Bullying Gone Awry

Prepare to wet your pants in fear: the Royal Marines bully each other.

Britain's Royal Marines faced allegations of brutal bullying after a Sunday newspaper published what it said were images of recruits stripped naked and subjected to violent abuse.

The News of the World said senior defence ministry officials confirmed the authenticity of the fuzzy video, taken in May at Bickleigh Barracks near Plymouth, southwest England, home to the elite 42 Commando unit.

"This is the worst thing that I've seen happen -- that's why I filmed it -- but it's the tip of an iceberg," said the newspaper's source, described as a Royal Marine veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The video -- aired later on British news programmes -- purportedly shows a non-commissioned officer in a blue surgeon's outfit leading the abuse.

So, let's assume that this is true (because we have no reason to believe that it isn't). So what? All this does is remind me of the following monologue from the 1992 film A Few Good Men.

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.
- Jack Nicholson as Colonel Nathan R. Jessep

I've served in the military, and once my service was complete I continued a long relationship with the military; basically, I know better than a lot of people what we need in our military personnel. Your average worker bee in America, or the United Kingdom, or anywhere in the Western world doesn't need to know about the things that anyone who's put on the uniform knows. Read Faith of my Fathers by Senator John McCain, or Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab, and you'll see just what our real fighters need to be prepared for.

For those of you who don't know, the Royal Marines aren't quite like American Marines. American Marines are outstanding fighters; Royal Marines are like the top tier of the U.S. Marine Corps. Of British forces that fight, the Royal Marines are the most likely to be captured. This kind of treatment isn't bullying; it's preparation for what could happen if they're actually taken prisoner. Whether people understand that or not, it doesn't matter: these guys need to have an idea of what they're up against, and part of that process is experiencing physical violence.

It's as simple as that.