Beirut Mission Renewed: Marines Take Pride In Returning To Guard

Newsletter
Official Publication of the Marine Embassy Guard Association
Mission of the
Marine Embassy
Guard Association
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To inspire love of Corps and
Country
To encourage Marines to
aspire to a career in the Marine
Security Guard program
To render aid to Marines and
others when in need
To promote camaraderie and
esprit de corps
To provide a forum in which to
assemble for social interaction
To serve as a catalyst for
communications on matters of
mutual interest
To revere the memory of our
departed shipmates
To assist in preserving the
historical records of Marine
Security Guards and their
achievements
To perform any other lawful
purpose or purposes
Winter 2014
Beirut Mission Renewed:
Marines Take Pride In
Returning To Guard Embassy
By James K. Sanborn
Marine Corps Times Staff Writer
The return of Marines to Beirut as
full-time embassy guards for the
first time in more than 30 years is
a notable milestone for those who
fought to maintain stability in
Lebanon, a country oft-wracked with
religious and ethnic tensions.
As of early September, Marine
October 23, 1983 killing 299 American and French servicemen
security guards are again manning
Post One in Beirut. From their perch
in the lobby they screen building visitors and, most importantly, safeguard classified
information for the first time since the 1980s.
The post holds profound significance for Marines young and old. The embassy there
was bombed in 1983 and again in 1984. But the most vicious attack occurred in
October 1983 when a suicide bomber in an explosive-laden truck destroyed the
Marine Corps barracks at the Beirut airport killing 220 Marines, 18 sailors and three
soldiers. Official investigations would later reveal that the explosion was the largest
non-nuclear blast in history up to that point — equivalent to 21,000 pounds of
TNT.
It was the single biggest loss of Marines since the Battle of Iwo Jima.
The incident hastened the withdrawal of U.S. and international peacekeepers.
A contingent of Marines continued to guard the embassy until 1986 and on a
temporary basis through the early 1990s. Seeing the return of full-time MSGs marks
a proud day for many who served there.
“It is just right to have our Marines there with our ambassador and our team,” said
Maj. Gen. Mark Brilakis, the commanding general of Marine Corps Recruiting
Command. He served in Beirut as a lieutenant at the time of the barracks bombing
and lost six fellow Marines from his unit. “It is good for the State Department and
good for the Marine Corps and good for the nation of Lebanon.”
Continued on page 3 …
1
Chairman’s Corner
Attention on Deck
We Texans are having a no host Happy Hour. This monthly
event takes place on the 2nd Tuesday of each month from
17: 30 – 19:30 at:
I want to wish each and every one
of you a joyous holiday season. As
2014 comes to a close it naturally
invites us to reflect on the past
year; our triumphs, our successes,
as well as our misfortunes and
losses. MEGA has lost members
over the past year and we should
remember them as the New Year
dawns. As 2015 draws near we
need also to look to the future. I encourage each and every
one of you to think about how you can help MEGA in 2015.
Tolbert’s Restaurant
423 South Main Street
Grapevine, Texas 76051
As always guests, spouses and other Marines are always
welcome to join us. Let me know if you can attend.
Semper Fi, Bill Allen, billallen1248@hotmail.com
Reunion Photos Needed
If you have any pictures from the 2014 reunion, please send
them to Mary Tracy at mtracy@embassymarine.org.
MEGA is on the cusp of great things, but great things cannot
be achieved without great support and the dedication of our
members. In other words we all need to seek new members.
You may be surprised to find Marines who have been on
MSG program from your daily contacts. Talk to people
at Marine Corps League meetings, the VFW, AmVets, or
the local Moose lodge. Put an ad in the newsletter for any
association you belong to. It doesn’t have to be a military
association. Former MSGs are out there and they don’t know
we exist.
Marine Corps Security Guard Group
Graduation Dates:
Quantico, VA
MSG Class 1-15: Friday, Dec. 5; MSG Class 2-15: Friday,
Feb. 20; MSG Class 3-15: Friday, May 1; MSG Class 4-15:
Friday, July 10: MSG Class 5-15: Friday, Sept. 25.
