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DARBY — “Semper Fidelis,” the motto of the United States Marines, means “Always Faithful.” It’s hard to think of anyone who better epitomizes that motto than Master Sergeant Alfred Deserio, U.S.M.C. (Ret.), who served in the Corps for 42 years, from August 1928 to December 1970, initially in the Marine Corps Reserves but mostly on active duty.

As part of our special investigation "Mission Creep: US Military Presence Worldwide," we asked a host of military thinkers to contribute their two cents on topics relating to global Pentagon strategy. (You can access the archive here.) The following dispatch comes from Katherine T. McCaffrey, an assistant professor of anthropology at Montclair State University in New Jersey and author of "Military Power and Popular Protest: The US Navy in Vieques, Puerto Rico".

EXPLOSION HEARD NEAR U.S. EMBASSY IN YEMEN -AL-ARABIYA TV

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Being an actor is nothing like being a Marine. For an actor, even a 30-minute helicopter ride from Burbank to Camp Pendleton, just north of San Diego, can seem daunting.Before boarding a chopper for a special screening of Tropic Thunder at the base, star Robert Downey Jr. confessed: "I'm hoping the fact that I might puke right now is actually going to have the reverse effect, and that I'll suddenly be steady and calm by being in a helicopter."Downey, along with co-stars Ben Stiller and Jack Black, landed safely. "It was pretty tame, actually," Stiller said...

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- On leave from the violence he had survived in the war in Iraq, a young Marine was so wary of crime on the streets of his own home town that he carried only $8 to avoid becoming a robbery target. Despite his caution, Lance Cpl. Robert Crutchfield, 21, was shot point-blank in the neck during a robbery at a bus stop. Feeding and breathing tubes kept him alive 41/2 months, until he died of an infection on May 18. Two men have been charged in the attack, and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason said Friday the...

In the off-season we raced our boats across the world. Some crews raced to England. Others, Maine. We always raced to Bermuda. That first summer we were 19. Our skipper was 22. A newly commissioned naval aviator-select. Phil was his name. I remember he had long sideburns and drank too much. Navy's sailing team had a reputation for drinking as hard as we ailed. On the morning of my first open ocean Bermuda race we crossed the starting line upwind of the fleet in a perfect start right off Newport, Rhode Island's New York Yacht Club. I had nothing do...

A shadow legal body was set up by the Defense Department to manipulate the prosecutions of U.S. Marines accused of massacring Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005. That’s the bombshell disclosure from the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm that is representing one of the accused Marines, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani. And it could prove to be the most damning piece of evidence showing the political motivations behind the ongoing prosecutions of the Haditha Marines. “The hysteria and media firestorm over Abu Ghraib and the Pat Tillman investigations led to fear of a similar media reaction...

Daniel Gilyeat is a decorated U.S. marine and a loving father to his children, having served not one but two tours in Iraq. During the second tour he volunteered for, he was out on a mission when a bomb hit his truck. He suffered major injuries and lost his left leg above the knee. In addition, his marriage ended and he suddenly became a single father. As with many soldiers, deployment had put a huge stress on his marriage. But despite these setbacks and personal battles, 25 days after losing his leg, Daniel was up and walking with a prosthetic...

Iraqi police in the western city of Baghdadi are the first unit to take full command of a city in Anbar province as the U.S. Marines completely pull out. The U.S. Marines said the 2nd Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion completely redeployed from Command Post Baghdadi turning over day-to-day security operations to the Baghdadi police force. The handover is the first of its kind in Anbar province. Lt. Col. J.J. Dill, the commanding officer with the 1st Battalion, said the security situation in Iraq is no longer measured by occupied battle positions, but "in this stage of the counterinsurgency battle,...

Unfortunately the Bulletin editor eliminated the most important element of my piece and the title "Warrior Poets." Here is a link to The Bulletin article followed by my final draft which I think is a more salient piece. Read both and let me know what you think -Mike http://www.thebulletin.us/site/news.cfm?newsid=19151357&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=618959&rfi=6 Warrior Poets By Michael P. Tremoglie Leave it to the Marines to be able to find people who not only can field strip an M16, they can clean and polish a trombone; who not only know how to kill a person with their bare hands, they also know how to play...

You couldn't make out Stephen Reagan's feelings on Saturday just by looking at him. A pair of dark glasses hid his eyes, and the most noticeable ripples across his tranquil, composed face were the discreet smiles his wife put on it. But sitting at the fantail of the Battleship North Carolina, the Wilmington resident relived in his head the war episodes that earned him a Bronze Star Medal while taking from him some of his comrades. "I thought about it a lot," Reagan said, after his best friend and fellow Marine Michael Neal read the citation that came with the...

