Latest news with #USMarineCorps
Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Little-known region now 'epicentre of terrorism' and poses threat to the West
A US general has sent a stark warning about a part of the world he has dubbed the 'epicentre of terrorism' as he says several 'thriving' groups could pose a threat to the West A little-known region of the world is becoming the "the epicentre of terrorism" as several groups are "thriving" in the area, a top army general has warned. US Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley warned that the Sahel region of western Africa, which includes Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, was becoming a hub for danger in the region but militant groups there could also pose a threat to the West, he told the African Chiefs of Defense Conference in Kenya. Langley, who heads US Africa Command, said the three nations were "in crisis" as these groups continue to grow and work with larger terror organisations in other continents. He also warned that one of these countries was particularly in trouble. Some groups in the area are aligned with well known militant organisations, such as ISIS-Sahel and al Qaeda-adjacent Jama'at Nusrat ul Islam wa al Muslimin (JNIM). The general said: "The terrorist networks affiliated with ISIS and al-Qaida are thriving, particularly in Burkina Faso, where the government has lost control of wide swaths of territory across their sovereign nation. Attacks are resurging in the Lake Chad region as well, and extremist groups are growing more aggressive." Langley also said these militants had set their sights on expanding westward to Africa's coast, warning that it could give them easier access to the US. He said this could risk the groups becoming stronger as it would open up more illegal routes to make money. The general added: "If they secure access to the coastline, they can finance their operations through smuggling, human trafficking, and arms trading. This puts not just African nations at risk, but also increases the chance of threats reaching the US shores." Langley pointed out that the US was particularly concerned about the JNIM militant group, which has grown "fourfold" since 2022, saying it "could have the capacity to attack the homeland". The general added that the US had withdrawn it's troops from Niger in 2024 and claimed his country had not been able to closely follow terror activity there. The US had used Niger as its main base to monitor Jihadist groups in the area, but two countries reached a "disengagement" agreement in May 2024. The military junta, which seized control of the nation in 2023, had already kicked out French troops, and has appeared to build ties with Russia. He said: "Unfortunately, with our withdrawal from the region, we have lost our ability to monitor these terrorist groups closely but continue to liaison with partners to provide what support we can." Langley even said that attacks by extremist and terror groups in the area have increased since the US has withdrawn from the area. He warned: "The scale and brutality of some of these incidents are really troubling."
New York Post
3 days ago
- New York Post
Marine ‘slammed' passenger who tried to open door mid-flight: ‘He was up to something crazy'
A hero Marine has told how he 'slammed' a crazy-looking passenger to the ground to stop him from opening their plane's door mid-flight, then zip-tied him to a seat while the flight made an emergency diversion. Jody Armentrout, a sergeant major who has served more than 20 years in the US Marine Corps, said the unidentified passenger caught his attention on Saturday morning's All Nippon Airways flight from Japan to Texas when he took down his backpack and went aimlessly from bathroom to bathroom. 'He came out of that one and began pacing up and down the aisle, so that just threw my radar on,' the 50-year-old Marine told NBC News. 'His eyes — you could definitely tell there was something going on.' 3 Sgt. Maj. Jody Armentrout said he tackled a passenger who tried to open an airplane door midflight. U.S. Marines Keeping a close watch on the crazed-looking passenger, Armenault said he watched him start to eye up the emergency exit beside him. The Marine stood up and blocked the door — just for the other passenger to turn around and burst through the galley toward the door on the opposite side. 'He grabbed a strap around the door, pulled it off, and about that time is when I took him and slammed him, put him on the ground,' Armentrout told the outlet. 3 Officials said the man was suffering a medical crisis and he was taken to a hospital in Seattle. FOX 26 'And then there was an older gentleman sitting on that side [who] woke up, and he got up and kind of helped me.' Armentrout then used zip ties to secure the troubled passenger to his seat as the Houston-bound flight was instead diverted to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington. He sat next to him for the remainder of the flight from Japan, where the Marine is based. The unidentified passenger was experiencing a medical crisis, officials have said. He was taken to a hospital and had not been charged as of Wednesday. The Marine said he felt compelled to act to save others onboard — including babies — with some of the other passengers later thanking him for his potentially life-saving response. 