From my friend chrisls:
“In general, the impression I have gotten of the Marine Corps in Iraq has not been of a group of disciplined soldiers trying to bring security and stability to a country that desperately needs it, but of a barely controlled bunch of hyper-testosterone fueled bullies with automatic weapons and a bad attitude, stuck in a place where they can’t kill as many people as they would like.”
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Mmmmm...
2 thoughts on “Excellent.”
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I just want to make a note of the fact that I made that comment specifically about the Marine Corps – most of the things I’ve heard about the Army are that they’re trying to do the right thing in a very tough situation.
Sadly, this is one place where the Marine Corps’ “warrior ethic” is doing them a serious disservice.
Yep. I think it’s an important distinction to make. For most people who are not in the military, “the military” is all one big thing, a bit like a big family with a few factions here that have one particular holiday tradition instead of that other faction with another tradition, but generally very much alike, or the different cultures are not very clear. Those who are in the military generally know that each branch has its own culture.
And, of course, what’s even more important about your observation is that you’re seeing a pattern, a nasty culture emerging, rather than “isolated incidents.” As we all know in ANY large group of people, there will be individuals who do bad things, and their actions are not something to hold against the rest of the group.
Also, I think this is a major difference between the USMC of today vs. the USMC of even ten years ago, when my brother went through. It’s not the same culture at all.