Thank you for joining us for this issue of Marine Parents News. If this is your first time receiving the newsletter, welcome aboard, we're excited for you to be here!

Today, January 21, 2016 marks the 13th anniversary of the founding of MarineParents.com, Inc. Learn more in our first article.

To see what else is new with the organization or to learn more about the Marine Corps, check out the rest of our articles. We hope you enjoy! 

Be sure to get your FREE 2016 MarineParents' Calendar. See our articles below to learn about the history of the Marine Corps, and learn about our great MarineParents volunteers.

Thank you for your continued support of our brave men and women in uniform.

Semper Fi Marine Families!

We are pleased to announce that Thursday, January 21, 2016, marks the 13th anniversary of the founding of MarineParents.com, Inc.

In the 13 years since Founder & Executive Director Tracy Della Vecchia began MarineParents.com in her home, much has changed with the organization. One thing that hasn't changed, however, is our dedication and commitment to supporting Marines through all stages of their career in the Corps and providing "a Place to Connect & Share"® for recruit and Marine families.

All Marines are required to go through the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) after their initial active-service comes to an end, unless he or she chooses to reenlist. If a recruit enlists prior to the required age of enlistement, he or she would be placed in the Delayed Entry Program. The benefit of the Delayed Entry Program is that it counts towards the time spent in the IRR after separation from the service. So, if your Marine was in delayed entry for one year, he or she would only be in the IRR for 3 years after separation.

The Marine Corps IRR is a part of the Marine Corps Ready Reserve, and includes the Selective Marine Corps Reserve (SMC) unit, Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA), Active Reserve (AR), and Inactive Duty for Training (IDT) Marines.

The thought of brave men and women giving their lives on behalf of our country brings many images to mind. The battlefield cross. A flag-draped casket. Family members, friends, and brothers and sisters in arms weeping at the loss of a loved one. But from tragedy comes hope, and determination—especially the determination that the sacrifices of these brave men and women will never be forgotten.

With that in mind, we have launched the "Angel Day Tribute" initiative. It's a way to honor our service members who made the ultimate sacrifice by remembering them each year on their Angel Day. It's also a way to recognize their family members, and to help create additional ways for those family members and comrades and friends of the fallen to connect and share with one another.

These men and women and their families have given so much on our behalf. Please join us in honoring and keeping alive the memories of these American heroes.

All graduates of Marine Corps recruit training attend the School of Infantry (SOI). At SOI, they will train with one of two training battalions, either MCT or ITB. All non-infantry Marines attend training at Marine Combat Training Battalion (MCT), while infantry Marines (all Marines with a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) of 03xx) attend training at Infantry Training Battalion (ITB).

All non-infantry Marines, upon completion of recruit training, will undergo Marine Combat Training (MCT). MCT consists of 29 days of battle skills training that enables Marines, regardless of MOS, to operate in a combat environment.

The Marine Corps started as the "Continental Marines" during the American Revolutionary War, formed by a resolution of the Continental Congress on November 10, 1775, and first recruited at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They served as landing troops for the recently created Continental Navy. The Continental Marines were disbanded at the end of the war in April 1783 but re-formed on July 11 1798. Despite the gap, Marines celebrate November 10 as the Marine Corps Birthday.  

Historically, the United States Marine Corps has achieved fame in several campaigns, as referenced in the first line of the Marine Corps Hymn: "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli". In the early 19th century, First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon led a group of seven Marines and several hundred Egyptian Mameluke soldiers in deposing the dictator of Tripoli. Separately, the Marines took part in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and assaulted the Castillo de Chapultepec, or the Castle of Chapultepec, which overlooked Mexico City. The Marines were placed on guard duty at the Mexican Presidential Palace, "The Halls of Montezuma."

Twenty-one years ago last week, on January 10,1995, the Pentagon announced that 2,600 U.S. Marines would be deployed to Somalia for Operation United Shield  to assist the final United Nations peacekeeping troops withdraw from the country. The decision came in response to the UN's request for American protection of its peacekeeping troops serving in Somalia.

Seventy-one years ago last week, on January 11, 1945, the  first elements of Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 24, commanded by Colonel Lyle H. Meyer, arrived at Lingayen, Luzon in the Philippines to provide air support for US Army forces. Over the following three month, MAG-24, along with MAG-32, flew a combined 8,842 combat sorties and dropped more than 19,000 bombs as part of the Fifth Air Force in support of the Sixth Army.

Twenty-five years ago last week, on January 16, 1991,  Operation Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm as allied coalition forces launched an all-out attack air campaign against targets in Iraq and occupied Kuwait in an effort to liberate Kuwait and enforce the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. During the course of Operation Desert Storm, coalition forces included more than 415,000 American troops.

Sixty-five years ago this week, on January 18, 1951, Marines with the 1st Division began operations against guerrillas near Pohang, South Korea, following the Division's return from it's monumental battle with Chinese Communist forces at the Chosin Reservoir.

Forty-seven years ago this week, on January 20, 1968, the second battle for Khe Sanh began outside the village of the same name in the Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, 14 miles south of the DMZ and six miles east of the Laotian border, when the People's Army of North Vietnam (PAVN) launched a massive artillery bombardment on the U.S. Marine garrison. For the next 77 days, until April 6, the Marines and their South Vietnamese allies, the  Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), fought off the siege in what was the longest, and one of the bloodiest, battles in the war. 

Ninety-seven years ago this week, on January 21, 1918, the 1st Aeronautical Company arrived at Ponta Delgada, Azores, for anti-submarine duty. The unit was one of the first completely equipped American aviation units to serve overseas in World War I.

Forty-seven years ago this week, on January 22, 1969, 

Operation Dewey Canyon, arguably the most successful high-mobility regimental-size action of the Vietnam War, began in the A Shau/Da Krong Valleys when the 9th Marines, commanded by Colonel Robert H. Barrow, and supporting artillery were lifted from Quang Tri. By mid-March, the enemy's base area had been cleared out, 1617 enemy combatants had been killed, and more than 500 tons of weapons and ammunition were recovered. Barrow later went on to become the 27th Commandant of the Marine Corps.