Flight Pundit

Marine Thought Process

“Actually, it’s a lot of fun to fight. You know, it’s a hell of a hoot. … It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right up front with you, I like brawling.”

He added, “You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway. So it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them.”

Marine counseling

Thursday, Gen. Mike Hagee, commandant of the Marine Corps, issued a statement saying, “Lt. Gen. Mattis often speaks with a great deal of candor. I have counseled him concerning his remarks and he agrees he should have chosen his words more carefully.”

Hagee also said, “While I understand that some people may take issue with the comments made by him, I also know he intended to reflect the unfortunate and harsh realities of war.”

Then here is a comment from another Marine from Warrior’s Voice.
Marine General ruffles some feathers

Lt. Gen. James Mattis has fallen under criticisms recently because he made some comments that disturbed our soft American sensibilities. “You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil,” Mattis said during a panel discussion. “You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway. So it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them.”

Apparently many Americans enjoy the “blanket of security” which many of us in the United States Marine Corps provide but they do not like to hear about the reality of modern combat.

This general was the commanding officer of the initial Marine taskforce that went into Afghanistan and the commanding officer of the famed 1st Marine Division during the invasion of Iraq. I have had the pleasure of meeting this man, he was my general during Operation Iraqi Freedom, he pinned an award on one of my close friends and his former aid, a fellow artillery officer who was wounded in an ambush while ridding with the general in Iraq is a friend of mine. Leaders and warriors like Lt. Gen. Mattis are the type of men that the United States needs during the war on terror just as the United States needed General Patton during the second world war. Are they politically incorrect? Yes they are but let us get something straight right now. Combat and war is unforgiving and I’m sorry someone had their feeling hurt but I’m not sorry that the United States Marine Corps builds officers and Marines like Lt. Gen. Mattis. You have just heard the warrior’s voice.

I second that statment.
I am not Sorry
Semper Fi

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“Leadership is the sum of those qualities of intellect, human
understanding, and moral character that enables a person to
inspire and control a group of people successfully”
- John A. Lejeune

Semper Fi

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One name we honor is Marine Corps Sergeant Byron Norwood of Pflugerville, Texas, who was killed during the assault on Fallujah. His mom, Janet, sent me a letter and told me how much Byron loved being a Marine, and how proud he was to be on the front line against terror. She wrote, “When Byron was home the last time, I said that I wanted to protect him like I had since he was born. He just hugged me and said: ‘You’ve done your job, mom. Now it’s my turn to protect you.’” Ladies and gentlemen, with grateful hearts, we honor freedom’s defenders, and our military families, represented here this evening by Sergeant Norwood’s mom and dad, Janet and Bill Norwood.

President George Bush 2 February 2005

Hat Tip Tom Tom at Does this Offend you?

God Bless

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