Spring 2022 MCA Newsletter
Posted on: May 01,2022As this is my first spring newsletter since joining our Marine Corps Association (MCA) team this past year, I’d like to first and foremost thank you, our membership, for your enduring support, generosity, and the contributions you have made throughout this past year. Without this support, we would be unable to ensure the accomplishment of our mission as the premier association of the Marine Corps. We here at the MCA are proud that we are entrusted to carry out the vision and legacy set forth by our founding fathers.
Regardless of where we have found ourselves throughout this past year, it is not an overstatement to say that in many ways, this has been a challenging year. But our future is bright and offers plenty to bring encouragement. One need only to look at our young Marines and Sailors to know that with them, our Corps is in good hands. It has been incredible to see them tackle the challenges brought on by COVID-19, geo-political issues, and our own internal national challenges – they have maintained the status as our nation’s force in readiness without missing a beat. For this and much more, we continue to strive to deliver our best to support their professional and personal development. We are only able to do this with your enduring support and generosity.
This year will mark many firsts. One which I want to bring to your attention is Modern Day Marine (MDM). Although MDM is not new to us in the Marine Corps, this year we will, in partnership with the Marine Corps League, move MDM from its current location of Marine Corps Base Quantico to the Walter E. Washington National Convention Center in Washington, D.C. In so doing, we will deliver a world class platform which will bring together industry, DoD, and Marine Corps leadership under one roof. As the Marine Corps works to lay the foundation of Force Design 2030 requirements, MDM will offer a venue where we will fully visualize and understand the needed capabilities and requirements of the future force. I would like to extend an invitation to attend MDM on 10-12 May for you to hear first-hand from the Marine Corps’ senior leadership and others and to meet and greet our industry partners and leaders from government and DoD. I hope to see you there.
As we resume program delivery to our Marines and members, we look forward to seeing you at one of our many events that we plan to host this year. Whether here in the local area of Quantico, the Crossroads of the Marine Corps, or at one of several planned locations throughout the U.S., our team looks forward to meeting and hosting you at one of our events.
Thank you for your continued dedication and support of your Marine Corps Association and to our Marine Corps.
LTGEN CHARLES G. CHIAROTTI USMC (RET)
PRESIDENT & CEO
MARINE CORPS ASSOCIATION
Commander’s Forum
The COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact some of our programs for Marines, so we were especially pleased in September 2021 to be able to send sergeants and staff sergeants from Marine Combat Training Battalion, School of Infantry-East to Fredericksburg, VA to study one of the Civil War’s most significant battles, the Battle of Fredericksburg. The combat instructors were able to walk the battlefield focusing on the tactical decisions made more than one hundred and fifty years ago in order to improve their own critical thinking. The significance of the battle, lessons learned, and strategic implications to the Civil War were also discussed at length by the Marines. According to the commanding officer of Marine Combat Training Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel S.E. Detrinis, the battlefield study provided his Marines with an educational field trip that expanded their military acumen and reinvigorated them for their role in training young Marines.
Commanders like LtCol Detrinis know that studying the battlefields of the past helps prepare today’s Marines to excel in future operating environments. LtCol Detrinis and Sergeant Major D.E. Rodriguez, the sergeant major of Marine Combat Training Battalion, expressed their sincere gratitude for our support of their Marines, and we are especially grateful to our members and donors whose own generosity makes battlefield studies and our other programs for Marines possible
Scuttlebutt: An MCA Podcast” recently launched as the latest addition to the professional association’s wide array of multimedia resources, which includes audio articles from its flagship publications Leatherneck and Marine Corps Gazette; an impressive “Corps Voices” collection featuring interviews with some of the most revered Marines in history, and recordings of guest speakers from MCA’s professional awards ceremonies and events.
The “by Marines, for Marines” podcast releases new installments weekly with its informal, conversational format that invites listeners to learn from the personal stories of others as well as think critically about current events that impact today’s Marines. The podcast comprises a mix of interviews with high-profile guests including Navy Cross recipient Sergeant Major Justin Lehew and conversations on hot topics ranging from COVID-19 vaccination rates among the ranks and the arrival of Afghan refugees in the U.S., to the implementation of the Commandant’s Force Design 2030.
Aptly named in a nod to the Marine Corps’ naval roots, the podcast and the rest of MCA’s audio offerings are part of an ongoing effort to expand the Association’s reach and provide content that goes beyond traditional print media. The format also allows for multi-tasking, such as listening while driving, exercising or doing household chores which is particularly desirable among those whose busy schedules don’t necessarily allow them time to sit and read a magazine or book but who want to absorb new information, perspectives and stories.
LtGen Charles G. “Chuck” Chiarotti, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Marine Corps Association, was recently featured on the podcast. LtGen Chiarotti, who was born and raised in Italy, discussed his unconventional path to becoming a Marine, as well as the importance of professional development and what his priorities are as he takes the helm of MCA.
There’s something for everyone among the audio resources available on the MCA website, whether it’s an oral history interview of General Frank E. Petersen, the Marine Corps’ first Black aviator, in which he describes a racial incident that occurred at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, Calif., in 1953, part of the “Corps Voices” collection, or a speech given by Gen James N. Mattis, USMC (Ret), during an October 2019 MCA professional event. Popular Leatherneck articles, many of which are read by the authors themselves, also are easily accessible.
MCA EVENTS
The new year has brought new opportunities for the Marine Corps Association as we resume our full slate of professional events. With 19 events on the calendar, we’ll be hosting dinners, luncheons, and receptions for a wide range of audiences. Many of our dinners will take place in the Washington, D.C. area and include awards presentations as the Deputy Commandants recognize the best and the brightest from numerous occupational fields ranging from the infantry to the logisticians to the relatively new cyber Marines. Our professional dinners feature a wide range of speakers including the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David H. Berger, and other senior Defense Department officials. We’ll continue to host events from Camp Lejeune to Hawaii and Camp Pendleton to Okinawa, and we’re excited to add to our slate with a professional dinner in Germany for the Marines of Marine Forces Europe/Africa and other leathernecks stationed in Europe. We’re also heading to Chicago for an event at Soldier Field in July.
Thanks to the generous support of the donors to our foundation, active duty Marines attend our events for free. MCA members are invited to all of our events and receive a discount on the cost. The full slate of our events can be found below. Visit mca-marines.org to register for the individual events and to view via livestream.
