{"id":27436,"date":"2016-11-16T23:08:25","date_gmt":"2016-11-16T23:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:50:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:50:34","slug":"the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/","title":{"rendered":"The Marines’ top general spent a week cutting cake and watching his troops blow things up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Marine Corps’ top general spent last week watching Marines do what they do best \u2013 shoot stuff, blow things up \u2013 and then celebrating the service’s 241st birthday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a brief snapshot of what Gen. Robert Neller has been up to as part of our semi-regular series “Keeping up with the Commandant.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.<\/b> <\/b><\/span> A devotee of the teachings of Genghis Khan, Neller watches Marines practice giving the enemy a very bad day during his visit to Twentynine Palms, California.<\/b> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert B. Neller observes a training exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Nov. 7, 2016. Neller visited Twentynine Palms to observe Marines with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, conduct a training exercise at Range 400. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Samantha K. Braun)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gen. Robert Neller observes a training exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Nov. 7.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Cpl. Samantha K. Braun.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.<\/b> <\/b><\/span> The commandant throws a Marine a rugby ball. \u00a0Rugby is typically played by people who don’t find American football violent enough.<\/b> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert B. Neller throws a rugby ball to a Marine at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Nov. 7, 2016. Neller visited Twentynine Palms to observe Marines with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, conduct a training exercise at Range 400. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Samantha K. Braun)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller throws a rugby ball to a Marine at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Nov. 7.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Cpl. Samantha K. Braun.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.<\/b> <\/b><\/span> Throughout history, young warriors have paid tribute to their elders. Here Neller gives a slice of cake to Staff Sgt. Charles G. Manuel, Jr., 93, the oldest Marine present at a Nov. 9 ceremony marking the Marine Corps’ 241st birthday.\u00a0<\/b> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert B. Neller, left, presents a slice of cake to retired Staff Sgt. Charles G. Manuel, Jr., during a cake cutting ceremony in observance of the Marine Corps\u2019 birthday, Arlington, Va., Nov. 9, 2016. The ceremony was held in honor of the U.S. Marine Corps\u2019 241st birthday. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Samantha K. Braun)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gen. Robert Neller presents a slice of cake to retired Staff Sgt. Charles G. Manuel, Jr., during a cake cutting ceremony in observance of the Marine Corps’ birthday, Arlington, Va., Nov. 9.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Cpl. Samantha K. Braun.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.<\/b> <\/b><\/span> Toughness doesn’t age. Neller takes a knee alongside two Marine Corps veterans at a Veterans Day ceremony at Quantico, Virginia.<\/b> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert B. Neller poses for a photo with a U.S. Marine Corps veterans after the 35th Annual Veteran\u2019s Day Ceremony at Quantico National Cemetery, Triangle, Va., Nov. 11, 2016. Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Robert B. Neller attended the ceremony as the guest of honor. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Samantha K. Braun)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gen. Robert Neller poses U.S. Marine Corps veterans after the 35th Annual Veteran’s Day Ceremony at Quantico National Cemetery, Triangle, Va., Nov. 11.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo Credit: Cpl. Samantha K. Braun.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.<\/b> <\/b><\/span> Speaking to Betty Sims, 97, the oldest Marine present at this year’s Commandant’s Marine Corps Birthday Ball, this photo is proof that Gen. Neller can smile.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) Gen. Robert B. Neller, right, speaks to Betty Sims, 97, oldest Marine present at the CMC Birthday Ball, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Oxen Hill, Md., Nov. 12, 2016. Each year the CMC hosts a ball to honor and celebrate the Marine Corps\u2019 birthday. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Samantha K. Braun)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller, speaks to Betty Sims, 97, oldest Marine present at the Commandant’s Marine Corps Birthday Ball, Nov. 12,<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Five images from Commandant Gen. Robert Neller’s eventful week. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":49958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":69,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[12,67,69],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1187],"class_list":["post-27436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-marine-corps"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"IMVCP5GRB5AQRDFXPM3PLU5E6U","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Marines' top general spent a week cutting cake and watching his troops blow things up - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Five images from Commandant Gen. Robert Neller's eventful week.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Marines' top general spent a week cutting cake and watching his troops blow things up\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Five images from Commandant Gen. Robert Neller's eventful week.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Marine Corps Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-16T23:08:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T20:50:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeff Schogol\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeff Schogol\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/16\\\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/16\\\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"The Marines’ top general spent a week cutting cake and watching his troops blow things up\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2016-11-16T23:08:25+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T20:50:34+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/16\\\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 642,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/16\\\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/neller-cutting-cake.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"News\",\n\t \"Pentagon & Congress\",\n\t \"Your Marine Corps\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/16\\\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/16\\\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/16\\\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"The Marines' top general spent a week cutting cake and watching his troops blow things up - Marine Corps Times\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/16\\\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/16\\\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/neller-cutting-cake.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2016-11-16T23:08:25+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T20:50:34+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"Five images from Commandant Gen. Robert Neller's eventful week.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/16\\\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/16\\\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/16\\\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/neller-cutting-cake.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/neller-cutting-cake.jpg.jpg\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/16\\\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Your Marine Corps\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/news\\\/your-marine-corps\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"your-marine-corps\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"The Marines’ top general spent a week cutting cake and watching his troops blow things up\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Marine Corps Times\",\n\t \"description\": \"Marine Corps - Independent News For Marines | Marine Corps Times\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Marine Corps Times\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/marine-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/marine-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Marine Corps Times\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Marines' top general spent a week cutting cake and watching his troops blow things up - Marine Corps Times","description":"Five images from Commandant Gen. Robert Neller's eventful week.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Marines' top general spent a week cutting cake and watching his troops blow things up","og_description":"Five images from Commandant Gen. Robert Neller's eventful week.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/","og_site_name":"Marine Corps Times","article_published_time":"2016-11-16T23:08:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T20:50:34+00:00","author":"Jeff Schogol","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeff Schogol","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"The Marines’ top general spent a week cutting cake and watching his troops blow things up","datePublished":"2016-11-16T23:08:25+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T20:50:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/"},"wordCount":642,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/neller-cutting-cake.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["News","Pentagon & Congress","Your Marine Corps"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/","name":"The Marines' top general spent a week cutting cake and watching his troops blow things up - Marine Corps Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/neller-cutting-cake.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2016-11-16T23:08:25+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T20:50:34+00:00","description":"Five images from Commandant Gen. Robert Neller's eventful week.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/neller-cutting-cake.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/neller-cutting-cake.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2016\/11\/16\/the-marines-top-general-spent-a-week-cutting-cake-and-watching-his-troops-blow-things-up\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Your Marine Corps","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/","ad_zone":"your-marine-corps"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Marines’ top general spent a week cutting cake and watching his troops blow things up"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","name":"Marine Corps Times","description":"Marine Corps - Independent News For Marines | Marine Corps Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization","name":"Marine Corps Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/marine-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/marine-logo-white.png","caption":"Marine Corps Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/neller-cutting-cake.jpg.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Marine Corps Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27436"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27443,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27436\/revisions\/27443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27436"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=27436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}