Klarinet Archive - Posting 000280.txt from 2007/09

From: "Kevin Fay" <kevin.fay.home@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Military Bands
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007 15:26:33 -0400

Bill Foss posted:

<<<NO, that is NOT true for Marine Corps line bands. I repeat what I
emailed earlier, if you are a Marine, you are a Rifleman FIRST !>>>

Victor, this is true. It is also a point of considerable pride for the
Corps. I suggest you chat with some seasoned Marines - other than the
recruiters, who will lie, lie, lie, lie, lie and lie to make their numbers -
to get a flavor of the institution.

In your recruiting office there is a piece of paper hanging on the wall
somewhere - likely where you can't see it - showing how each person there is
assigned in a rifle platoon. *All* Marines are riflemen. Each and every
one. As Bill noted, The President's Own are *not* Marines; they are
musicians who dress like Marines.

Bill goes on:

<<<I am personally acquainted with about 50 folks who are either current
Marine Corps line bandsmen or just out of the Corps (in the last 12 months
or so) in ranks of E4 through E8. EVERY ONE of them has served at least one
tour in a combat zone carrying a rifle.

This includes the E7's and E8's with max enlisted efficiency reports.>>>

Victor, there is one thing you should focus on here that brings the issue
into clarity. If they send you to boot camp, the Corps is going to spend
thousands of dollars teaching you how to kill people with your rifle, its
accoutrements and (last but not least) your bare hands. Why would they give
you this training if there's no expectation that you'll use it?

You might believe you are "special" because you play well enough that you
are more valuable to the Corps wielding a clarinet than an M4. You're not.
Entertaining troops and the public is *not* a higher mission to the Marines
than fulfilling their core mission: The Marine Corps is a branch of the
Navy that exists to kill people. That's what they do, and from top to
bottom they do it extremely well.

This is not a rant against the Corps; it is an institution that I hold in
highest respect. (Indeed, I was an officer candidate in it until my failing
eyesight and three bouts of heatstroke washed me out.) But it does not
exist to provide you with a guaranteed gig while all of the other riflemen
do additional tours while the country is at war.

Bottom line - if you don't want to wield a rifle for a living, do *not* join
the Marines.

kjf

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