Compass Points - A Question
More than just mold.
Compass Points - A Question
More than just mold.
February 9, 2024
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Compass Points extends condolences to the family and friends of the 5 Marines killed when their CH-53 helicopter crashed enroute from Creech Air Force Base near Las Vegas to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Tuesday night.
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A question:
If the Marine Corps is on the right path today, why are Marine barracks in such poor shape?
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Marines are different.
Marines do not walk, they march.
Marines do not talk, they command.
Marines do not say, 'w'sup?' they salute.
Marines do not go on duty in PJs and slippers, they wear a squared away uniform.
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And when Marines sleep, they sleep well because, by being on duty around the world, they make the world better. In the field, Marines may sleep in the mud, sleep in a tent, or sleep onboard a ship, plane, or truck. In garrison, Marines may sleep in a barracks, but that barracks will always be squared away.
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Or at least that is how Marine barracks are supposed to be.
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Stars and Stripes is reporting that so many Marine barracks are so bad that the Marine Corps has ordered an immediate Corps-wide inspection of every barracks.
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Every U.S. Marine Corps barracks will be inspected in the next few weeks as the service attempts to address complaints about substandard living conditions that have rippled across the military.
. . . The review is intended to give leaders a one-time, complete assessment of each barracks, enabling them to understand the totality of issues and allocate resources accordingly, the Corps said.
-- John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
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Why does the Marine Corps need a Corp wide inspection of every barracks? That is what the chain of command makes happen every week. Or at one time that was a responsibility of the chain of command.
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A part of what makes the Marine Corps so strong and so powerful is the Marine Corps chain of command. Squad leaders report to Platoon Commanders, who report to Company Commanders, who report to Battalion Commanders, up through the Regiments and Divisions. The chain of command is a chain of responsibility, a chain of accountability, and a chain of trust.
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Every commander in the chain of command must train, must inspect, and must correct, but the chain of command is also where Marines build and display trust. Missions are assigned and missions are accomplished by trustworthy Marines.
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If the chain of command does not function properly, it means the unit is not functioning properly. If enough units are not functioning properly that means the Marine Corps is not functioning properly. When mold is growing in the barracks, that means something unhealthy is growing in the Marine Corps -- and it is not just mold.
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If the Marine Corps is on the right path today, why are Marine barracks in such poor shape?
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The Marine Corps Times is reporting,
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By March 15, leaders from outside of the chain of command responsible for the Marines in those barracks must examine whether the facilities meet the service’s promise of “a safe, secure, clean, and consistent living standard,” according to a Wednesday news release from Marine Corps Installations Command.
-- By Irene Loewenson, Marine Corps Times
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Notice the quote from the Marine Corps Time says, "outside the chain of command."
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The unsat barracks and now the comprehensive barracks inspection reveal two failures of the Marine Corps' worldwide chain of command.
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First, how could leadership at every level over recent years allow Marines to live in squalor?
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Second, why is the Corps' worldwide inspection of barracks being conducted "outside the chain of command"?
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Marine leaders can either be trusted to take care of their Marines without fail or they cannot be trusted. The issues of trust and leadership go way beyond mold in the barracks. Trust has been degraded. The Marine Corps is better than that. Or, at least, the Marine Corps should be better.
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Sometimes a weary, dis-spirited Marine will be heard to grumble, "All I care about is that the eagle squats twice a month." It is a cynical saying, but money is not what service in the Corps is about.
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Everyone needs a paycheck, but Marines do not chase money. They chase an Ideal. They continually push themselves and those around them to do more and to be more. Whatever Marines do, they do it well. No matter the challenge, Marines never give up; they are always faithful. Marines are relentless. They are relentless in combat and relentless in working to make the Marine Corps better.
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In boot camp, young recruits are led to be more and to do more -- every day. We ask Marines to constantly monitor what they are doing and how they are doing it. We ask them to continually review their decisions, their actions, and their performance. Self-correct. Do better. Get on a better path. In all things great and small do more, be more, accomplish more. It is never ending and always exhausting.
