5page

<a href="http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette">www.mca-marines.org/gazette</a> 3 M a r i n e C o r p s G a z e t t e • M a y 2 0 0 9 Marine Corps Association Honorary President, Gen James T. Conway; Chairman of the Board, MajGen Harry W. Jenkins, USMC(Ret); General Counsel, BGen Joseph Composto, USMC(Ret); Board of Governors, MajGen Harry W. Jenk- ins, USMC(Ret); LtGen Ron Christmas, USMC(Ret); LtGen Earl B. Hailston, USMC(Ret); MajGen Leslie M. Palm, USMC(Ret); MajGen Andrew B. Davis, USMC(Ret); BGen James Kessler, USMC; BGen Thomas V. Draude, USMC(Ret); MajGen Eugene G. Payne, Jr., USMCR; Col Catherine D. Chase; Col William R. Costantini; LtCol Greg Reeder; Maj Gilbert D. Juarez; Maj Matthew A. McGarvey, USMC(Ret); SgtMaj Carlton Kent; SgtMaj Kim Eugene Davis; MGySgt Steve Williams; SgtMaj Richard Arndt, USMC(Ret); SgtMaj Frank J. Knox, USMC(Ret); Mr. Carlton Crenshaw; Mr. Michael Hegarty; Mr. James A. Mosel; Mr. Skip Sack; Mr. Douglas D. Tennis, Jr. MCA President and CEO, MajGen Leslie M. Palm, USMC(Ret); Chief Operations Officer, John T. “Tom” Esslinger; Editor, Leatherneck magazine, Col Walter G. Ford, USMC(Ret); Marketing & Communications Director, LeeAnn Mitchell; Member Services, Lisa Pappas; Chief Financial Officer, Charlene French. MAY 2009 President & CEO MAJGEN LESLIE M. PALM, USMC(RET) <a href="http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette">www.mca-marines.org/gazette • 1-800-336-0291</a> Publisher COL WALT G. FORD, USMC(RET) Editor COL JOHN A. KEENAN, USMC(RET) <a href="mailto:j.keenan@mca-marines.org">j.keenan@mca-marines.org</a> Ext. 363 Senior Editor LTCOL KERRY A. KNOWLES, USMC(RET) <a href="mailto:k.knowles@mca-marines.org">k.knowles@mca-marines.org</a> Ext. 309 Layout/Editorial Production Coordinator CHARLENE K. MONROE <a href="mailto:c.monroe@mca-marines.org">c.monroe@mca-marines.org</a> Ext. 339 Assistant Editor NIKI KRAUSS <a href="mailto:n.krauss@mca-marines.org">n.krauss@mca-marines.org</a> Ext. 305 Administrative Assistant JENNIFER PAYNE <a href="mailto:j.payne@mca-marines.org">j.payne@mca-marines.org</a> Ext. 344 Web Content Editor MARGOT CORNELIUS <a href="mailto:m.cornelius@mca-marines.org">m.cornelius@mca-marines.org</a> Ext. 306 Advertising Director G. SCOTT DINKEL <a href="mailto:s.dinkel@mca-marines.org">s.dinkel@mca-marines.org</a> 718-715-1361 Advertising Representative RICHARD GUILLOPO <a href="mailto:r.guillopo@mca-marines.org">r.guillopo@mca-marines.org</a> 718-576-1286 Editorial Board COL JOHN A. KEENAN, USMC(RET) Chairman COL JAMES A. LASSWELL, USMC(RET) COL THOMAS KEATING Head, Logistics Vision and Strategy Center, HQMC COL ROBERT K. DOBSON, JR., USMC(RET) LTCOL HARRY P. WARD, USMC(RET) LTCOL DOUGLAS K. GELBACH Deputy, AC/S, G–2, I MEF (Fwd) LTCOL WAYNE A. SINCLAIR Student, National War College LTCOL MATTHEW P. MCLAUGHLIN Division of Public Affairs LTCOL WILLIAM M. REDMAN Head, Sr. Leader Management Branch, MMSL LTCOL CARL E. COOPER G –3 (Future Operations), MNF-W, Iraq MAJ KEITH KOPETS Deputy Director, CMC Staff Group MAJ BRIAN E. RUSSELL USAC&GSC, Ft. Leavenworth, KS MAJ GARY W. THOMASON MAG–24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing CAPT SCOTT CUOMO Student, EWS 1STSGT DENNIS J. COLLINS MCB Quantico MSGT BRIAN CRILEY 3d Bn, 9th Mar, 2d Marine Regiment Editorial: Aviation and More We lead off the May issue as we traditionally do with an emphasis on Marine avi- ation. The 100th anniversary of Marine aviation is coming up in 2012. We should be proud of the storied history of aviation and aviators in the Marine Corps, but that history is still being written in current operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the