'I just knew he was up to something crazy, and at the end of the day, I was willing to take the risk of him saying 'I'm not doing anything' and then just them making him go sit back down than me allowing him to do anything that's going to put anybody at risk,' Armentrout told NBC News. It was not the end of the drama on the flight. When the plane landed in Seattle, another passenger ' frustrated at the flight diversion' punched a bathroom door, according to the FBI's Seattle field office. 3 The Marine zip-tied the man to a chair as they diverted to Seattle. FOX 26 That person, not publicly identified, was also removed by the Port of Seattle Police from the flight, but hjas likewise not been charged as of Wednesday. 'It was a weird flight,' said Armentrout, who will be heading back to Japan next week.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
James J. Cerenelli, Sr., Youngstown, Ohio
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (MyValleyTributes) – James J. 'Jim' Cerenelli, Sr., beloved husband, father, uncle and lifelong public servant, entered into his Eternal Rest on Sunday, May 25, 2025. He was 72. Jim was born July 29, 1952, in Youngstown, the only son of Josephine F. and James M. Cerenelli. Find obituaries from your high school Music soon became his first love, playing saxophone, drums and guitar during his youth. It bloomed into a relationship that would help define his life. Jim polished his musical talents while taking part in several sports at Liberty High School before graduating in 1970. He enrolled briefly at Youngstown State University. He then began his extraordinary life of service and sacrifice by joining the US Marine Corps at the height of the Vietnam War. Jim was stationed in Hawaii, at Parris Island and in Washington, DC. He called his military experience the most meaningful and consequential of his formative years. Upon his honorable discharge, Jim moved to Columbus, where he earned a living as a musician. His love for country and community eventually led him back home to follow in his father's indelible footsteps and join the Liberty Township Police Department. Jim's tenure saw him fulfill practically every conceivable duty, from patrolman to acting chief. He led the detective bureau, completed FBI training at Quantico, Virginia and was part of the Violent Crimes Task Force. He helped bring justice to countless families, imparted wisdom on a generation of officers and kept his community a safer place, all while upholding the highest standards of ethical and professional work. Jim's retirement from the police department in 2002 soon led to his next calling of service, he developed the Public Safety program at Trumbull Career and Tech Center from the ground up. It provided him an opportunity to mold and develop young adults into the same caliber of EMTs, firefighters and dispatchers that he embodied. Perhaps even more importantly, it allowed him to personally impact a host of men and women as a leader, mentor and even a father figure. Even years after his second retirement, those men and women credit him for their career paths and successes. Away from his contributions to the military, law enforcement and education, Jim considered his family the center of his universe. He and his wife, Angie enjoyed 48 years of the strongest, most enduring and complete love that two people could ever hope to share. Their bond gave them two sons, James J., Jr. and Christopher. The pride Jim had in both of them could've only been exceeded by the devotion he had to them. There was simply nothing Jim wouldn't do for his children. Jim adored his two granddaughters, Gianna and Aubrey every bit as much as his children and their bond was as precious as it was deep. Jim also leaves many cousins and dear friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and grandparents. Family and friends may visit and pay tribute to Jim on Monday, June 2, 2025, from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m., at St. Rose Catholic Church, 48 Main Street Girard, OH 44420, where a funeral Mass will be celebrated at the Church at 11:30 a.m., with military honors immediately following. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to either Toys for Tots ( Hospice of The Valley ( or Emmanuel Center in Girard ( Arrangements handled by Rossi & Santucci Funeral Home. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of James J. 'Jim' Cerenelli Sr., please visit our floral 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Arabian Post
3 days ago
- Business
- Arabian Post
Marines Forge Ahead with AI-Driven Transformation Strategy