Semper Fi, Gene Frantz, MEGA Executive Liaison
Membership Report
Part of the selling point for MEGA is the annual reunion!
Talk it up. Speaking of the reunion, don’t forget to start
making plans now. It will be in Providence, RI on June 3-7.
It is shaping up to be a wonderful time. Look for updates in
your email or visit your MEGA website for more info.
Stewart Grant
As of December 02, 2014, we have 601 MEGA members in
our association.
The MEGA Board of Directors welcomes the following new
members:
Semper Fidelis,
James R. Hawn, Jr. RM (Helsinki FI 89-91,
Brazzaville CG 91-92)
Donald O. Hendrich, RM (Tripoli LY 61-63),
Steven Maxwell, RM (Kuwait City KW 83-84,
Santiago CL 84-86)
Tim Wood, Chairman
New Delhi IN 84 -85 Santiago CL 85 -86
Please keep your contact information current. Members
with Internet access can change their own demographic
information online or they can email the changes to me.
In Memoriam:
The membership roster is updated twice a month and can
be viewed or downloaded to your computer. Hardcopy
of membership roster is available upon request. Members
without Internet access can send me changes by USPS mail.
Trevor L. Jones
November 5, 2014
RM (Seoul KR 57-58, Hong Kong HK 58-60)
Dues Reminder
Charles M. “Chuck” Umnuss
November 3, 2014
Madrid, ES 1953-55
2
There are approximately 127 active members whose
membership will expire on December 31, 2014.
Stewart Grant
8009 N Lydia Ave, Kansas City MO 64118-1558
sgrant@embassymarine.org
Marine Embassy Guard Association 2015
Reunion Information
June 3 – 7, 2015, Providence/Warwick, RI
Hotel Information
Hotel reservations cannot be made at this time but more
information will follow. We will be staying at the Crowne
Plaza Hotel Providence/Warwick located at 801 Greenwich
Ave., Warwick, RI 02886. The hotel room rate is $115.00
plus 13% tax per night based on single or double occupancy.
A full hot breakfast is included each morning during the
reunion for guests staying in the hotel only (served in the
hospitality room).
Providence, Rhode Island
For those who choose to arrive early or stay late, the same
room rate is available 3 days prior to and 3 days after the
official reunion dates, based on availability.
Proposed Tours:
Foxwoods Resort & Casino (6 Hours)
Battleship Cove Maritime Museum & Lunch (5 Hours)
Traditional New England Clambake Dinner (4 Hours)
Newport Mansion & Sightseeing Tour (7 Hours)
Newport Sightseeing Tour & Newport Naval Base (7 Hours)
Culinary Museum & Archives (3 Hours)
Providence City Tour (5 Hours)
Complimentary high speed internet service is included in
the room rate. The hotel has a strict no smoking policy
throughout the building. There is no cost for parking.
The hotel has a free shuttle from the airport, which is located
2.3 miles from the hotel.
The first major strike was against the embassy on April 18,
1983. Lash had been slated to hold a joint news briefing with
the State Department there, but a last minute decision was
made to hold it at the airport.
…Continued from page 1
The return to Beirut is a sign of U.S. commitment to
diplomacy, said Fred Lash, a retired Marine public affairs
officer who served in Beirut at the time of the first embassy
bombing.
About five to 10 minutes after 1 p.m., a massive explosion
erupted, killing 17 Americans including the Marine at Post
One. In all, 63 people died in the embassy explosion. The
recovery included accounting for the human toll, as well
as digging out the Marine killed at Post One and the U.S.
flag, which Lash was entrusted to deliver to leadership at the
Pentagon.
Lash, a charter member of the Beirut Veterans of America,
who refers to that chapter of Marine history as “the first battle
against terrorism,” added that the return is a proud moment
not just for Marines, but for the country as a whole.
“I think it takes things full circle. They can knock you off the
horse, and you can stay off the horse for a while, but you are
going to get in the saddle again,” he said. “It shows willingness
on the part of the American people and State Department to
stick with this diplomacy thing.”
