The Navy has removed Cmdr. Allen Maestas as executive officer of the San Diego-based Beachmaster Unit 1 because of "inappropriate" texts and emails sent to two women in his command.
According to a news release from U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs, the Commander of Naval Beach Group 1, Capt. Kevin Flanagan, relieved Maestas of his position on Thursday.
SURFPAC spokesman Lt. Rick Chernitzer told the Navy Times the emails ...
Army Sgt. 1st Class Trenton L. Rhea, 33, died May 15 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. According to the Department of Defense, Rhea drowned while attempting to cross a body of water during combat operations.
No other details on Rhea's death have been released.
Rhea was from Oakley, Kansas. He was assigned to the 603rd Military Police Company, 530th Military Police Battalion, 300th Military Police Brigade, 200th Military Police Command in ...
U.S. Air Force Capt. Colin Merrin of Santee is making his final push to summit Mount Everest. If he and his team of fellow airmen climbers succeed, they will become the first group of active-duty U.S. military to reach the top of the world's highest peak.
Merrin is part of the USAF Seven Summits Challenge team. According to the team's blog, the climbers arrived at Camp ...
The more Traumatic Brain Injuries suffered by a service member, the higher his or her risk of suicide, according to a new study by the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah.
Researchers looked at a survey of 161 service members who served in the Iraq War. They found that troops' risk of suicidal thoughts jumped with the number of TBIs they suffered - and that risk increased ...
A car bomb attack today near the Afghan capital of Kabul killed two U.S. troops and four American civilian defense contractors.
The Associated Press reports the suicide attack also killed nine Afghan civilians. Two of the Afghans killed were children.
The Virginia-based contractor DynCorp International released a statement saying four of its employees working on the Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan program died in the attack, and three other ...
Want to own a piece of history and have tens of thousands of dollars to spare? You're in luck! Former Navy SEAL "Mark Owen" is auctioning off the knife he says he used in the Osama bin Laden raid.
If Owen's name sounds familiar, that's because he wrote the book No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden. "Mark Owen" is ...
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered all military sexual assault responders and military recruiters be retrained, re-credentialed, and rescreened - his response to news that the Army is investigating a sergeant who was a sexual assault prevention and response coordinator at Fort Hood, Texas for sexual abuse.
The Army announced Tuesday it is investigating the sergeant for "pandering, abusive sexual contact, assault and maltreatment of subordinates."
Ironically:
The soldier had been ...
The USS Peleliu, USS Green Bay, and USS Rushmore - all part of the Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group - returned to homeport Naval Base San Diego this morning, completing an eight-month deployment to the Middle East.
The deployment was memorable for many reasons, including the Peleliu's salute to the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting. As Home Post previously reported, crew of the Peleliu planned a special memorial field day ...
New research links Agent Orange exposure to a lethal, aggressive form of prostate cancer in Vietnam War veterans.
Dr. Mark Garzotto of the Portland Veterans Administration Medical Center conducted the study to expand on previous research that only showed Agent Orange exposure as a possible risk factor for certain types of prostate cancer.
Garzotto's new analysis shows a link between Agent Orange exposure and the most life-threatening type of ...
Three United States service members were killed today in Kandahar province, Afghanistan when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb.
NATO spokesman Col. Thomas Collins told The Associated Press that the three Americans killed were part of a NATO convoy on patrol:
"The convoy struck an IED (improvised explosive devise) in Zhari district this afternoon."
Several other service members were injured in the attack, although Collins could not give exact numbers.
Marine Staff Sgt. Ronnie Jimenez won the 10K hand-cycle race, earning him the very first gold medal of the 2013 Warrior Games.
Jimenez is a 14-year Marine veteran now serving in a Wounded Warrior Regiment at Twentynine Palms in Southern California.
According to Army News Service, Jimenez suffered an injury to his spinal cord during a training accident. He has also been diagnosed with PTSD as a result of multiple ...
Today is Top Gun Day, according to the organizers of Top Gun Day. They explain the holiday this way on their website, TopGunDay.com:
"Well it’s like talk like a pirate day, only way cooler because it allows you to quote Top Gun all day long, wear aviator sunglasses (no matter how cheap), pretend you’re a fighter pilot ('it’s time to buzz the fridge'), play volleyball in ...
It's been eight long months, but today the families of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit will get to see their loved ones again, as the Marines return home to Camp Pendleton.
Roughly 2,400 Marines and Sailors make up the the 15th MEU.