The US Marine Corps is advancing a comprehensive artificial intelligence strategy aimed at overhauling its operational, logistical, and decision-making frameworks. This initiative is designed to embed AI into the core of military functions, moving beyond isolated technological applications to a holistic transformation of processes and structures. A central element of this strategy is the deployment of Digital Transformation Teams across various commands. These cross-functional units are tasked with digitizing workflows, enhancing data pipelines, and identifying vulnerabilities to facilitate the integration of AI into real-world operations. The first DXT was established at the II Marine Expeditionary Force, with plans to expand to the Marine Corps Logistics Command and Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, by the end of the fiscal year. The Marine Corps' AI implementation plan emphasizes the importance of a robust data infrastructure. Efforts are underway to assess and upgrade cloud and on-premises assets, establish data governance frameworks, and develop a data-centric culture across all levels of the organization. This foundational work is considered critical for the effective deployment of AI and machine learning platforms. ADVERTISEMENT To build an AI-competent workforce, the plan outlines initiatives for tailored training programs targeting users, builders, and decision-makers. By March 2026, the Training and Education Command is expected to centralize learning tools and resources, including licensing external training platforms, to enhance proactive learning. Additionally, the plan calls for analyzing career retention compensation opportunities to support the development and retention of AI talent. In terms of governance, the Marine Corps aims to reform its Risk Management Framework to embrace automation and reduce administrative overhead. By September 2027, the goal is to provide data security posture management solutions that enable data-centric security and Zero Trust architectures. Furthermore, AI governance requirements will be incorporated into readiness inspections to ensure enforcement and oversight. The Marine Corps is also exploring partnerships with industry and academia to accelerate AI adoption. Plans include establishing cooperative agreements and contracting vehicles for AI development, as well as organizing regular industry-focused events for information sharing and capability demonstrations. A feasibility assessment for a new Center for Digital Transformation is underway, with the aim of providing digital, data, and AI knowledge-based products to support and grow a healthy ecosystem. In operational contexts, the Marine Corps is leveraging AI to enhance decision-making and efficiency. For instance, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit utilized generative AI models during deployments to assist with staff functions, including summarizing situation reports and monitoring media mentions. These applications demonstrate the practical benefits of AI in streamlining information processing and situational awareness.
Asia Times
5 days ago
- General
- Asia Times
US Marine Sergeant's final farewell to American MIAs in Cambodia
KOH TANG, Cambodia – US Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Clark Hale (Ret.) has agonized about the fate of three men in his platoon for 50 long years. US Marines Private First Class Danny Marshall, Lance Corporal Joseph Hargrove and Private First Class Gary Hall were inadvertently left behind on Koh Tang in what has been called 'The Last Battle of the Vietnam War.' Ironically, that battle took place in Cambodia, on a remote, uninhabited island of marginal significance. But Hale has thought about his soldiers almost every day since May 15, 1975, which has brought him back to Cambodia five times in the last 30 years, longing for some kind of closure he now admits will probably never happen. The Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975; Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese on April 30. In theory, the war was then over. But on May 12, the Khmer Rouge navy seized a US-registered container ship, the SS Mayaguez, headed from Hong Kong to Sattahip, Thailand. There are debates to this day as to whether the ship was in Cambodian or international waters. The ship was first taken to Cambodia's Paulo Wai Island, where it anchored overnight, then moved to Koh Tang about 160 kilometers north. Unbeknownst to the Americans, the crew was taken off the boat and moved to Rong Samlem island, closer to the mainland. Believing the crew was still on Koh Tang, US President Gerald Ford ordered an invasion of the island. US intelligence indicated it was thinly defended, with maybe '20 to 30 irregulars.' The intel was wrong. When US Marines hit two beaches on the morning of May 15, they were met with well-placed weapons and between 100 and 200 Khmer Rouge soldiers dug in behind the shoreline. The hail of gunfire was horrendous. Three US helicopters were shot down just off shore, and Marines on the beaches were under heavy AK-47, .30- and .50-caliber machine guns, and RPG fire. Later in the day, Clark Hale and his Marines landed on the East Beach. He laments the fact that he and his platoon, based in Okinawa, had had almost no time to train together. He said he couldn't even name the soldiers in his unit. Even worse, when they landed on the island, his unit only had one radio. Hale, a two-tour veteran of action in Vietnam in the 1960s, said that when platoons went into the field, they always had four radios. On Koh Tang, he couldn't communicate with his men spread along the beach, only with ships or aircraft offshore – in part a recipe for the disaster to follow. 