Hispanics in The United States Marine Corps - Recent Events

Recent Events

The past 20 years have witnessed dramatic increases in the percentage of Latinos (of both sexes) among active duty enlisted personnel. Nearly 15 percent of U.S. Marine Corps enlisted personnel were Hispanic. The various recruitment efforts do have critics, both within and outside the Hispanic community, particularly during this time of war and a growing number of reported Hispanic casualties.

In the military campaigns of Afghanistan and Iraq, in what the United States and its allies refer to as the War on Terrorism. Sergeant Rafael Peralta is among those who have perished.

During the Iraq War, Sgt. Rafael Peralta (1979–2004) was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. On November 15, 2004, Peralta and his team were ordered to clear houses in the Operation Phantom Fury. Peralta led his team through a series of house clearings before charging into the fourth house. He found two rooms empty on the ground floor. Peralta opened a third door and was hit multiple times with AK-47 fire, leaving him severely wounded. He dropped to the floor and moved aside in order to allow the Marines behind him to return fire.

The insurgents responded by throwing a grenade at the Marines. The two Marines with Sgt. Peralta tried to get out of the room but could not. Sgt. Peralta was still conscious on the floor and despite his wounds was able to reach for the grenade and pull it under his body absorbing the majority of the lethal blast and shrapnel which killed him instantly, but saved the lives of his fellow marines.

Sgt. Peralta was under consideration to receive the Medal of Honor. but, was awarded the Navy Cross instead. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates rejected the Marine Corps' recommendation, concluding that his appointed panel unanimously confirmed that his actions did not meet the standard of "without any possibility of error or doubt". The central argument posed relates to whether the already mortally wounded Peralta could have intentionally reached for a grenade, shielding his fellow Marines from the blast.

Five Marines of Hispanic descent have been awarded the Navy Cross, they are:

On June 10, 2004, during Operation Iraqi Freedom Brigadier General Joseph V. Medina became the first Marine general ever assigned commander of naval ships. Medina oversaw the manning and equipping of ESG-3. From his flagship, the USS Belleau Wood, he then led the Belleau Wood Strike Group (BWDESG) through a 6-month deployment in support of where he was assigned as Commander Task Force 58.

Hispanic women are now more highly represented among enlisted women in the Marine Corps than the other services. Hispanic women are reaching the top echelons of the Marine Corps both in the enlistment and officer ranks. On August 13, 2004, MGySgt. Abigail D. Olmos became the first female Master Gunnery Sergeant in the history of the Marine Corps. and on August 2, 2006, Brigadier General Angela Salinas, made history when she became the first Hispanic female to obtain a general rank in the Marines. To date servicewomen are still restricted from serving in the following positions: Infantry regiments, artillery battalions, all armored units, combat engineer battalions, reconnaissance units, riverine assault craft units, low altitude air defense units, and fleet anti-terrorism security teams. In Operation Iraqi Freedom female Marines have played a prominent role guarding checkpoints and searching Iraqi women and children. This in turn has exposed many of them to dangerous situations which in some cases could cost them their lives. Two Hispanic female Marines have perished in said conflict, they are Lance Corporal Juana Navarro, assigned to 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force. and Corporal Ramona M. Valdez.

Corporal Ramona M. Valdez (1984–2005) was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force. Valdez, whose mother immigrated from the Dominican Republic, was a communications specialist. Valdez's most significant work was with Division's Counter Improvised Explosive Device Working Group. The success of the tests conducted by CIEDWG was in a large part attributed to Valdez's knowledge of single-channel radios.

Valdez, who was stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C. was deployed with her unit to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Her convoy was on its way back to Camp Fallujah when a suicide bomber drove his car into the convoy, causing a massive explosion that killed Valdez, two other women, three men, and severely burnt seven other women. She was serving with the Female Search Force when she was killed. The Marine Corps honored her memory naming the II MEF Communications Training Center in Camp Lejeune, N.C. the Valdez Training Facility.