Injured Marines

This story just pisses me off and I have talked about this very topic before in my “Interesting Point of View – Gun Control & PTSD” post. It is pure bullshit that the Marine Corps is injuring Marines like this and not recognizing it and doing something about it. In my aforementioned post, I talk about how my “A” school students were injured either in boot camp or MCT and they hid very serious injuries (cancer in one case) out of fear of being discharged. And if PFC Kaline Hoppe went partway through boot camp with a broken hip and pelvis and she hid it out of fear of being discharged.

The Corps needs to do better, they need to stop producing broken Marines. And many of these injuries are not just pains, they are very serious injuries that the Military and the VA will pay for, for the rest of the victim’s life. And not only are they financially liable, but this Marine (in the case of PFC Hoppe) will forever be broken in some capacity.

The Corps needs to stop convincing these recruits that if they get injured they are out. They need to stop threatening them to not complain and to not go to sick bay. The same applies to MCT. As instructors and as NCOs and SNCOs we should no better. There is nothing wrong with honestly being broken and seeking help for it. If the doctors check the recruit out and there is nothing wrong, then that is one thing, but convincing these kids that it is wrong to seek medical assistance is wrong.

This policy of teaching Marines that it is wrong to seek assistance is very likely leading to a huge increase in military suicides. Asking for help is one of the most difficult things that I struggle to still learn. I was raised to not ask for help and then I went straight to boot camp and spent 10 and 1/2 years in the Corps. Several years after I got out I got sick and I needed help in my day-to-day life and I didn’t know how to ask.