Ben's Marine Pictures

Ben's Marine Career

INITIAL TRAINING

2nd RTB
MCRD Parris Island
South Carolina
9/2/97 - 11/26/97
MCT
Camp Geiger
North Carolina
12/8/97 - 1/6/98
NMITC
Dam Neck
Virginia
1/6/98 - 4/30/98

UNITS

HMH-464
~~~~~~~
MCAS New River
North Carolina
~~~~~~~
5/11/98
to
5/25/01

3rd Mar. Div.
~~~~~~~
Camp Courtney
Okinawa, Japan
~~~~~~~
7/1/01
to
6/25/02

MAG-31
~~~~~~~
MCAS Beaufort
South Carolina
~~~~~~~
7/31/02
to
3/17/03

VMFA(AW)-224
~~~~~~~
MCAS Beaufort
South Carolina
~~~~~~~
3/17/03
to
10/1/05

JWAC
~~~~~~~
Dahlgen,
Virginia
~~~~~~~
11/1/05
to
Present

Places Ben Has Journeyed to:

MCAS 29 Palms, California ~ CAX 9-98, 10-99 and 9/10-00
MCAS Yuma, Arizona ~ Weapons & Tactics Instruction Support ~ 1998
NS Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico ~ Mar.-May 2000
NAS Brunswick, Maine ~ SERE School ~ Apr. 2001
Pohang, Korea ~ Ulchi Focus Lens '01 ~ 2001
MCAS Yuma, Arizona ~ Weapons & Tactics Instruction ~ Sept.-Oct. 2002
Camp Sendai, Japan ~ Yama Sakura XLI ~ 2002
MCAS Yuma, Arizona ~ Exercise Diamond Thrust - Apr. 2003
MCAS Iwakuni, Japan ~ WestPac UDP ~ Jul.-Aug. & Nov.-Jan. 2003
RAAF Base Darwin, Australia ~ Exercise Southern Frontier - Aug.-Sept. 2003
Kadena AFB, Okinawa, Japan ~ Sept.-Oct. 2003
Guam - Exercise North Cope ~ Nov. 2003
MCAS Yuma, Arizona - Exercise Desert Talon ~ Dec. 2004
Al Asad Airbase, Iraq ~ Operation Iraqi Freedom 04-06 ~ Jan. - Aug. 2005
Bagram Airbase, Afghanistan ~ Operation Enduring Freedom ~ Feb. - Jul. 2007

PROMOTIONS

Lance Corporal
1 June 1998

Corporal
1 December 1999

Sergeant
1 April 2001

Staff Sergeant
1 June 2004

Gunnery Sergeant
1 March 2008

PICTURES

The sunset viewed from the deck
of the USS Bataan.

Aboard the USS Bataan...
Marines hard at work?

Hobnobbing with the higher-ups.

Hard at work in Guam....or is that working hard at hardly working?

When Ben told me how much deployments suck, it never occurred
to me that he was referring to sucking on a snorkel.

Promotion to Staff Sergeant
1 June 2004

Ben and Capt Brown stand at attention while
SgtMaj Naughton reads Ben's promotion warrant.

Taryn and SgtMaj Naughton pin on
Ben's staff sergeant chevrons.

The official photo of Ben's squadron in Iraq.

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