16 US Marines Arrested for Drug, Human Trafficking...

[Stick_Shift]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/25/politics ... index.html

I have long suspected that the drive to make the US military be more 'reflective' of the society it serves was going to result in some pretty awful things. The military is set apart, with its own codes, its own culture, its own rules. It is meant to be different than the society it serves because it has a job that the society it serves cannot do on it own.

The story states that these marines were not involved in border security operations, but its clear they had inside knowledge of it and used it to their advantage. Some of them had combat experience and awards for valor in combat operations.

Maybe some of our veterans in here might be able to shed some light on how this happens? My father served in the US military during Vietnam as flight crew on several carriers over a total of three deployments. He often spoke of the 60s and 70s as a bad time to serve with a combination of civil unrest and conscripted service. He said there were places on the boat that officers did not go without a sidearm, but that this attitude came to a screeching halt during the Reagan Administration. Servicemen that were considered substandard got cashiered fast and the requirements for enlistment got a lot more stringent.

So, what's going on here? Is this an isolated incident, or are we looking at a trend?

[crazy2medic]

I think it harkens to Obama wanting a kinder gentler military, but that is just my opinion!

[surprise_i'm_armed]

https://www.historylink.org/File/9189

The above link is a different story of US military personnel committing crime. It was so long, I didn't really read the entire detail.

But I believe that the robbers were US Army Rangers who had served in either Iraq or Afghanistan. They found out that when shipping back to the States, their large duffel bags would get only a cursory inspection from authorities. The people checking would open up the bag, look at what was on top, and OK the bag to get onto the plane out of the sandbox.

What was in the bottom of these large duffels though, were AK-47's that the Rangers were smuggling home. These AK's were supposedly untraceable, and were used in the bank robberies.

SIA

[philip964]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/25/politics ... sted/index.
....... He said there were places on the boat that officers did not go without a sidearm,......

Wow, I’ve never heard that before about the Navy. I know with 5000 sailors, there will still be some rotten apples that made it through, but areas of the ship unsafe for officers. Wow.

Friend told me about being called up for a physical and seeing a side of humanity he had never seen before.

I have lived a too sheltered life.

[Stick_Shift]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/25/politics ... sted/index.
....... He said there were places on the boat that officers did not go without a sidearm,......

Wow, I’ve never heard that before about the Navy. I know with 5000 sailors, there will still be some rotten apples that made it through, but areas of the ship unsafe for officers. Wow.

Friend told me about being called up for a physical and seeing a side of humanity he had never seen before.

I have lived a too sheltered life.

To be fair, this was at the height of the anti-war craziness of the Sixties and race riots of the Seventies.

[C-dub]

There were people in my own squadron I didn't want to associate with. I don't know if they were really bad or not, but I didn't want to find out. And this was a squadron with only a little over 300 where everyone knew everyone from top to bottom officer and enlisted.

On the carrier, there were a LOT of people I didn't know or ever saw. There was bound to be some bad folks, but I minded my own business and did my job. Fortunately, since I worked mostly on the flight deck I didn't deal with too many folks I didn't know and those I didn't minded their own business and stayed away from me and my jets. We didn't like it when people that didn't belong around them got too close we and made sure they stayed away.

[03Lightningrocks]

It looks to me like these folks gave in to the temptation of "The easy money". I am betting now they will be facing some time in jail.