Marines Of Bravo Company Essay

The non-fiction novel Making the Corps follows sixty-three boys into one of the harshest boot camps in the world, Parris Island, South Carolina; furthermore, it also gives a brief history of the Marines while explaining their role in the United States military. The book was written by “…The Washington Post’s senior Pentagon correspondent,” as well as a member of two Pulitzer Prize winning teams—for national reporting—Thomas E. Ricks (Ricks cover). Not all of the recruits made it to the end of the eleven week long “living hell;” however, the ones that did successfully earned the title, “marine.” Thomas E. Ricks narrates the true stories of the diverse men in platoon 3086 who prevailed the harsh Marine Corps training and moved on to deployment

The subject of this book has affect my life by serving as a reality check of what my Marine predecessors went through in order for me to be able to obtain the deep-rooted fighting tactics today. I will never have to deal with and survive the adversities that the Marines of Fox Company did. It also affected me by teaching me that as a Marine, no matter what struggles may present themselves, I will always thrive and keep fighting.

I sat down with a former Grunt Sergeant, Jake Stone, on a calm, sunny, Saturday November morning, to ask about his experience in the Marine Corps. Mr. Stone is a rather frail looking man in a wheelchair that you can tell used to be a powerful man despite his age which is approaching late seventies. I learned a lot from him. For example, Mr. Stone was a training officer during the Vietnam War. He was stationed in California teaching hand to hand combat, bayonets, pistols, rifles, hand grenades, flamethrowers, just a wide assortment of deadly weapons. He led ninety men in a strike team that was prepared to be deployed at any time. They were to be ready to pack up and leave in an hour.

| |forget that I am responsible to my Commanding Officer for the morale, discipline, and efficiency of my Marines. | |

The story of Fox Company’s last stand in the frozen hills of northern Korea serves As a testament to the human will in the face of overwhelming forces of opposition. The never say die attitude of every man on that hill is proof why the Marines can take every hardship that the world can throw at them and still have the ingrained training while having the attitude to fight back, keep moving, with the will to never give up.

Many Marines do not like to admit when they are scared. Some don’t ever show emotion. But everyone gets scared at some point in their life. It could be something as simple as getting a passing grade on a test or assignment. It could be as extreme as being part of an elite squad of ground pounding Marines who are getting ready to kick in doors or go in to rescue a sniper squad that has been pinned down by enemy fire. How do you think you would feel? Scared? Maybe a little intimidated?

“ You cannot exaggerate about the Marines. They are convinced to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious fighters on earth- and the amusing thing about it is that they are” (148) Father Kevin Kearney, 1st Marine Division Chaplain Korean War gives his opinion on how well developed and trained the United states Marines truly are. Marines are held to the highest standards of society, each Marine knows in his/her heart they are the the best of the best and no one is superior to them. The U.S. Marines are “ The Few, The Proud”, because not just anybody can become a Marine, it takes guts, courage and motivation. Each Marine is rewired in the brain to be the ideal warrior and to have the brotherhood of the Marine Corps instilled

The United States Marine Corps plays a vital role in most wars and uses their strategies to ensure victory. Mox said, “Oh, wow! That this is real; it’s not a game. And we’re gonna have to watch out back sides and take care of everybody. After you’d been there awhile, there was many times. At least there was a sense that it was the enemy. If one of your own guys got hit – and that was the sad part about it. I liked the way the Marine Corps did the training, because it was more of a close knit team. But when somebody got hurt or killed, you knew them. ” (Mox). Mox joined the Marines because of his cousin, who won the Congressional Medal of Honor. He wanted to have the same experiences, that had been talked highly about to him for years. While

The day started just like any day at FOB (Forward Operating Base) Sharana, in Afghanistan. I woke up at 0630 grabbed my uniform, shower hygiene, and walked to the shower trailers, so I could go to duty at 0900. Walking back from the showers I began to think about my family. I wish they understood how much I love them. Mommy is not leaving them, but doing this for them. Tears began to form in my eyes. I can do this, I will just call them later to tell them how much I love them, and that mommy misses them. As I was walking back I ran into Chief Warrant Officer 2 Tutt. CW2 Tutt was in the same company that I was in. He was a nice, strong, caring leader. He was a preacher back at our home station. As he approached me, I noticed he was crying. I’ve never seen him cry before. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “It’s Delgado” he said while beginning to cry harder. “He…he…shot himself!” I could barely make out his last words because he was so emotional. He shot himself? There’s no way, I just talked to him last night! “When did you find this out chief?” “It happened right now! I heard a gunshot and ran to see what was happening…and there he was…I couldn’t save him!” I noticed CW2 Tutt looking down at his hands. He still had blood on them.

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, 99.9% of the students there were high school graduates. Of the 4,420 recruits in 2006, the average age for a Marine was 19.6. Since the branches were formed, the Marine Corps has developed into a military branch that is greatly

I have a story that I wanted to share with the Flathead Marines. First off, It was a huge thrill for me to be present at your Ball on Saturday night. I am huge supporter of our military and have had a very special place in my heart for the United States Marine Corps for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a young girl I dreamt of going to a Marine Ball. I am a part of a group on facebook that sends care packages and letters to our military who are serving overseas. (We get names and addresses from various sources.) Last year we were sending packages to a group of Marines in Iraq. These incredible young men were kind enough to keep us posted on how their deployment was going and would send pictures and things of that nature. We never

Another facet of the warrior ethos that Pressfield discusses is the brotherhood that all warriors share regardless of upbringing or personal beliefs. It is commonly known that military members who share harsh, traumatic, or even funny events become closer through the bond of a mutual experience. This is particularly true for Marine infantry; many of my Marine friends grew up in different areas of the US, with different values, ages, religious and political beliefs. However different we all might look on the outside, the fact that we’ve all been through good times and bad with each other makes us closer than any civilian could understand. After being a Marine, I find that I’m close to, and always will be, than my civilian friends who I’ve known for years. Along with this, Pressfield talks about how, under all the glory and allure of fighting for one’s country exists the real reason that warriors fight; for our brothers in arms. Political beliefs, government stances, and flags go out the window, only to be

Wright describes the Marines as tough human beings and he draw lines back to the cave-man when he tells about the Marine soldiers motto “Get some!”. He displays them as testosterone filled meatheads who are searching for an adrenalin kick. They are ready to kill and are having an urge to experience combat.

I have served in the Marine Corps for Eight and a half years. I happened to choose a job where most people don’t volunteer to Enlist into. I have spent my entire career as an Infantryman. This job that I choose to become part of has brought me to many places. Most people join the Marine Corps to see the world, but I wanted to fight. I was afforded the opportunity to partake in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom covering both theaters our nation is at war with. Throughout those years many things have begun to change. We are no longer actively engaged in armed conflict, and with that comes many changes with rules, regulations, and standards. Our country is in an interesting time with political correctness over shadowing

“You learn something in every war,” says Penn. While stationed in Vietnam, Penn and his fellow marines learned they were greatly underprepared.