Friday, December 30, 2005

It's Called Commitment

I suppose there is a time where every warfighter is afraid. The soldier storming the beach at Normandy, the trooper crawling into a tunnel in the jungles of Vietnam, the Marine patroling the streets of Iraq...fear on the battlefield is nothing new. And truth be told, I am certain that I am not the only one who has, at one time or another, been afraid over here. But I want to share with you something that America knows of her Marines, but is sometimes at best taken for granted and at worst forgotten alltogether; the commitment of your Marines when faced with fear.

For the past 230 years, Marines have answered America's call to duty. Today's Marines fight with the same sense of commitment that our brothers fought with in 1775. From the first day of boot camp, our Drill Instructors taught us that regardless of the circumstances in which we may find ourselves, our bodies are much stronger than our minds and the mission must be accomplished...no exceptions! And trust me, we are on a mission and we are committed to the success of our mission; regardless of our fears, surroundings or circumstances. Because we know our enemy, his mentality and his tactics, we have the ability to constantly be one step ahead. The only thing that our enemy knows of us is that to engage in a direct confrontation will result in a very bad day for him; so they have resigned themselves to dying. In their minds, they have already lost. Their ship is sinking and the only thing that they can do is try to take as many of us down with them as is possible. Our enemies are extremely one-dimensional. Their minds are as rudimentary as their tactics. We have shown, and continue to show our enemies the commitment required to win a war. We have shown them our ruthlessness in combat, our expertise is all things soldierly and our compassion when it is called for. They are fighting a war of attrition and their only hope is that we quit; a word not found in any Marine's vocabulary.

America, your Marines will not stop taking this fight to the enemies of our country. I wish that everyone could see just a fraction of what I see here everyday. I wish that you could hear the conversations between Marines that I hear. For if you did, you would understand why we are going to win this war and it would give you an understanding of the commitment that has made our Corps the most feared fighting force on the face of the planet. And while this may not be possible, take my word for it...we are committed to you, we are committed to this cause and we are committed to seeing that when America calls on us, we will always be ready to answer her call. Semper Fidelis...Always Faithful.

(Linked at The Mudville Gazette)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

And we are committed to you and your fellow servicemen and women!!! God Bless and Happy New Year!

DangerGirl said...

In reading your post I was reminded of something I read by Capt.B, a deployed Marine, whose blog is One Marine's View
We keep peace, provide aide, defend freedom and fight our country's wars without hesitation. We are called devil dogs, leathernecks and jarheads but above all we are known, as Marines.

Thank you all for your commitment!

Happy New Year!
May 2006 bring you all home safely!
God Bless!

Barb said...

That faith and committment is why I sleep soundly at night. I also wish that I could hear the real talk between you all. It's one of the reasons that make blogs so powerful!

Semper Gratus

Anonymous said...

Thank you to You and your families.

CJ said...

Thank you, Marine, for your commitment! Thank you for not quitting, even though there are traitors in America who would like you to!! The rest of us are so proud and grateful that we have fighting men such as yourself and your brothers! Keep strong!!

Papa Ray said...

Well, you must have had a different DI than I did (US ARMY), He taught us that your MIND is much stronger than your BODY.

His favorite line was:

"When your BODY says it can't go any further, you have to kick it in the ass with your MIND, and make it continue the mission."

But, either way, as long as the mission is accomplished, its all the good.

Continue the Mission.

Papa Ray
West Texas
USA


Thanks

Proud Marine Dad said...

My son Will (now a Lance Corporal) began a transformation when he earned his Eagle Globe and Anchor on the PI parade deck - not only in his eyes, but in everyone else's, most notably his parents.

Before, he lacked direction in his life. Now he is (and will forever be) a Marine. He's not perfect, at times not even presentable in polite company, but there's something about his being a Marine.

Reading your blog, I know he is in good company.

Stay safe,

Proud Marine Dad

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