DERELICTION OF DUTY

When news of Capt. Lucas McConnell's possible involvement in war crimes in Iraq broke in the spring of 2006, people in his hometown who had watched him grow up to become a high school football star and Marine were totally incredulous.
CHARGED WITH DERELICTION OF DUTY. What the hell is that? Lack of supervision, what? Basically, it sounds a little like the Marine mentality. I love the Marines but they have a tendency to overreact. In Vietnam, we called it the "put your head down and charge" approach. It was a euphemism for not seeing the big picture.

Marines are like most elite units, especially the 82d Airborne Division that I know a lot about: they are into suffering. How can we make this harder? Harder often equates to tougher in their minds. In this case, it means, sacrificing probably a good officer to show that they are "the Rocky Balboa" on their Marines who don't do their job. This young Captain was not even present at the supposely crime. Based on what little I know, if he is charged with dereliction of duty, what about all the other people above him right to the top.

THE CHAIN OF COMMAND

The difference in the military and often the civilian world is the "chain of command." In the military, somebody is always in charge. Every soldier, down to the lowest Private has someone checking on him. And, most of the time it works. In this case, it would have been almost impossible for this young Captain to know exactly what his men were doing and in between him there were several others in the chain of command.

Let's wait this out but what it looks like to me is a "rush to judgement" decision to charge this young officer. His career is ruined. Plus, let's face it: war is not a day at the beach. We need to wake up and smell the roses here. Iraq is a sad scene, any way you cut it. We are in a confusing mess. I sit here in the comfort of my home, getting ready for Christmas and soldiers in Iraq are dying, not knowing who the enemy is, doing their job. Any minute some situation can pop up and they have to decide--life or death, live or die.

And, here's another something that eludes those who have not been to war: when the right/wrong, sad, difficult decision has to be made at war, the soldier stands alone. In this case, there is no doubt the good Captain loves the Marines, devoted himself, Sempi Fi to the max. However, his "stuff" is in the street and he feels alone and sadly, he is alone.

I have little tolerance for this sort of Marine mentality. God bless this young Captain and all the soldiers fighting the battles in Iraq and often at home. kt