PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. –
U.S. Space Command hosted a U.S. Marine Corps birthday celebration Nov. 6, 2020, at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. In attendance were U.S. Army Gen. James Dickinson, USSPACECOM commander; Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Joseph Matos, USSPACECOM command, control, communications, computers and cyber director; and Master Gunnery Sgt. Scott Stalker, USSPACECOM's command senior enlisted leader.
Early in our country’s struggle for independence against Great Britain, the Continental Congress raised two battalions of Marines in accordance with the Continental Marine Act of 1775. As this country’s first amphibious infantry, these original Marines saw their first action in the Caribbean, fighting ship-to-shore against the British and retaking key islands and cities throughout that area of operations. Later, they joined Washington’s Army to repel British invasions from New Jersey to New Orleans.
Since then, countless Marines have distinguished themselves in combat. From “the Halls of Montezuma” to the “Shores of Tripoli,” from Belleau Wood to Iwo Jima and from the Korean peninsula to Southeast Asia, Marines like Maj. Archibald Gillespie, Sgt. Maj. Gilbert “Hashmark” Johnson, Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone and Pfc Chester Nez have personified the core values of honor, courage and commitment.
Today, in a world marked by international uncertainty, antagonism between competing powers, and a continuing Global War on Terror, our Marine service component, Marine Forces Space, strengthens our space warfighting capabilities with an esprit de corps and Warrior ethos that has made the United States Marine Corps “no better friend, no worse enemy.”
On this 245th Marine Corps birthday, please join Master Gunnery Sgt. Stalker and me in saying "Happy birthday" and "Semper Fidelis!"
—U.S. Army Gen. James Dickinson, USSPACECOM commander