Motorcycle procession headed to Marine Corps Museum as part of dedication 

The arrival of a piece of steel from the World Trade Center is expected to cause delays this weekend on Interstate 95.

The steel will be brought from New York City to the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico. It’s part of a new memorial that commemorates 17 New York City firefighters who also were Marines.

Here’s more in a press release:

The steel will be brought from Brooklyn, New York on Oct. 4 and will be accompanied by approximately 800-1000 motorcycles in the final Iron and Steel Run. The convoy is expected to be approximately five miles long and may cause significant impact to traffic on Interstate 95. Virginia Department of Transportation will be closing the HOV lanes to accommodate the convoy which is expected to arrive at the National Museum at approximately 4 p.m.

A dedication for the steel memorial will be held at the museum beginning at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. The service is open to the public. Prior to the ceremony at 9:30 a.m., a procession of motorcycles will ride from Quantico Corporate Center in North Stafford to the museum at Quantico.

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Hundreds of companies featured at Modern Day Marine

Modern Day Marine is called the premier expo for all things military.

Held Sept. 23 through 25 this year, the event showcases arms, equipment, drones, clothing and gadgets that the Marine Corps will use in war fighting both here and overseas.

There are hundreds of exhibitors that come to the Modern Day Marine event. Exhibitors like the Solarwinds company monitors the security of networks and is able to identify communication problems that may be uncounted by war fighters in the field. Samsung, developer of everything from TVs to cell phones, is also listed as an exhibitor at Modern Day Marine as it looks integrate more, smaller technology like computer hardware, into the hands of the nation’s military.

While the Modern Day Marine expos on full display at Quantico each year, there are also two other Modern Day Marine expos in the U.S. Marine West is held at Camp Pendleton in California and Marine South is held at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

Potomac Local went to this year’s Modern Day Marine at Quantico and snapped these photos and put them into a slide show.

QUANTICO, Va — Last Thursday marked the end of season and possibly the run of the farmers’ market at Quantico.

When the program launched last year, it was funded as a part of the Healthy Base Initiative pilot program. With funding cut for next season, Elizabeth Borst, Quantico Farmers’ Market Manager,said they are working on alternative resources to keep the market afloat. On average, 500 people visited the market each week. It’s a hopeful number but Borst admits that numbers need to double to remain viable.

One of the biggest challenges for the market is the transient nature of a military lifestyle.

“We would build our customer base and then they would all move away and then we’d have to start again,” Borst said. “Our lesson learned with that is we should get out in front of PCS season, and let Marines know about the farmers’ market as soon as they know of their active duty station.”

Borst who also manages the Spotsylvania Farmers’ Market, advocates the importance of fresh, local and affordable foods on base. This year, the market partnered with Semper Fit, the Marine Corps Exchange, the Commissary and other base organizations to advocate the importance of a healthy diet.

“It’s been about trying to expose military families to fresh food right in their community so that’s it’s easy for them to eat healthy,” Borst said.”We had a stronger season this year, than last. We hope to grow more each season but it takes time to change peoples’ eating habits and behaviors.”

Thanks to the help of Lauren King, dietitian at Semper Fit, people were able to get information and advice on food education and preparation. King attended the market bi-weekly as the “Vegucation Station” expert, offering materials that were provided by the Virginia Cooperative Extension. Each week  King offered counseling and take-home material with preparation instructions and recipes based on in-season produce.

“We have found in the military community that these farmers markets look nice and pretty and Marines [their families and civilians] want to buy produce but they’re not really sure what to do with it once they bring it home,” King said.

In addition to food education, the market also invited a variety of food trucks each week. They also changed start times this season from 2 p.m. to 10 a.m., to accommodate work schedules. But regardless of the time switch, Lucia Anderson, a Marine spouse and an avid farmers’ market participate, said the base hours have always been much better than farmer’s market out in town, which usually are on Sundays and overcrowded, she said.

“I’m really delighted that they have a farmers’ market here for military families,” said Anderson, a Woodbridge resident. “The farmers’ market in Dale City near my home is only open on Sundays during church hours. The market here is very convenient because you can get you produce and then your groceries at the commissary.”

The future of the market is up in the air, but King and Borst said they remain hopeful. They also encourage families, civilians and military members who want to see the market back, voice their opinion and support.

QUANTICO, Va. — As the calendar draws closer to the start of its fourth quarter, two of the most prominent construction projects aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico are on schedule for completion.

Traffic relief will be a step closer too with next month’s scheduled completion of the Russell Road Phase II project, and Marine Corps University’s expansion is on tap for occupancy by Jan. 2.

The latest phase is Russell Road’s second of three planned stages designed to ultimately widen the half mile of road between the Marine Corps Federal Credit Union and the Davis Center from two to four lanes. The project has proven a challenge at times to base traffic with partial road closures during peak traffic hours in the morning and late afternoon.

The $6 million Russell Road Phase II endeavor, which involves the relocation of sanitary sewer and the installation of a storm water pipe underway, in addition to adding two new traffic lanes, is tentatively slated for completion in early December. Work on this project is being performed by Arlington-based Corinthian Contractors.

LORTON, Va. — Fort Belvoir’s Commander Gregory D. Gadson will retire from his post in September; on the heels of what he said could be another round of base closures and realignments.

While there is no official talk of such a move, Gadson said Friday he thinks another round of BRAC, the Base Realignment and Closure commission as its referred to by federal officials, is a real possibility.

