Sentry Duty Is More Vital than Ever

[thedrifter]

04-16-2004

Sentry Duty Is More Vital than Ever







By Matthew Dodd



One Chinese philosophy believes that the balance and interaction of two opposing forces, or fundamental principles, in people and nature influences fate and behavior. One force is described as dark, passive, and negative. The other force is described as bright, active, and positive. These forces are commonly known as Yin and Yang, respectively.



The March 29, 2004 edition of Marine Corps Times contained two articles that were definitely related, yet diametrically opposed to each other. What they had in common, and where they differed, was the behavior and performance of Marine sentries. In essence, we had the Yin and Yang, or the worst and best, of Marine sentries in the performance of their duties.



The first article, ?Marines Allegedly Found Asleep at Posts,? clearly was Yin. According to base officials, on March 10, two Marines, augmenting the military police at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., were found sleeping by their platoon commander shortly before noon at their back-gate guard post.



Let me be a bit more descriptive: In the middle of the day, at a busy yet remote Marine Corps base, two ?not just one ? Marine sentries assigned to protect a back-gate access point to the base, apparently felt it was ?no big deal? to willingly forfeit the integrity of the base?s perimeter and disregard the safety and security of the base?s inhabitants to catch a few winks of sleep.



What makes this scenario especially heinous to me is that one of the sentries surely must have fallen asleep before the other one. In other words, the one remaining sentry was probably aware that his buddy had fallen asleep, but, instead of correcting him and waking him up, decided to join him.



From my perspective as a career Marine officer, the first one to sleep was pathetic, the second one is borderline (at best) criminal.



I have been deployed overseas and been in charge of Marines assigned to sentry duty in a live-rounds environment within eyesight of enemy sentries similarly armed. I will never forget the dedication to duty of some of those Marines in battling fatigue and not wanting to let down their fellow Marines, their unit, and the people inside the perimeter they were guarding: some drank coffee and cocoa mixed together in search of a ?caffeine buzz,? some put coffee grounds inside their lips like smokeless tobacco, and some even resorted to putting coffee grounds inside their eyelids to irritate their eyes and prevent them from closing!



According to the Times:



?They may be charged [under the Uniform Code of Military Justice] with failure to obey an order or regulation [Article 92] and for misbehavior of a sentinel or lookout [Article 113].?



After researching both UCMJ Articles, I am convinced that Article 113 is the more serious, and in this case, more appropriate charge:



?Any sentinel or look-out who is found drunk or sleeping upon his post, or leaves it before he is regularly relieved, shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, by if the offense is committed at any other time, by such punishment other than death as court-martial may direct.?



In today?s ongoing global war on terrorism, base sentry duty is a potentially deadly serious duty, and one that must not ever be taken lightly. I do not believe the Marines will be punished by death, but I believe they need to be court-martialed to underscore the uncompromising importance of their duties and the seriousness of their failure to carry them out.



I recall one incident from my initial training as a young lieutenant when I was assigned to a two-man roadblock checkpoint leading into my unit command post. At one point, a normal-looking vehicle approached our checkpoint. My fellow sentry and I stopped and searched the vehicle. Under a tarp in the bed of the vehicle were four ?enemy,? unmistakenly identified by the gas masks they were wearing, the smoke and tear gas grenades they were carrying, and the rifles and bandoleers of ammunition slung across their bodies. My fellow sentry and I, and our unit, survived to fight another day. By contrast, those two sleeping sentries are lucky to be alive and the base and its inhabitants fortunately survived this sleeping-sentry scenario.



The second Times article, ?Marine Security Guard helps foil car-bomb attack in Pakistan: ?Above and Beyond,? ? was clearly Yang. According to a Marine Corps official, on March 15, a sergeant Marine Security Guard (MSG) at ?Post One? just inside the front gate at the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, observed a suspicious-looking Suzuki minivan that had pulled up close to the consulate. He asked Pakistani guards to investigate.



As the guards challenged the driver, he jumped into another car and sped off. Inside the deserted minivan, the Pakistani guards ?found a 200-gallon tank filled with explosives five minutes before it was to explode.? This incident happened two days before Secretary of State Colin Powell was scheduled to visit Pakistan.



According to the Times, a spokesman for the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, the parent command of Marine Security Guard Battalion, said, ?What he was doing was really above and beyond his job.? While I certainly understand the spokesman?s pride in describing the actions of one of his Marines, I disagree that what the sergeant did was ?above and beyond? what was expected of him. Not to take anything away from what the sergeant did, but he really embodied many of his eleven General Orders, which include:



* Take charge of this post and all government property in view.



* Walk my post in a military manner, keeping always on the alert and observing everything that takes place within sight or hearing.



* Report all violations of orders I am instructed to enforce.



* Be especially watchful at night and during the time for challenging, to challenge all persons on or near my post, and to allow no one to pass without proper authority.



I have great respect for the Marines assigned to MSG duty. I have served with some former MSG Marines and they have always impressed me with their bearing, maturity, and professionalism. I have found that they always talk with great pride about their MSG experiences.



Not every Marine is cut out to be an MSG Marine, but every Marine is expected to know, understand, and readily execute the eleven General Orders. In my mind, the fact that the sergeant readily executed his General Orders does not equal going ?above and beyond,? but being screened, selected, and assigned as an MSG at the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan puts him ?above and beyond? the average Marine.



The following quote from the Times article is specifically written about MSG Marines, but I believe it also directly applies to all sentries assigned to protect all our bases and stations, at home and abroad:



?The incident illustrates how dangerous it can be for Marines on MSG duty, who are on a difficult front line in the war on terrorism, given the vulnerability of their posts. ? Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Corps has asked its MSG Marines to be particularly vigilant. This time, good instincts made all the difference.?



Lt. Col. Matthew Dodd USMC is a Senior Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at mattdodd1775@hotmail.com. Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com.

http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/...51.613449229811


Ellie