Young Marines get bad rap

I overheard a gunnery sergeant say that he has difficulty dealing with my generation of Marines, as he stated, “We have this unwarranted sense of entitlement.” I thought to myself, the gunny should pay closer attention to his peers; the only Marines who have a sense of entitlement are the ones from his generation.

I very rarely see Marines E-5 and below demand to have their trash taken out, coffee cups cleaned, plates washed, and fresh coffee brewed prior to their arrival at the office, regardless if the junior Marine drinks coffee. I very rarely see a staff noncommissioned officer sit and show concern for welfare of his Marines unless behavior becomes inconducive to the work environment. That does not show concern for the troubled individual but, instead, promotes a selfish agenda for correcting a problem solely for the betterment of one’s advancement.

I rarely see a staff NCO give credit to the ones who worked hard to accomplish the mission; instead, it is assumed it was their leadership that garnered the end result, and usually they had nothing to do with the process aside from issuing the order. That should be how an office runs, where the staff NCO doesn’t have to be involved, but his lack of involvement should stem from the lack of need of him, not from his lack of want.

My generation is not stupid. However, we are ignored. Our leaders understand nothing of us and claim to know how to correct us. The future should not practice the past; the past should practice the future while remembering its history so as not to repeat it. In doing so will we surpass what we now call the tip of the spear.