The Marine Corps loses the talent of innovative and capable Marines because of the poor leadership they experience during their first four years. After their first contract they're gone and are never coming back. It is not because they shun discipline. Many people could think of no better way to live than to get up at 0400 and start their day, but many decline re-enlistments because they expected to he in the presence of greatness and are sorely disappointed. The difference between one Marine re-enlisting for financial reasons and another because he loves the Corps is dramatic.
In this context I'm referring to the E-3 and below as the private. I also interject this disclaimer to avoid the notion that I'm protecting or coddling him. The Marine Carps doesn't have time to spoon-feed insubordinate problem children who are disrespectful and ignorant. However, there's a huge demographic of gifted privates who deserve better than what they have experienced.
Al the end of hoot camp our vision for serving the Corps was clear. I enlisted at age 27 and still felt 1 was being institutionalized (but in a good way). I wanted to be tested again as I had been in boot camp. The Marine Corps stretches, rends, destroys, and then repairs the person he or she was. No other institution goes to such great lengths to push its members toward success in the manner the Marine Corps does. This pushes every Marine in the direction of excellence, and it is up to the individual and a little bit of luck to achieve it. That is "The Plan."
When The Plan goes awry it mutates into "The Game." This is the bastard son of The Plan. Most Marines elect a discharge before experiencing The Plan, because they have only seen glimpses of it. For the most part, all they have been subjected to is The Game. It is a whimsical charade that finds them standing in formation for no reason, being yelled at for imaginary acts, unfair uniform inspections, etc. And it can be downright relentless. In fact, its existence is so obvious that the term itself is used unabashedly, as if it is part and parcel to the very doctrine of shaping young Marines into warriors.
A lack of experience for an NCO is not an abominable sin. It is just another step in life-long learning, a phase that encourages a Marine to evolve into a better human being. Overlooking lapses in leadership is something the private ought to practice—he may he walking in his superior's boots someday. Nonetheless, abuse of power undermines the civilian world's standards of decency, not to mention the Marine Corps'.
What irritates the private is the bait-and-switch technique employed in his unit. Many NCOs never follow through on their rhetoric. The bait is that the Marine Corps adheres to a linear approach to everything (straight-talk, nuts-and-bolts dialogue, etc.). This says to the private. "I will be candid and honest with you." The switch comes into play when the NCO trades forthrightness for outright disrespect. The classic Marine temper tantrum is so commonplace in the Corps that many call it normal. Well it's not normal—it's impulsive and immature. This rubber ruler method of working the system has an adverse effect on the institution as a whole. It is imperative the NCO he accountable tor his words and actions instead of relying exclusively on his authority.
So what is the private's agenda? The answer is simply this: surviving. Day in and day out, the private survives the Marine Corps. He does this with some encouragement from superiors to "hang in there." The Marine Corps cannot afford to rely on that advice to wait until after the first four years to see The Plan.
I'm not going to hold the private's hand, because I know I'll only be hurting him. No one helped me. It's his job to figure out how to thrive in this environment, and if he does he'll he stronger for it. Our job as his superiors is to treat him as an adult instead of exasperating him with the ruse of The Game. Don't worry; there will still be plenty of opportunities to yell at him for the right reasons—which goes to show some things never change.
Corporal Adams is a motor transportation mechanic stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.