A "God Fearing" Military

“Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.”
Colonel Jessep, A Few Good Men, 1992

 

As much as Jessep was wrong, in this fiction, of ordering the Code Red, this statement he makes to Kaffee should give us pause.  I think about all the people that scream 9/11 was an “inside job,” the people that have spit on the soldiers of this nation since Vietnam, and that Homeland Security is just a modern day “Gestapo.”  I’m sure the list goes on.  These are the same people that would march dutifully into the Nazi “showers” to be cleansed, right?

I have real money that says they’re the first to grab a weapon and wonder how the hell we were invaded.  Then they’ll be screaming, “Where was the army?”  Because, the truth of the above statement, which I have highlighted in blue, is that we, all of us, don’t talk about it at parties.  We DO want them on that wall.  We do NEED them on that wall!

Isn’t this why we, as Americans, for better or worse, were saddled with being the police force for the world?  Or, wait, its fine when the Syrians are being butchered but, heaven forbid it should happen here?

Consider the next highlight, in blue, above.  As retired military, I have always thought every able bodied man and woman should, mandatorily, “pick up a weapon, and stand a post.”  Where Jessep and I differ is that I don’t give a rats butt if the people we’re protecting say they thank you, just don’t spit on us for doing what your elected officials ordered us to do.  If you’re a coward, I respect that.  Hold your head up high and proclaim, “I’m a coward!”  We exist to protect those that are incapable of protecting themselves, even cowards.  I DO give a damn what you think you are entitled to.  You just don’t give a damn about protecting your entitlement!

“God, country, corps, and family,” this is the axiom the military man lives by.  God; without our Creator the other three would not exist.  Country; without our country there would be no need of a military to protect the freedoms it provides.  Corps; without a strong, robust, military you might as well expect the next dictator to plant their flag in your front yard and invite you over for a hot cleansing shower.  By the way, kudos to the Egyptian military for stepping in today, I hope they do right by the people.  And last, certainly not least is family; their existence, security, and freedom are at the grace of the other three.

This is not solely an American philosophy.  I think if you were to ask most soldiers they would agree it is a worldwide military axiom.

Unlike Jessep, I do give a damn what you think you are entitled to, I have to.  It was the way I was raised.  It was why I did what I did for over 20 years.  It changed my life in as many bad, as good ways. There are many things we did that I am not particularly proud of, and it embarrasses me when I see any soldier act in a manner unbecoming.  I would not change a minute of the years I spent in service to my country…in service to all of her people, and to the security of my world and all the people in it.  Sometimes we had to do things that were in the best interest.

And you would say, “But, shouldn’t we all be told so we can have a say?”  Sure!  Consider this statement in the context of, oh… Syria…

This was the point of the movie, the point that Jessep missed.  We exist to protect those that deny us; those that need protecting; those that cannot protect themselves.  My God!  Did we learn nothing with the Holocaust?

Just don’t spit on us for it.