Seriously, that's not what I'd expect to hear from a 21 year vet. Kearney went into the Ranger Hall of Fame as an LTC in 96.
Seriously, having been an ENLISTED Marine for 21 years, knowing how our enemies fight, knowing how SOME officers are more then willing to cover their asses rather then stick their necks out, and knowing that it should take an AWFUL lot more than collateral causalities to pull a line unit out of combat...or maybe it is just being overly sensitive to the "cover your ass" syndrome that is so prevelent in the upper layers of command these days.