The unwanted change...Old Corps vs. New Corps

[thedrifter]

The unwanted change...
Old Corps vs. New Corps
Submitted by: MCB Camp Butler
Story Identification Number: 2003218184750
Story by Cpl. Trevor M. Carlee


CAMP KINSER, Okinawa, Japan(Feb. 14, 2003) -- I walked onto those two yellow footsteps, knowing exactly what I was getting myself into. Everyone around me out in the "civilian world" doubted that I had the right intentions. But I knew what was to come, what I was going to endure, and it didn't faze me one bit.

My father, Carl, is a U.S. Marine and I say that while he is currently not enlisted in the Marine Corps. That's one thing I believe Marines in this so-called "New Marine Corps" need to understand. A Marine is something you, yourself, become. It's not a job that you go to three months of training for and it's not a basis for bigger and better things; it's a transformation.

When I was in 8th grade, I bought a computer game called SEMPER FI. I brought it with me to my dad's house, knowing he was in some kind of military service. I told him that I purchased a game called Semper F 1, thinking the "I" stood for the roman numeral of "1." His face turned white in shock that I didn't know what "Semper Fi" was and he was very quick to correct me on the phrase and the meaning of it.

"'Semper Fi' is short for Semper Fidelis, which is the Marine Corps motto, Trevor," my father explained. "It's Latin for 'Always Faithful' and it's what the Marines live and die by."

From then on out, I was fascinated with the Marine Corps. I associated the word Marine with a man who had a very clean-cut head, someone who wears their civilian clothes appropriately, someone who walks straighter than most and someone who has proper manners.

Of course, there are many more things that make a Marine but without the basics everything else doesn't matter.

I originally wanted to go into the military to serve my country, regardless, but at first I was aiming for the Air Force, with expectations of flying. When I realized that I would have to go to college and a lot more training in order to become a pilot, I figured it was too much work on the civilian side to protect my country. But I still wanted to fly. So, I turned to my father for guidance. I asked him if he would rather me join the Marine Corps or the Air Force.

He said, "As a father; I would ask you to join the Air Force because I believe it's safer. As a Marine; I would ask you to join the Marine Corps because it's the best."

That immediately turned all of my focus toward the Marine Corps. If one Marine, who has been out for that long, can still be dedicated to the Corps and believe there is no better alternative, then that's the service I want. I wanted to be part of something that had meaning and purpose. More importantly, I wanted to become someone that stood out.

So when I walk around and see how other Marines behave in this "New Marine Corps"--I get a little upset because it's not at all as I imagined. I see Marines from the "Old Marine Corps" walking around with their shirts tucked in, a clean-cut head, a posture that stands out and says "Marine" and a look on their face that says "I am proud to be a Marine." That's what I signed up for.

Then I look at the New-Corps Marines and see them with huge baggy-pants, big-draping shirts, a slump like they're back in "The Hood," or the "Hunchback of Notre Dame" and the slang and manners of someone who has never been to boot camp.

Marine Corps Boot Camp is not something to just get through; it's a stepping-stone in our lives that makes us who we are today.

I'm tired of people saying they don't want to wear their civilian attire according to regulations because it makes them stand out as targets for terrorism. That sounds like a cop-out if I've ever heard one. I highly doubt there's a sniper up in a tree looking among a scattered crowd and as he spots a sharp-looking civilian he thinks, "That guy has manners and walks upright. He must be a Marine."

I also can't stand it when I see a lance corporal talk back to a gunnery sergeant with no penalty. That's not what I signed up for. I enlisted in the Marine Corps to follow orders and, when the time comes, give orders to those of lesser rank.

There are two types of Marines; the kind that wants to be a Marine and the kind that wants to be in the Marine Corps.

The one who wants to be a Marine exemplifies the highest of standards in the Marine Corps and the one who wants to be in the Marine Corps is just here for the ride and recognition.

Those that joined to be in the Marine Corps are usually the ones who argue that "The Marine Corps can't do that" and "They can't make me do that." There is no "Marine Corps" or "They"; there are only your superiors, your peers and your subordinates. That's the way it has been for more than two centuries and that is how it should continue to be for the next two centuries.

Those that joined to be a Marine are what make this Corps continue to work and I consider my father to be in that category. I hope that I am meeting up to his standards and that my children will live up to mine.

Sempers,

Roger