Comments on: Four Soldiers

By: jtfromBC

jtfromBC — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:25:27 +0000

I have no disagreement with any of your comments. From Jessica Lynch to Pat Tillman and the staged dismantling of Saddam’s statue I observe and collect gems of military and political disinformation. This oldie is one of my favorites
Bush the Elder no longer tells the incubator stories…but
http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/gallagher83.html

By: DennisQ

DennisQ — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 07:14:26 +0000

This film was produced by the Marine Corps itself as part of its legendary public relations effort. It’s prominently listed on the website, http://marines.feedroom.com/.
The Marines don’t do anything that other services don’t do as well. Truman wanted to get rid of them after World War II because he thought the legend of the Marine Corps was a lot of hype. A squad of Marines is said to contain more press agents than fighting men.
The Marines get away with things that other branches of the military would not get away with. For example, nobody was charged with the use of white phosphorus on civilians at Fallujah. And nobody was convicted for the massacre at Haditha. Lt. Ilario Pantano, charged with murder for wantonly killing two Iraqi prisoners, was acquitted and is now a Marine Corps celebrity in his home outside a Marine base in North Carolina.
The Marines have a PR problem with feminism. They want to sell themselves as a progressive organization, but at the same time they can’t afford to have women actually killed while fighting dubious wars. That’s how we get misleading photographs of women apparently resting from combat without actually having been in combat. It’s the best of both worlds for the Marines – they falsely suggest they’re committed to equal opportunity – and they don’t have to account for female casualties.
Whether or not the Marines come from the teabagger sector of the population, these are the people responsible for Fallujah and Haditha. Their extraordinary public relations ability allowed them to get away with these atrocities. There’s no reason at all to assume that photographs of Marines can be taken at face value.

By: Aurora

Aurora — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 05:23:13 +0000

I did not see this on the NYT; it caught my eye at the original post here and then I started coming back for the discussion.
But what caught my eye the first time?
Upon reflection and review, it is the second woman on the right: I see Catherine Zeta Jones in ‘Zorro’. Really wish I didn’t because it makes the whole theme of women in combat somehow ‘cinematic’, or ‘heroic’, or ‘mythic’.

By: jtfromBC

jtfromBC — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:36:23 +0000

Life of a Lioness
The story of Cpl. Jennifer Marie Parcell
The ratifications of the 19th Amendment and Title IX have given American women opportunites they never had before modern times. There is one policy, however, that keeps our women in uniform from holding jobs involving direct combat. It’s called the Combat Exclusion Law. Sgt. Todd Hunter shares an intimate story on how today’s battle field doesn’t always cater to the law.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f8c_1255074193

By: DennisQ

DennisQ — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:23:43 +0000

The gender differences in the military are real and significant – women don’t face the level of danger that men do. Military bearing is important, and so is care of the feet, etc. But if you don’t face danger to the same extent as your fellows, you’re not carrying an equal burden. There’s a different gender stereotyping going on here, that is, that men’s lives are not as valuable as women’s lives.
We’re told that the military has become a progressive force for change, but just look at the numbers. Even after making a percentage-wise adjustment, the casualty figures for women are almost non-existent compared to those of men.

By: nordmend

nordmend — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:21:09 +0000

i’m not against them picking their toes. i’m just against them picking their toes on commandeered private property in someone else’s country, while empire building at the point of a gun.
your mission… something akin to “and improve security for the local Afghan population”, perhaps?
i bet the people who once lived in this compound feel real secure, right about now, wherever they are huddled.
beautiful mountains.

By: klk013@yahoo.com

klk013@yahoo.com — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:44:51 +0000

Any soldier, marine, sailor, airman, and coastgardsman knows that attending to their feet is critical to maintaining operational status. Not doing so leads to trench foot, and possibly worse. It doesn’t matter if your male or female, maintaining healthy feet is critical to completing the mission. And I’m a proud female veteran who served my country to the best of abilities gender free of sterotypes and macho hinderences. I maintained my independence, and anyone who thought I was NOT a ‘lady’ was sorely mistaken. I maintained my military bearing, and fulfilled my mission!

By: DennisQ

DennisQ — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 08:49:51 +0000

The figures don’t support your argument. 85 Marines have died in combat in Afghanistan, none of them women. An additional 33 Marines died in non-combat incidents, including one woman who was killed in a plane crash. Source: “>http://www.icasualties.org
I’ll take your word for it that there are some progressive Marines. They are generally an improvement over the Taliban, but not all of them. I certainly don’t see the American occupation of Afghanistan (“Operation Enduring Freedom”) as a progressive cause.

By: g

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 04:02:45 +0000

akinoluna – I appreciate your service, and the perspective you give on this photos. You, unlike me, are in a position to really know what the circumstances of these women are.

By: akinoluna - a female Marine

akinoluna - a female Marine — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:29:25 +0000

The photo does tell a story, not the whole story, but a story. It’s an anomaly only in a historical sense because this is the first war where women have served in combat in such a visible way. Plenty of Marines who are not “combat” Marines end up serving in combat positions. Just because you see a photo of a male Marine in a combat situation does not mean he is infantry either! (All male Marines who are not infantry received the SAME combat training as female Marines you know)
The photo does not imply that they are “combat” Marines, you can’t imply something that everyone knows isn’t true in the first place. The photographer wasn’t trying to show that they are grunts, it’s just a photo of some Marines he was near.
Marines are more progressive than you think and no, they don’t all come from the Teabaggers sector.
I’ve been a female Marine for almost seven years and I went to Iraq. I’m not just pulling this stuff out of my butt.