Marine Corps

A Vietnam War veteran is accusing an often-controversial airline of refusing to refund a plane ticket when his doctors prohibited him from flying because of a terminal illness.

Retiring Marine Jerry Meekins said Tuesday in an interview with Fox News that Spirit Airlines denied his request for a refund after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

The airline told him "that's it too bad. Their policy is no refunds, regardless of circumstance," Meekins said in the interview.
 
"Had I known two weeks prior, of course, I would have never purchased the ticket," he added.

Sgt. Gary Stein, who posted anti-Obama comments on his Facebook page, was given an “other than honorable” discharge.

The Defense secretary said three Marines had been disciplined for an incident in December involving a prostitute in Brasilia.

Ohio state Treasurer Josh Mandel (R) launched the first television ad of his campaign to unseat Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) on Wednesday, drawing heavily on his military background as he works to introduce himself to Ohio voters.

Mandel’s campaign said the ad would air statewide on broadcast and cable for “an extended period of time," but did not disclose the size of the buy. A source said Mandel's campaign had reserved about $540,000 in airtime in Ohio markets starting Wednesday and Thursday.

“Grandson of a soldier and a blue-collar laborer, Josh Mandel served two tours in Iraq and came home to protect our tax dollars,” says the narrator in the ad. “Now Washington is broken and needs new leaders, and this Marine is ready to answer the call.”

The 30-second spot shows Mandel lacing up his boots, as if preparing for battle.

Mandel, a fresh-faced former state lawmaker and first-term treasurer, has attracted the attention of major Republican figures, including Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), Gov. Chris Christie (N.J.) and Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Jim DeMint (S.C.), whose Senate Conservatives Fund is also backing Mandel. McCain and Christie traveled to Ohio on Monday to campaign for Mandel.

Two U.S. troops were killed Wednesday when a V-22 Osprey crashed southern Morocco, Reuters reported.

The spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Rabat, Rodney Ford, told Reuters that the tiltrotor Osprey crashed in the southern province of Tan Tan.

Sgt. Gary Stein, facing dismissal for posting Facebook comments critical of President Obama, criticized a review board’s recommendation for discharge.

Days after the Marines set up shop at their new base in Australia, the service plans to boost their presence in another key Asia Pacific country in the near future. 

A review board last week recommended Marine Sgt. Gary Stein be discharged for online comments calling Obama a “domestic enemy.”

Sgt. Gary Stein called Obama the “domestic enemy" and imposed the president's face on the movie poster "Jackass."

The accused Marine argues he was acting as a private citizen, and was talking theoretically about not following unlawful orders.