Its about time they let the Marines (always with a capital 'M') be Marines. The reason we've lost so many of them is they're using them as riot control and thats something we've never trained for.
Semper Fi my brothers. God is watching over you.
Some quotes from Full Metal Jacket. Ya just gotta love R. Lee Ermey:
"God has a hard on for Marines, because we kill everything we see. He plays His games, we play ours. To show our appreciation for so much power, we keep heaven packed with fresh souls. God was here before the Marine Corps, so you can give your heart to Jesus, but your ass belongs to the Corps."
"The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle. It is your killer instinct which must be harnessed if you expect to survive in combat. Your rifle is only a tool. It is a hard heart that kills. If your killer instincts are not clean and strong you will hesitate at the moment of truth. You will not kill. You will become dead Marines and then you will be in a world of shit because Marines are not allowed to die without permission. Do you maggots understand?"
This is my rifle. There are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my rifle is useless. Without my rifle I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy, who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will. Before God I swear this creed: my rifle and myself are defenders of my country, we are the masters of my enemy, we are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but peace. Amen.
Semper Fi!
That's what the 50 cal machine gun is for.
Riot control is what the M249 S.A.W. is for.
I agree. It twists my shorts... big time. If I were W, I'd tell them to get the fukc out of my way, and let the combat commanders do their job... and, oh by the way, Europe can go fukc oof!
How do you know they never trained for urban pacification or "riot control"?