globe. The MV–22 Osprey is being used operationally. As I write, the Secretary of Defense has announced that he is recommending accelerating the fielding of the F–35 Lightning II, known as the Joint Strike Fighter or JSF. There will still be chal- lenges ahead for Marine aviation, as pointed out by Col L. Ross Roberts in his ar- ticle, “The Future of the <a href="#32">WSO,” on page 30. </a>The future may be different than the past as Col Earl W. “Bison” Powers points out in his article, “Flying Over the Hori- z<a href="#24">on,” on page 22. I</a>n that article he postulates that the future of aerial resupply may not be, and probably should not be, a manned helicopter at all but an unmanned aircraft system. Ultimately though the fundamental mission remains unchanged— support the Marine on the ground. In a provocative article entitled “Garbage, Lies and Uncertainties<a href="#66">” on page 64,</a> noted author Bing West makes a strong case for the importance of honesty in the assessment of the situation and courses of action open to us in Afghanistan. He looks back on what went wrong in the assessment of Iraq. He is pointed in arguing that rose-colored glasses, whether worn by civilian politicians or military leaders, bring about poor vision and poorer decisions. In particular the assessment of risk be- comes distorted and the danger to the troops on the ground magnified. Our book reviews serve two purposes. One is traditional in apprising readers about the subject and content of a book as well as the quality of the writing and re- search. The second is educational. Because of the size of the paper magazine we are only able to publish one or two reviews in the paper magazine each month. As a re- sult you will seldom read a review that pans a book in the Gazette. I tell reviewers that if they would not recommend the book to our readers, don’t review it. We do not have the room to write critical reviews but prefer reviews that will educate our readers even if they do not read the books themselves. By and large our reviewers do a superb job of not just reviewing books but also providing context and information. This month is illustrative of two such reviews. In his review of The Last Stand of Fox Company <a href="#79">on page 77, Col E</a>ric L. Chase provides not only a review of a su- perb book but also a look at one of the pivotal events of the Korean War. I will never again enter the gym at Quantico, aptly named the Barber Fitness Center, without thinking of Capt Barber on that frozen hilltop. The event is depicted in the Na- tional Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, and it is a powerful exhibit, but Col Chase’s review provides the moving picture of that dramatic fight vice the snap- shot in time. Also reviewed in this month’s Gazette is David Kilcullen’s new book, The Acci- dental Guerrilla. Kilcullen is one of the innovative thinkers on defense today and has served as an adviser to GEN David H. Petraeus. Frank Hoffman, a noted analyst and thinker himself, provides a superb review that goes beyond just the author’s theories and provides his own food for thought. As always we welcome our readers feedback and suggestions on how to improve the Corps’ professional journal. John Keenan
5page

www.mca-marines.org/gazette
5page

www.mca-marines.org/gazette • 1-800-336-0291
5page

j.keenan@mca-marines.org
5page

k.knowles@mca-marines.org
5page

c.monroe@mca-marines.org
5page

n.krauss@mca-marines.org
5page

j.payne@mca-marines.org
5page

m.cornelius@mca-marines.org
5page

s.dinkel@mca-marines.org
5page

r.guillopo@mca-marines.org
5page

WSO,” on page 30.
5page

on,” on page 22I
5page

” on page 64,
5page

on page 77, Col E