Trials In Tainted Space Kandar
Jarrell Campbell
Note: Currently all Marine Corps chronologies are not available on-line. The History Division will be adding chronologies as it becomes available in a digital format. Please check back periodically for new material.
Currently all Marine Corps chronologies are not available on-line. The History Division will be adding chronologies as it becomes available in a digital format. Please check back periodically for new material.
1 January - The strength of the U.S. Armed Forces was 2,177,862, of whom 198,245 were Marines.
1 January - Marine Detachment, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) was activated at Norfolk, Virginia.
3 January - 27 March - Approximately 6,300 Marines and sailors from elements of the 4th Marine Amphibious Brigade participated in Exercise Alpine Warrior '87. The annual training exercise took place at Fort McCoy, Minnesota, and Volk Field Air National Guard Base, Wisconsin. It was designed to teach individual and unit arctic skills in preparation for cold weather contingency operations.
8 January - Medal of Honor recipient, General Christian F. Schilt, died in Norfolk, Virginia. Enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1917, he served with one of the first organized American air units that went overseas during World War I. In 1919, after being designated a naval aviator, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. While serving with Observation Squadron 7-M in Managua, Nicaragua, in 1928, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his daring rescue and resupply flights to the beleaguered Marine force at Quilali. During World War II, he participated in the Guadalcanal Campaign and the consolidation of the Southern Solomon Islands. Upon his return to the states, General Schilt commanded the 9th Marine Aircraft Wing, and later the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Korea during the Korean War. He later served as Commanding General, Aircraft Fleet Marine Force, Pacific. Prior to his retirement in 1957, the decorated aviator served as Director of Aviation at Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps.
8 January - A CH-53E "Super Stallion" from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 465 crashed at the Salton Sea Test Range in Imperial County, California, killing all five Marines on board. Based at Marine Corps Air Station, Tustin, California, the helicopter was participating in routine training at the time of the crash.
12 January - The air station at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, was named Munn Airfield in honor of the late Lieutenant General John C. Munn during dedication ceremonies. A decorated aviator, General Munn served as the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps between 1960 and 1963 and was then named Commanding General of Camp Pendleton where he served until his retirement in 1964.
14 January - An A-6E "Intruder" assigned to the Navy's Attack Squadron 128, Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island, Washington, crashed during a routine training mission near Naval Air Facility, El Centro, California. One Marine officer was killed and another was injured.
15 January - 6 February - More than 150 Marine and Navy marksmen from commands in Hawaii participated in the 1987 Pacific Division Rifle and Pistol Matches at the Camp Smith Training Facility. For the second consecutive year, Marine Aircraft Group 24 (MCAS Kaneohe Bay), made a clean sweep of the team awards. In addition to competing with the M-16A2 service rifle, the competitors were introduced to the 9mm Beretta pistol, which is scheduled to replace the Colt .45 caliber automatic. The matches were part of the Competition-in-Arms Program designed to enhance the combat marksmanship proficiency of the Marine Corps.
17 January - Two Marine officers were killed in the crash of an A-6E "Intruder" into the western Mediterranean Sea. The jet was attached to Marine All-Weather Attack Squadron 533 at Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina. It was operating off the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy at the time of the accident. As an outgrowth of the recent crashes, the Marine Corps' five all-weather attack squadrons temporarily grounded all older aircraft for a series of inspections.
23 January - Four Marines who were killed while serving on Marine Security Guard duty in El Salvador were honored in a dedication ceremony at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Four streets were dedicated, one each in honor of Staff Sergeants Bobby Joe Dickson and Thomas T. Handwork, and Sergeants Patrick R. Kwiatkowski and Gregory H. Weber who were killed in a terrorist attack at a sidewalk cafe 19 June 1985 in San Salvador, El Salvador. Major General Robert E. Haebel, Commanding General of Camp Pendleton, praised the fallen Marines in his remarks.
27 January - Charges were preferred against Sergeant Clayton J. Lonetree, formerly a member of the Marine Security Guard detachment at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Arrested in December 1986, Lonetree was charged with sexual involvement with a Soviet woman and with allowing, at her request, unauthorized personnel access of restricted embassy areas.
