She had many other options open to her, yet she chose to follow in her late grandfather’s footsteps and become part of the Corps.
Of course her father and I had reservations, but she told us she wanted to give back something to the country that had given her so much.
We have met several of her brother and sister Marines, and I must say that I would be proud to be the parent of any one of them.
When I look around the malls and coffee shops and see some of the messed up, self centered, rude members of my daughter’s generation, I thank the Lord that there are those who are so willing to give the ultimate sacrifice for you and me.
I have been lurking here for a long time, but this got me steamed enough to post. Thanks for letting me rant!
Things can happen anywhere, but this is not typical of Marines.
You did very well Mom!
She had many other options open to her, yet she chose to follow in her late grandfathers footsteps and become part of the Corps.
Of course her father and I had reservations, but she told us she wanted to give back something to the country that had given her so much.
We have met several of her brother and sister Marines, and I must say that I would be proud to be the parent of any one of them.
When I look around the malls and coffee shops and see some of the messed up, self centered, rude members of my daughters generation, I thank the Lord that there are those who are so willing to give the ultimate sacrifice for you and me.
I have been lurking here for a long time, but this got me steamed enough to post. Thanks for letting me rant!
God Bless you and your husband for raising such a fine daughter!
My father was in the Marines and fought in the Pacific theatre of operations in WW2. I assume that her grandfather was the same age / generation as my father.
I went to MCRD San Diego in Oct 1974. Got out in 1978. I was a Ground Radio Technician. I never saw any combat.
I think that her generation will see some real challenges. But those that are mentally well-grounded, smart, tough and can adapt will survive.
You were actually quite nice on me. No apology necessary.
But I guess from my perspective it makes no sense that women should be risking their lives for the country instead of men. Women should also not be pretending to bemen in the macho role of defending the country.
There is obviously a role for women in service to their country. But integrated units (male-females) has meant degraded training and degraded readiness. Less so for the USMC, but many Army units, with 20% girls in uniform, couldn’t best weak reserve units from the 1950s. The only thing that makes them combat worthy is their technology.
Also, not surprisingly, Army and Navy units (presumably not Marines) with high percentages of women tend to end up with a lot of pregnancies when war approaches. This seriously affects readiness when 1/3 of women are allowed to leave the war zone because, in their hearts, they didn’t want to fight so got pregnant instead. Not only do the statistics reveal this, but a friend of mine was CO of a squadron in Rota, Spain, in 1990 when the first Gulf War was imminent. He lost literally all his women squids to pregnancy. Yes, on the surface all looked hunky-dory but everyone — the men, officers, and women — all knew the truth. A cynical military that can’t speak the truth about readiness is one less equipped to fight.
What breaks my heart, though, are the tear-jerking stories of mothers and children being separated in time of war, sometimes while Dad stays home. Yes it makes for a lump in the throat but honestly, what kind of nation have we become when the men stay home and the women fight?
Some very well researched critiques have been done by Elaine Donnelley and Stephanie Gutmann that document such data. It doesn’t get very far, of course, because of political correctness in the military.
None of this is to detract from you daughter’s desires or accomplishments, or those of other women in the service. And, American girls deserve the opportunity that a military career and national service provide, and the pride they deserve for having served their country.
But the statistics show that things will never be equal. And no amount of liberal writing can prove that a woman in a foxhole, with a dozen men, does not change the entire dynamic of war. Or that a woman’s body can handle the stress of air combat in a high-performance aircraft.
Maybe fellows like me would be satisfied by womens’ corps again. I don’t know.
If I made you more angry, forgive me!