I had a whole post thought out the other day, and now I’ve forgotten all of what I was going to write. There’s not much new going on out here, same stuff different week. The time’s going by pretty fast, which is a real good thing. The days drag by slowly, but the weeks seem to go pretty quick. Not sure why it works out like that, but I’m not complaining.

Wow, as I was typing this someone emailed a question, which is good because I was already running out of things to say. They want to know what I think about the whole situation with the Haditha investigation. That’s a tough one.

Alright, first off, I don’t know any more about it than what I see on the news, just like everyone else. I really have nothing to add about that particular incident, but I can say that contrary to what some people would like to believe, Marines are not a bunch of mindless robot killers. All through boot camp the three Core Values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment are pounded into recruit’s heads. There’s tons of classes about the Laws of Armed Conflict, the Geneva Convention, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. If you’re given an unlawful order, it’s your responsibility to not follow it. Out of boot camp, every Marine knows what’s right and what’s not. Some of it was already obvious and should go without saying (don’t shoot at non-combatants), some of it might not have been (you must give aid to wounded enemies), but everyone coming out of boot camp has learned it.

Before deploying to Iraq there’s refresher training on all of it, along with new classes. For example, to obtain a Positive ID on an enemy you must see something justifiable that you take to be Hostile Action (shooting at you) or Hostile Intent (digging a hole at a known IED location). You can’t shoot without Positive ID beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s just classes we went to, I’m sure the infantry guys spend a lot more time on it.

After the investigation into Haditha started, the Commandant took another trip out here about two weeks ago. He wanted to personally emphasize everything I’ve already stated above. He had some interesting things to say, so I’ll paraphrase some of it: “Why do we have a Marine Corps? We’ve got the best Army, Air Force, and Navy in the world. Why do we need a branch that does all of that over again? The Marine Corps is here because America wants a Marine Corps. America wants a fighting force that can be held above the rest. A branch that’s held to higher standards than the rest. And it’s our responsibility to make sure that happens, to keep the Marine Corps and our Core Values alive.”  Like I said, that’s a paraphrase but it’s definitely the point he wanted to make.

Then, a few days later, guess what. More refresher training. Two hours, mandatory for everyone on base, of going through scenarios, What Would You Do type things, followed by discussions of the “right” answers and why.

So, like I said, I don’t know much about the Haditha incident but I do believe that whatever the investigation finds, America will know shortly after. If everyone is truly innocent, nothing will come of it. If they find something did happen, people will definitely be held accountable. I think the Commandant made that pretty clear.

That’s all the time I’ve got for now, thanks for the question, I hope I answered it well enough. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, especially mine.