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In the movie, A Few Good Men, one Navy JAG warns another Navy JAG about traveling to visit the Marines at Guantanamo.
Lt. Galloway:
"Tell your friend not to get cute down there, the Marines at Gitmo are fanatical."
Lt. Weinberg:
"Fanatical about what?"
Lt. Galloway:
"About being Marines."
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Marines are relentless. Legions of former and retired Marines are astounded and disappointed at the lack of leadership that has brought on the barracks crisis. These concerned Marines will not be pacified by press releases that say the solution to unsat barracks is outsourcing and more money. Experienced Marines know better.
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After the long years of fighting in Vietnam, the Marine Corps was at a low point. DOD policies had filled the military, including even the Marine Corps, with many who should have never served. There were budget problems, leadership problems, high crime rates, and high rates of UA. It took years for the Marine Corps to get back to pursuing an Ideal.
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Perhaps, after the long years of combat in the deserts of the Middle East the Marine Corps is in a period of rebuilding today. It is a time for reflection and for study.
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Marines study their history. Marines like to see the best of what Marines have accomplished in the past. The best of the past then becomes the starting point for today. How can we do better? How can we improve? It is impossible to improve on the best of the past without knowing the past.
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If the Marine Corps is on the right path, why are the barracks in such poor shape? The question goes beyond just unsat barracks.
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A group of retired Marine Generals and other Marines have been bitterly criticized for being relentless in their attempts to get the Corps on a better path. Criticized for wanting the Marine Corps to be better? The expression, "Once a Marine, always a Marine" is not just a saying. It is a promise to always help the Marine Corps. It is a promise to always prod the Marine Corps to do more and be more. It is a promise to help the Marine Corps live up to the Ideal. This kind of relentless effort to improve the Marine Corps is not always admired. Sometimes it is scorned.
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Experienced, senior Marines can be like that irritating, exasperating coach who makes the team practice over and over and over again. No matter how well the team does, the coach is still not satisfied. He is constantly unreasonable. He wants the team to do better. That coach is not pursuing the easy or the ordinary. He is pursuing an Ideal.
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While the Marine Corps strives for the Ideal, it is a human institution and any institution made of people is full of flaws, errors, missteps, and misjudgments. At its best, the Marine Corps overcomes errors and presses toward the Ideal. When the Marine Corps finds itself going in the wrong direction, it must gather the strength to turn around. That is what Marines are expected to do. Going in the wrong direction? Turn around. Should we expect the Marine Corps to do any less?
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Civilians and those with civilian attitudes often counsel going along to get along. Do not speak up. Do not disagree. But Marines did not sign up for the easy path, they expect the difficult road. Marines are relentless. Marines are unreasonable. The high standards set by Marine Corps history are unreasonable. The performance of Marines over more than twenty decades is unreasonable. The Nation expects and needs unreasonable performance from Marines.
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Civilians and those with a civilian perspective, can never understand Marines. What seems like something minor to civilians, something that can be easily outsourced, looks very different to Marines. The chain of command cannot be outsourced. Leadership cannot be outsourced. The trust among Marines cannot be outsourced. The striving of Marines to always do everything in pursuit of the Ideal cannot be outsourced. Marines are all about words like 'ethos' and 'esprit'. Civilians are about words like 'business case' and 'profitability'.
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While the Marine Corps needs funding from Congress to serve the Nation, still, in its heart and soul, the Marine Corps is not about the pursuit of money. It is not about chasing a profit. It is about leadership, service, and constantly pursuing the Ideal.
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If the Marine Corps is on the right path, why are the barracks in such poor shape?
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It is long past time to clean up the unsat barracks. More importantly it is long past time to clean up shortcomings in leadership that allowed the barracks crisis to fester and grow. Compass Points salutes all those throughout the Marine community helping to get the Marine Corps cleaned up and back on a better path. Experienced Marines know it is impossible for the Marine Corps to out-source its way to greatness. It takes Marines. It takes Marines pushing themselves and each other to be more and to do more. It takes relentless and unreasonable Marines. As some have said, Marines are fanatical. Fanatical about what? About being Marines.
