U.S. Marine Corps 1st Sgt. Chad Winchell, with 2d Battalion, 8th Marines, 2d Marine Division receives congratulations during an award ceremony on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, June 18, 2025. 1st Sgt. Winchell received the Sergeant Major Wilbur Bestwick Award for his outstanding contributions to increased combat readiness throughout the Marine Corps during his 18 years of dedicated service. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alexander Peterson)
U.S. Marines with 2d Combat Engineer Battalion, 2d Marine Division conduct a live fire range with 40-pound crater charges, a mine clearing line charge and an Anti-personnel Obstacle Breaching system during Service Level Trailing Exercise 4-25, at the Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, July 13, 2025. SLTE 4-25 is designed to be a challenging, realistic training environment that produces combat-ready forces capable of operating as an integrated Marine Air Ground Task Force. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Noelia Vazquez)
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. – U.S. Marine Corps Major Justin Wirth, a native of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, and the Assistant Air Officer of Headquarters Battalion, 2d Marine Division, celebrated his retirement with a ceremony, here, May 9, 2025.
Major Wirth dedicated 26 years of service to the defense of the United States of America. Wirth began his career by enlisting in the Marine Corps Reserves.
“[Wisconsin] was a really great place to grow up,” Major Wirth said. “There was very little military presence, so this was a very unforeseen experience.
“The recruiter really inspired me to join because he talked about how much of a challenge it was, and he was right.”
Wirth spent two years in the Reserves as a...