The 15th MEU was deployed with the Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group. The ships from the Peleliu ARG are slated to return to San Diego on Tuesday ...
Ever since canine post-traumatic stress disorder became an accepted diagnosis for some military working dogs, veterinarians have been trying to figure out how to treat it.
Military veterinarian Maj. Andrew McGraw uses a combination of anti-anxiety medication and desensitization therapy - similar treatment to what humans with PTSD receive.
Army dog handler Sgt. Jon Silvey, based at Fort Carson in Colorado, brought his MWD Turbo to McGraw for help. Denver television ...
Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Joe Frank [Ret.] was critically injured when his car was hit by a drunk driver on Interstate 5 in San Diego. Frank is one of 200 wounded service members and veterans expected to compete in the Warrior Games, which start Saturday.
Frank will compete with the 35 members of Team Navy at the games, held at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs ...
The 170 military mothers who were guests at the White House Mother's Day tea Thursday were treated to a surprise visitor - Prince Harry of Great Britain.
The Armed Forces Press Service reported that at the beginning of the event, Prince Harry had been in the State Dining Room, helping several dozen military children make gifts for their moms. His unexpected appearance later in the East Room, where the Mother ...
A military working dog named Cpl. Tick was killed on May 14, 2012 in an improvised explosive device blast in Afghanistan. Cpl Tick's handler, Lance Cpl. Bryan Utrilla, will honor her on the one-year anniversary of her death by placing her dog tags on the Camp Pendleton cross memorial.
Utrilla wrote an email to the blog Battle Rattle, calling Cpl. Tick, a two-year-old black lab, a beloved friend who ...
A Marine Corps investigation found Lance Cpl. John Cagle, 19, was killed in September 2011 when the hydraulic seat in his Light Armored Vehicle malfunctioned and crushed his throat, according to documents obtained by the Marine Corps Times.
Those documents show Cagle was found with a “deep indentation, one inch by one inch, on the back of his neck.” Cagle, deployed in Afghanistan, had been in the process of conducting ...
U.S. Air Force Capt. Colin Merrin of Santee is a step closer to fulfilling his dream of summiting Mount Everest.
Merrin, a GPS satellite operations mission commander, is part of an Air Force team participating in a 50-day journey to climb Mount Everest.
If they summit, USAF Seven Summits Challenge team members would become the first group of active-duty U.S. service members to reach the top of the ...
The California National Guard has played a key role in fighting the fires burning throughout the state. But Major General David Baldwin says the Guard's ability to fight future fires will be hampered by sequestration cuts.
One-fifth of the California National Guard's technicians will be furloughed if sequestration cuts ordered by the Pentagon go through.
In an interview with Bloomberg news, Baldwin said the furloughs ordered by the ...
For the first time in the more than 600 days that Camp Pendleton Marine veteran Amir Hekmati has been held captive in Iran, he was able to send letters to his family in the United States.
Sarah Hekmati, Amir's sister, shared the letters with The Associated Press, saying:
"It's the first time ... we have had any kind of written communication. The letters speak volumes."
Hekmati wrote to his ...
A new Pentagon report shows sexual assault in the military has jumped 35 percent since 2010.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is holding a news conference today to discuss the survey, called the fiscal 2012 Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military.
USA Today was provided an advance summary of the report. According to the newspaper's website, roughly one in 16 female service members was the victim of a ...
The Pentagon has identified the five U.S. soldiers killed May 4 when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device attack.
The fallen soldiers are:
-1st Lt. Brandon J. Landrum, 26, of Lawton, Oklahoma
-Staff Sgt. Francis G. Phillips IV, 28, of Meridian, New York
-Spc. Kevin Cardoza, 19, of Mercedes, Texas,
-Spc. Thomas P. Murach, 22, of Meridian, Idaho
-Spc. Brandon J. Prescott, 24, of Bend, Oregon
All five ...
Two Marines based at Camp Lejeune, Staff Sgt. Eric D. Christian, 39, of Warwick, N.Y., and Cpl. David M. Sonka, 23, of Parker, Colorado, were killed May 4 in an insider attack. Killed alongside them was Sonka's military working dog, Flex.
The Department of Defense reports the two Marines were assigned to 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion at Camp Lejeune.
According to a casualty report by the NATO ...
Army Staff Sgt. Michael H. Simpson, 30, died May 1 in Landstuhl, Germany of wounds he suffered in an April 27 improvised explosive device attack in Afghanistan.
The Department of Defense reports Simpson was a Green Beret assigned to the 4th Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.
