By Taelor Duckworth, staff contributor, American Red Cross
On November 10, in the year 1775, the United States Marine Corps (USMC), known then as the Continental Marines, was born in Philadelphia as a resolution of the Second Continental Congress during the American Revolutionary War. Since then, the Marine Corps has been America’s initial force of readiness; our nation’s first line of defense, deploying first to respond swiftly and aggressively in times of crisis.
The USMC is one of the four branches of the U.S. Department of Defense, and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. They work hand-in-hand with the United States Navy on training, transportation and logistics of their operations. By air, land and sea, the USMC works to rapidly coordinate and deliver combined-arms task forces to carry out their mission.
According to the Marine Corps’ website, the USMC’s “forward presence consists of multiple Marine Expeditionary Units, or MEUs. MEUs spend at least six months training for a variety of amphibious operations before they are deployed. Then, for six months at a time, Marine Expeditionary Units embark upon United States Navy warships and prepare to launch a range of missions—from humanitarian and peacekeeping missions to full-scale combat engagements, on extremely short notice.”
Through war, armed conflict and states of political and military tension, these brave men and women stand ready to be the “First to Fight”.
As many of you know, the American Red Cross was rooted in providing services to our armed forces. Today, we are the only non-governmental agency allowed to send emergency communications on behalf of soldiers and their families. We also work to support active duty military members, reservists, veterans, members of the National Guard and their families. They serve our nation, and we are honored to serve them.
So today, we find it only right to send a huge “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” to the United States Marine Corps for turning 240. We hope you’ll join us!
We also have a special shout out to a man who’s both a Red Crosser AND a Marine, Jimmy Winkelman. Jimmy is our North Texas Regional Program Manager for SAF and International Services. He retired from the Marine Corps earlier this year before his arrival at the Red Cross. He was kind enough to share some photos to help us celebrate the USMC and our work with them as the Red Cross:
To learn more about the USMC, click HERE. To learn more about the American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces, click HERE.
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