“The ethos of STA is to kill and win.”
The ethos of the SS was to murder. There is a significant difference between the two organizations. Posing with the Nazi flag dilutes that distinction and is an affront.
It isn’t a Nazi flag they posed with. It is the symbol of the Marine Scout Sniper community. And thank you for acknowledging the significant difference between the two. That in itself settles the issue, absent any evidence that connects STA with supporting Nazism.
But if one were to draw tthe inference that it is a Nazi flag, then that is on that person. I can only attest to what I know: there is no evidence, through my 20 years of service in the Marines, of any connection with the Nazis.
I will grant you that it is very similar or an exact image of the Nazi insignia (I say very similar because I’ve seen slight variations, particularly among the “brands” on the bodies of Marines).
But apparently the snipers thought it looked cool, it fit their name, and the rest is history. I’d cut the Marines some slack. Let them continue to work within their warrior culture.....it’s working for them. They adopted the insignia as a community; I say we support them, while acknowledging at the same time that the only connection is imagined: or in terms of Aristotelian logic, the (symbolic) terms are EQUIVOCAL.
How about those helmut manufacturers that make motorcycle helmuts in the style of Nazi stormtroopers? I don’t see anyone getting on their case: and its usage has been out in front of God and everyone else for decades. Did anyone consider how our WWII vets would feel witnessing this?
At least with the Marines, if they “stole” the Waffen SS insignia for their own separate purpose, so be it. The 3rd Reich is history. STA is here and now, ventilating the heads of our enemies.