In my travels in Southeast Asia, I had occasion to rub shoulders with some of the Marines who were sightseeing along the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos. They were quiet, reserved and not taken to long sentences. We flew them in to LZs which were often wide spots on a trail. We didn’t see them for two weeks and sometimes they didn’t all come back vertical. Nevertheless, they were quietly arrogant as they should be. If you are going to have an elite force that doesn’t require a lot of petting and reassurance, you want Marines. No fancy berets. No special camouflage uniforms. No elite divisions with catchy names. Just grunts with an attitude. Marines fill that bill. They don’t blow an ass gasket if they don’t get hot food on Thanksgiving. They don’t complain during monsoon that the crackers in their c- rations went south five minutes after being opened. The ones I met complained that they had packed a lot of ammo in and couldn’t find enough worthy recipients to wear it.

Gen. James Mattis, with forty one years in service, retired recently because he was becoming an anachronism.   Politicians do not like verbally challenged Generals who enjoy warfare. Gen. Mattis wasn’t so much verbally challenged as he was prone to say what he feels. Nothing like a little honesty when talking to the press. Unfortunately, this translates into what appears as Tourette’s Syndrome when it surfaces in the mainstream media. I know well. I’m guilty of it. Cupcake has an encyclopaedia of my gaffs. I sympathize with Gen. Mattis. I also agree with his philosophy. When you assay to cross swords with an enemy, it should be with the intention of erasing him from the earth. No half-measures or meetings to “assess the situation and the consequences of the actions”. The operable phrase is “Press on”.

Army medic Bruce sends me this daisy. The quotes are priceless and still appropriate- and should be instilled in all branches of service.

1. “I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.”

2. “The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some assholes in the world that just need to be shot.”

3. “I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you all.”

4. “Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they’re so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact.”

5. “Marines don’t know how to spell the word defeat.”

6. “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.”

7. “The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.”

8. “You are part of the world’s most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.”

9. “There are hunters and there are victims. By your discipline, cunning, obedience and alertness, you will decide if you are a hunter or a victim.”

10. “No war is over until the enemy says it’s over. We may think it over, we may declare it over, but in fact, the enemy gets a vote.”

11. “There is nothing better than getting shot at and missed. It’s really great.”

12. “You cannot allow any of your people to avoid the brutal facts. If they start living in a dream world, it’s going to be bad.

13. “You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway. So it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually it’s quite fun to fight them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right up there with you. I like brawling.”

14. “I’m going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.”

15. “Demonstrate to the world there is ‘No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy’ than a U.S. Marine.”

16. “Fight with a happy heart and strong spirit”

Simply put, there is no Silver or Bronze medal for coming in second or third. We learned that in Vietnam. Go for the Gold or go home.