British soldiers give a hand in rescue operations at the site
of the bomb-wrecked U.S. Marine barracks near the Beirut
airport on Oct. 23, 1983. A bomb-laden truck detonated,
collapsing the four-story building and killing 220 Marines,
18 sailors and three soldiers. (Bill Foley/AP)
When Lash arrived in March 1983, he said things were
peaceful. He would often drive up to Le Commodore Hotel,
where much of the press corps he dealt with lived.
Article submitted to MEGA by Fred Lash and Jerry Paull.
“It was a soft-cover kind of trip,” he said. “We might have had
a helmet and flak thrown in the back, but we thought peace
was just around the corner. Then the bombing started.”
3
Paris Marines
next ante. Two of the seven players drop out leaving five to
play out the game. One player makes only small bets on a
hand that ultimately shows 4 hearts and a final hole card to
come and unknown. The other players are not showing any
promising cards except for one hand that shows a pair of 3’s.
The hearts player bets a hundred and is called by the pair of
threes and one other player who’s ‘up cards’ shows nothing.
The threes hand raise to two hundred and both the others
call. Final cards are dealt and the flush bets two hundred and
is raised by the guy holding threes. The nothing guy just calls
along not raising on his own but letting the other two keep the
raises coming. Finally raises and calls are made and the flush
guy turns his fifth heart. The guy with the threes turns over his
third three and another pair for a full house. But the nothing
guy who hasn’t initiated or raised a bet all night turns over
three little deuces to add to the one in his up cards. The crowd
goes wild, the game is ended: fade to black and roll the credits.
AKA Poker to Disco
By Bobby Johnson
Moscow RU 66-67, Paris FR 67- 68, Brussels BE 68 -68
The Paris Marine Detachment firmly believed and practiced
in the unwritten law of the USMC that states: “Where there
be Marines, so also shall there be poker”. Ranging from five or
six guys playing small stakes games lasting only a few hours to
higher stakes games running for 96 hours poker was a popular
way for the Marines to occupy themselves during off-duty
hours. Nobody was ever seriously hurt financially or physically.
One memorable marathon game occurred in the late summer
of ’67. It began on a Tuesday afternoon and continued around
the clock for over three days. There were more players than
seats at the table so there was an immediate replacement for
anyone leaving the game. Some of the losing players even sold
their seats to an anxious replacement thereby helping recoup
part of their losses. Others who left the game to stand a
scheduled watch and returned to buy their seats back as soon
as they were off duty.
The game lasted over 100 hours and involved somewhere in
the neighborhood of 35 players. The average loss or win was
no greater than about 30 bucks each. The final pot yielded in
excess of $1,100 which the nothing guy quickly spent on a
brand new set of Pearl drums complete with Zildjian cymbals
bought at a local music store. The nothing guy’s purchase was
to have a lasting effect on the fortunes of the Marine Detachment.
Players went beyond MSGs as code clerks; consular officers
and others of the US mission were also available and inclined
toward games of chance.
It came in the form of an epiphany another Marine had while
drinking and dancing in a newly opened Paris discotheque. It
was the common disco scene of loud-recorded music, lights
and a DJ who supplied banter and spun the records. There
was a difference; this disco featured a live drummer playing
along with recorded music. The effect was stunning; the live
drums pumped up the intensity of the beat to a level that
seemed to drive the dancers to a new level of excitement and
brought more dancers out on the floor. Original discotheque
dancing did not involve couples ushering one another to the
dance floor; no, it was the practice for anyone moved to dance
to go out there and do it alone. If they were good enough
then a partner soon joined them.
The signature game was Seven-card Stud: nickel ante, pot
limit, and trips to win. It only costs a nickel to play. The ante
doubled with each successive deal, which made the game a
killer. Thus, if no player achieved three- of-a-kind or better on
the original deal, the cards were re-dealt and each remaining
player paid a doubled ante. Also, should you drop out of a
hand – you’re out of the game. You do not get to ante up in
to the next re-deal. The effect is obvious everybody antes,
everybody calls every bet and, since the bet limit is the size of
the pot, the bets can get very big, very fast.
