Am I a Marine?

[fl1946]

Like others noted, I'm not sure why you posted on this website. What you did was not exactly something to be proud of and share...especially to other Marines.

If you wrote this to seek sympathy, see a priest and go to confession instead. You will not find us standing at the next corner handing out candy and granting you forgiveness. Man up and live with it. You already embarrassed yourself.

[LordViper]

I was taught that the motto "Once A Marine, Always a Marine" could only be voided by a Dishonorable Discharge. Nobody disputes that Marines are "First to Fight" or that Marines "never retreat", why because it is what we were taught from generation to generation. If anyone disputes "Once a Marine always a Marine", then there is a problem somewhere. When he graduated boot camp, did his drill instructor not call him a Marine and shake his hand? Seems clear that he is a sh*tbird Marine, but a Marine none the less.

[FoxtrotOscar]

LV,

There are more ways to "DISHONOR" the Marines other than just a piece of paper with those words "Dishonorable Discharge"....

Your conscience is your guide...!!!

No one is disputing the fact he graduated boot and earned the "TITLE" of Marine.. It's living up to the continued and earned expectations of that earned title...

Thus, by the OP's own words, he failed to do just that...

Choices do indeed have consequences....

He made his choice...

[LordViper]

To properly answer his question, we cannot inject opinion or support grey area interpretations because this approach will lead to a variety of different answers, which of course is not an answer at all. I believe his question is directed to the solicitation of fact and as such his answer can only come from official decree. Is there any? The closest thing I found was from http://www.usmcpress.com/heritage/usmc_slogans.htm which is not really official which I suppose will be the counter statement.

[Phantom Blooper]

To counteract that quote and drop three paragraph's to "A Few Good Men".

Clearly his time in the USMC was not!

[advanced]

Viper, come down off that high horse you're on and understand that many of us here are combat Marines. In our world what we thought of another Marine is all that counted. For many of us an official decree is simply one law, the other law is that if one has no Honor, I and most others will not stand with him. Believe me, he would not choose to be with us for very long.

As Mongoose said, to most of us you may earn the title of Marine simply by graduating boot camp, but to become a Marine requires that one live and uphold Marine values. This man did not and therefore he has disgraced himself and to a degree all Marines.

One last thought. Many less than Honorable service members are being discharged today with honorable discharges, that discharge does not make them Honorable in our world. Just saying.

[LordViper]

Well there it is, OscarFoxtrot says "For the record, strictly on the technical aspects, yes, your a Marine...", while Advanced accuses me of "being on a high horse". Ask a combat Marine and you get one answer - ask a non-combat Marine and you get another answer. Ask enough Marines an you will get the answer you wish. It seems the answer to MadDogDonnie question can better be answered by MadDogDonnie researching the "Stolen Valor" law. If MadDogDonnie were to wear the Marine uniform and declare himself a Marine, will he be charged and convicted of "Stolen Valor" (has that even happened yet).

[Phantom Blooper]

No one is disputing whether or not he is a Marine by graduation and going to MCT.....except himself.

Was he was a good Marine until his snoot fest on leave? He said he was and ALL his superiors said he was....but his record said he wasn't.

Geiger may have got a fresh coat of paint but his Marine Corps leadership traits and principles are a horse of a different color.

What is the "Stolen Valor Act" going to say except he is not authorized to wear any uniform with a General OTH discharge. Could he be charged...yes....would it be worth anyone's time to do so...probably not.

Just like it is probably not worth anyone's time to try to give him the answers he wants....and the only way to get those would be to take a long hard look in the mirror.....something he should have done 15 + years ago.

Well who else would i ask? LOL

His conscience ........ and his looking glass mirror!

[LordViper]

Hey MadDogDonnie, your profile reports you as: "Still in Service". I think you are in need of correction. Are you still here or did you go UA?

[Phantom Blooper]

Are you still here or did you go UA?

Damn.... Lord Viper one minute your sticking up for him.....now you are going to charge him with UA.

[silveradomick]

Hey Bloop it was looking in the mirror (lined with powder) that got him jammed up in the first place! Better not suggest too much mirror time or Donnie will blow his nose again...

[Phantom Blooper]

Hey Bloop it was looking in the mirror (lined with powder) that got him jammed up in the first place! Better not suggest too much mirror time or Donnie will blow his nose again...

I was going to edit it "with a straw on it"....but my time ran out.

[MadDogDonnie]

I apologize for my absence, gentlemen. I also thank all of you for the replies. All of them. I'm in the middle of helping a friend fix their car, so i haven't thoroughly absorbed all the posts yet....but I do have something short to add before i respond more completely later.

Just because someone has a piece of paper saying they were honorable doors not mean they truly are. In kind, just because a person has a piece of paper saying they aren't doesn't mean they really aren't. I say this as a general truism of life. It's directed at nobody.

I have already made up my own mind long ago about this question. My intent here by revealing such intimate details about my life is because I want YOUR input on the matter.

I will certainly fix the error that says I'm still in service, but i don't intend to stay longer than this thread lives. I know when I'm not wanted, and i expected it. It is for this reason that i am so thankful to all of you for replying.

And lastly before i come back later, i would never in a million years don the uniform again. It was rightly stripped from me at checkout, and that is how it will stay. What will not go, however, it's my undying love of "our" Corps, and my constant, lingering self hatred for turning my back on her. It is for this reason that i completely welcome your slander. I deserve it and i know it.

[silveradomick]

Donnie to be perfectly honest with you it's not partying a little too much that I have a problem with. ****, most jarheads I know and love did plenty of things that the Corps would have frowned upon had the powers that be found out. The difference here is that according to you, you were afforded an opportunity, a second chance, and you squandered it. You quit. Quitting, for a Marine, is never an option. Had I been in your shoes, and had been caught screwing up, I'd have taken my punishment and if given the opportunity to continue serving, I'd have been honored to do so. My brothers in the Corps meant too much to me for me to turn my back on them. Apparently the same was not true of yourself.

[MadDogDonnie]

Like others noted, I'm not sure why you posted on this website. What you did was not exactly something to be proud of and share...especially to other Marines.

If you wrote this to seek sympathy, see a priest and go to confession instead. You will not find us standing at the next corner handing out candy and granting you forgiveness. Man up and live with it. You already embarrassed yourself.

Thank you for your reply. I mean no offense when i say that you don't have the capability to forgive me for what i did. None of you do, and i would not realistically expect or deserve it even if you did. Nor do i seek sympathy. I posted on this site, however, because you do have the capability to express how you feel about this whole thing, and i genuinely thank you for doing so.