Of Missing Ravens and Marine Corps News
Posted by Raven on August 24th, 2007
I have barely been here this week and it’s because I’ve been BUSY.
I’m moving.
I’m working some extra shifts.
I moved two daughters back to their college dorms.
I’m a little stressed with it all too…it’s all good- by Monday I will be all settled in, hopefully with the Internet connection active.
Meanwhile, this doesn’t surprise me:
SAN DIEGO (AP) - A Marine accused of murdering Iraqi civilians, including children, in the town of Haditha should have all charges dropped against him because of weak evidence, an investigating officer recommended on Thursday.
Lance Cpl. Stephen B. Tatum, 26, is charged with unpremeditated murder of two girls and negligent homicide on suspicion that he unlawfully killed two men, a woman and a boy. He is also accused of assaulting another boy and a girl.
The investigating officer, Lt. Col. Paul Ware, said the evidence was too weak for a court-martial. Tatum, of Edmond, Okla., shot and killed civilians, but “he did so because of his training and the circumstances he was placed in, not to exact revenge and commit murder,” Ware wrote.
“I believe … Tatum’s real life experience and training on how to clear a room took over and his body instinctively began firing while his head tried to grasp at what and why he was firing,” Ware wrote. “By the time he could recognize that he was shooting at children, his body had already acted.”
Ware’s recommendation is nonbinding. Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commanding general overseeing the case, has final say about whether Tatum will be court-martialed.
As always, I STAND WITH THE MARINES of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment…no matter what. They are innocent of war crimes. Gen. Mattis, so far as evidenced by his dismissal of other charges against the other Marines, AGREES.
Another Marine article came to me via an alert:
SAN DIEGO (AP) - A Marine drill instructor has been charged with 225 criminal counts connected to abusing recruits, a Marines spokesman said Thursday.
In one incident, Sgt. Jerrod M. Glass allegedly ordered a recruit to jump head-first into a trash can and then pushed him further into the container, according to court documents cited in The San Diego Union-Tribune. He is also accused of striking recruits with a tent pole and a heavy flashlight.
Hmm…I have to wonder how much of this is based upon the words of some liberal minded, ABUSE sensitive young man? There’s a saying:
THEY DON’T MAKE THEM LIKE THAT ANYMORE.
This is the fact when it comes to today’s young people- they aren’t the same as my generation. Abuse? They don’t know the meaning of the word. My X was a Drill Instructor for years; then he went on the Instruct the DI’s…a true Master Gunny. When he saw this article he laughed and said:
“Since when is this abuse? This was part of boot camp back in the day. And once you were in the trash can, they rolled you around the barracks. This is what made boot camp so FUN!”
He also said todays kids need to toughen up a little or we will never win any wars.
And finally, something I totally missed about the USMC:
Wha??? The Dept. of the Navy AND MARINE CORPS????
The Marine Corps is the Men’s department of the Department of the Navy. what else do we need.
Says Michael, and he’s absolutely correct.
August 25th, 2007 at 8:11 am
Shew. We’re back in the promised land. The trip went very smoothly. We arrived at the rent house yesterday evening and my dad and I unloaded most of the Uhaul. This morning we’ll unpack the rest and then start getting the house in order. (1st - setting up the computer and the satellite!!) Anyways, getting settled and working on this new phase in life. Always fun times. Raven, it sounds like you are pretty busy yourself!! Keep the chin up.
Second, I am still waiting for an apology from Mad Mutha-f–ka Murtha. Political miscalculation trying to smear our boys and create another My Lai. Douche.
Third, the social experiment that was done on our Armed Forces is a joke. Women recruits should be expected to pass the same PT scores men have to. This is the military, not a corporate boardroom! There is no affirmative action on the battlefield. And the training should not be pussified to the lowest common demoninator. If some little punk who grew up coddled in the People’s Republic of San Fransisco actually found a testicle and joined the Marines, he’d better be ready to toughen up and then some.
August 28th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Raven, my husband was an XO with two recruit training battalions and CO of one.
DIs are not allowed to strike recruits with their hands, let alone with an object. Period. Times have changed. And boot camp is still plenty tough :p The DIs are just not allowed to hit anyone.