Speakers at the annual conference made news and are quoted.
Story links follow.
Article
Marine Corps Barracks Issues Will Likely Take a Decade to Fix, But Work Is Underway, Commandant Says
A Stars and Stripes report on the barriers to employment for U.S. military spouses in Italy earned an award from Military Reporters and Editors, the professional group announced Wednesday.
— Stars and Stripes 10/25/23
Article
There are growing indications that Ukraine could get longer-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missile variants from the U.S. military as early as January of next year. Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, said today that her country’s military needs more “game changers” like ATACMS to keep up the pressure on Russian forces.
Markarova said the current situation on the ground in Ukraine, where fighting has recently surged in many areas along the front lines, means “that we have to be more creative, that we have to find the right mix of capabilities, [and] that we have to use more game changers.” She claims that Russia currently has some 400,000 personnel in the country.
Markarova’s comments came earlier today during a question and answer session at the 2023 Military Reporters and Editors conference in Washington, D.C.
— The War Zone, 10/27/23
Article
“Make no mistake – what is, has or will unfold in Gaza is purely an Israeli decision,” the Marine commandant Gen Eric Smith, said, announcing the departure. “[Glynn] was over, he’s back now and he provided his experience to be taken [or] not taken.”
— The Guardian, 10/28/23
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“Make no mistake: what is, has, or will unfold in Gaza is purely an Israeli decision,” USMC commandant Gen. Eric Smith told reporters, per Jared Szuba, a Pentagon correspondent for Al Monitor, an independent outlet specializing in reporting on the Middle East.
— Business Insider 10/28/23 and MSN
Broadcast
Joe to Sen. Tuberville: Don’t hide behind the people of Alabama
The workload remains the same… Still the two full time jobs filled by one person. So that hasn’t changed. I moved houses, but I am still doing both of those jobs and using my staff as best I can to fill in where the Assistant Commandant would normally be full time because I simply can’t be in two places at once.
— MSNBC 11/1/23 (5:07 – 5:30)
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UPDATED: Marine Commandant Gen. Eric Smith Hospitalized After Heart Attack
“In an address on Friday, he told reporters he was doing the job of both the Marine commandant and assistant commandant of the service, pending the confirmation of the new number-two officer in the Marine Corps, Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney. Mahoney has been nominated for a fourth star and to serve as the assistant commandant.”
— USNI News 10/30/23
Article
What happens in Gaza “is purely an Israeli decision,” US military says
Lt. Gen. James Glynn – the US Marine Corps three-star general who went to Israel to counsel the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) – has returned home, according to Marine Corps commandant Gen. Eric Smith, in comments to reporters in DC on Friday.
“Jim’s home, I talked to him last night,” Smith said. “Lt. Gen. Glynn went over to provide advice. But make no mistake – what is, has or will unfold in Gaza is purely an Israeli decision… He provided his expertise as the lead planner for a first marine expeditionary force going into the battle of Fallujah. He was asked to go over… and say, ‘Here’s what I learned,’ so we would call that a professional military exchange. He was over, he’s back now and he provided his experience to be taken, (or) not taken.”
— CNN 10/28/23