Scope and Contents

The collection consists of electronic media containing a history of USMC counterintelligence (1947-1991) and supporting documentation, particularly the history of USMC counterintelligence during the Vietnam War. Also included is one CD containing materials documenting the USMC service of Chief Warrant Officer 5 Charles Allen Menges and the history of the 3rd Battalion 7th Marines in Vietnam. The materials include command chronologies; biographical information; maps; images; KIA lists; lists of operations and battle locations; and articles.

Biographical / Historical

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Charles Allen Menges was born in Washington, DC in 1943. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He attended boot camp at the Marine Corps Recruit Training Base at Parris Island, South Carolina and was assigned to Platoon 180. After boot camp, he attended Parachute Riggers School at the Naval Station at Lake Hurst, New Jersey in 1961. Midway through the training, he decided it was not for him and he was reassigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

From 1962 to 1963, CWO5 Menges was assigned to the Naval Base Marine Barracks at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. His duties included laying mines around the area. From 1963 to 1965, he worked at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Schools Section as the Police Sergeant at Parris Island, South Carolina. He was also assigned as a Brig Chaser tasked with picking up individual Marines who were absent without official leave (AWOL) and/or had deserted.

From 1965 to 1966, CWO5 Menges reported to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. From 1966 to 1967, he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division in Vietnam, where he served as a Platoon Weapons Sergeant. After completion of Embarkation School, he was assigned to the Battalion’s Embarkation Chief (S-4). During his time in Vietnam, he participated in Operations Deckhouse IV, Desoto, Gem, Grand, Mississippi, Nevada, Prairie, and Webster. He received numerous awards for his service including the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

After his Vietnam service, CWO5 Menges was assigned to the S-4 Section, Logistics Chief, Marine Wing Support Group-27, Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, North Carolina from 1967 to 1970. He left active duty in 1970 and immediately joined the Marine Corps Reserves at the Washington Navy Yard, where he was assigned to the 4th Marine Corps Supply Battalion from 1970 to 1978. In 1977, as the 1st Sergeant for the 4th Supply Company, he applied for the Warrant Officers Program and in 1978 was promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer 1 (MOS 3010/0102).

In 1982, CWO5 Menges was assigned to the 10th and 12th Reserve Counterintelligence Teams at the U.S. Naval Air Station at Anacostia in Washington, DC. From 1984 to 1985, he completed the required CI training to be certified as a Counterintelligence Officer (0210). In 1988, he transferred to the Intelligence Estimate Branch, Intelligence Division, Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, DC.

From 1988 to 1992, CWO5 Menges worked on writing the history of U.S. Marine Corps Counterintelligence. He conducted interviews with and obtained first-hand experiences from those individuals who participated within the counterintelligence field. The first U.S. Marine Corps Counterintelligence Oral History was completed in 1992.

In 1990, CWO5 Menges returned to Active Duty for Training (ATD) at U.S. Central Command, Intelligence Section at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida to write a Position Description for a Counterintelligence Officer position for the Intel Section. At the outbreak of the Gulf War, he was called back to Headquarters Marine Corps, INTE Branch where he remained on active duty. In 1992, he was reassigned to the new Marine Corps Intelligence Center, as the Reserve Coordinator for Intelligence, Deputy Operations Officer, and Webmaster. During this time, the Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Activity (MCOTEA) asked him to serve as the Marine Expeditionary Intelligence Analysis System Scenario Support Leader. He developed a comprehensive and detailed intelligence scenario to be executed by the MCOTEA test team. His input was developed for both Intelligence and Counterintelligence interaction. The test was conducted at the Marine Corps Base in Twenty-Nine Palms, California in a two-week training exercise during the Summer of 1995.

On 1 August 1997, CWO5 Menges retired from the U.S. Marine Corps. After his retirement, he became a civil service employee assigned to the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity. From 1997 to 1999, he served as the Activities Deputy Operations Officer, the Reserves’ Coordinator, and Webmaster. In 1999, he joined the Marine Corps Doctrine Division as the Special Assistant to the Director, Doctrine Division, Marine Corps Combat Development Command (MCCDC). In 2005, still assigned to the Doctrine Division, he became the Deputy Director and - due to a reconstruction of MCCDC - he became Branch Head, Doctrine Branch, MCCDC. He retired from government service in 2006.