2003 - Greensboro, NC - I was the Commanding Officer of Communications Company, HQ Battalion, 4th Force Service Support Group. We were preparing for deployment as part of what would become Operation Iraqi Freedom.
These are notes from one of the many talks I gave to our Marines as we prepared.
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Challenges we face as we prepare for combat
Fear
Physical danger
The unknown
Courage is not the absence of
fear, but the acceptance of risk and rising to face danger with firmness of
purpose and a determination that you will prevail.
Fear of dying- each one of you
is going to die at some time, it’s just a matter of when. You could die tomorrow in a auto accident.
The
fact is that if you look at historical odds, you are very likely to not have
any sort of injury, much less get killed.
The greatest danger to you is getting sick or in an accident, and those
are risks you have some control over.
Our job is to make the other
side die for their country.
Combat is a horrible thing, the
thought that you are a part of taking another human life is a sobering thought
and an awesome responsibility.
You’ve got to believe that you
are going to be OK no matter what happens.
There are no atheists in
foxholes.
Uncertainty-
Will they fight, give up, use chemicals? How long will we be gone? We don’t
know, but we have to be ready for whatever we face.
Exhaustion-You will be tired, but you’ll do your job anyway. Lack of sleep can makes you prone to deadly errors.
Homesick – The best thing we can do is to do our job completely and quickly, so we take care of business and get everyone home.
Why do we fight
Must first accept the fact that there are some things worth risking your life for. This is all about Sept 11th, our nation has been attacked and don’t think for a minute that the Iraqis weren’t involved at some level.
Protect
our nation and the ideals that our country stands for.
Freedom,
Opportunity, Achievement
Representative
government
Protect our families.
Protect each other.
A
homicidal dictator who has taken what was once one of the most advanced
countries in the Middle East and turned it into a wasteland.
A
government who has been responsible for the invasion of their neighbors.
Have
used chemical and biological weapons against their own population, killing tens
of thousands.
A
regime who poses a direct threat to the security of our country.
USMC
is without a doubt the most lethal fighting force in the history of the world.
The
area we are going to has been the site of battles since time began.
We
follow in the literal footsteps of the Greeks, Romans, Persians and many of the
other of the world’s greatest forces.
Hundreds
of years from now, they will still tell the stories of the Marines.
You
are a part of that story.
The Reward
Everyone has been to the movies, we’ve all seen stories of struggle. This is real life. Our society has become soft, preferring to watch action over being part of it. Many think about doing great things, but never makes it to the fight. You are in a unique position, you are real- life heroes.
One day, when you are old, you will look back over your life and think of all the things you have done, and you will remember this day, the day when you were afraid but did your job anyway. You will look around and be proud that you did something real, something larger than yourselves. You will think of how you were a part of something worthy of a movie, and you will be proud.
You’ll be proud when your grandchildren sit around your chair and ask you to tell the story again about how when you were young, you were sent halfway around the world to join in battle.
You will be proud that you stood shoulder to
shoulder with your fellow Marines, that when you were afraid, you held your
head high, kept your honor and did the job your country depended on you to do.
