Tournament unites students, Marines, retirees in longstanding tradition Page 1B
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Special reaction team training answers call Page 1C
Meggahunt draws record crowd Page 1D
GLOBE Serving Camp Lejeune and surrounding areas since 1944
2012 THURSDAY APRIL 5, 20
WWW.CAMPLEJEUNEGLOBE.COM
VOLUME 74 EDITION 14
MCIEAST, MCB Camp Lejeune merge under single command NAT FAHY Marine Corps Installations East
Beneath a cloudless sky Tuesday, several hundred Marines representing Camp Lejeune units participated in a formal re-designation ceremony held at W.P.T. Hill Field to recognize the official merge of Marine Corps Installations East and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune under the singular command of Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Gorry. In front of more than
300 onlookers and assisted by their sergeants major, outgoing base commander Col. Daniel Lecce and Gorry encased their respective unit colors representing MCIEAST and Camp Lejeune. Shortly afterward, Gorry unfurled a new set to recognize the re-designated command. This change in command structure was in response to an earlier decision by Headquarters Marine Corps to realign installation commands to optimize support to
CPL. DAMANY S. COLEMAN Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
S
ince he took charge of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in June 2010, Col. Daniel J. Lecce has taken the role of base commanding officer to a level never seen before. April 3, during the MCB Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Installations East redesignation ceremony, Lecce turned his duties and responsibilities over to Maj. Gen. Thomas A. Gorry, the commanding general of MCIEAST. Lecce took a few moments to answer several questions about his unique tenure spent as the last field-grade officer in command of MCB Camp Lejeune. Q: What comes to mind when someone says, “natural disasters?” A: My tenure here at Camp Lejeune immediately comes to mind. They’re kind of connected but we rose to the occasion every time, a very Marine-like way of handling one bad news story after another. The Emergency Operations Center, the base Web page and the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Facebook page were working like a dream. As bad as it was, almost 40 hours being in the same place, we really reacted very well and got back to normal quickly. Q: What do you think you will miss the most about being the base commander? A: I think without question, I’m going to miss the young Marines. The demographic in the Marine Corps is 27-years-
Marine Corps operating forces and tenant commands. According to HQMC, these organizational changes are consistent with efficiencies initiatives ongoing throughout the Marine Corps to implement more effective ways for mission accomplishment. Originally stood up in October 2005, MCIEAST is one of three other regional commands that now fall under Marine Corps Installations Command at Headquarters Marine Corps. Since it
of-age or under. There is no greater honor than to lead Marines. Q: What were your expectations coming to this command and how did that match up to your experiences? A: I expected fewer natural disasters but it’s the typical Marine Corps: it puts you in a job where you either grow or sink. None of us are brought up as installation commanders. The staff I had was tremendous; the community here in Onslow County has been very cooperative. After the first couple of months, it didn’t become easy to work here but it became more and more of a pleasure to do it. Q: You have used the phrase “Stay hard, stay Marine,” on numerous occasions before. Can you explain? A: It means a lot of things. It means live the code. It’s the unsaid code that we all share, honor, courage and commitment. You have to live those words, you have to personify them. It means doing the right thing when no one is looking and that your word is your bond. When you say something, without question, 100 percent of the time I can trust you. That’s what it is to be a Marine. What causes someone to walk into a situation where death is almost assured? It’s the code and worse than death, is dishonoring that. Q: Over the past two years, you’ve become a part of the Camp Lejeune and Onslow County communities. How important is the military community to you? A: The community here is tremendous. I get people
was formed this past fall, the aim of MCICOM is to better increase the management and operations of the installations with a clarification of authority and responsibility. In addition, MCICOM hopes to standardize installation functions across the Marine Corps to better support the warfighting mission. The other commands include Marine Corps Installations Pacific in Okinawa, Japan, and Marine Corps Installations West in Camp Pendleton, Calif.
