THE UNBREAKABLE CHAIN

"(From the picture)
Pear Harbor survivor Houston James of Dallas embraced Marine Staff Sergeant Mark Graunke Jr. during a Veterans Day commemoration in Dallas yesterday. Graunke lost a hand, a leg and an eye when he defused a bomb in Iraq last year. This weeks image of U.S. troops in combat in Fallujah deepened the day’s significance for many who attended tributes held in San Diego and across the nation (Last years Veterans Day)

I have been out and about a lot lately across Iraq. The destination names change but the Marines there are the same wherever you go. They have been trained with the same foundation of warrior ethos and know what is expected and demanded of them as Marines. We police our own and fix it if discipline strays or leadership weakens well before others get the chance to do it for us. As an officer if you see something wrong and you don’t correct it, your just as guilty and you’ve let that Marine down if you don’t “fix” it on the spot. We maintain our corps standards regardless if we are at Camp Pendleton in the states or in the middle of the desert in Iraq because in this business if you begin to stray, people can get killed when you screw up."
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