Anyone who wishes to contest an award that this member has received:
I have checked with another attorney who was with me in 1st Battalion 9th Marines and his DD214 also clearly shows the award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Service Medal. Bottom Line: I was awarded the Armed Forces Expeditionary Service Medal, as clearly listed on my original DD214, I have all the records to prove it, and I am entitled to wear and display the ribbon.
From: Chief Admin Kim Craft - the member has sent me the documents supporting this, and he was awarded the medal in question.
Attorney and Counselor at Law,
Admitted: U.S. Supreme Court, WA Supreme Court, US Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims,
Accredited Veterans Administration, WA State Bar Asso., Western WA Fed Court.
Judge Pro Tem for the last 9 years.Washington State
Member: Leatherneck Honor Guard, Tahoma National Cemetery
Member: MCL Dog Pound 211; Smartdog (Judge Advocate)
Volunteer: Eastside Legal Assistance Program (ELAP)
Volunteer: Attorney General's Pro Bono Veterans Services
Member: Illinois State University Attorney Advisory Board.
Other Comments:
Former Teacher, Principal, Superintendent of Schools, IL. 1973-1994.
Elected President of the East King County Bar Association 2015-2014
Age Group (45-49) Triathlon National Champion Long Course 1993
Grand Master's Off-Road Triathlon Regional Champion 2002
Washington State Bar Association & WA Supreme Court Pro Bono Recognition every year 2009-2019
A Marine Security Guard (MSG), also known as a Marine Embassy Guard, is a member of the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group (formerly Marine Security Guard Battalion), a battalion-sized organization of U.S. Marines whose detachments provide security at American embassies, American consulates and other official United States Government offices such as the United States Mission to NATO in Brussels, Belgium. The Marine Security Guard was designated MOS 8151, this has changed to MOS 8156.
The U.S. Marine Corps has a long history of cooperation with the U.S. State Department, going back to the early days of the country. From the raising of the American flag at Derna, Tripoli, and the secret mission of Archibald H. Gillespie in California, to the Boxer Rebellion at Peking, Marines have served many times on special missions as couriers, as guards for embassies and legations, and to protect American citizens in unsettled areas.
The formal and permanent use of Marines as security guards began with the Foreign Service Act of 1946, which authorized the Secretary of Navy to, upon the request of the Secretary of State, assign Marines to serve as custodians under the supervision of the senior diplomatic officer at a diplomatic post. The first joint Memorandum of Agreement was signed on 15 December 1948 regarding the provisions of assigning Marines overseas. Trained at the Foreign Service Institute, the first Marines arrived at Tangier and Bangkok in early 1949. The Marine Corps assumed the primary training responsibility in November 1954. The authority granted in the Foreign Service Act of 1946 has since been replaced by 10 U.S.C. § 5983 and the most recent Memorandum of Agreement was signed in August 2008. Although embassy duty is a crucial aspect of the Marines’ mission with a long tradition, the Corps is only budgeted to train and maintain a limited cadre of guards to cover over 100 embassies worldwide. In response to the 2012 Benghazi attack, Congress ordered a near doubling of Marine Security Guards in the midst of a post-war drawdown in overall USMC numbers. The USMC has responded by redeploying one company from 1st Battalion 1st Marines while additional guards are trained
