September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the United States of America. I was in high school at that time and remember witnessing everybody in a panicked state. I was listening on the car radio as my dad was driving me home from school. The radio broadcaster was describing the event unfold as there were further attacks on several locations. I was naïve and did not really comprehend the magnitude of the situation. I was a video game addict, a truant in school, and was apathetic about my education. I did not know what to do after high school. Nevertheless, the most prevalent idea for most young adults at that time was to join the military. Therefore, after graduating from high school, I decided to join the military and go to war. I thought at that time that waging war on the enemy was a righteous act, but I later learned that war hurts more than just the enemy.
I enlisted in the Marine Corps because of their reputation of being the best. They are the “tip of the spear” in almost every armed conflict the United States fought. After barely surviving Marine Corps basic training, I arrived in North Carolina and immediately volunteered to join a unit deploying to Afghanistan. My first deployment to Afghanistan was the most difficult and the most eventful. My unit’s main task was to create a secure environment for Afghanistan’s first democratic election. We stayed mostly outside the secured perimeter of the bases and embedded ourselves within the local populace. We met with the village elders and listened to their concerns about lack of security and infrastructure. The locals’ also feared of reprisals from the Taliban, a terrorist group who sheltered Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11 attack. There were villages I visited ...
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...n victims to this type of bomb. The Taliban had success in regaining control of territories and disrupted governance in some major cities. Informants have exposed Governor Jan Mohammad as a powerful drug lord, and there is rampant corruption in the government. Corruption in the Afghan government and fraud by U.S. contractors has made it increasingly difficult to make any progress. The civilian populace is the main victim of the violence and many families are displaced from their homes.
Every year as September 11 passes, the same feelings I felt after the aftermath is still the same. My decision to fight overseas was part vengeance, part patriotism, and because I thought it would be fun. As I look back, I have matured in my thinking. War is not a game without consequences. War is a disease that consumes everyone who is involved and it affects everyone in its path.
The U.S. Marines and the 19th Century In the beginning of the 21st Century the U.S. Marine Corps stands at a strength of approximately 200,000 personnel. The Marines are also equipped with tanks, helicopters, fixed wing aircraft and specialized ships, manned by the U.S. Navy, to transport them to various destinations. These numbers constitute a larger force than the entire armed forces of many countries and the U.S. Marine Corps is considered the junior service of the U.S. military. The Defense
Major General Oliver P. Smith took command of the 1st Marine Division in late July 1950 and prepared the understrength organization to deploy to Asia in less than a month. The division was the principle amphibious assault force during the Battle of Inchon and General Smith was uniquely qualified lead the division during the operation. First, General Smith had extensive experience working in an inter-service environment and leading large organizations that enabled him to quickly integrate his division
Following the United States’ catastrophic experience in Vietnam, the nation struggled with both its sense of strategic thought and conception of future war. Nuclear strategy had overwhelmed the national strategic discourse to the detriment of conventional weapons and missions. However, military thinkers emerged in the 1970s to counter the dominant thinking and return the study of war to the realm of human interaction, political calculus, and the underpinning of chance. One such theorist was Air
the Marines What do Drew Carey, Gene Hackman, and Lee Harvey Oswald all have in common? They are all, The Few. The Proud. The Marines. Like these young men, many people after high school join one of the many branches of the military. From the U.S. Bureau of Labor, nine out of ten high school graduates go into the military. However with the Marine Corps being the smallest of the branches, only one-fifth of them become Marines. In 2006, according to the Recruit Depot Parris Island for Marines, 99
forces, particularly the marine, the service members always receive a major reward that elevates them in rank; this is the medal. This rewards them for their bravery and contribution in the missions they are involved in. Indeed, they contribute a lot to the peace and security of the world at large and they truly deserve these medals for recognition (Tucker, 2011). This has been a practice for the U.S. Marine to issue Corps medals since the Civil War to present day. Among the Corps Medal categories include
