Never lost a fight
Marines are tough.
They are.
We are.
It takes a special kind of person to join the Marine Corps. Some would derisively agree and say “yes…special”. A good friend of mine says the Marine Corps is a cult. Valid point, but that will be addressed another time…
Consider the recruiting slogans throughout the years:
“We don’t promise you a rose garden”
“If everybody could get in, it wouldn’t be the Marines”
“First to fight”
“The Few, the Proud, the Marines”
“We are looking for a few good men”
“Earned, never given”
The list goes on. Even a Marine who has what sounds like a “non-combat” job is still a U.S. MARINE! After Recruit Training the Leatherneck goes through Marine Combat Training for several weeks to learn basic infantryman skills. We have a phrase “Every Marine a Rifleman”. Every year Marines re-qualify with the service rifle. Marine progress through the belts in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). So these folks are trained to fight, bonafide warriors, legit tough guys.
So please, Please, PLEASE tell me why so many of these Marines lie to make themselves look good!?
What am I talking about? It’s the stories Marines tell each other about themselves and their lives before the Marine Corps. Seriously. Do you know how many people I met who were “Ohio State Wresting Champs” and turned down a full ride scholarship to join the Marines Corps? Or the ones who had so many girlfriends in high school, but not one date in the two years he’s been in the Marine Corps. “I’m an operator, I don’t have time for that stuff now”. Come on man. You mean to tell me that every guy in my platoon won every fight he has ever been in? Dude, I’ve seen you ground fight and tap out to six guys from your own squad.
These conversations happen daily. Sitting on the range, waiting on trucks, cleaning weapons at the armory, sitting on duty, etc. Once as a platoon sergeant in a rifle platoon we were doing exactly that, sitting on packs waiting on trucks to bring us out of the field. (Fortunately, we weren’t hiking out this time!) This one skinny dude who could do, like eight pull-ups, was talking about how he beat the crap out of some guy who had it coming. I couldn’t take it anymore. I said “No!, Stop!” The platoon looked at me. We had packs all in formation and mine was up front. They stared blankly at me, uncertain of the reason for my outburst. You know the scene: some guys are asleep, some guys are off to the side smoking, a couple of guys playing spades, only two or three guys talking, and everybody kind of hears it. I was conducting weapons maintenance and eavesdropping when I lost it. “No you didn’t!” I heard chuckles all around. I continued “I am sick and tired of hearing how everyone of you half-steppers won every fight you’ve ever had, all dated the prom queen, and all turned down full ride scholarships to come out here, sleep on the ground, and go on working parties. Bravo Sierra.” We are all laughing now. I said, “I want to hear about a fight one of you losers did NOT win.” Right away a Lance Corporal chimes in “I got my butt handed to me one time Staff Sergeant.”
“Let’s hear it.”
It was a good story. He said something stupid to the wrong guy, overestimated his abilities, and walked away with a bloody nose. Roger that. I refuse to disclose the Marine or the details of his story. He is now a civilian, a proud veteran. While every other guy is back home telling everybody he was a sniper/recon/one-man death squad requested my General Mattis himself to take out HVT-1 (High Value Target number one) in Iraq in 2005, this guy is still the silent professional who once lost a fight when he was seventeen years old.
That’s what I’m talking about.