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.

Sgt. Gerald W. Dougherty

Okinawa

Combat experience big factor

In response to the June 23 article “Study: Obesity decreases suicide risk”: Perhaps there is a link between a veteran’s body mass index and suicide but the greater link can be found between a veteran’s military occupational specialty, unit type during service and combat experience, relating to their BMI.

A veteran who served in a combat unit would have conducted more vigorous training throughout a career or enlistment than a veteran who served in a noncombat unit over the course of service. Servicemembers who served with a combat unit would be more likely to take their training standards with them after exiting the military and continue to maintain healthy habits.

This further points to the fact that by serving in combat units, veterans could have seen more direct combat and be more likely to have some form of health problem because of such.

Food for thought.

Sgt. Stephen D. Stewart

Camp Dwyer, Afghanistan

Migrated