BALTIMORE (AP) - The head of a fundamentalist Kansas church being sued over a funeral protest testified in Baltimore today. Fred Phelps of Topeka's Westboro Baptist Church said he didn't consider whether children would see a sign carried by protesters with the words "Semper Fi Fags" and two stick figures that appear to be engaged in a sex act. Phelps says they needed to warn to the country to change its wicked ways. Under cross-examination, Phelps agreed his presence was NOT wanted at the funeral and he could have protested somewhere else. Phelps' group is being sued by Albert Snyder,...

Chuck Norris, the "Walker: Texas Ranger" star who now writes a column for WND, is visiting U.S. troops in Iraq where he says the surge is working and "morale is up – way up!" Norris is visiting 15 bases – including remote outposts – at the invitation of the assistant commandant of the Marines, Gen. Bob Magnus. It's Norris' second trip to encourage the troops. Last November, his United Service Organizations tour with Marines in Iraq was described by Corps officials as one of the best received ever. Norris' pastor, Todd DuBord, who is part of the traveling team that...

SURGE TROOPS TO LEAVE VIA SYRIA President Bush announced today that US troops would be leaving the area through the Syrian port of Lattakia. US Marines will secure the port of Lattakia in preparation for the arrival of US armored forces. In addition, the US Air Force has instituted a No-Fly zone for all of Syria until further notice. In a tactic reminiscent of Sherman's March to the Sea, US Central Command issued orders for armored forces to marshall in Northern Iraq in preparation for their exit from the theater via Syria. The US Navy is stationing both aircraft carriers...

Bumper of my SUV By Michelle Malkin   ·   March 12, 2007 03:01 PM Kudos to country singer Chely Wright, who performed in Iraq last week: Since World War II, American celebrities have been raising the morale of service members overseas with different forms of entertainment ranging from concerts to stand-up shows. In an effort to keep that tradition alive, country singer Chely Wright, visited Al Asad, Iraq, to entertain and lift the spirits of service members, March 3. “I’m thankful and really appreciative that (the band members) and I get to fly around the world on airplanes, ride in tour...

If these men, like the Pendleton 8 before them, become sacrificial lambs, it will be Taps for the US Marine Corps, having turned it's back on that which it depends for it's existence; 16 of it's riflemen who answered their country's call and survived, only to be devoured by the very legal system they fought to protect. Facing charges of murder: Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich Sgt. Sanick P. De La Cruz Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharrat Facing charges of failing to report/investigate: Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani Cpt. Lucas M. Mc Connell Cpt. Randy W....

Sean Barrett has seen a lot in his four years at Harvard. He’s consistently been among the top Crimson finishers at various regional meets since his freshman year. He’s seen coaches come and go. He’s competed with and against formidable tracksters across New England and beyond. Now he’s getting ready to embark on a journey that will show him more about himself and his world than he could ever imagine. Barrett has joined the U.S. Marine Corps and has committed, initially, to serving four years. It’s a decision that seems almost incongruous for a bright athlete from the Ivy League....

A family's fight Amanda Gillooly Staff writer Thursday, December 07, 2006 CANONSBURG -- At the first mention of his son, Darryl Sharratt immediately reaches for a big, blue scrapbook that chronicles the young man's career in, and love for, the military. Justin Sharratt's mother, Theresa Sharratt, said he dreamed of being a military man ever since he was a small child. She thumbed through the pages, finally finding what she was looking for: A picture capturing a smiling 3-year-old Justin clad in camouflage. Above the picture is an assignment dating to his nursery school days. The questioned posed was, "What...

Congressman Charles Rangel said most enlisted soldiers join the military because they do not have the "option of having a decent career." Speaking with Fox News reporter Chris Wallace on Sunday, Representative Rangel voiced his belief that soldiers in America's armed forces join only for lack of a better choice. He said, "I want to make it abundantly clear: if there’s anyone who believes that these youngsters want to fight, as the Pentagon and some generals have said, you can just forget about it. No young, bright individual wants to fight just because of a bonus and just because of...

My youngest son, 18 next month, is on the verge of enlisting in the Marines. I support him if he makes the decision to join. I'd be very proud to be a Marine's mother. He's graduating from high school in May and would actually enter the Marines in June. We are not a military family. I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has knowledge of the enlistment process, any words of wisdom for my son, any information that might be of help before enlistment or after enlistment. [The recruiter sounds like a used-car salesman--anxious to make the sale.]