Oorah! The commandant's prose, and Con-way...

TIME ^ | August 25, 2010 | Mark Thompson

[La Enchiladita]

General James Conway, the Marine commandant, told reporters at the Pentagon Tuesday that his 202,000 Marines are "pretty macho" compared to the 1.2 million Americans in the other services. He might just as well have been speaking about himself and his willingness to say what he thinks. After all, the Marines are the smallest -- and like to think of themselves as the most exclusive -- of the nation's military services. So they, and their leaders, exhibit a certain swagger that seems to free up their mouths a little more than those belonging to the Air Force, Army and Navy.

That was on display as Conway tried to explain why Marines seem less eager than members of the other services to abandon the "don't ask, don't tell" rule that bars openly gay men and women from serving in the military. "We recruit a certain type of young American, pretty macho guy or gal, that is willing to go fight and perhaps die for their country," the four-star said. "That's about the only difference that I see between the other services." Upending the ban, he said in a nice bit of jarhead lingo, is "pretty uniformly not endorsed as the ideal way ahead."

If opposing President Obama's pledge to lift the ban weren't enough, Conway also said the commander-in-chief's push to begin pulling U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by next July is "probably giving our enemy sustenance."

[La Enchiladita]

Interesting comments to the article too. I want to know what a "Dino Jarhead" is.

[buckalfa]

The Commandant is correct, but seems destined for early retirement.

[Constitutions Grandchild]

Dino = Dinosaur: (extinct, ancient, old, outdated), i.e. the kind of guy who I can still relate to and would trust my life to...that kind.

Jarhead = certain haircut, i.e. skin on sides, hair on top, the kind of haircut that makes me smile and tear up.

[Constitutions Grandchild]

Yeah, but if he did his job right, there’ll be another one just like him to take his place.

[Verginius Rufus]

"It's hard to be humble when you're the best."

--Sixth Marine Division veteran Charles Seltzer on Okinawa, 1995*

*Quoted by Jay Jamieson in Once a Marine...Honoring the Life of My Father Captain Roger Jamieson, USMCR, Ret.

[444Flyer]

Thank the Lord! A man who puts our military and our nation’s security over the perverted demands of the Sodomites and Liberals. You know them, those who put what they do with their privys before everything else. They could care less and know nothing about platoon cohesion and the defense of our nation. Bravo Zulu General!

[garybob]

From the article: If such outspokenness is bad news for the White House, the good news is that Conway wraps up his 40 years in uniform this fall.

What an idiot the writer is. Soldiers/Marines like General Conway are a national treasure and not easily replaced. When the Fifth Mongolian Horde is headed your way, you want men like him in charge.

I predict that the longer Obama resides in the White House, the more you are going to see the military distance themselves from him. It's one thing to die for your country and quite another to die for a Kenyan usurper.

[La Enchiladita]

I think his retirement was already scheduled before he made his public comments.

[La Enchiladita]

Thank you. I knew ‘jarhead’ is a name for a Marine but wasn’t sure about the ‘dino’ part. Very cool.

[oh8eleven]

Jarhead = certain haircut, i.e. skin on sides, hair on top
The haircut has always been known as a "high and tight."
Jarhead is a term used by others in a vain attempt to denigrate a Marine. Probably first coined by a squid, its origin is unknown.
Semper Fi ...

[La Enchiladita]

What an idiot the writer is.

Yeah, how lame was that to tack on the last comment. How pitiful to be such a metro he can't comprehend a REAL MAN and a REAL AMERICAN.

Anyway, I must tell you two and the lurkers about an interview I heard this morning. We have a local morning radio host, Peter Tilden, who covers a lot of current subjects. He interviewed Sam Donaldson by phone. Wait, wait, hold on...:-) Donaldson asked, "Who is in charge?" With recent comments by McChrystal, Petraeus and now Conway directly challenging Imam Hussein's "plan" for the Afghan and WOT in general.... uh, it looks like the generals are in charge. So said Sam.

Lacking a genuine CIC, I'm all for the generals proceeding as they think best.

[Spok]

“coined by a squid,”

A thousand gobs laid down their swabs
to beat one sick Marine.
A thousand more stood by and swore
it was the damnedest fight they’d ever seen.

[Constitutions Grandchild]

Oops. You know, I just found out what a squid was. My son used the term in a recent e-mail home. I had to ask for an explanation. I used a smiley face in an e-mail to him and he told me smiley faces were unacceptable. I should use a squid. I looked all over my drop downs for squids and couldn't find one. I really am Semper Fi, if somewhat ignorant of pejorative terms. ;-)

[oh8eleven]

You must be very proud of your son.
In your next email to him, please include a Semper Fi from me. We're all pulling for him.

[yorkie01]

Semper Fi Marines! Once a Marine always a Marine. Semper Fi!

[yorkie01]

Semper Fi Marines! Once a Marine always a Marine. Semper Fi!

[444Flyer]

Please! Let it be so! Our men and women are over there and at risk every day. They need and deserve leadership, not Al-Bama’s contempt. Now this whole Iran issue is going rogue and our troops are at greater risk than ever before. The flood waters in Paki are delaying needed supply shipment to our guys in Afghanistan and Obama goes away and lounges on Vacation AGAIN! Eating out and indulging while our troops do without and sweat it out in the theater. He's disgusting.

[Constitutions Grandchild]

Oh, I surely will tell him. I'll also inquire as to Chris’ health. Pat said he was pretty frail when he ran into him — he'll be on sick leave for a month and then they'll have to see. It was almost complete organ failure at the time it happened. Keep the prayers up. For a third generation Marine, this hits them pretty hard psychologically. They always have the “family honor” thing going on. Luckily for my son, I'm such a girly girl and his Dad is a retired stock broker, so we're just trying to keep up without looking like the missing village idiots. The fact that he's made it without sustaining a major injury has us dancing on air. ;-)

[TomasUSMC]

early retirement could mean PRESIDENT CONWAY, THAT GOOD WITH ME.