Jet Stream The
Friday, November 24, 2017 Vol. 52, No. 46 Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C.
Echo Company Graduates
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“The noise you hear is the sound of freedom.”
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Fightertown Abroad
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PROTECT WHAT YOU’VE EARNED
Swamp Foxes celebrate Birthday Ball
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MAG-31 Marines exercise MAGTF capabilities during ITX
Photo by Staff Sgt. Kowshon Ye
An F/A-18C Hornet assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 conducts aerial refueling during Integrated Training Exercise 1-18 over Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., Oct. 28. ITX is a large-scale, combined-arms training exercise intended to produce combat-ready forces capable of operating as an integrated Marine Air Ground Task Force. Courtesy story by Cpl. Dave Flores Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif., -From the moment Marines with Marine Air Group 31 arrived at the Combat Center on Oct. 10, they took command as the Aviation Combat Element for Integrated Training Exercise 1-18. Throughout the 29-day training evolution, the ACE came together with the remaining three elements of the MAGTF to participate in an intense training cycle, which involves a series of progressive, live-fire exercises that assess the ability and adaptability of a force comprised of active-duty or Reserve Fleet Marine Force personnel. Typically, the ACE provides support from both fixed and rotary wing squadrons with a variety of aircraft. But during this iteration of the exercise, aviation support came from F/A-18 Hornets with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 and the Army’s 70th Brigade Engineer Battalion’s RQ-7B Shad-
ows. The ACE’s role within the Marine Air Ground Task Force is to conduct offensive and defensive air operations. The aviation element provides the MAGTF with the ability to accomplish the mission by delivering fire, enhancing mobility and maneuver and provide surveillance. “The purpose of the ITX is for Marines to do what we do best, which is work together with the combined arms MAGTF,” said Maj. Daniel Johnson, operations officer with the Marine Air Group 31 ACE. In order to support the ground forces during the training evolution, the ACE conducts close and deep air support to assist in neutralizing the notional target. While they are similar in mission, close air support and deep air support operations meet the objective in different ways. Close air support requires a tight integration with the ground force and open lines of communication between the ground controller and the aircraft. This Photo by Staff Sgt. Kowshon Ye assists in gathering intelligence and keeping An F/A-18C Hornet assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 flies over Marine troops out of harm’s way in the event that Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif. during Integrated Training Exercise (ITX) 1-18, Nov. 5. ITX is a large-scale, combined-arms training exercise intended to produce combat-ready forces capable of operating as an integrated see itx page 6 Marine Air Ground Task Force.
Marine Corps celebrates National Native American Heritage month Story by Lance Cpl. Terry Haynes III Staff writer November is National Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month. This month celebrates the contributions made by Native Americans to the history and foundation to the U.S. According to the Department of Defense, there are 567 federally recognized Native American and Alaska Native tribes and more than 100 state-recognized tribes across the United States. Each has their own unique history, beliefs, governance structure and culture. Since the arrival of European settlers in America, Native Americans have preserved their culture and heritage. Because of their heritage, Native Americans are crucial to the armed forces. Today, over 22,000 Native Americans serve in the American Armed Forces, making up 1.2 percent of the military population. According to the Department of Defense, there were 130,802 Native American veterans as of March 2015. During World War I and World War II, hundreds of Native Americans joined the United States Armed Forces and used words from their traditional tribal languages as weapons. The United States military asked them to develop secret see heritage page 6
Courtesy photo
Navajo Code talkers were Native Americans who were instrumental in passing information between units during the Pacific theater of World War II. There were approximately 400–500 Native Americans in the United States Marine Corps whose primary job was the transmission of secret tactical messages. Since spelling out all military terms while in combat would be too time-consuming, some terms of modern warfare were given descriptive names in Navajo. For example, the word for “shark” being used to refer to a destroyer. Several of these words, such as go fasters referring to running shoes or ink sticks for pens, entered Marine Corps vocabulary.