In a speech commending Lecce’s ability to take care of tenants and families while fostering critical relationships with the community, MCICOM Commanding General Maj. Gen. James Kessler remarked, “In the case of Dan Lecce, he has knocked the ball out of the park in all three areas.” Lecce was awarded a second Legion of Merit for his role in overseeing and protecting the 157,000-acre base, all while it underwent the largest construction boom
since the 1950s. According to the citation, he oversaw more than $1.5 billion in construction-related expenses in support of the Grow the Force initiative and Global War on Terrorism. Indeed, by all accounts, he had one of the most memorable tours of duty reconciling these activities with record rainfalls, a blizzard, a tornado, a 10,000 acre wildfire and a hurricane that dramatically impacted the base. SEE MERGE 7A
Photo by Cpl. Damany S. Coleman
Colonel Daniel J. Lecce, commanding officer of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, speaks to service members, families and friends before stepping down as the base commander during the MCB Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Installations East re-designation ceremony, April 3. (voicing their opinions) about many different things but the vast majority of them want to try and improve things. Every event that I’ve been to or any time I leave the base, everyone has been very gracious and very kind. It’s a community that you feel a part of. You don’t get this everywhere and the community experience that we have here, New River and all of Onslow County has been a great experience. Q: When the history of Camp Lejeune is written, what
are they going to say about your last few years here? A: They are going to talk about the unprecedented destructive weather and manmade disasters. There are people that have been here for more than 40 years who have never seen this. My change of command was during a horrible lightening storm and in 26 years (in the Marine Corps) I’ve never seen an entire formation run off of a field. That was a foreshadowing, because after that, we had 29 inches of rain in SEE MEU 7A
three days. After that, we had record snowfall. After that, a 10,000-acre wildfire. After that, a tornado. Then, a lightning bolt hit a tree at the base stables, which four horses were standing beneath. The horses were standing in water and because one of them was wearing metal shoes, they were all (electrocuted). When I got there, it was a mess. After it was over, it was one of those things that got everybody involved and we were all SEE LECCE 7A
KHAN NESHIN DISTRICT, AFGHANISTAN
INSIDE THE GLOBE
Afghan police show respect to villagers, receive cooperation in return SGT. MICHAEL CIFUENTES
Regimental Combat Team 5
WEAPONS PLATOON ADAPTS, OVERCOMES IN SOUTHERN HELMAND PAGE 3A LEJEUNE SPORTS 1B INSIDE LEJEUNE 1C CLASSIFIEDS 3C CAROLINA LIVING 1D
A patrol leader with the Afghan Uniformed Police said he’s made substantial progress building rapport with the locals during his three months of service in Khan Neshin District. This is no small feat for a person from the opposite side of the country and one who speaks a different language than the population he protects. He said there is one key element that takes him far when interacting with the people of Khan Neshin – respect. “When we show them respect, they return to us with respect. After that, we have their attention, we have their cooperation and more importantly, we have their respect,” said Bismullah Khaliq, a patrol leader with the Khan Neshin AUP precinct. During a foot patrol, March 24, to Wali Jan, a village almost three miles away from the precinct headquarters, Khaliq made sure that members of his patrol were giving proper greetings to villagers along the way, and were polite to motorists they
stopped and searched. It was an AUP-led patrol, with two Marines and a Navy corpsman attached to provide guidance and advice as needed. “The closer you can get with the people of the community, they’ll see you as approachable, and the closer they’ll get with you,” said Khaliq through an Uzbek to English linguist. He said it is difficult getting cooperation from the people in the southern Helmand area when the police walking through their villages are Uzbeks from northern Afghanistan. To further complicate the matter, the residents in this part of Khan Neshin are mostly Pashtuns. Though the Uzbek members of the AUP know only their native language and Dari, Khaliq still finds a way to relate. When the patrol reached the village, he spoke to the elders, who at first seemed reluctant to speak to the leader of a six-man Uzbek outfit, with three American advisers in tow. “I know we’re not from here. I know this is your village we’re entering, but we traveled this far to tell you that we are here for you,” Khaliq told the two SEE POLICE 7A
Photo by Sgt. Michael Cifuentes
Bismullah Khaliq, the patrol leader with a team of Afghan Uniformed Police based out of the Khan Neshin precinct, speaks with Staff Sgt. Alejandro Santiago, an assistant team leader with the Police Adviser Team, Company D, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, through a Dari to English linguist during a patrol here, March 24.