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Sgt. Luis Hernandez was serving in Marjah, Afghanistan with the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment when an IED exploded and nearly killed. He donated the flak jacket he was wearing at the time to the National Museum of the Marine Corps during Friday night’s Marjah Marines Reunion Dinner at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. - Sgt. Luis Hernandez was serving in Marjah, Afghanistan with the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment when an IED exploded and nearly killed. He donated the flak jacket he was wearing at the time to the National Museum of the Marine Corps during Friday night’s Marjah Marines Reunion Dinner at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

Marjah vet donates painful battle reminder to museum

Luis Hernandez can tell you the details as if they happened yesterday. It was Easter Sunday 2010 when the former Marine squad leader was leading a patrol in the southern Afghanistan town of Marjah when an improvised explosive device laden with glass, bullets, razors and bolts suddenly went off just a few feet in front of him, riddling nearly every part of his body with shrapnel

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Medal of Honor recipient William Kyle Carpenter, center, who was the Guest of Honor at Friday night’s Marjah Marines Reunion Dinner at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, poses for a picture with Gunnery Sgt. Matt Mata, left, and his 13-year-old son, Erin. Matt Mata served in Marjah as a staff sergeant with the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. - Medal of Honor recipient William Kyle Carpenter, center, who was the Guest of Honor at Friday night’s Marjah Marines Reunion Dinner at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, poses for a picture with Gunnery Sgt. Matt Mata, left, and his 13-year-old son, Erin. Matt Mata served in Marjah as a staff sergeant with the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment.

Marjah veterans gather at NMMC for 5-year reunion

Some no longer wore the uniform, but, five years after taking part in one of the biggest battles in the Global War on Terror, they are all still Marines. Gathering at the National Museum of the Marine Corps for Friday night’s Marjah Marines Reunion Dinner, several hundred of the Marines, sailors and airmen who scored one of the most decisive victories in the war in Afghanistan joined family and friends in regaling over their many accomplishments in the face of a determined Taliban enemy while also remembering their fallen comrades. The dinner was the emotional climax of a three-day reunion aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico.

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An aerial photo taken Jan. 31 of Marine Corps University, situated near the Potomac River aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, shows the progress of the various construction projects to date. - An aerial photo taken Jan. 31 of Marine Corps University, situated near the Potomac River aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, shows the progress of the various construction projects to date.

Marine Corps University construction project nearing the end of Phase II

Marine Corps University, located aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico and currently headed by Brig. Gen. Helen Pratt, is responsible for educating leaders in the art and science of war and developing their critical thinking and decision-making skills.

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Quantico Middle/High School sophomore DJ, 15, plays on the Fairfax Falcons basketball. The team recently won a tournament Jan. 25 in Philadelphia. - Quantico Middle/High School sophomore DJ, 15, plays on the Fairfax Falcons basketball. The team recently won a tournament Jan. 25 in Philadelphia.

Soph is paralympic basketball star

During the school day, Quantico Middle/High School sophomore DJ, 15, is a polite, hard-working student who enjoys math, but after school and on weekends, he is a paralympic basketball standout. Born with spina bifida, the most common disabling birth defect in the United States, according to the Spina Bifida Association, he was not expected to ever be able to walk on his own. However, “he proved them all wrong,” said his father, Master Gunnery Sgt. Dedric Foreman, the aviation supply chief for the Executive Flight Detachment.

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Quantico Middle/High School senior Raquel Anderson, 18, is a talented singer who has auditioned for the television show “The Voice” and sung the National Anthem at multiple school, base and community events. - Quantico Middle/High School senior Raquel Anderson, 18, is a talented singer who has auditioned for the television show “The Voice” and sung the National Anthem at multiple school, base and community events.

Singing sensation aims to snag second audition for ‘The Voice’

Quantico Middle/High School Principal Michael Johnson is proud of all his students, though there are some whose accomplishments stand out to him. Senior Raquel Anderson, 18, is one such student, and Johnson praised her singing ability at a recent school event.

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Maj. Gen. Andrew O’Donnell, deputy commanding general of Marine Corps Combat Development Command and father of Ashurst first grader Isabelle read “Cedric and the Dragon,” to all the first grade students at Ashurst Elementary school aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico. After O'Donnell read to the students Blue Star Families donated a book to each of the children in attendance. - Maj. Gen. Andrew O’Donnell, deputy commanding general of Marine Corps Combat Development Command and father of Ashurst first grader Isabelle read “Cedric and the Dragon,” to all the first grade students at Ashurst Elementary school aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico. After O'Donnell read to the students Blue Star Families donated a book to each of the children in attendance.

Ashurst Elementary benefits from Books on Bases program

On Feb. 11, Ashurst Elementary School aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico became the recipient of 90 books donated through the Books on Bases program run by Blue Star Families. The students from Ashurst’s three first grade classrooms gathered in the library after lunch for a special story hour with Maj. Gen. Andrew O’Donnell, deputy commanding general of Marine Corps Combat Development Command and father of Ashurst first grader Isabelle.

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Is it love or addiction?

With Saturday’s Valentine’s Day approaching, the Consolidated Substance Abuse Counseling Center aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico wants to remind people that healthy relationships are important year-round. Jacqueline Williams, CSACC program director, said that many of their clients have unhealthy relationships. Though the center’s overarching purpose is to help its clients work through substance abuse problems, “Addiction impacts every area of a person’s life,” Williams said, and “CSACC provides a holistic, health and wellness approach to the treatment of addiction.”

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Sgt. Maj. Mark A. Byrd Sr., base sergeant major, Marine Corps Base Quantico, speaks Friday to the 23 Marines taking the inaugural Personal Readiness Seminar at the Chapel Annex. - Sgt. Maj. Mark A. Byrd Sr., base sergeant major, Marine Corps Base Quantico, speaks Friday to the 23 Marines taking the inaugural Personal Readiness Seminar at the Chapel Annex.

Young Marines expand horizons during inaugural Personal Readiness Seminar

“Start the rest of your life right now!” With those few short words, Parisa Fetherson summed up the purpose of Friday’s inaugural Personal Readiness Seminar designed to better help young Marines succeed and prepare for life after the Marine Corps.

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NHCQ scores high on standards, quality assurance certification

In January, the Medical Home Port, Naval Health Clinic Quantico and Branch Health Clinic Washington Navy Yard received verification from the National Committee for Quality Assurance for again achieving Level III recognition by demonstrating compliance and scoring high in all “must pass” elements of the following respective NCQA standards.

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April Canty, the financial technician for Food Service Branch Quantico, is the department’s lone civilian employee and plays a key role in overseeing the funds necessary to run the five mess halls and different accounts aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico. - April Canty, the financial technician for Food Service Branch Quantico, is the department’s lone civilian employee and plays a key role in overseeing the funds necessary to run the five mess halls and different accounts aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico.

Lone civilian employee plays key role at Food Service Branch

The white board hanging on the wall just behind her desk is there less for aesthetic beauty as much as for more practical reasons. Keeping tabs on large sums of money spread over various accounts as the Financial Technician for Food Service Branch Quantico means that April Canty will use every tool at her disposal to make sure the numbers are right and that the Marines she serves are always properly taken care of. It hasn’t always been easy, but Canty, the lone civilian employee among the department’s 17 staff members, has managed to do just that.

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