'There was no communication—we had one radio per platoon. For a company commander to put a platoon in a combat situation (with one radio) was unheard of,' he laments. One of the most painful aspects of the whole operation was that when the Khmer Rouge realized how serious the US was about recovering the ship and its crew, especially as the US started bombing sites on the mainland, they agreed to release the sailors. They were picked up by the USS Wilson at around 10 am that morning. With mixed communications between the White House and various military services involved, more Marines were sent to Koh Tang two hours later, at around noon. When the Marines were pulled off the beach eight hours later that day, the situation was chaotic as soldiers, still under fire with some badly wounded, scrambled in the dark, sloshing through the sea to get on helicopters hovering offshore. There was no easy way to ensure that everyone had made it off the island. Hale and some of his men were flown to the USS Coral Sea. Others were taken to different ships. 'We were spread out on three ships,' says Hale. 'I started doing a head count; after an hour, I thought we were missing three men.' But he wasn't sure where they were. 'If I'd known they were (on the island), we maybe could have gotten them out…we just don't leave men behind.' When Hale got back to Okinawa, he was told, 'not to talk about it.' That is: the possibility soldiers were left alive on the island. Of the roughly 220 Marines who landed on Koh Tang in several waves and related helicopter crews carrying them, after a daylong struggle, 18 Americans were dead and another 50 wounded. Twenty-three US Air Force personnel also died when their helicopter—as part of the rescue mission—crashed in Thailand shortly after takeoff. * * * Over the years since, in interviews with former Khmer Rouge, it is believed – but not confirmed – that of the three Marines left behind, Hargrove was captured on May 16 and killed shortly after. Marshall and Hall were captured on the island after about a week when they were caught trying to steal food from the Khmer Rouge base on the island. Former Koh Tang Khmer Rouge commander General Em Son said in 2015, when Hale also visited the island, that when Hargrove tried to escape, one of his men fired into the sand and the bullet 'ricocheted up and killed one.' Son said the other two soldiers were sent to the mainland and held there before being executed in a temple used as a prison. Then one body was buried near the coast and the other dumped in the ocean. What happened after he turned over the captives, Son said, was not his responsibility. In 2015, former Khmer Rouge General Em Son said one of the US Marines was killed inadvertently after being captured. No one believed him. Photo: Michael Hayes At the time, Em Son was no doubt aware of the ongoing Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Phnom Penh and most likely worried he might be arrested and tried for war crimes. Was he telling the truth? It is impossible to know for sure. In 2015, Hale and six other Mayaguez vets were taken to the temple and then to spots along the coast of Sihanoukville where Marshall and Hall's bodies were allegedly left by the ocean. * * * Hale and his wife Teresa, from Noble, Oklahoma, were joined on their latest return visit to Cambodia by Danielle Jones, the niece and surviving next of kin to MIA Danny Marshall. Born in 1983, Jones never met her 'Uncle Danny', but her family has anguished over his fate, especially Marshall's mother and grandmother–both now deceased–for decades. Jones, from Marietta, Ohio, became close over the years to members of an informal Mayaguez veterans group. She said she has spent countless hours on the phone letting the vets talk at length – some of whom she says still suffer from 'survivors' guilt.' 'I gained two platoons worth of uncles,' Jones said, referring to her involvement with Mayaguez vets over the last two decades. When Hale called her seven weeks ago and asked if she wanted to go to Cambodia, she had to scramble to get her first-ever US passport. The flight to Phnom Penh—paid for by Mayaguez vets – was her first time on an airplane, and the trip to Koh Tang was the first time she had seen an ocean. On May 14, Hale, Jones and others on the trip organized by Vietnam veteran John Muller were taken to the temple in Sihanoukville, where the two Marines were thought to have been executed. The place where her uncle was possibly buried is now an abandoned construction site and the beach was unreachable. But that didn't prevent her from becoming overcome with grief she has harbored for so many years. 