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Marine Corps Times (marinecorpstimes.com) 02/07/2024
Marine Corps vows to inspect every single barracks ‘wall to wall’
By Irene Loewenson
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Stars and Stripes (stripes.com) 02/08/2024
Comprehensive checks of Marine Corps barracks ordered by mid-March
By John Vandiver
Maybe shutting down the Executive suites in the 'Inns of the Corps' wherever these barracks are at, and putting the Executive level Officers, SNCOs, and Civilians in the troubled Barracks for temporary lodging would hasten rectification of the problem. "Hey SgtMaj, are you in the room with the black mold that grows on the wall in the shape of Chesty's face?".
Back in 2000, I knew of an Officer that traveled to MCRD San Diego from Parris Island as part of the RTR Exchange program. While there, during the field part of the exchange tour up at Camp Pendleton, the party of Officers and SNCOs were housed in the Weapons and Field Training Battalion Temporary Barracks. The reason was that the Battalion CO, with the blessing of the RTR CO, was trying to exhaust every opportunity to push for change with respect to the atrocious conditions in the Barracks (the Officer I knew walked through standing water on the first deck that had been there long enough to be referred to as the 'indoor pool'). The barracks were disgusting and the Command was using my favorite tool to put pressure on the problem: they were scheduling senior Officers, SNCOs, and VIPs to stay in that Barracks so their voices would be added to the chorus. Unfortunate that it came to that, but it was better than the old "it's been reported again for this quarter". Notably, the Exchange Group made a formal comment of it in their out brief with the MCRD. This wasn't inter Depot rivalry...it was done in support of the San Diego RTR when nothing else was moving the needle.
This issue of the barracks being in a state of complete shambles goes straight to the heart of the matter. OUR ethos. The MAGTF is under attack because a few select “Officers” and some consultants with propellers on their covers, decided that they knew better than everyone else about the necessary future developments for the Corps, the mission, (even though federally mandated Title X was in place) was changed. Screw the MAGTF and a history of fighting banana wars and being ready to go fight in any “clime and place.” We have used wit and sarcasm and our plastic spoons, (so gungy that they are no longer white but clear from repeated use) to get the points across. We have some brilliant people here giving light and reason to the issue of restoring the fighting capability of the Marine Corps. Now here we all are talking about the Barracks. The bloody barracks, being in such a state of filth and poor condition that we need “outside” inspectors, who will conduct the inspections, will write a report which will go into the top right drawer of the various responsible commander’s office desk, never to be seen again. The “senior officers and SNCO’s,” that’s right Sgt. Major of the USMC I am talking to you, take the cotton the out of your ears, need to get off your backsides and start not only doing their jobs, but leading by example. Hours after General Louis Wilson became CMC he headed out to “visit” various commands. As the story goes,he found himself in a local command O Club at lunch time. It was filled and many present were having beers with their lunch. That practice ended fast. Oddly, Marine Officers were suddenly found in PT gear running at noon time. Soon more Marines were found running and PTing at noontime. My Boss (Major General David Barker CG MCB Camp LeJeune) the base Sgt. Major and I could be found running 3 miles at noon most days unless there was a damn good reason not to be out soaking up the heat and humidity of ole Camp Swampy in July. This situation is a leadership failure of the highest order, period. It starts with the Commandant, whom we still do not know when he will return to his post, since it apparently is none of our business, and goes all the way down that pesky notion known as the chain of command. Why should we be remotely surprised, when accountability is only a word used vaguely when some lance corporal has made a modest error in judgement at some point in a busy day. OUR ethos does not allow for this nonsense, it must simply stop. As important as correcting the misguided direction of FD2030 is, the basics of leadership and OUR way of doing things is more important. Congress needs an earful. Now, excuse me, while I go to the back of the chow line and let my enlisted Marines have at that chow first….