One thing hasn’t changed; young men join the Marine Corps to fight, i.e. kill. I think those Marines at al Asad are just fine with making quite a few martyrs.
That is all well and good but US military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan have been relentlessly intimidated as to the consequences of violating Rules of Engagement. While some GYSGT might say ‘Yes Sir’ with his fingers metaphorically crossed when it comes to 19 and 20 year old PVT’s and PFC’s who are authoritatively told that ROE’s that require no return fire unless each instance is specifically approved by a field grade officer at the TOC it is a different matter. This is a big base and the Iraqis are mostly likely to (a) flee or (b) be covert ISIS types. The enemy will infiltrate, snipe and constantly keep US forces under some kind of fire. The sort of ROE’s the people BHO has populated the ranks of the higher staffs and command structures with are likely to be of the ‘no unnecessary (read any) infliction of casualties on the indigenous population’ . The men at the point of the spear will remember the blood and thunder lectures on how people go to Leavenworth for life for violating ROE’s and doing a ‘bad shoot’. Think of the consequences of the demoralizing environment BHO and his flunkies have brought to the services.