On this particular night the room soon resembled the scene
in “The Cincinnati Kid” where Steve McQueen and Edward
G. Robinson are head to head in the final hand of their 5-card
stud game. The ante reached $12.80, and then doubled to
$25.60. Players just wanted the damn game over before the
The Marine witnessing this was instantly blinded by a
strobe-like progression of facts flashing through his brain:
The Marine House has Friday night parties with music.
Caption
Contest
Please send
suggested captions
to these photos to
evgrunt@aol.com.
Winners
will be printed in
the next newsletter. PHOTO 1
PHOTO 2
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PHOTO 3
There is dancing. There is a Marine in the detachment that
had a brand new drum kit. IT - COULD - WORK!
clearly not prepared for this happening. For about the first
sixteen bars of the tune, everyone just stood and gaped at the
boys. Then, alone on the dance floor was one of the Australian
Lido dancers, quickly joined by a Marine. That did it, the
dance floor soon overflowed and just about everyone present
was dancing in wild abandon, driven by the enhanced sound
and living beat. Before the song transitioned from “Blue
Dress” to “Miss Molly”, the whole room was alive and kicking
in this new and amazing miasma of sound that took favorite
tunes to a place they didn’t know existed. It had worked.
And did it work. Combining the turntables, speakers and
amplifiers of three or four stereo kits loaned by other Marines
a sound system was created that would blow the roof off the
joint. More importantly, the levels could be balanced to keep
pace with the natural volume of live drums. The nothing guy
that won the card game had to learn some new music – he
had been posted in a curtain country for the previous year
and had never heard Motown, but he seemed to be a quick
study and would probably do ok.
Over the span of the next few months, the disco format
became the hallmark of the Friday Night Parties and the
house was packed to SRO even after a one-buck cover charge
was added. The increase in Marine House revenues was kicked
up to new levels and the reputation of Club Marine enhanced
even further. Such was the influence of a poker game, four
little deuces and an epiphany on the nightlife of the Paris
diplomatic community.
Unannounced at about 11:00 pm during a Friday Night
Party, the juke box was turned off and the nothing guy
drummer and the DJ kicked off the first disco night with
Mitch Ryder’s, “Devil with the Blue Dress on/Good Golly,
Miss Molly” a very loud, very fast straight-up rock and roll
monster. The multi-purpose room at the Marine House in
Paris is huge and bounded by a solid bank of windows on
both sidewalls. It resembles the hangar deck of an aircraft
carrier and on this night there was a fair size crowd who were
Bobby Johnson, Cpl., USMC
paid advertisement
announcing the release of
Post 1
by jim hawn
Gunnery
Sergeant
Bob
Turner,
accompanied by his wife and two
children are posted to the Republic of
Congo, a country undergoing a political
change, and the American embassy is
caught in the crossfire. Turner has to
balance an angry wife with carrying
out his duties as Detachment
Commander. He frequently has to put others’ safety
before any personal troubles he has.
Former MEGA Board Members
Celebrating Marine Corps
Birthday 2014
As tension escalates, both personally and professionally,
Bob must keep his wits with him as his family’s safety is
threatened and as his Marines safeguard American lives
and protect their embassy from being seized. Will they
survive the assault? Will help arrive in time?
Front: Joe Mitchell, Pete Gonzales, Michael Laumann
Back: Bill Allen, Scott Smith, Ralph Caton.
MEGA Announces Newsletter Ad Rates
Post 1 by Jim Hawn
Available in Paperback October 2014 at $22.95
ISBN 978-1-63417-024-6
Digital edition/e-book available November 2014 at
Amazon.com and through other electronic literary
outlets February 2015 at $9.99
ISBN 978-1-63417-025-3
Do you have a product to sell, advertise, or want
to hype? MEGA will carry your message in our
newsletter. Rates are per edition and will reach all
members either electronically (email) or hard copy.
