December 2006 Scuttlebutt

See more photos of the November 10, 2006 Dedication of the Marine Corps Museum and news from central Indiana Marine organizations: http://www.indymarines.org/pages/scuttlebutt.html

Job Well Done Santa Kabat and Marine Families!!

Marine Families that take Supporting our Marines seriously and I want to highlight www.USMCFamilies.com and the USMC Families in central Indiana for a Job Well done! I urge you to check out their website to see their projects. Especially the Santa Kabat story at http://www.usmcfamilies.com/kabat.htm

Former Commandant Jones to retire after 40 Years

Gen. James Jones, the U.S. military's top officer in Europe, will retire next month after 40 years in the Corps, U.S. European Command announced.Jones passed command of EuCom to Army Gen. John Craddock during a change of command ceremony 4 Dec., according to a EuCom release, the Marine Corps Times reported. Craddock previously served as head of U.S. Southern Command in Miami.Jones, who served as the 32nd commandant, took command of EuCom in January 2003 following his tour as commandant from 1999 to 2003, an unusual move for an outgoing commandant. He played basketball at Georgetown (D.C.) University.The EuCom commander is responsible for 92 nations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, as well as Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine and special operations forces in Europe. Jones served jointly as the EuCom commander and Supreme Allied Commander, Europe a billet responsible for leading NAT's military forces in Europe.When Jones took command in Europe, he brought with him SgtMaj Alford McMichael, who served as sergeant major of the Marine Corps during Jones' tour as commandant. McMichael served as the first senior enlisted adviser for NATO and retired after 36 years of service in July.Source: USMC

VA Insurance Dividends coming to some Vets!

VA Secretary Nicholson: Some Vets to Receive Insurance Dividends Payments "Tangible Evidence" of Nation's Commitment WASHINGTON (Dec. 8, 2006) - More than a million veterans are in line to share $369 million in annual insurance dividends during 2007, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

To view and download VA news release, please visit the following Internet address:
http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel