The 7th Marines Command invited our Old Breed Marines to come up for a day long visit to their training facilities at 29 Palms.  Seventeen members joined the tour.

No complaints over the zero dark thirty reveille since we had to meet a base bus at the main gate at 0630 on April 8th.  LtCol Jared Spurlock, XO, met us there with a bus.  The weather was in the low 30's with a strong wind to make the conditions less than ideal.  Palm Desert Mayor Susan Marie Weber joined us for the tour.

First order of business was reporting to the Phelps Chow Hall for breakfast with the Marines.  Marines came over and sat with us to provide a warm welcome for us.  After breakfast, we drove out to the live fire range.  Marines there explained the various weapons on display there.  Everyone had the opportunity to fire one of the rifles.  Most of us had never fired a M-4 Carbine or M-16 before.  (Great experience since M-1's, BAR's and M-14's were not available.)  No reports of "Maggie Drawers" for our group.

Next stop was to visit  one of the Combat Towns used for urban warfare training. We started off with a briefing on IED's and a display of the various ones used in Afghanistan and Iraq.  We observed a squad working an area to detect IED's and were informed of how they worked the area. LtCol Dave Hunt, CO 1/7 joined us there. We were able to watch the 1st Battalion Marines training there.  They are planning to deploy to the Middle East sometime in October to replace the 3rd Battalion who are currently deploying there.

Many thanks for the warm hospitality and planning extended by Col Bargeron , LtCol Spurlock & their excellent staff. They are most impressive & exemplify the highest standards of our Marine Corps today. They went out of their way to show us their appreciation for what the Chapter has done to support their Marines & families over the years.