Rates: Quarter Page $25.00. Half Page $150.00.
Full Page $300.00.
4
Welcome New Board Members
level. In my years with DOD, I have served as a union
steward and a board member on the AFGE Law Enforcement
Officers Committee. I am also active in Cub Scouts as a
Webelos Den Leader.
Shelton S. Mackey III
Elected to a 3-year term on the
Board of Directors
Jeff Covert
I am a Charter Member of MEGA,
having joined in 1997 because I believe
in continuing the esprit de corps and
camaraderie that we all experienced as
MSG’s across the globe. I was posted to Kabul Afghanistan
May 1984 - Jul 1985 and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Aug 1985 Nov 1986. I went on to serve until I retired in 2001. I have
been involved in the board of several other organizations,
understanding the importance of a continuous flow of
members at the board level to help sustain the viability of
the organization and its membership. I look forward to the
opportunity to give back to an organization that is focused on
preserving and advancing what we have all enjoyed.
Vincent Downes
Elected to a 3-year term on the Board of
Directors
MSgt Jeff Covert retired from the
Marines in 2004. He served as a watch
stander in Saudi and Haiti. He also
served as the Assignments Chief at
MSGBn in Quantico, VA and as the Admin/Ops Chief for
Company G, in Cote d’Ivoire.
Jeff holds a Bachelors degree in Information Technology and
an MBA in Project Management. He enjoys a second career
as the Programs Manager for a Corporate Jet Maintenance
company. Jeff is a certified Project Management Professional
with the Project Management Institute.
Jeff met, courted and married Ginny, his wife of 26 years
on the MSG program. Ginny and Jeff enjoy boating, snow
skiing and organizing cruise ship vacations for family, Marines
and friends. Jeff is a life member of MEGA and the MCL.
Elected to a 3-year term as Secretary
My name is Vincent Downes. I enlisted
in June of 1978 and served until 1989. I
went to boot camp at MCRD San Diego
as a guaranteed 0311.
Virgil M. Johnson
I enlisted in the Corps after high school in 1955. From Parris
Island and Camp Geiger combat training I was then assigned
to the Aviation Storekeeper School at NAS, Jacksonville,
FL. Next was HMX-1 in Quantico (this was before HMX-1
carried the President) and subsequently to H&HS at MCAS,
Beaufort. I was approved for MSG school during the summer
of 1957 and assigned to the embassy in Taipei, Taiwan
(Republic of Free China) where I served until August of 1959.
CMC Barrow ordered me to attended
Marine Security Guard Bn. I graduated from Cl-2-81 and
Cl-1-86. I began my MSG duty as a Watch stander and
completing it as an Assistant Detachment Commander
obtaining the rank of Staff Sergeant. I have been a member of
MEGA since 2009.
I am currently employed with the Arlington County Sheriff’s
Office, located in Arlington Va. for the past 25 years. I
currently hold the rank as a Sergeant/Supervisor.
After graduating from Western Carolina College in NC,
I moved to New Jersey and completed graduate studies at
Temple University and Rutgers. I spent 27 years in public
education and taught at Rowan University for four years.
Currently I work part-time as an educational consultant for
Delaware Valley College (Doylestown, PA), and for the law
firm of Porzio, Bromberg and Newman, PC (Morristown, PA).
I look forward to representing MEGA.
Semper Fidelis
Lance Parcell
Elected to a 3-term on the
Board of Directors
My name is Lance Parcell. I have been
a member of MEGA since 1996 and
Charter Member #24. In previous years
I served as the MEGA Webmaster. I
am currently employed by the Department of Air Force as
a Police Officer. I have been with DOD since 2007 having
started with the Department of Army Police. I was previously
with the State of Alaska and moved on to serve at the federal
I had the distinction of being the first MEGA Chairman
of the Board of Directors after the change from President
to Chairman was made. I have also served previously as
Chairman of the Elections Committee.
I live in Berlin, NJ, am married and have three daughters and
four grandchildren, all of who live nearby.
I look forward to serving on the MEGA Board of Directors
once again and thank you for your support.
