Engl 1301 -Reasearch Paper O_O
Totalitarianism within the Marine Corps
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., an American Historian said that “A totalitarian regime crushes all autonomous institutions in its drive to seize the human soul” which I personally feel can properly sum up a short-lived Marine Corps career. E-1, E-2, and E-3 are the lowest ranks in the Marine Corps. Marines of these ranks are also generally regarded as slaves and are made to do any work that is necessary or unnecessary. In boot camp there is a clear hierarchy which is to be obeyed and followed but once a marine enters the Fleet Marine Corps, lines of obedience, discipline, punishment, and restrictions are blurred.
While I was stationed in Yuma, Arizona, a marine in the shop I worked at came into work one hour late. His tardiness caused him a Non-Judicial Punishment (NJP) which stated he could be restricted or confined to quarters, have his money taken away, or be reduced in rank (UCMJ, Article 15). The Officer in Charge (OIC) restricted the marine for 15days which meant that he could not go anywhere except to and from chow. The officer also stated that the marine could not see or have contact with anyone, including his family for the stated period. A situation such as this is one where a possible ethical line becomes blurred. I believe that marine had the right to see his family and could not be barred from doing so. ¬
There have been numerous times that the platoon I was with had finished all the day’s tasks early but was told we had to look busy and if anyone were caught doing nothing then they would be given an unnecessary task such as sweeping a sidewalk or raking sand. If any serious objection were given, a stern warning would be delivered by the superior saying that if the marine did not do the task, then it could be construed as disobeying an order. This is another case where common sense is completely nonexistent and is instead replaced with the logic of authoritarian NCO’s; they are the ones eagerly awaiting to exercise totalitarian control over any marine who would not agree with their personal views or standards of obedience.
These kinds of incidents happen quite frequently but unfortunately they are not taken seriously. The strict or totalitarian platoons as I dub them are known to be very “motivated” platoons with the best marines. The best marines only do so well because they are afraid to fail, afraid of what will happen to them or what will be taken away. In a personal interview with my father -a former marine, he recalls “…one morning a few buddies and I were twenty minutes late into formation because we had gone out drinking. Well later on that day during a field exercise, our platoon sergeant made sure we had only ten minutes to eat chow vice our normal hour and a half.” Other platoons, ones with common sense as I relate them, are looked upon negatively by the “motivated” platoons because they are usually described as “lax” or lazy. While this may appear to be the case to anyone outside of the platoon, the “lax” platoons are in reality more professional. I have been in a “lax” platoon before and have had an instance or two of trouble. In 2003, I was guilty of unauthorized absence (UA) but was given an opportunity to explain myself and as I did the Staff NCO said that he understood; he just let me go with a strict warning. In a “motivated” platoon there is no doubt in my mind that I would have felt the full consequences of my actions without any further consideration for the situation by a Staff NCO or anyone else.
Superiors today would only yell at marines to correct them but in the earlier years of the Marine Corps, especially in boot camp, physical punishment was rampant. In 1956, Drill Instructor Staff Sergeant Matthew McKeon of Paris Island led his platoon of recruits into Ribbon Creek for discipline. Six recruits died. Thomas Ricks quotes a WWII veteran as saying that of his time spent in boot camp, “it was quite common to see a DI bloody a man’s nose, and some boots were gravely injured.” Ricks also cites another gruesome story from R. Wayne Eisenhart’s memoir of a Vietnam-era training incident.
While in basic training we were issued M-14 rifles. The breech of the weapon is closed by a bolt which is continually pushed forward by a large spring with considerable force. One night three men who had been censured for the ineffectiveness in their assigned tasks were called forward in front of the assembled platoon, ordered to insert their penises into the breeches of their weapons, close the bolt, and run the length of the squad bay singing “The Marine Corps Hymn.” This violent ritual ended as the drill instructor left and the three men sank to the floor, penises still clamped into their weapons. We helped them remove the rifles and guided them to their beds. There was considerable bleeding as the men cupped their wounded penises with their hands, curled into balls, and cried. (Ricks 90)
Boot Camp is itself a breeding ground for totalitarian behavior. It is a place where marines are birthed and automatically imitate what they’ve learned. They must learn immediate obedience to orders without a second thought and every rule and regulation must be followed -discipline (Polleck). While this discipline may elicit deplorable behavior in its teachings, it also instills a respectable code of “honor, courage, and commitment.” Physical and mental toughness are necessary and invaluable tools of war and if there is only one way to teach something that may be reproachable then so be it. The marines of “Belleau Woods, France in World War I; islands like Tarawa, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa in World War II; Inchon and the Chosin Reservoir in Korea; Hue City and Khe Sanh, Vietnam”(Polleck) have all proved that “you fight as well as you train” - another revealing motto.
The online encyclopedia Wikipedia cites that both the philosopher Giovanni Gentile and the Italian Fascist Benito Mussolini describe the original meaning of totalitarianism as “…a society in which the main ideology of the state had influence, if not power, over most of its citizens.” In this sense, the Marine Corps is infallibly totalitarian. The UCMJ is an ideology that forces its servicemen to conform to the government’s ideas on how a military force should act and be. The political members in power, the President of the United States and his cabinet members are the moving force in what the U.S. military will do. A modern example is how the United States ousted Saddam Hussein on a belief -an idea put forward by the state that Saddam should not have weapons of mass destruction. That idea was fought for by citizens who happened to be soldiers and marines.
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. never says what the human soul is captured for; whether it is for seemingly benign or atrocious ambitions. Totalitarianism’s negative connotation is one that should be revised for the modern day. If there were ever a good totalitarian society, the Marine Corps, along with its military and political brethren are it.
