Bless you...
 

From: "Red Storm Rising", by: Tom Clancy, page 252

"Move your ass, Lieutenant!", the sargeant's voice rasped at him.
The lieutenant shook his head clear and ran to the sound of the sargeant's voice, one hand holding his helmet in place on his head.
"Lights coming down!", he gasped.
"No shit. Be cool sir. People, let's get spread out. Find some good cover and freeze. And make Goddamned sure those weapons are on SAFE! You stay with me, sir."
The two privates moved left and right into tall weeds, disappearing from view as soon as they stopped movng. Edwards lay next to Sargeant Smith.
"You think they saw me?"
The darkness prevented him from seeing the angry expression accompanying Smith's reply: "Prob'ly not. Don't freeze in the road like that again, sir."
"I won't. Sorry. Sarge, this isn't exactly my thing."
"Just listen and learn what we tell ya', okay?" Smith whispered. "We're Marines. We'll take good care of you."
:q:

Gotta love those boot 'looies'...

..Take a PFC...give him four years of college, six months of boot camp and put him in charge of a platoon.....

Bones -

Yup, and if memory serves, the looie was an airman in the story.

You are held in such deep affection, if I may so state, by so many americans.
During the build-up to Iraq, when more and more units were seen being deployed to Kuwait and the region, a story came on TV showing a unit of young Marines being let out of helos, on the desert, in a heavy sandstorm... without shelter halves (if that's what they're still called these days) or cover of any kind, hunkered down behind anything larger than a body to get out of the blast.

A dear friend of mine, Marine Captain E. Croghan (ret.) and I were talking... I was complaining as how I did not like the idea of our Marines being put down in a desert in a sandstorm without decent shelter, that this was not a good beginning. His response was, "They need to suck it up." Good naturedly, I continued complaining about it, he patiently listened. Finally, he faked taking out his cell phone and calling the Marine Commandant. He said to him, "Airman Bell has seen that Marines are without shelter in a sandstorm. Would you please take care of that?", and then "hung up". I said thank you, and we laughed.

Of course it was fiction But you know, I never did see any TV images of Marines without shelter afterward.

He asked me, "What's your problem with this?" I replied, "Capn' Croghan, they can do just about anything they like to any of us, but they must not mess with our Marines!" He silently looked away and we said no more...

Thanks, BLUEHAWK for sharing.........


SF

Roger