The raising of that flag means a Marine. Corps for the next 500 years. Marines read to lead with your help!

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1 Welcome to the - Fall 2012 Issue The raising of that flag means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years Fall 2012 Headline With sword or pen, Marines lead Caption the way Marines read to lead with your help! Articles With sword or pen, Marines lead the way If the old saying is true that the pen is mightier than the sword, the United States Marine Corps... Continue Reading > The raising of that flag means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years The date 19 February 2015 marked the 70th anniversary of the initial assault by Marine Corps... Continue Reading > Marines read to lead with your help! Reading is a cornerstone of professional and intellectual development for all Marines... Continue Reading > From the General: You re helping create smarter, better equipped Marines With everything Marines are doing around the world today with all the stories of Marine Corps heroism... Continue Reading > Where is my digital edition??

2 - Fall 2012 With sword or pen, Marines lead the way Your support promotes effective writing as an essential professional skill for all Marines If the old saying is true that the pen is mightier than the sword, the United States Marine Corps is still the world s elite fighting force. That s because every Marine is the product of a system that emphasizes not only physical training and readiness, but intellectual development too. The cornerstone is an intense focus on reading and writing. Your support of the Marine Corps Association & Foundation plays a big role in the intellectual and professional development of current and future Marines. You make it possible for your MCA&F to provide books on the Commandant s Reading List to Corps units around the globe. Recently, we have also begun distributing those libraries in e-book format using Kindle reading devices. 1stSgt Gene Balsamo, USMC, receives the MCA&F Senior Enlisted Writing Award from MCA&F Quantico/National Capital Area representative SgtMaj Kevin Bennett, USMC (Ret). Your support of MCA&F writing programs helps current and future Marine leaders develop this essential skill. What you may not know is your support also allows the MCA&F to promote better writing throughout the Corps. We open the pages of our magazines Leatherneck and Marine Corps Gazette to articles submitted by Active, Reserve, and Retired Marines, as well as other contributors. And we sponsor several contests to encourage and honor excellence in writing. Written communications are a large part of professional development, 1stSgt Gene Balsamo, USMC, explains. The ability to clearly convey thoughts and ideas to your Marines cuts down on confusion, keeps your unit informed, and ultimately assists in the overall success of the unit. Clear communication is vital to mission success. You help promote effective written communication through your support of the MCA&F. Balsamo, Company First Sergeant at 3d Radio Battalion, III MEF Headquarters Group, recently received the MCA&F Senior Enlisted Writing Award. The award was presented for essays he wrote while attending the Senior Enlisted Professional Military Education course at Quantico. Communication skills are very important as a Marine leader, he says. Clear and concise communication ensures that tasks, guidance, direction, and orders are easily understood and effectively carried out. The Corps and the MCA&F take effective writing very seriously, explains MajGen Ed Usher, USMC (Ret), President and CEO of the Marine Corps Association & Foundation. That s why I so appreciate the MCA&F donors who make these programs and awards possible. Writing well is a skill that can be learned and mastered, just like marksmanship or martial arts, and it s just as important. 1stSgt Balsamo would agree. I ve never been much of a writer, he admits. But I give 100 percent to any task I undertake. This task just happened to be writing.

3 - Fall 2012 The raising of that flag means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years You honor the memory, and preserve the lessons, of one of the Corps defining campaigns Marines celebrate the raising of the flag atop Mount Suribachi 70 years ago. Your support of the MCA&F ensures this and other key moments in Corps history are not forgotten. The date 19 February 2015 marked the 70th anniversary of the initial assault by Marine Corps units on the landing beaches of Iwo Jima. It was the start of an operation that, in words attributed to Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, guaranteed a Marine Corps for the next 500 years. Your support of the MCA&F guarantees that the heroes of Iwo Jima are not forgotten. You re also ensuring the hard-won lessons of the bloody campaign are adapted to a very different era and passed along to new generations of Marines. According to the Marine Corps History Division, The 36-day assault resulted in more than 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead. Of the 20,000 Japanese defenders, only 1,083 survived. The Marines efforts, however, provided a vital link in the U.S. chain of bomber bases. By war s end, 2,400 B-29 bombers carrying 27,000 crewmen would make unscheduled landings on the island. Twenty-seven Medals of Honor were awarded, many posthumously, to Marines and Sailors for actions during the battle, the most of any single campaign in World War II. The Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the flag above Mount Suribachi became the iconic image of a battle where, as Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz said, Uncommon valor was a common virtue. Want to read more? MCA&F members have full access to the archives of Marine Corps Gazette and Leatherneck at including many articles about Iwo Jima and all other aspects of Corps history and doctrine.

4 - Fall 2012 Marines read to lead with your help! Reading is a cornerstone of professional and intellectual development for all Marines. Your support of the Marine Corps Association & Foundation makes you a big part of building a stronger, better prepared Corps. For years, we ve used your gifts to provide libraries of books on the Commandant s Reading List to Marine units all over the world. And recently we expanded our program to also send Kindles loaded with those same essential titles. The challenges of an increasingly uncertain, complex, and decentralized operating environment will continue to place new demands on our leaders at all levels. Our training and education must constantly evolve to produce Marines who can meet those challenges. Gen Joseph F. Dunford Jr., USMC Commandant of the Marine Corps 2ndLt Lara Soto and GySgt Ajiboye Magbagbeola of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit at Camp Pendleton are two of the thousands of Marines who are continuing their professional development by reading Commandant s Reading List books on Kindles provided by your MCA&F. Thank you for making this possible through your giving! Each Kindle holds a bookshelf s worth of volumes. But unlike any bookshelf, it weighs just a few ounces and can fit into a Marine s pocket or pack for quick and convenient use. It costs just $70 to deploy one fully loaded Kindle. Please help get more Kindles into Marines hands by sending a tax-deductible gift to your Marine Corps Association Foundation today. 2ndLt Lara Soto and GySgt Ajiboye Magbagbeola of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit at Camp Pendleton are two of the thousands of Marines who are continuing their professional development by reading Commandant s Reading List books on Kindles provided by your MCA&F. Thank you for making this possible through your giving!

5 - Fall 2012 From the General: You re helping create smarter, better equipped Marines Dear Friends, With everything Marines are doing around the world today with all the stories of Marine Corps heroism, honor, courage, and achievement we could share with you why did we lead off this issue of with a story about an essay contest winner? It s a fair question. The answer is critically important. It s because our Corps and our country require thinking leaders Marines who, whatever their rank, rating, or MOS, can engage situations and people, in war and in peace, in a thoughtful and informed way. And that, in turn, requires two things: Extensive reading, and the ability to express your thoughts in writing. This isn t just my opinion. Marines have long understood that, as Gen James Mattis, USMC (Ret), put it, the most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears. MajGen Edward Usher, USMC (Ret) President and CEO That s why I so appreciate the generous support you have given to our effort to supply books, and now also Kindle reading devices, loaded with almost 300 titles, to Marine units. Your support empowers our Marines to continue their intellectual and professional development no matter where in the world they are stationed. This focuses on reading and writing, and gives you the opportunity to send even more Kindles to Marines in the field. If what you read here inspires you to give again, thank you very much. You couldn t have chosen a better, more important, program to support. Semper Fi! Ed Usher Major General, USMC (Ret) President and CEO