by Michael F. McNamara | Feb 27, 2018 | Combat, Leadership, US Marine Corps, Vietnam
Col Jim Bathurst, USMC
Col Jim “Sgt B” Bathurst, USMC (ret) has one of the most unique Marine Corps careers I have ever heard of, rising from Private to GySgt and then 2ndLt to Colonel after he received as commission during the Vietnam War.
Our interview was supposed to last an hour and it stretch into three hours and twenty minutes because of the unique career of this leader of Marines turned author and mentor (The Young Marine Program).
In Part 3 you’ll hear about how other leaders opened doors for Jim to get his college degree which allowed him to be retained as a Commissioned Officer, his thoughts on the recently aired Burns/Novick documentary “The Vietnam War,” why and how he retired and how he came be be an author.
You can buy the book “We’ll All Die as Marines” here and you can check out Jim’s blog — here.
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by Michael F. McNamara | Feb 26, 2018 | Combat, History, Leadership, US Marine Corps, Vietnam
(L) 2dLt Marshall Croy & SSgt Jim Bathurst having just come off Operation Mississippi November 1966
(R) SSgt Bathurst
Col Jim “Sgt B” Bathurst, USMC (ret) has one of the most unique Marine Corps careers I have ever heard of, rising from Private to GySgt and then 2ndLt to Colonel after he received as commission during the Vietnam War.
Our interview was supposed to last an hour and it stretch into three hours and twenty minutes because of the unique career of this leader of Marines turned author and mentor (The Young Marine Program).
In Part 2 you’ll hear about Jim’s experiences as a infantry squad leader and rifle platoon commander in Vietnam, how he was commissioned as a 2ndLt while serving at Marine Barracks 8th & I and then chosen as one of forty-five (from a group of approximately 4,500 SNCO’s who had been commissioned) .
You can buy the book “We’ll All Die as Marines” here and you can check out Jim’s blog — here.
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by Michael F. McNamara | Feb 26, 2018 | Combat, History, Leadership, US Marine Corps, Vietnam
LCpl Bathurst
Col Jim “Sgt B” Bathurst, USMC (ret) has one of the most unique Marine Corps careers I have ever heard of, rising from Private to GySgt and then 2ndLt to Colonel after he received as commission during the Vietnam War.
Our interview was supposed to last an hour and it stretch into three hours and twenty minutes because of the unique career of this leader of Marines turned author and mentor (The Young Marine Program).
In Part 1 you’ll hear the story of Jim’s youth along Chesapeake Bay, how he and his Dad fed his Mother muskrat for years without her knowledge, how he found his way into the Marine Corps after dropping out of high school, becoming a “comm Marine,” his time at Marine Barracks Yokosuka Japan, his tour as a Drill Instructor and his story of moving from the comm field to the infantry field prior to deploying to Vietnam.
You can buy the book “We’ll All Die as Marines” here and you can check out Jim’s blog — here.
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by Michael F. McNamara | Jan 25, 2018 | Combat, Education, Leadership, Maneuver Warfare, Vietnam
Col Tony Zinni, USMC
The Basic School, 1989
Quantico VA
Click HERE for Part 1 of the PME
Click HERE for Part 2 of the PME
Click HERE for Part 3 of the PME
Click HERE for Part 4 of the PME
Click HERE for the entire 3.5 hour PME in one segment
THE SINGLE BEST professional military education experience I ever had happened in July of 1989 while teaching “Tactics” at The Basic School in Quantico, VA. Col Tony Zinni, USMC (who had just finished being the CO of 9th Marine Regiment on Okinawa) gave his “Combat Concepts” pitch at an event that the Marine Corps University sponsored at The Basic School.
Major John Kelly (Head of the Infantry Officers Course at the time, destined to be a General Officer and currently the Secretary of the Dept of Homeland Security) told me I should attend… so I went. I had never heard of Col Zinni at that point in my life. That night Col Zinni was funny, insightful and had a ton of experiences in his career — he was for me a great example of what a professional warrior/scholar ought to be.
This PME changed my life and how I approached my profession.