28 January - 4 February - Marines of the 7th Marine Amphibious Brigade participated in Exercise Kernel Blitz 1-87 in Southern California. Designed to test the combat readiness of the brigade, the exercise included the first operational use of the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC).
5 February - General Paul X. Kelley delivered his fourth and final report as the Commandant of the Marine Corps to the Senate Armed Services Committee stating that the Corps' readiness for war was the highest ever in peacetime. Citing an across-the-board increase in readiness in both air and ground components, General Kelley assured Congress that the Marine Corps was ready to meet the challenge as a versatile, cost-effective force that can be rapidly projected to resolve conflict on foreign soil.
6 February - Major General Dennis J. Murphy, Commanding General, 2d Marine Division, presented Major David W. Mauldin with the 1986 Leftwich Trophy at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Named for Lieutenant Colonel William G. Leftwich, who was killed in a helicopter crash in Vietnam while serving as commander of the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, it has been awarded annually to deserving Marines since 1979. The Trophy recognizes outstanding leadership by a Marine captain serving with ground forces in the Fleet Marine Force. Major Mauldin earned the award while serving as commander of Company E, 2d Battalion, 8th Marines.
12 February - A CH-46E "Sea Knight" helicopter crashed in Trabuco Canyon near Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California, on a night training flight, killing all three Marine crew members. The helicopter was attached to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 764.
19 February - 9 May - The III Marine Amphibious Force participated in Exercise Team Spirit '87 in South Korea. The 12th annual joint-combined training focused on rapid deployment for the defense of the Republic of Korea. It was designed to evaluate and improve procedures and techniques used to defend the Korean peninsula and increase the combat readiness of U.S. and Republic of Korea Marines. Approximately 200,000 United States and Republic of Korea military personnel participated in the exercise.
21 February - Major General William T. Fairbourn died in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the age of 73. During General Fairbourn's illustrious 32-year career, he served as commanding officer of the 2d Battalion, 12th Marines on Iwo Jima and in 1955 commanded the 11th Marines. During the 1960s, the decorated general commanded the 1st Marine Division and the 5th Marine Expeditionary Force. He retired in 1967.
1 March - The 1st Light Antiaircraft Missile (LAAM) Battalion was reactivated on Okinawa. In response to Fleet Marine Force concerns about the organizational deficiencies of the Forward Area Air Defense (FAAD) Batteries, the 1st LAAM Battalion was activated for optimized use of the programmed air defense structure to enhance all aspects of the Marine Air Ground Task Force air defense.
3 - 29 March - The 4th Marine Amphibious Brigade (MAB) participated in Exercise Cold Winter '87, a NATO exercise held in northern Norway. Cold Winter '87 marked the first time a Marine general commanded an Allied defensive force in Norway. Brigadier General Matthew B. Caulfield led the 4th MAB, along with British and Norwegian units. Under the direction of the Military Airlift Command, the Marines of the 4th MAB, as well as rotary-wing aircraft, were transported to the exercise by military and chartered civilian aircraft. Designed to enhance operational readiness among forces that protect NATO's northern flank, the exercise tested the forces' capabilities during extreme winter conditions.
6 March - The Majestic Metal Fabrication Company of Roseville, Michigan, was awarded a contract to provide 189 applique armor kits (AAK) for the Marine Corps' Assault Amphibious Vehicle 7A1 (AAV7A1) personnel and command and control vehicles. The procurement was for the P900 AAK version consisting of perforated plates attached to the vehicle hull. The AAK would significantly improve AAV7A1 survivability against small arms kinetic energy munitions.
25 April - 15 May - More than 40,000 U.S. military personnel, including Marines of the II Marine Amphibious Force, participated in Exercise Solid Shield '87. The exercise was the 24th in a series of annual joint exercises designed to emphasize command and control of military forces with a friendly nation in a simulated combat environment. Solid Shield, which takes place every other year, was divided into two phases -- one conducted at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and the other, a joint U.S. - Honduran air and amphibious exercise in Honduras.
____ May - Teams of government and industry personnel, who had been actively replacing defects in the main transmission assemblies of the recently grounded fleet of CH-53E Sikorsky helicopters, have put the heavy lift helicopters back in the air. The Marine Corps maintained three operational squadrons, each with 16 CH-53Es "Super Stallions" (Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadrons 464, 465, and 466). Additionally, it had 10 CH-53Es in Marine Helicopter Training Squadron 301, and one assigned to Marine Helicopter Squadron 1.
____ May - The consolidation of Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) functions within the Marine Corps was approved. This consolidation involved the merger of the Morale Support Division of the Manpower Department and the Marine Corps Exchange Service Branch of the Installations and Logistics Department, at Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. The consolidation resulted from Congressional guidance to organize and manage all MWR activities in a more business-like manner. Congressional budget actions reduced appropriated fund support and concurrently focused on the need to generate and manage additional non-appropriated funds to support MWR requirements.
4 May - The Commandant of the Marine Corps approved the naming of Building 3090 at the Marine Corps Development and Education Command, Quantico, Virginia, in honor of Sergeant Darrell S. Cole who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for heroism during the Iwo Jima campaign of World War II while attached to Company B, 1st Battalion, 23d Marines, 4th Marine Division. Building 3090 would be the new home of the Quantico Marine Band.
7 May - A United Nations delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) observed the operations at a Prisoner of War compound during Exercise Solid Shield '87. This marked the first visit by an ICRC representative to a U.S. military exercise. The visit served as a means to introduce military officials to an organization that plays an important role in world conflicts.
9 May - The USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG 60), an Oliver Hazard Perry class guided missile frigate, was commissioned at U.S. Naval Station, Long Beach, California. The ship was named in honor of Sergeant Rodney M. Davis, a posthumous Medal of Honor recipient who died in 1967 while serving as platoon sergeant with Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam. It was the fifth frigate to be named after a Marine. The other four were the USS Lewis B. Puller (FFG 23), USS Nicholas (FFG 47), USS Vandegrift (FFG 48), and USS Elrod (FFG 55).
21 May - The Marine Corps decided to procure 12 Mobile Electronic Warfare Support Systems (MEWSS) that would provide the capability of detecting, locating, and degrading enemy tactical AM and FM radio communications in the VHF and UHF spectrums. MEWSS was an integration of existing electronic warfare (EW) systems in a light armored vehicle derivative which would provide for rapid displacement of EW assets over all types of terrain.
22 May - This date marked the 75th anniversary of Marine Corps aviation. On 22 May 1912, First Lieutenant Alfred A. Cunningham reported to the Navy's aviation camp at Annapolis for flight instruction. Cunningham was the first Marine Corps aviator and led the 1st Marine Aviation Force in France during World War I. A major traveling exhibition of aviation art, "75 Years of Marine Corps Aviation A Tribute," assembled by the Marine Corps Museum, Washington, D.C., illustrated events and aircraft from 1912 to the 1980s.
29 May - A production contract was signed with Litton Industries for delivery of Tactical Air Operations Modules (TAOM) to the Marine Corps and the Air Force. This semi-automated system replaced the major components of the Tactical Air Operations Center (TAOC) fielded in the early sixties. The modular design of the TAOM would dramatically reduce time to emplace and displace, enhancing survivability on the modern day battlefield. The TAOM would also provide the essential combat capability to command and control assigned airspace and air defense weapons, both interceptors and surface-to-air defense missiles, to meet the postulated threat of the 1990s. The Marine Corps planned to procure 48 TAOMs.
____ June - The "Silver Eagles" of Marine Fighter Attack (VMFA) Squadron 115 made aviation history when their F/A-18 "Hornets" arrived in Iwakuni, Japan, under the Marine Corps Unit Deployment Program. The arrival of VMFA-115, home based at Beaufort, South Carolina, marked the introduction of the F/A-18s into the six month rotation cycle, replacing the last F-4 "Phantom" squadron, VMFA-212, to participate in the program.
___ June - A joint Navy-Marine document providing general guidance to commanders and staffs involved in the planning and execution of Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF) Operations was published. Operational Handbook 7-6, Maritime Prepositioning Force Operations (Tactical Memorandum PZ.0022-1-87) addressed the characteristics, scope, planning, and execution of MPF operations to include the responsibilities of commanders, MPF organization, and terminology.