Let's move on to some other current topics and how they look through the eyes of the Marines. The Marine Corps motto has been 'Semper Fidelis' for about a hundred years or so. This is Latin for 'Always Faithful' and it means that a Marine is faithful to God, Country, Corps, and Fellow Marines; in that order. It's the 'in that order' part that often gets murky and it's that part that leads me to comment on some of the proceedings involving the killings in Haditha. (It is also necessary here to stress that these are my personal opinions and I am not speaking on the behalf of the United States Marine Corps.)
Being faithful means doing what you said you were going to do. Being faithful means doing what you were supposed to do and doing it when you were supposed to do it. It's following both the letter and the spirit of an order. It also means being loyal to the Corps and to your superiors. This is usually quite easy to do when you're talking about cleaning barracks, or conducting swim qualifications. It gets a little more difficult when charges of murder get bandied about.
Here in Washington we have a local Marine who was part of the incident. I only know what I read in the papers (and that's probably half to three quarters incorrect) but he has reached a plea bargain agreement in which he will testify against several other Marines. I don't know any of the people listed on the official charge sheet but I assume that up until that November night they were all what we'd call 'good Marines.' Pennington has had to make a choice: stand with his fellow Marines and say that they all did nothing wrong, or join the prosecution and tell the court martial what happened. Who should he be faithful to? I've got to tell you honestly, that's a tough call to make.
I think he's making the right one.
How many times will you have to decide whom to remain faithful to? Probably several. How many times will it be a matter of life and death? Probably not many. But when and if it happens, do everyone a favor and keep your priorities in proper alignment.
