Gidget Fuentes

About Gidget Fuentes

Gidget Fuentes is a freelance writer based in San Diego, Calif. She has spent more than 20 years reporting extensively on the Marine Corps and the Navy, including West Coast commands and Pacific regional issues, and most recently was a senior writer and the San Diego bureau chief for Marine Corps Times and Navy Times.

Recent Posts By the Author


Retired Flag Officer Who 'Abused His Position to Benefit Himself' Censured in Fat Leonard Scandal

Retired Flag Officer Who ‘Abused His Position to Benefit Himself’ Censured in Fat Leonard Scandal

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Rear Adm. Mark C. Montgomery, U.S. Pacific Command Director of Operations, gives his remarks during his Aug. 18, 2017, retirement ceremony aboard the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) Memorial. Montgomery is retiring after 32 years of naval service. US Navy photo.

Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer censured a now-retired rear admiral for his involvement nearly a decade ago with a defense contractor indicted in a bribery and fraud investigation that’s netted several dozen officials, including flag and commanding officers. Read More →

Navy Issues Final Study Seeking Continued Use of Training Ranges Hawaii, California Ranges

Navy Issues Final Study Seeking Continued Use of Training Ranges Hawaii, California Ranges

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Members of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Royal New Zealand Navy jump from an MH-53E Sea Dragon, attached to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 14, as a part of dive operations during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise off the coast of Southern California on July 13. 2018. US Navy Photo

The next five years of fleet training and testing in the Pacific waters off Hawaii and Southern California might affect marine life but shouldn’t have permanent, lasting harm to marine mammals, sea turtles and other sea life, the Navy concludes in a voluminous environmental document released last week. Read More →

VIDEO: Marine Sgt. Maj. John Canley Receives Medal of Honor in White House Ceremony

VIDEO: Marine Sgt. Maj. John Canley Receives Medal of Honor in White House Ceremony

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Portrait of Sgt. Maj. John L. Canley, taken July 9, 2018. President Donald J. Trump will be awarding the Medal of Honor to Canley during a White House ceremony, Oct. 17, 2018.

Retired Marine Sgt. Maj. John L. Canley, with a sea of ribbons and medals dangling from the coat of his enlisted blue dress uniform, stood at attention on Wednesday afternoon in the White House. Read More →

Japanese Amphibious Soldiers Hit the Beach in the Philippines with U.S. Marines, 7th Fleet

Japanese Amphibious Soldiers Hit the Beach in the Philippines with U.S. Marines, 7th Fleet

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Soldiers from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB) and Marines, attached to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), stand by in the well deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD-48) Oct. 9, 2018. US Navy Photo

It was no ordinary beach assault when troops took off on amphibious assault vehicles from a U.S. Navy ship and raced ashore in a training exercise with U.S. Marines. Read More →

Pentagon Task Force Looks to Revamp Close-Combat Infantry Training, Lethality

Pentagon Task Force Looks to Revamp Close-Combat Infantry Training, Lethality

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Marines in the Infantry Officer Course fire at an enemy trench during a live fire training exercise at Range 410A aboard the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., June 9, 2018. US Marine Corps

A Pentagon-directed group tasked with making close-combat infantry more lethal and effective has its sights on getting troops into more realistic, immersive training as soon as possible. Read More →