“I think there will be another BRAC, though, Congress has forbid us to use the word BRAC,” said Gadson to a group of business owners at a Prince William Chamber of Commerce event in Lorton.

The two military bases in our area, Fort Belvoir and Quantico Marine Corps Base, are fresh off a round of BRAC that was passed into law in 2005. The order meant military offices located inside commercial office buildings in Arlington closed and relocated to the secure military bases.

Fort Belvoir was most impacted by BRAC 2005 than any other military installation as it saw 20,000 new federal workers transferred to the base, on the main post, the new National Geospatial Agency in Springfield, and Rivana Station outside Charlottesville. Quantico saw about 3,000 new federal employees move onto base as part of BRAC. The majority of the BRAC relocation was complete by 2012.

Gadson will leave his post retiring after 26 years of service, with tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He’s stepping down amid explosive growth at Fort Belvoir as a new 270,000 square feet Exchange store has just opened – the largest in the U.S. – as well as the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital.

The base has also become a leader in proving military housing to those who work on the base, as well as some Marines who work at Quantico. Fort Belvoir now contracts with a private property management firm to maintain its 2,100 military housing units, some newly built as part of BRAC.

“We can officially say that BRAC has ended but the work of BRAC at Fort Belvoir continues,” said Gadson.

There are other improvements underway at the base, including widening U.S. 1 from Telegraph Road to six lanes from Va. 235 (Mount Vernon Highway), as well as adding a new Twitter account to increase the garrison’s social media presence.

“I don’t tweet, but someone else does maintain that,” quipped Gadson.

The commander will remain in the area after retiring, he said. He continues to encourage small businesses to hire military veterans.

The flag on the Iwo Jima statute at the main entrance to Quantico Marine Corps Base is flying again.

The banner was removed March 31 after a crack in the statue was found, on the hand of one of the men in the sculpture.

Quantico spokesman 2nd Lt. Matthew Rojo says repair work is scheduled for the statue. He’s not clear how long it will take to repair the hand, however.

A target of vandals, the statue was defaced in 2012 when a line of pink spray paint was smeared on the base of the statue.

Architects used the highly recognizable statue, modeled after a World War II photograph, to design the National Museum of the Marine Corps which opened in 2006.

NORTH STAFFORD, Va. — Have you seen military vehicles traveling on Garrisonville Road lately?

Several Marines were using light armored vehicles, known as LAVs, when training at Quantico last weekend. Some drivers, including Garrisonville District Supervisor Laura Sellers, noticed the LAVs using Va. 610 (Garrisonville Road) to transport Marines to the training sites.

Sellers noted seeing the LAVs during a discussion about the Quantico Joint Land Use Study which, among other things, talks about the need for military personnel to use Va. 610 to transport vehicles to the western portions of Quantico, where many of the base’s muntions ranges are located.

“It doesn’t’ happen often, but just last week I have a question about what that does to our roads. If they’re going to be out there are they going to make sure 610 is going to be taken care of,” asked Sellers. “There’s wear and tear on the road, and it’s a heavily-traveled road.”

Quantico officials point out that the LAVs are “road ready” and use pneumatic tires, not tank tracks; the same kind of tires you would find on any truck. As more Marines return home from Iraq and Afghanistan, there is the potential that even more training will be conduced on base to warfighters can maintain their training.

But the military vehicles, like large trucks, are heavy, and vehicle weight is something that Virginia State Police monitor at places like truck weigh scales along interstate highways.

“Weight matters, and tanks are not light,” Stafford Rockill District Supervisor Cord Sterling chimed in.

Sterling also serves on Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board with whose entire mission is highways and transportation.

Base officials say Stafford residents shouldn’t be alarmed to see the LAVs on Va. 610.

“Tactical vehicles are designed to support military and humanitarian missions and as such will look different from something you would drive off the showroom floor at a dealership. But as far as contact with the road and impact on infrastructure are concerned, most military vehicles are similar to their civilian counterparts,” said Quantico spokesman 2nd Lt. Matthew Rojo. “Also, because safety is one of our top priorities it important to mention that each military driver is specially licensed to operate their vehicles to ensure the roads are safe for all who share them.”

Officials from Stafford County who worked on the Joint Land Use Study told Sellers and Sterling that more discussion needs to take place between the county and the base, and that Stafford County could provide some type of escorts for the military vehicles during evening hours when traffic on Va. 610 is lighter.

There has also been discussion about building a road on the base itself so vehicles wouldn’t have to use Va. 610 at all, but there is currently no funding for such a military thoroughfare.

QUANTICO, Va. — Col. David Maxwell, the commanding officer at Quantico Marine Corps Base, will lay a special wreath commemorating the 262nd birthday of President James Madison.

Maxwell will attend the celebration honoring the 4th U.S. president at Madison’s Virginia home, Montpelier.

The Marine Corps Band from Quantico will also perform.

Here’s more information from a statement from the Marine Corps Base:

The Marine Corps Base Quantico Marine Band will be performing at the ceremony, while the Base Color Guard escorts the base colors and the national ensign. An Honor Guard will also be present, in the form of a firing squad, presenting a 21-gun salute to the former commander-in-chief.

Madison is known as the “father of the constitution” for his role in developing the U.S. governing document.

The ceremony begins at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Montpelier. The gates to the historic property open at 9 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. Admission on Sunday is free.

Maxwell returned form serving in Afghanistan in February 2012 and was named commander of Quantico Marine Corps Base shortly thereafter. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1988.