US Marines to visit New Zealand next year (AP)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – U.S. Marines will visit New Zealand next year for the first time in at least 25 years, a sign of continuing thawing in the countries' military relations.

Prime Minister John Key made the announcement after visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in Washington on Thursday.

The Marines' visit will mark the 70th anniversary of their arrival in New Zealand to offer military support during World War II in case of an attack in the South Pacific. Key has also invited the U.S. Coast Guard to send a ship.

Military relations between the countries soured 25 years ago when New Zealand banned nuclear weapons from the country, preventing U.S. warships from visiting. Relations have improved in recent years, and New Zealand special forces have been active in Afghanistan.

The nuclear weapons ban is popular among the general public in New Zealand but remains a sticking point for the U.S. in resuming a full military relationship.

Among the details yet to be worked out for next year's visit are the number of Marines, how many will be veterans and how many active service, and whether they will arrive by plane or ship.

Stephen Hoadley, an associate professor of political studies and a foreign policy specialist at the University of Auckland, said the visit will "resonate very favorably" with older New Zealanders, some of whom remember the Marines' arrival in 1942.

"It was a tremendous emotional event," said Hoadley, noting that New Zealanders felt an enormous sense of relief at the U.S. presence.

Even then there were tensions, however, and in 1943 a riot involving more than 1,000 troops broke out in Wellington between American and New Zealand servicemen.

Yahoo! News

3 Marines face charges of adultery, marrying for financial gain

Marine Cpl. Ashley Vice: "I honestly didn't even try to hide it"Vice says she is a lesbian who married a straight Marine for the moneyShe says she did it so she could get financial assistance offered by the military The financial assistance is only offered to heterosexual couplesRead more about this story from CNN affiliate KGTV.

(CNN) -- Three California Marines have been charged with marrying for financial gain, accused of manipulating the military's off-base housing program so a lesbian couple could live together, according to a woman at the center of the case.

Marine Cpl. Ashley Vice says she and two others have been charged with conspiracy, making false official statements, fraud and adultery for allegedly marrying to collect thousands in financial assistance offered by the military to heterosexual married couples.

"The bottom line is that every Marine knows if they violate the law, they will be held accountable for their actions," 1st Lt. Maureen Dooley, a Marine spokeswoman at Camp Pendleton, told CNN.

"Regardless of sexual preference, we will hold all Marines accountable to the same standards."

Dooley would not release details about the case, saying the "investigation is ongoing."

Vice told CNN affiliate KGTV in San Diego that she wanted to live off base with her girlfriend, Jaime Murphy, as a couple. Murphy is a civilian.

But on her salary, she couldn't afford it.

So she says she found a Marine, Jeremiah Griffin, who agreed to marry her so she could receive the $1,200 per month living stipend the Marine Corps gives to married couples living off base.

A year and a half later, Murphy did the same thing and married Marine Joseph Garner, Vice and Murphy told KGTV, according to footage that aired Thursday.

Vice said she was questioned by the Marine Corps about the living arrangements.

"I honestly didn't even try to hide it," she said. "I just said this is what's going on. They asked me who Jaime is ... I told them."

The three Marines are accused of pocketing about $75,000.

"There's no conspiracy here," Murphy told KGTV. "There's no trying to steal from anybody. We just wanted to be together and she wanted to serve her country."

Vice and the two others face up to a year in prison if convicted on all counts. They also face the possibility of a dishonorable discharge, a reduction in rank and forfeiture of all pay.

CNN

Woman to run Marines' Parris Island

Brig. Gen. Lori Reynolds takes over the Marine recruit training camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.Brig. Gen. Lori Reynolds takes command at Parris IslandShe recently returned from Afghanistan deploymentShe declined to speak about her history-making promotion

(CNN) -- Parris Island, the South Carolina military installation that has trained thousands of young Marines, has its first female commander.

Brig. Gen. Lori Reynolds took over at a change-of-command ceremony Friday at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.

"It's not about male or female, it's about highly qualified officers," Capt. Bernadette Newman told CNN Savannah affiliate WSAV. "The Marine Corps gets it right. It's a performance-based society, and if you look at General Reynolds' bio, she has more than enough experience to add value to this, so it is exciting."

Reynolds recently returned from a year-long deployment to Afghanistan, where she was the first woman in the Marine Corps to command units in a war zone.

The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group took a base that initially fed, housed and equipped more than 10,000 Marines, and built it up to handle the troop surge of an additional 10,000 Marines and sailors into Afghanistan, the Corps said.

According to news reports, Reynolds did not mention her gender at the ceremony, and declined to make comments afterward.

"As her career progressed, she had different leadership opportunities to mold and mentor officers and enlisted of all ranks, and now she's here where she has the whole gamut of officers and enlisted, and for us it's a great opportunity," Newman told WSAV. "She truly knows from start to finish the Marines, and she knows every level."

Reynolds was commissioned in the Marine Corps in May 1986 after graduating from the United States Naval Academy. She replaces Brig. Gen. Frederick M. Padilla, who received an Okinawa assignment.

Parris Island, near Beaufort, has trained enlisted late Marines since 1915. Enlisted female training began there in February 1949. Reynolds' recruiting area includes the eastern half of the United States.

CNN