begins with Krulak engaged in a conversation with a Gunnery Sergeant who was asked how the Marine Corps got the reputation of having one of the world’s greatest fighting formations. The GySgt replies “Well lieutenant they started telling everybody how great they were and pretty soon they started believing it”. The story goes on to talk about how there nearly wasn’t a Marine Corps. starts out with Marine Lieutenant General Holland M. Smith on the bridge of the command ship Mt. Olympus, off Iwo
asked to compare and contrast U.S. military operations and capabilities for conventional versus irregular warfare, one cannot overlook the Marine Corps’ Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF). The MAGTF is the Marine Corps’ force protection aboard and how it contributes to the national security of this great nation. Five unique competencies allow the Marine Corps to do this successfully; however, they all focus on conventional warfare, with the exception of mainly one, warfighting culture and dynamic
OUTLINE I. Introduction. The Marine Corps today has developed itself into an elite fighting force based on strong naval traditions. The basic Marine is amphibious, which means that the warrior is capable of fighting on land and sea. The idea of an amphibious landing was developed through the training of the Marine Raider Battalions, which was tested and perfected in combat. Although there were two Raider Commanders with very different views on how to prepare their marines, Evans Carlson and Merritt
Since 1918, women have answered the call to serve proudly in the United States Marines and the role of women in the Marines has evolved and expanded throughout history. The Marine Corps Women's Reserve was established in February 1943 and in June 1948 Congress passed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act and made women a permanent part of the regular Marine Corps (Fredriksen, J. C. 2011). By 1975, the Corps approved the assignment of women to all occupational fields except infantry, artillery
is the land itself. In Philip Caputo’s memoir, A Rumor of War, he reveals that experiences carry the responsibility of exposing the truth of one’s preconceived notions. Perceptions formed before an experience can often be deceitful, such as the extremities of war and will often change their initial view. The crippling terror of mine bombs and flying bullets can never be reenacted by those who have never experienced it in the first place. War is not a place where one can take refuge
United States Marine Corps. Unlike the recruiting efforts of the other services, which seem to focus on what you have to gain by serving with them, the Marine Corps’ recruiting philosophy has always been one of challenging; giving young men the chance to prove that they have what it takes to be U.S. Marines. “We Never Promised You a Rose Garden,” “Take up the Challenge,” and “The Marine are Looking for a Few Good Men” are all recruiting slogans aimed at inviting prospective Marines to prove they
career. Mr. Tyson is a veteran Marine who served in both Operation Iraqi Freedom (later renamed Operation New Dawn) and the war in Afghanistan from the years 2009-2011. Born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 31st,1985, he eventually enlisted in the Marine Corps at the age of 24. After interviewing with each individual branch, he decided that the Marines simply fit. This was a decision that would permanently alter his life, for the better. The United States Marine Corps are a branch of the United States
In the late summer of 1942, the Marine Corps decided to experiment with the use of dogs in war, which may have been a new departure for the Corps but not a new idea in warfare. Since ancient times dogs have served man in various ways: the Romans used the heavy Mastiffs with armored collars to attack their enemies in the legs, thus forcing them to lower their shields; first aid dogs were used in World War I; and, of course, all kinds and breeds of dogs have been used for centuries for pulling small
Making the Corps As a Wall Street Journal Pentagon correspondent, Thomas E. Ricks is one of America’s elite military journalists. He has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and awarded a Society of Professional Journalists Award for his writings based on the Marines. Thomas E. Ricks lectures to military officers and was a member of Harvard University’s Senior Advisory Council on the project on U.S. Civil-Military Relations. As a Pentagon correspondent, he can access information where no other
The history of Lieutenant General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller is not well known outside of the U.S. Marine Corps, but as the most decorated marine in history his legend will live on and continue to inspire the marines of tomorrow. The enlisted corps has idolized him, frequently encouraging one another to do that last push up when motivated by fellow marines saying “Do one for Chesty!” The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate that Chesty, using current day leadership theories, was a visionary and