaded guilty to charges that include disrespect toward superior commissioned officers, willfully disobeying a superior commissioned officer, and dereliction in the performance of duties. An agreement reached between Scheller and the Marine Corps holds that a military judge, Col. Glen Hines, can sentence him to no more than a letter of reprimand and a seizure of two-thirds of his pay for up to 12 months, which would cost Scheller tens of thousands of dollars.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest on coronavirus prevention on Okinawa:

Marine Forces Japan imposed more stringent off-base liberty restrictions Friday as the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the region.

The orders were announced in the evening by the III Marine Expeditionary Force on Okinawa and took effect immediately, a Marine statement said.

Marines in Japan are now barred from using non-military public and mass transportation, including taxis, and are allowed off-base only to patronize essential services, the statement said. Those are limited to medical and veterinary appointments, grocery shopping, bill paying, purchasing gas at service stations and postal services.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Not a good look for the U.S. Marine Corps in Japan:

Japan-based Marine Corps aviators’ antics — including reading, hair grooming and letting go of aircraft controls while posing for in-flight photos — are detailed in an accident report that sparked outrage among Japanese officials who recently learned of its contents.

The report says a pilot’s inexperience conducting nighttime, in-air refueling and toxic leadership contributed to the midair collision of an F/A-18 Hornet and KC-130 air tanker late last year that killed six crewmembers from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni.

Investigators determined that Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242 suffered from “inadequate oversight of training and operations” and an “unprofessional command climate.” Four Marine officers — the unit’s commander, its executive officer, its operations officer and its aviation safety officer — were fired as a result.

The report, which said officers engaged in wrongful use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, includes in-flight selfies taken by the squadron’s aviators while performing antics like grooming facial hair with a switchblade comb and reading “The Great Santini” by Pat Conroy. It also quotes from an online chat group where Marine officers used inappropriate language to describe some of their colleagues.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.