【视频】海军陆战队迎来251岁生日：司令发布致辞视频，4万名陆战队员正在全球前沿部署
11月10日，美国海军陆战队迎来建军251周年。陆战队司令Eric M. Smith上将与陆战队总士官长Carlos A. Ruiz按惯例发布年度生日致辞。官方致辞视频长10分44秒，由陆战队通信局制作、在夏威夷陆战队基地拍摄，荣誉陆战队员Gary Sinise担任旁白，已通过官方渠道发布。
致辞回顾了这支军种的战史：251年来，海军陆战队是美国首要的远征预备力量。从250年前在拿骚的首次两栖登陆，到硫磺岛的火山灰沙滩、仁川登陆战，再到阿富汗的山区，陆战队员在世界各地的战场上作战并取胜。致辞说，先辈用汗水与鲜血立下传统，后人要从中汲取面向未来的力量。
致辞透露，此刻有4万名陆战队员在全球各地前沿部署与驻扎。Smith说，当下对陆战队的需求很高，陆战队正通过创新与演变做准备，以严苛的标准与韧劲保持这支远征海上力量的杀伤力，国家需要他们去哪里、什么时候需要，他们就到哪里。
生日致辞是陆战队延续百年的传统。1775年11月10日，大陆会议决议组建海军陆战队。每年的建军生日舞会上，各地陆战队员都会宣读司令致辞与1921年时任司令John A. Lejeune留下的生日文告，并举行切蛋糕仪式，由在场最年长的陆战队员把第一块蛋糕递给最年轻的陆战队员，象征传统的代代相传。
Smith与Ruiz在致辞结尾说，两人以陆战队员维护「美国海上士兵」这一传统为荣，「生日快乐，陆战队员们」。
（来源：美国海军陆战队）
[Video] Marine Corps Turns 251: Commandant Releases Birthday Message as 40,000 Marines Serve Forward Deployed
The United States Marine Corps marks its 251st birthday on November 10. Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Eric M. Smith and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Carlos A. Ruiz delivered the annual birthday message, released as an official 10-minute, 44-second video produced by the Marine Corps Communication Directorate and filmed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, narrated by Honorary Marine Gary Sinise.
The message retraces the Corps' record: for 251 years, the Marine Corps has been the nation's premier expeditionary force in readiness, from its first amphibious landing at Nassau 250 years ago to the volcanic sands of Iwo Jima, the invasion of Inchon and the mountains of Afghanistan. Marines who came before, Smith said, built a foundation of excellence, and today's Marines draw inspiration from that legacy as they prepare for the fights ahead.
At this very hour, the message notes, 40,000 Marines are forward deployed and stationed around the world. Smith said operational demand for Marines is high, and that the Corps is preparing every day by innovating and evolving, demonstrating what he called the unmatched lethality of its expeditionary naval forces.
The birthday message is a century-old tradition. The Continental Congress resolved to raise the Corps on November 10, 1775, and at birthday balls around the world Marines read the Commandant's message along with the 1921 birthday message of then-Commandant John A. Lejeune. The cake-cutting ceremony, in which the oldest Marine present hands the first slice to the youngest, symbolizes the passing of tradition across generations.
Smith and Ruiz closed by saying they are proud of Marines for upholding the legacy of America's "Soldiers of the Sea": "Happy 251st Birthday, Marines!"
(Source: U.S. Marine Corps)
来源：美国海军陆战队
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：海军陆战队生日切蛋糕仪式（资料图，摄于第249个建军生日仪式）。Wikimedia Commons 图片（公共领域，美国海军陆战队）。 / Photo: A Marine Corps birthday cake-cutting ceremony (file photo, 249th birthday observance). Image via Wikimedia Commons (public domain, U.S. Marine Corps).
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