5
MEGA Marine House
MEGA Marine House is dedicated to bringing you bits of
info about the past, present and future. After all, if there was
anything happening, it happened at the Marine House.
areas is around $7.70 a day. With few exceptions this money
will be cut. Wanna bet they’ll issue a ribbon commemorating
their deployment as a thank you? And if so (and I ain’t saying
it’s going to happen) but dontcha think they could pass the
money used to make the ribbons onto those who did the job
and forget the ribbon? No! Well okay, you’re weird and I’m not.
Don’t Forget Uncle Ebenezer During the Holidays
Finally Good News
By Ed Vasgerdsian, Newsletter Editor
Marine veteran Andrew Tahmooressi, held in Mexico for 214
days, has been released, but you know that already. I’ll bet
you didn’t know that TV Host and former Marine Montel
Williams testified on Tahmooressi’s behalf before a House
Foreign Affairs subcommittee? Of course you did because
you’re well read and subject to delusions of grandeur…just
kidding.
So you embarrassed yourself at Thanksgiving by having a few
too many drinks and spilling red wine on your brother inlaw’s imported Irish linen tablecloth. Is that what’s bothering
you, bunkie? Then you said his Army Master Sergeant’s
stripes he once wore were on an even par with a Marine out
of Boot Camp? Is that it bro? And you didn’t zip up before
leaving the bathroom? Is that what you did my Post 1 hero?
Cheer up! There’s another holiday just around the corner and
if you get invited back you can make up for it.
I Have Questions?
I recall a memorable Thanksgiving in Kinston, NC. A
wonderful woman came to the USO and asked me and two
other Marines to join her and her mom for dinner. Five years
later and back at Lejeune the USO helped find her. This time
I took her and her husband out for dinner. What she did for
this homesick Marine at Thanksgiving was a gesture of true
Southern Hospitality and one I’ve not forgotten…okay that’s
it for the holiday stuff.
This Goes in the Nonsense File
A Call to Arms
I know I may be repeating myself here, but anyway. Female
Marines and Dress Blues. Women Marines are women, but
not according to some irresponsible Marine folks who don’t
see it that way. There’s an experiment underway to have
both men and women Marines wear the same ‘jacket’. Sure
there will be modifications, but nevertheless the ‘jacket’
including white Barrack Cover will be the same for both.
Why? Who the hell knows! The last Commandant, General
Amos thought it was a good idea. I think it ridiculous and
demeaning …unless during Halloween.
I’m looking forward to the MEGA Providence June reunion.
Our Association has never been that far north and it’s about
time. I’ve been to Rhode Island twice in my life. My first
was as a kid with my family. I recall being dragged into a
Greyhound bus for a daylong trip from Boston. It could have
been a vacation, but I’m not sure. We visited relatives and I
came back with the rest of my family, so it wasn’t my family’s
chance to leave little Eddie in Providence and with Auntie
and Uncle. My second trip came a week before my MSG
posting. I met a girl in DC who lived in Providence and
being the kinda guy I wuz, I went…long story…adults only.
This brings to mind the following: MARS the food company
better known for their Mars Bars has developed a chocolate
drink made from a special cocoa bean that has been
engineered to improve your memory. Someone with the
memory of a 60 year old will improve their memory to that
of a 30 or 40 year old. I’m not kidding, but maybe they are?
If they’re serious, I hope our new Marine Corps leadership
eats a few bars.
Planning for a reunion takes a lot of work. We…us…all need
some volunteers to help out. Oh, don’t be frightened, you’ll
not be asked to swing from the hotel chandelier (already
spoken for), clean rooms (hotel said they’d do that), or make
a monkey out yourself (that’s my job). What we’re looking
for are a few people to help with registration, tend bar, and
step in as needed. If this is an association you’re proud to
belong to, please help. Application is open for everyone.
