The men and women who’ve served in the Marine Corps since its birth have built a strong legacy, the service’s assistant deputy commandant for combat development and integration said during a celebration of the Marine Corps’ 242nd birthday at the McNamara Headquarters Complex Nov. 6.
Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Niel “Rick” Nelson described some of the Marine Corps’ key moments in combat in the past 100 years, from Europe and the Pacific to Afghanistan and Iraq.
“Iwo Jima was one of the toughest battles in the history of the Marine Corps. There were 27,000 killed and over 25 different Medals of Honor earned. It gave us that iconic image of what the Marine Corps stands for,” he said.
Present-day Marines have a lot to live up to as warfare of the future changes, Nelson continued. And as the service adapts to working in an electronically contested environment, agencies such as the Defense Logistics Agency must adjust the way it provides support.
“Our ultimate goal is to prevent conflict,” he said. “To prevent war, we have to be good at war. We’ve got to have the right mechanisms, the right support, the right equipment, the right training, and we’ve got to be in the right place. I think we’re in the right place to do that today. We’ve got the right attitude, and we certainly have a lot of folks out there doing tremendous things.”
The event also included a performance by U.S. Marine Corps Drum and Bugle Corps and a traditional cake-cutting.