Padillavincent22

Article Evaluation

As a fellow Veteran, most of us start to reminisce on our military experiences at one point or another. So, it's only natural that we explore about our past Units/Duty Stations and its histories. Wikipedia articles about individual Military units can be lacking in information, especially active units. It's mostly due to the needed secrecy of its agendas and as to not break Operation Security (OPSEC) rules. My unit is no exception. "I visited the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines (1/5) 5th Regiment, 1st Marine Division article on Wikipedia, and found three aspects of it worth commenting on: its absence of information about its most recent deployment, information left out on further explanation and dichotomy of its subordinate units, and lastly its lack of mentioning of the French Fourragère in its history.

Completeness

My Unit's Wikipedia page is lacking in some current information, like its most recent deployment from 2019 - 2020. This missing deployment (a deployment I was on) was with the 31st Marine Expeditionary unit (31st MEU), which conducted various joint foreign coalition operations like Cobra Gold and Forest Light. (Side note/fun fact: this link contains a military news journal with a picture of me in it). The whole 31st MEU's Battalion Landing Team 1/5 and supporting groups were aboard 3 vessels: the USS America, USS Green Bay, and USS Germantown for 3 months ashore, sailing the South China Sea before returning the Marine servicemembers to home base Okinawa, Japan. I have provided supporting evidence for the presence of 1/5 embarking on the 31st MEU and its aforementioned operations in the following websites: The United States Marine Corps Official Website and the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) website. In order to input these information appropriately, these two websites should be cited on the "Other Operations" section of the page.

Structure

Further explanation and dichotomy of 1/5's subordinate units: "Apache Company, Blackfoot Company, Cherokee Company, White Horse Company, and Huron Company", should be explored. The reason is, a reader who's not a part of the unit will most likely not know the task and purpose of each subordinate units, and would be left confused as it only states their nickname for each Companies. It does not elaborate on which ones are the Rifle companies, Weapons Company, and Headquarters & Service Company. A proposed solution to this probable confusion, is to simply annotate each Company's official role with a parenthesis. i.e. Apache Company (Alpha Rifle Company), White Horse Company (Weapons Company) etc.

French Fourragère

Additional information should be made to 1/5's most significant parts of its history. As preface, during World War I, 1/5 landed as part of an American force in France. Among all other units that were present, 1/5 was awarded the French Fourragère. The French Fourragère is a military award, in the form of a braided cord, used to distinguish certain units for achievements during the war. The 1/5 page has no mention of this in its "History" section. The Wikipedia page for the French Fourragère, however, states that the "5th Regiment" (the platform regiment of 1/5) was awarded the Fourragère for having earned the Croix de Guerre. The 1/5 page should include this information on the World War I portion of the "History" section and should cite or include a wiki link to the Fourragère page.

Summary

To provide a synopsis of this evaluation, the 1/5 wiki page will benefit by updating new information, expanding on it's subordinate units section, and by adding the French Fourragère to its World War I segment. It's understandable that online sources regrading Military Units can be scarce (due to its sensitivity), however, the links and information that have been provided in this evaluation are directly from military sources, journals, and trusted websites.

Bio

About me

I am a U.S. Navy Corpsman for a reservist unit. I was formerly in Active Duty (2015 - 2020), with 1st Marine Division, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. I am also, currently, a student at a Community College in the Pacific Northwest. My hobbies include: working out in the gym, rock climbing, which can improve muscular strength, endurance and flexibility . rappelling, hiking and camping. I also like to read self improvement books such as "The 7 habits of highly effective people" by Stephen R. Covey and "12 Rules for Life, An antidote to Chaos" by Jordan B. Peterson.

My Wikipedia interests

If I am active on Wikipedia in the future, I will probably contribute on research, pertaining to medical practice such as medical diagnostics, prevention and treatment of diseases, etc. I am actively pursuing my career in school in the hopes of acquiring a Medical Degree.

Possible topics to talk about in this page (Disregard):

My journey through my military career, my growing interest in medicine, personal facts about childhood, upbringing, etc..