Since retiring, I have watched with much pride as the Corps adjusted to the exigencies of our rapidly changing world while retaining the precepts that made it a premier fighting force. That pride, however, has been muted by a recent event suggesting the Corps has changed its attitude toward Marines who speak truthfully. I am talking about a Marine staff non-commissioned officer (SNCO) who was disciplined for his published remarks; disciplined, reportedly, because his words undermine what “true leaders” are trying to do for the Corps. 

In early October, SSgt Paul Rinnander, USMC, of the 7th Motor Transport Battalion, 1st Force Service Group (FSSG), Camp Pendleton, California was stopped as he left the Base Exchange by a Marine sergeant from the base newspaper, The Scout. He was asked: “If you could change one thing about the Corps, what would it be?” Rather than refusing to speak or lying to a fellow Marine, he responded truthfully and was quoted with four other Marines in the October 8, 1998 issue:  

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"Recruit discipline .. there is a total lack of discipline and respect shown by Marines coming out of Basic Training."

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The source of this quote is an 11-year Marine veteran staff non-commissioned officer who had joined 1st FSSG in February of this year after a successful tour of recruiting duty--a prestigious assignment and one that historically has demanded the best the Marine Corps can produce. His observation was based on service with, and handling of, Marines in the Fleet Marine Force and expressed with the candor expected, or should I say, once expected of a Marine staff NCO.

Less than two weeks after The Scout article appeared, SSgt Rinnander conversed with SgtMaj Lewis G. Lee, USMC, the senior enlisted advisor to the commandant of the Marine Corps, when he visited Camp Pendleton with the Commandant. It was an amiable meeting where SgtMaj Lee agreed to send SSgt Rinnander one of his “coins.” Days later, on October 27th, SSGT Rinnander received the following e-mail from SgtMaj Lee:

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"Staff Sergeant Rinnander,

I must admit, you have b___s.  I regret I didn't recognize you when we
spoke.  Had I done so, it would have been an unforgettable meeting for
you.  No, you can't have one of my coins.  In fact, you're probably the
only staff NCO I ever turned down.

By now you know you have orders to the Drill Field.  That's non
negotiable, and you will go, or else you will be flagged as to [whether] or not you deserve further service.

The Commandant and I have been beating ourselves to death for 3.5 years
to make Marines the way we always have.  We travel the world to speak to
Marines about 'Sustaining the Transformation,' and we continually ask
for the support of officers and SNCO's.  Then you go and 'shoot your
mouth off,' in the 8 October issue of 'The Scout,' about how
undisciplined young Marines are today.  As a SNCO you need to understand
that type of opinion only undermines what your Commandant, I and other
true leaders who care about our corps are trying to do.

Now, let's see how well you can 'walk the talk.'  Don't respond to this
e-mail, you'll only p__s me off more at you than I already am.

In case you aren't aware of your orders, see CMC  MSG  200959Z  Oct  98.

Sergeant Major Lee"

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SgtMaj Lee did not ask if The Scout quote was accurate, complete, or even what was the basis for the comment quoted? The Commandant, Gen. Charles C. Krulak, has suggested the importance of such questions: “Like many things that newspapers print, there are always gaping holes in the 'total picture.'" Following that counsel, SgtMaj Lee would have learned the “total picture” of a problem that a Marine staff NCO was trying to illuminate: After completing Boot Camp, and before many new Marines are assigned to a Marine unit, they are sent to schools run by the other Services for basic specialty skills training; basic skills, such as those required by Marines in 7th Motor Transport Battalion. When these new Marines finally reach Marine units, they are “salty.” They have lost the Marine edge instilled by Marine Drill Instructors at Boot Camp and the new NCOs and new SNCOs of these new Marines (recruits) have to work doubly hard to bring them back into the fold. If the Marine Corps conducted this basic specialty skills training in Marine Corps schools, the new Marine's transformation from civilian to Marine would follow an unbroken line to his/her first Marine unit assignment avoiding this current pit-fall. SgtMaj Lee would have learned all this had he listened to SSgt Rinnander.

I am not familiar with the term “true leader.” I have always believed that ALL Marines were leaders and we Marines had one all-inclusive word to describe this: “Marine.” In that culture, Marines communicated. That meant listening, asking questions, and listening some more because that was the way we learned the “total picture” of the problem. I have had the knee-knocking experience of standing before officers such as “Stormy” Sexton and “Brute” Krulak to explain negative reports; and, they listened to the whole story before acting. Also, Marines listened because they weren't afraid of the truth. An example of this curious Marine characteristic is contained on page 361, MARINE: The Life Of "Chesty" Puller, by Burke Davis:

One rain-swept morning when the troops were in the pine woods on maneuvers Puller rode out in a staff car with a colonel. Jones drove them. Puller rolled down his rear window when they neared a marching column so that he could see the men. A raucous and anonymous voice called:
    
"Yeah, we're getting wet, Chesty, ya old bastard! Ya satisfied?"

The colonel shook with rage. "Stop!" he shouted. "Stop Jones! I'll get the name of that sonofabitch if it's the last thing I do."

Jones glanced into the mirror. Puller's expression had not changed.

"Drive on Jones,' the General said. 'If it had been me out there, and the C.O. had come by in a staff car, I'd have said the same thing.”

Semper Marine,

Anthony F. Milavic

Major USMC(Ret)