Michael Yon is back in Afghanistan and had an interesting post of the way his trip is going so far. I am really looking forward to his future posts.
In this post, he had a most interesting take on my beloved Corps. I have to tell you that it is without a doubt accurate, it is the way that we do things. The young L/CPLs of today haven’t changed much either, the only thing that has changed is the source for the quotes.
The U.S. Marines are a spectacle for the U.S. Army and also the British Army. The Marines will come in and live like pure animals, and build a base around themselves, whereas the British and American Armies will tend to build at least part of the base before coming in. One Marine commander told me that during the early part of this war, his men didn’t even shower for three months. We talked for a couple of hours and he was proud that his Marines didn’t need a shower for three months, and that his Marines killed a lot of Taliban and managed to lose only one good man. That’s the Marines. They’ll show up in force with no warning, and their reputation with U.S. Army and Brits who have fought alongside them is stellar. A NPR photographer who just spent more than three weeks with the Marines could not praise them enough, saying he’d been with them in Iraq, too, and that when Marines take casualties, their reaction is to continue to attack. They try to stay in contact until they finish the enemy, no matter how long it takes. Truly they are animals when it comes to the fight. Other than that, great guys. Tonight at dinner, a young Marine Lance Corporal sat in front of me at the crowded dining facility. “Good evening, Sir,” he said. I asked, “Are you living like animals out there?” “Livin’ the dream, Sir!” They are fantastic.
BTW – 3 months w/o showers, no big deal. There are a lot of “sponge baths” taking place as well as some streams and rivers to take care of hygene issues. Showers are a luxury, we’ll get to them when the mission allows.