Michael's widow, Krista Simpson, told the Tacoma News-Tribune her husband was a "badass" who was also ...
Army Spc. Trinidad Santiago Jr., 25, of San Diego, was one of two soldiers killed May 2 in a vehicle accident at Camp Buehring in Kuwait, according to the Department of Defense.
Santiago and Pfc. Charles P. McClure, 21, of Stratford, Oklahoma, were both assigned to 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson in Colorado.
Air Force Capt. Victoria A. Pinckney, 27, of Palmdale and Tech Sgt. Herman Mackey III, 30, of Bakersfield were killed along with Capt. Mark T. Voss, 27, of Colorado Springs, Colorado when their plane crashed in Kyrgyzstan on May 3, according to the Department of Defense.
All three airmen were assigned to the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington state.
The USS Anchorage left its homeport of San Diego recently to head to its namesake city for commissioning.
The Navy shot time lapse footage of the Anchorage's departure from San Diego, showing how much work goes into putting a ship to sea. I've posted that video up top.
The Navy will commission the Anchorage on Saturday at a special ceremony. You can click here to watch a live ...
Actor Bradley Cooper will play former Navy SEAL and "American Sniper" Chris Kyle in a new movie to be directed by Stephen Spielberg.
A DreamWorks Studios spokeswoman told the Associated Press that the film will be based on Kyle's bestseller, American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History.
Cooper, according to USA Today, owns the film rights to Kyle's book.
A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker crashed Friday in northern Kyrgyzstan.
Reuters reports the plane was on its way to Afghanistan
The fate of the three-person crew is not known at this time, but 376th Air Expeditionary Wing officials say emergency response crews are on the scene.
Several witnesses said the plane exploded in midair, according to Reuters, with debris falling over a 4 to 5 kilometer area. The ...
The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy have called off their search for missing British man Luke Stimson - a search that involved the San Diego-based USS Peleliu.
The Peleliu was en route to homeport San Diego when it was diverted to participate in the search.
According to a Coast Guard news release, the Peleliu and other Coast Guard and Navy crews spent more than 50 hours over three days searching ...
The Navy has announced it will charge two Naval diving unit senior leaders with involuntary manslaughter and dereliction of duty in connection with the deaths of two Navy divers in February.
The two divers who died were Navy Diver 1st Class James Reyher, 28, of Caldwell, Ohio, and Navy Diver 2nd Class Ryan Harris, 23, of Gladstone, Missouri. Both Sailors were assigned to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2, based ...
The Navy's very first squadron of drones will be based at Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado.
The base is holding a ceremony Thursday to show off Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 35, which is made up of two types of helicopters - the human-piloted Sikorsky Multi Mission MH60-R, and the unmanned Fire Scout MQ-8 B.
According to a Naval Air Forces news release:
The squadron, designated the “Magicians ...
A Camp Pendleton Marine was savagely beaten at a Santa Monica nightclub, and police are hoping the public will help them find the man responsible.
The Marine is still recovering from the February assault that disfigured his face and knocked him unconscious. "Ryan" told KCBS-TV he doesn't remember the attack:
“The last thing I remember is being on the dance floor and then I have a flash of waking ...
National Air Cargo company officials have identified seven employees who were killed Monday when their cargo plane crashed soon after takeoff from Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.
Associated Press has named those killed as:
-Jamie Brokaw, 33, of Monroe, Michigan
-Gary Stockdale, 51, of Romulus, Michigan
-Brad Hasler, 34, of Trenton, Michigan
-Jeremy Lipka, 37, of Brooklyn, Michigan
-Rinku Summan, 32, of Canton, Michigan
-Michael Sheets, 36, of Ypsilanti, Michigan
-Timothy ...
Navy Lt. Dennis W. Peterson of Huntington Park, California went missing in 1967 when the helicopter he was piloting crashed in North Vietnam. In March, his remains were identified, and he will be buried with the remains of three fellow crew members at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday.
Peterson was the last of the four men who perished in the SH-3A helicopter crash to be identified. The remains of fellow ...
San Diego resident Sean Sala, a Navy veteran and gay rights activist, lead the protest when word was leaked that the San Francisco Pride Parade named Army Pvt. Bradley Manning as its Grand Marshal.
Manning is currently on trial for allegedly leaking sensitive military documents to WikiLeaks.
Sala immediately responded to the parade announcement by creating an online petition to protest the move. That petition reads, in part:
Bradley Manning ...
