Marine Corps Association & Foundation

No, we aren't bigoted. We know that the gay lifestyle is deviant sexual behavior, and this fact has been recognized for the past 2,000 years of civilized society. It has destroyed every society that tolerated it.  It is exactly opposed to the mission of the Armed Forces in that it tears down morale, unit cohesion, detracts our troops from their mission, and creates an air of distrust on the battlefield. This poses a potentially dire threat to the survival of the unit in a combat situation.

Dear Mr. Ward. I have spoken to you in june of 2009.I was the marine dad whose son was the modern day counterpart of your dad.A corporal with 1/25/4 just as your dad was.I was trying to arrange a meeting between them at the memorial.I beleive at the time your mom had become ill and they were moving.To my dismay the meeting never happened.However I had spoken with him in March for about an hour on the phone.I must convey to you that it was for me an unforgettable experience.He insisted to me that he was not a hero.This was no surprise to me.He was typical of the patriotism of the greatest generation.I told him that I had seen him on an Iwo Jima documentary and immediately made the connection.He talked and I listened.I sent him a letter and enclosed a poem that I had written inspired by my marine son.It speaks of our warriors and why they do what they do.Unfortunately he never recieved it.I will never forget my chat with a living piece of history and American treasure.He embodied the true meaning of SEMPER FIDELIS. Yours Repectfully Darryl Bonzagni

I am looking for a poem that was published in Leatherneck several years ago.  The last stanza ended with, "I'm a Machinegunner who's come to the end of my last belt".  Any assistance with this matter would be greatly appreciated!

Steven T. Perkins

GySgt, USMC, (Medically Retired)

It's really sad how bigoted most of you are.  The good news is, the upcoming generations are going to continue wiping out this prejudiced mindset in favor of tolerance, acceptance and pride, especially in our military men and women. 

That's right, I'm proud of those in the military who not only serve to protect our country but who also fight for social justice and a more loving nation.  God bless them all.

P.S.  Don't get excited if you're in the majority of this poll because you won't be a majority in this country for long.

Semper Fi Marine.

I have sent you an email and look forward to your response.

Best regards

Editor, Leatherneck

MCO 6100.13 Clearly states the following:

(5) Commanders/OICs will ensure Marines perform at least five combat
conditioning sessions, of 30 minutes duration, per week. This requirement
can be satisfied through combining organizational and individual CCP
participation with Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP), Marine Corps
Water Survival Training (MCWST), or other mission/operational specific
training.

So how is it that females don't have the opportunity to maintain standards after bootcamp? It is guidance brought down from the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Not to mention this lovely little excerpt:

MCO 6100.13
1 Aug 08
Chapter 1
Combat Conditioning Program
1. Objectives
a. As professional warrior-athletes, every Marine must be physically
fit, regardless of age, grade, or duty assignment. Fitness is an essential
component of Marine Corps combat readiness. Furthermore, physical fitness is
an indispensable aspect of leadership. The habits of self-discipline and
personal commitment that are required to gain and maintain a high level of
physical fitness are inherent to the Marine Corps way of life and must be a
part of the character of every Marine. Marines who are not physically fit
are a detriment and detract from the combat readiness of their unit.

-Enough Said, Thank you Gen. James T. Conway

Semper

its an average just add them all up and divide by the number of marks  

Marines are a combat force. Either an individual meets the standard to be part of that, or they don't. A height/weight/strength waiver is not going to cut it. Men are the "combat models" of the human race, and women are not.  There are females who are extraordinary, who can perform nearly as well as a median male Marine, but how many examples of Xena Warrior Princess are there in the population? Is it useful/practical/reasonable TO THE USMC to include females (while outprocessing them early and often for breakage or failure to meet the standard, compared to males) in the combat and forward deployed MOS's? 

When encountering a bar full of off-duty Marines overseas, always buy first drink. It never gets cheaper than that, and they will remember you positively. 

I would encourage females to join my service, the United States Air Force, where they can use their minds, superior attention to detail, and ability to endure tedious repetition in the service of their country.  Even in the USAF, most females don't belong in MP/LE/Fire/CombatArms jobs, and might think twice about Engineering battalions. Where I saw females do very well was in back-shop support functions, where the ability to cooperate/communicate well and understand the needs of the job matched their capabilities.   Demanding that a woman work at 100% of her physical ability to do a thing a man does at 50% should be a war readiness reserve behavior, not something to use during normal training/operations, because she deserves a reasonable chance of surviving 20 years of service and not being crippled at 38. Thus, we observe reality, and the reality is that women, and the nation, are best served by the finest/strongest/toughest male Marines that can be found.  

Life isn't fair.  Get over it and get to work with what you have.

Cheers.

A supurb REMF USAF 32450/2P051 troop for 6.5 years.  Air conditioned, rarely included heavy lifting, tough problems solved.

"anonymous" -meh.

As a father of a fallen Marine, I would like to know why Cobra's and Huey's don't have or use IR lights for night flying? Even though the birds are equipped whith them and your own flight rules say that if they or the rotor tip lights are not working to ground that bird, do more Marines have to die in training exercises?

Supreme Court stated that what happens in the privacy of the bedroom is protected and cannot be controlled, restricted or summoned by the government. I think this should apply for sexuality. If you want to serve openly fine, use the free speech rights you are helping to defend, but your personal life stops at the door, placing the uniform on to rally for personal private rights changes it to professional.

If you wear your uniform to any event you are saying that everyone else in your branch of service acts and thinks like you- that’s why we are uniformed and not all dressed in rainbow shirts. The Uniform we wear and the American flag we defend represent more than your personal views. We are not defending the rainbow flag- When we raise our right hand we suspend rights while in the service of the government.

As a result, why are the service members being allowed in political ralleys while in service of the government in the first place regardless of the clothing? Don’t think these parades do not push an agenda or political view. Same parades in the 1960's were conducted, right or wrong they do promote political, religious and theological views. Wait isn’t that the same definition as terrorism? Passive or violent it is still coercion (sp)