More Bilge
The Defense Department is cutting imminent danger pay for
some 44,000 troops who serve in perilous or risky parts of
the world…Persian Gulf, Liberia, Serbia, and about a dozen
other inhospitable places. The stipend for serving in these
Far too complicated to discuss in depth here, but can we all
agree there are facts on WW I, WW II, Korea and of all wars
including WMDs that things didn’t go quite as well as was
officially reported? There has been a endless media frenzy
around what really happened in Benghazi on September
11, 2012. Who to believe? Accusations and cover-your-ass
attitudes continue to prevail, and in the end no one living
today or for the next 50 years will ever know the truth. Our
grandchildren may get the truth and our only hope is that
there will be a lesson learned.
I have to go my attendant is looking over my shoulder.
edV
7
Marine Embassy Guard Association
P.O. Box 6226
Wausau, WI 54402
We’re on the web!
www.embassymarine.org
MEGA Board of Directors 2014-15
MEGA Committees/Key Contacts
Timothy J. Wood, Chairman, Director
Eugene (Gene) Frantz, Jr., MCESG Liaison
Jim K. Harkins, Jr., Director
New Delhi, IN 84-85, Santiago, CL 85-86
Term of Office: 2013-2016
twood01@gmail.com
Stewart M. Grant, Vice-Chairman, Director
Ankara, TR 61-62; Abidjan, CI 62-63
Term of Office: 2012-2015
stewartgrant@prodigy.net
Kevin J. Hermening, Treasurer, Director
Tehran, IR 79-81
Term of Office: 2013-2016
kevinh@hermeningfinancialgroup.com
Algiers, DZ, 65-65; Monrovia, LR 66-66;
Calcutta, IN, 74-75, Luxembourg, LU, 76-76
Term of Office: 2013-2016
guzziteam@earthlink.net
Virgil M. Johnson, Director
Taipei, TW 57-59
Term of Office: 2014-2016
vjohnson316@hotmail.com
Shelton S. Mackey III, Director
Kabul, AF 84-85; Rio de Janeiro 85-86
Term of Office: 2014-2017
mackeyss@verizon.net
Vincent O. Downes, Secretary
Moscow, RU 76-77, Dublin, IE 77-79
Stewart Grant, Membership, Webmaster,
Historical Archives,
Ankara TR 61-62, Abidjan, CI 62-63
Raymond Kunkle, Elections
Kabul, AF 61-62; Ankara, TR 62-63;
Abidjan, CI 63-64
Michael J. Laumann, Strategic Planning
Chairman
Beirut, LB 70-73; Addis Ababa, ET 71-71
Paul Robinson, Ship’s Store
Kabul, AF 60-61; Ankara, TR 61-63
Budapest, HU 81-82; Tokyo JP 82-83;
Moscow RU 85-87
Term of Office: 2014-2017
embmarine@gmail.com
Lance M. Parcell, Director
Paris, FR 92-93; Prague, CZ 93-94
Term of Office: 2014-2017
usmc03@gmail.com
Charles (Chuck) Moseman, Newsletter
Printer
Thomas A. Butler, Legal Advisor
Paul R. Robinson, Director
Juan Rocha, MEGA Chaplain
Cairo, EG 54-56
Serves at the pleasure of the MEGA Board of Directors
Butler_Dugan@msn.com
Jeff R. Covert, Director
Jeddah, SA 85-86; Port-au-Prince, HT 86-87; MSGBn Co. G Abidjan, CI 2000-2002;
Term of Office: 2014-2017
jcovert@cruiseshipcenters.com
Kabul, AF 60-61; Ankara, TR 61-63
Term of Office 2012-2015
probinson6@stny.rr.com
Ed Vasgerdsian, Director
Singapore, SN 58-60
Kabul 64-65, Leopoldville 65-66
Fred Samarelli, Technology Administrator
Karachi, PK 77-78, Manila, PI 78-79
Cairo, EG 56-59
Term of Office: 2012-2015
evgrunt@aol.com
Ed Vasgerdsian, Newsletter Editor
New Delhi, IN 84-85, Santiago, CL 85-86
Cairo, EG 56-59
Tim Wood, Scholarship Selection
Wishing you safe and happy holidays!