A Camp Pendleton Navy Corpsman will be awarded the Silver Star medal at a special ceremony on base Friday.
Petty Officer 1st Class Benny Flores helped save the lives of wounded Marines during an enemy attack in Afghanistan last year, despite the fact he was injured himself.
Flores was serving as a field service medical technician when the attack took place in Nimruz province's Zaranj district on April 28 ...
Three members of the NATO International Security Assistance Force were killed Tuesday by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, according to an ISAF casualty report.
ISAF does not name the nationality of casualties, as a matter of policy.
According to the Daily Mail, the incident happened in Helmand province:
[The NATO troops] were in a vehicle searching for IEDs on a tarmac surface when the device exploded.
Seven crew members of a U.S. civilian cargo plane were killed when their aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff Monday at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, according to BBC News.
While the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the crash, the NATO International Security Assistance Force denies this to be true. NATO ISAF spokesman Lt. Quenton Roehricht told NBC News:
"At this time, we can confirm there was no insurgent activity when ...
A group of Camp Pendleton Marines showed up at Oceanside High School on Saturday to learn the "ins and outs" of being a Major League Baseball umpire from the umps themselves.
According to MLB.com, more than 550 U.S. service members have taken part in umpire training over the last four years. Two Marines showed such promise that they actually made it to MLB's umpire school.
Saturday's ...
The USS Peleliu was diverted from its journey to homeport San Diego in order to search for two distressed British boaters who'd been reported missing in a remote area of the Pacific Ocean, roughly 500 miles west of Midway Atoll.
The trouble started when the UK-based Marine Rescue Coordination Center Falmouth reported to the U.S. Coast Guard in Hawaii that a British man had fallen overboard from a ...
Army Capt. Aaron R. Blanchard, 32, and 1st Lt. Robert J. Hess, 26, were killed on April 23 in Afghanistan by a missile attack, according to the Department of Defense.
Both soldiers were assigned to the 2nd Aviation Battalion, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum in New York.
Blanchard, an Apache pilot, was originally from Selah, Washington. He leaves behind a wife and two young children ...
Four U.S. airmen were killed Saturday when their MC-12 aircraft crashed near Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan.
Two of those killed were based at Beale Air Force Base in California. The U.S. Air Force has identified them as:
-Staff Sgt. Richard A. Dickson, 24, of Rancho Cordova, California. He was assigned to the 306th Intelligence Squadron.
-Capt. Reid K. Nishizuka, 30, of Kailua, Hawaii. He was assigned to ...
MCAS Miramar Marine Maj. Robert Weingart has been named the Alfred A. Cunningham Marine Aviator of the Year for his heroic actions during the September 2012 insurgent attack on Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.
At least 20 insurgents attacked the base with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, and suicide improvised explosive device vests, according to the Department of Defense. Marine Lt. Col. Christopher Raible, 40, and Sgt. Bradley Atwell, 27, were killed ...
A Camp Pendleton Marine who was convicted of attempted adultery, despite her claim of rape, has been sentenced to a loss of $3,000 in pay and a letter of reprimand, according to the Associated Press.
Military judge Lt. Col. Leon Francis, who presided over the court-martial, convicted the Marine of attempted adultery and obstruction of justice this week. She had faced a year in the brig and a dishonorable ...
The head of the Marine Corps’ Officer Candidates School at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia - the site of a murder-suicide in March that left three Marines dead - has been relieved of his position as commander.
Marine Corps commandant Gen. James Amos told the Marine Corps Times the decision to remove Col. Kris J. Stillings was about accountability:
“I just lost confidence in Colonel Stillings’ ability to handle all the ...
Military judge Lt. Col. Leon Francis convicted a Camp Pendleton Marine on Wednesday of attempted adultery and obstruction of justice, even though the woman says she was raped by the Marine with whom she supposedly attempted adultery.
The Associated Press reports Francis did not give an explanation as to why he convicted the Marine, a staff sergeant with 17 years in the Corps, of the charges. Because of the conviction ...
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel released a statement today in which he disclosed that the White House has informed several members of Congress that Syria has used sarin as a chemical weapon during its two year civil war.
President Obama has previously stated that Syria would be crossing a "red line" if it used chemical weapons, a line that once crossed could trigger military intervention by the United States.
But Hagel ...
Troops used possibly toxic burn pits to destroy waste on a U.S. military base in Afghanistan instead of $5 million worth of incinerators because those incinerators were never made operational, according to a new report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
The SIGAR report finds that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $5.4 million contract to a Turkish company to construct and install ...
