Sometimes an event takes on a life of its own and represents issues larger, deeper, and more far-reaching than the incident itself.
Service rivalry, operational philosophies, missions, and even history come to mind.
Take, for example, the now-beleaguered Marine Corps Special Operations Company that ran afoul of at least one Army general, resulting in its expulsion from Afghanistan. (See Turf Wars and Kearney in the Crosshairs) Was this an opportunity seized to discredit the competition? Depends on with whom you speak. Regardless upon which perch you park, the results are in, and some reports say the Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigation into the March 4 ambush and its bloody aftermath has found that the Marines used excessive force.
Bummer.
But not so fast.
In an unusual move, Marine Lt. Gen. James “I Like Brawling” Mattis (See “I Like Brawling”), commander of the Corps’ forces under U.S. Central Command, has ordered up the Marine Corps’ first court of inquiry in more than 50 years to explore the event.
The officers were hand-picked by “… Fun to Shoot Some People” Mattis, based on their combat records. Beginning Nov. 1, they will take another look at the incident that left several Afghan civilians dead. According to sources and published accounts, this rare path chosen by “It’s a Hell of A lot of Fun to Shoot Them” Mattis, should provide him the “best possible evaluation” from the combat officers’ perspectives of events, assisting him in determining how he’ll proceed.
(Gee, any chance this crew won’t be biased?)
You’ll have to go to the history books for the last time the Marine Corps convened a court of inquiry. The year was 1956 when a Parris Island drill instructor marched a platoon of recruits into a creek killing six.
It looks like Harrison Ford will have his work cut out for him when he portrays “Guys Like that Ain’t Got No Manhood” Mattis in an upcoming film.
The saga continues, and we remain riveted.