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., an American Historian said that “A totalitarian regime crushes all autonomous institutions in its drive to seize the human soul” which I personally feel can properly sum up a short-lived Marine Corps career. E-1, E-2, and E-3 are the lowest ranks in the Marine Corps. Marines of these ranks are also generally regarded as slaves and are made to do any work that is necessary or unnecessary. In boot camp there is a clear hierarchy which is to be obeyed and followed but once a marine enters the Fleet Marine Corps, lines of obedience, discipline, punishment, and restrictions are blurred.
While I was stationed in Yuma, Arizona, a marine in the shop I worked at came into work one hour late. His tardiness caused him a Non-Judicial Punishment (NJP) which stated he could be restricted or confined to quarters, have his money taken away, or be reduced in rank (UCMJ, Article 15). The Officer in Charge (OIC) restricted the marine for 15days which meant that he could not go anywhere except to and from chow. The officer also stated that the marine could not see or have contact with anyone, including his family for the stated period. A situation such as this is one where a possible ethical line becomes blurred. I believe that marine had the right to see his family and could not be barred from doing so. ¬
There have been numerous times that the platoon I was with had finished all the day’s tasks early but was told we had to look busy and if anyone were caught doing nothing then they would be given an unnecessary task such as sweeping a sidewalk or raking sand. If any serious objection were given, a stern warning would be delivered by the superior saying that if the marine did not do the task, then it could be construed as disobeying an order. This is another case where common sense is completely nonexistent and is instead replaced with the logic of authoritarian NCO’s; they are the ones eagerly awaiting to exercise totalitarian control over any marine who would not agree with their personal views or standards of obedience.
These kinds of incidents happen quite frequently but unfortunately they are not taken seriously. The strict or totalitarian platoons as I dub them are known to be very “motivated” platoons with the best marines. The best marines only do so well because they are afraid to fail, afraid of what will happen to them or what will be taken away. In a personal interview with my father -a former marine, he recalls “…one morning a few buddies and I were twenty minutes late into formation because we had gone out drinking. Well later on that day during a field exercise, our platoon sergeant made sure we had only ten minutes to eat chow vice our normal hour and a half.” Other platoons, ones with common sense as I relate them, are looked upon negatively by the “motivated” platoons because they are usually described as “lax” or lazy. While this may appear to be the case to anyone outside of the platoon, the “lax” platoons are in reality more professional. I have been in a “lax” platoon before and have had an instance or two of trouble. In 2003, I was guilty of unauthorized absence (UA) but was given an opportunity to explain myself and as I did the Staff NCO said that he understood; he just let me go with a strict warning. In a “motivated” platoon there is no doubt in my mind that I would have felt the full consequences of my actions without any further consideration for the situation by a Staff NCO or anyone else.
Superiors today would only yell at marines to correct them but in the earlier years of the Marine Corps, especially in boot camp, physical punishment was rampant. In 1956, Drill Instructor Staff Sergeant Matthew McKeon of Paris Island led his platoon of recruits into Ribbon Creek for discipline. Six recruits died. Thomas Ricks quotes a WWII veteran as saying that of his time spent in boot camp, “it was quite common to see a DI bloody a man’s nose, and some boots were gravely injured.” Ricks also cites another gruesome story from R. Wayne Eisenhart’s memoir of a Vietnam-era training incident.
While in basic training we were issued M-14 rifles. The breech of the weapon is closed by a bolt which is continually pushed forward by a large spring with considerable force. One night three men who had been censured for the ineffectiveness in their assigned tasks were called forward in front of the assembled platoon, ordered to insert their penises into the breeches of their weapons, close the bolt, and run the length of the squad bay singing “The Marine Corps Hymn.” This violent ritual ended as the drill instructor left and the three men sank to the floor, penises still clamped into their weapons. We helped them remove the rifles and guided them to their beds. There was considerable bleeding as the men cupped their wounded penises with their hands, curled into balls, and cried. (Ricks 90)
Boot Camp is itself a breeding ground for totalitarian behavior. It is a place where marines are birthed and automatically imitate what they’ve learned. They must learn immediate obedience to orders without a second thought and every rule and regulation must be followed -discipline (Polleck). While this discipline may elicit deplorable behavior in its teachings, it also instills a respectable code of “honor, courage, and commitment.” Physical and mental toughness are necessary and invaluable tools of war and if there is only one way to teach something that may be reproachable then so be it. The marines of “Belleau Woods, France in World War I; islands like Tarawa, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa in World War II; Inchon and the Chosin Reservoir in Korea; Hue City and Khe Sanh, Vietnam”(Polleck) have all proved that “you fight as well as you train” - another revealing motto.
The online encyclopedia Wikipedia cites that both the philosopher Giovanni Gentile and the Italian Fascist Benito Mussolini describe the original meaning of totalitarianism as “…a society in which the main ideology of the state had influence, if not power, over most of its citizens.” In this sense, the Marine Corps is infallibly totalitarian. The UCMJ is an ideology that forces its servicemen to conform to the government’s ideas on how a military force should act and be. The political members in power, the President of the United States and his cabinet members are the moving force in what the U.S. military will do. A modern example is how the United States ousted Saddam Hussein on a belief -an idea put forward by the state that Saddam should not have weapons of mass destruction. That idea was fought for by citizens who happened to be soldiers and marines.
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. never says what the human soul is captured for; whether it is for seemingly benign or atrocious ambitions. Totalitarianism’s negative connotation is one that should be revised for the modern day. If there were ever a good totalitarian society, the Marine Corps, along with its military and political brethren are it.