Author Dan Lamothe

Dan Lamothe

I'm a senior writer with Marine Corps Times, covering ground warfare, manpower, weapons acquisition and other beats. I embedded in Afghanistan in spring 2010, and plan to return at least once in 2011.

Now slimmed down, former Navy lineman leads Marines in Afghanistan

By Dan Lamothe on April 18, 2012 Afghanistan, Football, Marine Corps, Navy

KAJAKI, Afghanistan – Second Lt. Jeff Lenar is a long way from the bright lights of college football at the U.S. Naval Academy, and it took serious discipline to get there. The infantry officer with 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, leads 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, overseeing Marines in combat who patrol near the landmark Kajaki Dam in Helmand province. Since deploying early this year, he has led his platoon in raids into Taliban-held area and overseen surveillance missions used to collect information about insurgents. His trip there was complicated: to join his fellow Marines, Lenar shed dozens of pounds from his…

Marines, sailors take in Super Bowl at sea

By Dan Lamothe on February 6, 2012 Football, Marine Corps, Navy

ABOARD THE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT SHIP WASP -– If you’re going to watch your favorite NFL team lose in the Super Bowl, it may as well be somewhere interesting. That’s the scenario I found myself in last night as I continue to cover Bold Alligator 2012, a massive amphibious exercise involving at least 14,000 personnel and 25 ships off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia. Like many of the sailors and Marines aboard this gator ship, I had accepted there was a strong possibility the game wouldn’t be on while underway –- only to find out the exact opposite. Not…

'Patriot Wing' C-5 cargo jet grabs spotlight at Patriots-Ravens game

By Dan Lamothe on January 23, 2012 Air Force, Football

When most people think of aircraft flyovers at sporting events, they think of swift jets. It’s the Blue Angels, maybe, or some other fighter squadron providing the thunder. Not at the Patriots-Ravens game this weekend, though. The honors at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts were carried out by a lumbering C-5B Galaxy from the 439th Airlift Wing out of Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass. — and it made all the sense in the world for the hometown team. For years, the unit has referred to itself as the Patriot Wing, even using the New England Patriots logo on the tail of its aircraft. As…

Video: Justin Timberlake’s Marine date dominates MMA match

By Dan Lamothe on October 25, 2011 Marine Corps, Mixed martial arts

In the blink of an eye, it was over. Justin Timberlake may want to take notice. Cpl. Kelsey De Santis, the Marine who famously invited the singer and actor to attend the Marine Corps birthday ball with her, competed Saturday night in Operation Octagon XVI, a mixed martial arts event in Sterling, Va. To say it was a one-sided fight would be an understatement. De Santis, fighting in the 145-pound featherweight title fight, pummeled her opponent, Stacy Sneeringer. With a flurry of energy, De Santis took Sneeringer to the mat early, and finished her off 2:51 into the fight with…

Introducing New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, last action hero

By Dan Lamothe on April 5, 2010 Football, Marine Corps

Drew Brees, quarterback of the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints, has made a habit of endearing himself to Marines. Considering Marine Forces Reserve is based in his back yard in the Big Easy, that makes sense, but few athletes have gone as far as Brees recently to show his Marine Corps love. This may take the cake, however: That’s Brees, handling some serious small-arms firepower in Djibouti on March 29 during a USO visit. He made the appearance with teammate Billy Miller and Donnie Edwards of the Kansas City Chiefs, meeting members of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, out…

Plenty of U.S. service members were unable to watch the Super Bowl due to operational commitments, but even those who did in many cases missed the always-popular commercials.

Many troops saw Super Bowl, but no commercials

By Dan Lamothe on February 9, 2010 Haiti, Marine Corps

Plenty of U.S. service members were unable to watch the Super Bowl due to operational commitments, but even those who did in many cases missed the always-popular commercials.

Marines will participate in a Red Sox-Yankees game in May as part of Marine Week Boston.

Now invading the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry: The Marines

By Dan Lamothe on December 21, 2009 Baseball, Marine Corps

Marines will participate in a Red Sox-Yankees game in May as part of Marine Week Boston.

Where does Saints quarterback Drew Brees get motivation? The Marine Corps

By Dan Lamothe on November 30, 2009 Football, Marine Corps

The New Orleans Saints take on the New England Patriots tonight in Monday Night Football, which is as good of a reason as any to share the following: Drew Brees loves him some Marines. At least that appears to be the case, since he not only visited troops overseas with the USO in June, but found motivation in a Marine Corps running cadence. Jeff Duncan of the Times-Picayune has details: Brees will address the team with a quick intro, then repeat the team’s 2009 mission statements: “Be special,” “Finish strong” and “Smell greatness.” Then the team will break into a…

Happy Veterans Day

By Dan Lamothe on November 11, 2009 Football, Marine Corps, Uncategorized

Todays is Veterans Day, and that means plenty of publications that rarely write about military life are giving thanks to the U.S. military. Take Sports Illustrated scribe Joe Posnanski and the blog Baseball Think Factory, which salute the troops by posting a 2006-era photo of Marines playing baseball in Iraq. Or Yahoo! Sports, which makes a valiant attempt to name some of the greatest athlete-veterans in U.S. history. Or NFL.com, which shares a feature on Tennessee Titans fullback Ahmard Hall, who served in the Marine Corps for four years before walking onto the University of Texas football team. These are…

College Football Rankings: Navy win highlights weekend

By Dan Lamothe on November 9, 2009 Air Force, Army, Football, Navy, Uncategorized

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a win worthy of crowing about. Navy eeked out its second win in three years over No. 22 Notre Dame on Saturday, beating the Fighting Irish 23-21 on the strength of Craig Schaefer’s sack for a safety on (onetime) Heisman Trophy hopeful Jimmy Clausen in the end zone with 60 seconds left in the game. The win had several effects. First, it kills any chance that Notre Dame will make a BCS bowl this year. Second, it serves as another probable nail in the coffin of Charlie Weis’ career in South Bend, Ind. Fun times!…

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