'Here we are 50 years later and none of the three Marines are back,' she grumbled to this reporter later that day. Danielle Jones, consumed by grief at the site in Sihanoukville where her uncle Danny Marshall was allegedly buried. John Muller, a Vietnam vet who organized the trip, tries to offer some solace (May 2025). Photo: Michael Hayes * * * The US government, for its part, has spent multiple thousands of hours and a bundle of what the US military sometimes calls 'treasure' looking for American MIAs in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. When official relations were re-established—after an 18-year hiatus – with the Cambodian government in 1993, recovery efforts were started under an effort called the Joint Task Force/Full Accounting (JTF/FA), which has been re-named the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). After 1975, there were 81 American servicemen listed as 'Missing' in Cambodia. Over the last 32 years, 41 remains have been recovered in the country. Digs have been undertaken all over Cambodia, including as many as 15 on Koh Tang. The exact number of recovery missions undertaken on Koh Tang was not available from US government sources on short notice to this reporter for this article. DPAA is understandably reluctant to openly discuss details of their ongoing recovery efforts (and their previous ones) out of fears that hopes will be raised with loved ones back in the United States, only to be dashed again if no remains are found. Some skeptics, however, accuse the government of trying to hide the truth. The work is exhausting, time-consuming and often frustrating, like looking for a needle in a haystack when even the location of the haystack itself is open to serious debate. One of JTF/FA's more extensive operations—which this reporter visited – took place on Koh Tang in November 1995, when the USS Brunswick, a navy salvage ship equipped with underwater search gear and teams of SCUBA divers, spent several months examining the three helicopter wrecks off the beaches there, while separate teams also scoured sites on land. Multiple teams were set up who sifted through buckets of silt and soil, looking for bones or other human artifacts, including clothing or anything that might be used for identification purposes. US Marine Staff Sargent Clark Hale has visited Koh Tang three times in the last 30 years, hoping to find answers to what happened to three of his men. Above, in 2015, remains of a US helicopter shot down were still on the beach. Picture: Michael Hayes Sixty Cambodian soldiers based on the island were paid to help dig and sift. In the sea, gear was used to siphon up silt and debris from helicopter wreckage. Offshore, 161 pieces of human remains—teeth, arms, legs, fingers, ribs and jawbones—were recovered at one helicopter crash site, after which they were sent to labs in Hawaii for DNA testing. The remains of nine servicemen killed in action were identified from that operation. Over the years and multiple visits, remains of 13 of the 18 servicemen who died on Koh Tang have been identified. There have been six books and dozens of articles written about the Mayaguez Incident. They are all tough to read. A recent May 6, 2025, article by David Vergun in DOD News quotes Navy Commander Richard Hughes, who some years ago wrote, 'The US ground assault was ill-advised, a risky insertion of poorly prepared troops on an island where none of the crew was located. The crew's release was made in spite of, not because of, the island assault.' Ralph Wetterhahn, in his book 'The Last Battle: The Mayaguez Incident and the End of the Vietnam War', gives a summary overview of the operation with a bit more oomph. He writes: The struggle on Koh Tang was, in a sense, a metaphor of the entire Vietnam War: an action begun for what seemed a good cause and a noble purpose, which quickly degenerated into an ugly, desperate fight, micromanaged by no less than the office of the president of the United States. While Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger improvised tactics, confusing political expedience with military reality during a black-tie dinner, Americans lay bleeding and dying needlessly on a distant spit of land. In so many ways, the Mayaguez Incident mirrors the outcome of the Southeast Asian conflict itself.' For Clark Hale, 77, his latest visit to Koh Tang is probably an incomplete closure to a half-century ordeal. 'This is my last time to come here—as a Marine looking for my Marines,' he said haltingly at the US Embassy ceremony on May 16 honoring those who died and Hale's three men still listed as fate 'Unknown' on the embassy memorial. 'As far as the Mayaguez and my men…I don't think they will ever be found.' As a small personal coda to this sorry tale, and having visited Koh Tang three times since 1995, the whole episode is part and parcel of the larger conflict in Indochina that lasted too many decades. In Cambodia, literally millions of citizens, especially those now still alive and over 40, lost family members during almost three decades of war since 1970. The Khmer Rouge Tribunal has determined that as many as one million people were executed during the Khmer Rouge's three years, eight months and 20 days in power between 1975 and 1978. Among my own Cambodian newspaper staff, numbering about 100 over many years, all lost relatives during the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror and none, to my knowledge, have any idea where family members' remains are. There is no closure for these folks, just the determination to try and cope forever with terrible loss and move on. Wars are often most painful for the survivors. Michael Hayes was co-founder, publisher & editor-in-chief of the Phnom Penh Post from 1992 to 2008.
