PDA

View Full Version : Corps bans underage Marines from deploying



thedrifter
04-23-07, 07:00 PM
Corps bans underage Marines from deploying
By Beth Zimmerman - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Apr 23, 2007 16:28:21 EDT

The Corps will no longer send 17-year-old Marines to war in an effort to comply with the Defense Department’s revised child soldier policy, according to a Corps-wide message released Sunday.

The Corps doesn’t accept applicants under 17, but 17 year olds can enlist with parental consent, according to the Military Personnel Procurement Manual.

The message, effective immediately, directs commanders to carry out the policy to comply with a March 23 memo from the principal deputy undersecretary of defense instituting more restrictions regarding child soldiers.

The Corps message amends a Marine policy released in 2003 directing commanders to take “all feasible measures” to ensure 17-year-old leathernecks “do not take a direct part in hostilities.” It allowed Marines under 18 to deploy as long as they participated in hostilities indirectly — such as gathering intelligence or transporting weapons.

The Defense Department policy directs each branch of the military to prevent service members under 18 from deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan and to identify ways to eliminate the possibility, according to the new MarAdmin.

The new policy means that commanders must reassign an underage Marine if his unit is slated to deploy to the Middle East before his 18th birthday. However, the policy does not affect leathernecks with units deploying for training, the message states.

The amended policy also calls for commanders to identify underage Marines in the Corps’ total force system with a duty limitation code.

Since the war in Iraq began in 2003, 14 Marines who were 18 at the time have died, according to information released by the Defense Department. No 17-year-old Marines have died.

Ellie

yellowwing
04-23-07, 07:31 PM
"Defense Department’s revised child soldier policy" - Now this is Politcal Correctness gone rampant! These are United States Marines, not these kids:
http://www.onebigvillage.com.au/onebigvillage/OBV_Images/S2_4_Rights.jpg

MOUNTAINWILLIAM
04-23-07, 08:44 PM
WHAT!, pray tell, is an underage Marine??? I've never seen one.

ssgtt32
04-23-07, 09:33 PM
:devious: WTFO, do we now wait until they are able to have a legal drink? :beer:

Maurice

davblay
04-23-07, 10:17 PM
I turned 18 on the first of August, I was in THE NAM on the 21st of September, 1969! Got hurt February 13, 1970, sooooooo 18 was not the best year of my life! :mad:

Ooo-Rah!

recon532002
04-24-07, 12:44 AM
I was in in 1970 was 17
Recon

ivalis
04-24-07, 05:04 AM
Thought it was always policy not to send anyone younger than 18 to a combat zone.

I recall several individuals that were held (probably not the right term) on Oki untill they turned 18 before continuing their trip to Nam.

drumcorpssnare
04-24-07, 07:36 AM
Jeez!!! Next thing ya know, a kid will have to be 18 to play "guns" in his neighborhood!:evilgrin:
drumcorpssnare:usmc:

killerinstinct
04-24-07, 08:24 AM
man that sucks... imagine the working parties they have to do.. well just when you thought it went away here it comes again

http://www.bbspot.com/Images/News_Features/2003/05/green_weenie.jpg

Old Marine
04-24-07, 08:56 AM
OK Guys, I don't care if this 17 year old is a Marine. He is barely out of his pampers and does not belong in a combat situation. Most 18/19 year olds these days don't really know what the hell they are doing or where they are going.

killerinstinct
04-24-07, 09:27 AM
My grandfather fought in WWII when he was 16 and illegally enlisted in order to fight many did... I am glad. People and great battles of human history have been lead by people no older than 28.

Pretty soon it iwll be a bunch of batlefronts of wheelchairs and geriatrics running to destroy the enemy by disconnecting their dialysis machines..

If they can enlist than they can go to combat is my view gunny. Im not saying what they are doing is incorrect by all means if they do believe that then they should simply require that you may enroll in DEP when 17 but must be 18 by time you go AD

outlaw3179
04-24-07, 09:28 AM
Ok old Marine with all due respect and in the most polite terms I can word , What are you talking about? I know plenty of young Marines who are more than capable. I know plenty of young Marines who have distinguished themselves in situations wich would make even the most seasoned Marines sh*t their pants. You have 18 and 19 year old fire team leaders and some times you have 18 and 19 year old squad leaders. Theese same Marines wouldnt be trusted with the head fry guy position at McDonalds but in Iraq they are entrusted wiht thousands of dollars of equipment and the lives of their Marines. Saying that most 18 and 19 year olds arent ready to go is bulls*it. It would be like me saying that most 18 and 19 year olds who went to Vietnam had no idea what they were doing there . They are Marines. They are infantry. Look at the word itself. An army comprised of infants or the young. Moraly they might not belong there but try to tell one of those Marines that they dont have the right to be there. See what kind of response you get.

YLDNDN6
04-24-07, 10:22 AM
Then let's just not allow the 17 year old to enlist anymore. How many millions of dollars are going toward these "child soldiers' for training, meals, equipment, etc. everyday??? Why build the macine if you are not going to run it??? Again, a major decision from somewhere up in the chain of command that seems to be ignoring history. If mommy doesn't want junior going to war, DON'T SIGN THE DANG PAPERS!!! Geez!!!

davblay
04-24-07, 10:27 AM
OK Guys, I don't care if this 17 year old is a Marine. He is barely out of his pampers and does not belong in a combat situation. Most 18/19 year olds these days don't really know what the hell they are doing or where they are going.

Hey OLD MARINE, how old were you in Korea?

davblay
04-24-07, 10:37 AM
Marines, where would it stop, if they stop sending 17 year olds , then no one under 21, then what? Wars are fought, and won, by these "KIDS"! I think most of us were "KIDS" when we saw combat the first time, so why upset what works? I know that when we look at todays Marines we see children in our uniform, but think about it people, when we walked in thier boots we were looked at the exact same way! It's all part of getting older, we have to go through it. The only alternative to getting old is to die young! It's too late for that, for most of us, now! So we have to live with the fact that this is the young Marines' time, we had ours! We have to encourage them and support them. They are the future of our Corps!

Semper Fi, Young Marines, Semper Fi!

fmoyer
04-24-07, 11:52 AM
You know sending all us old farts to war is not a bad idea, we have had a great life and if both sides would agree on it it could be a great time. The number of KIA's would drop as we would need more time to rest and do the other things us old guys do plus our eye sight is not as good as it once was. It seems like it is the old folks that get us into these situations why shouldn't we be the ones who have to do the dying also?

drumcorpssnare
04-24-07, 01:21 PM
The sad reality is, that since the dawn of civilazation, old angry worn-out men have sent young men, who are in the prime of their lives, off to fight wars.
Too bad the old, decrepit leaders don't fight each other, and let the young live their lives.
drumcorpssnare:usmc:

Old Marine
04-25-07, 08:44 AM
Hey OLD MARINE, how old were you in Korea?

18/19. and very mature. The key words to my post were "these days."

Seeley
04-25-07, 08:51 AM
I enlisted on my 17th birthday and left as soon as I graduated (2 weeks after graduation). Turned 18 in bootcamp....I'll never forget that one. Turned 19 a few days before I went to Iraq. It was a long trip for me, but I'd have gone at 15 if they'd have let me. I know a lot of guys who'd do the same.