A story about "manning up" - Granite Grok

A story about “manning up”

This story parallels that of former Congressman and LTC Allen West (retired) after violating rules of engagement by firing a pistol next to an enemy combatant trying to get info about an impending ambush of his troops – getting the information he needed but then immediately turned himself into his superior officer and suffered the consequences of his actions. Emphasis mine:

SECRETARY WITHOUT HONOR: When I hear people say Clinton emails don’t matter, I remember a young Marine captain who owned up to his career-ruining mistake.
Apologists for Hillary Clinton’s alleged criminal mishandling of classified documents say that it doesn’t matter, that she really did nothing wrong, or nothing significant. But the real question is not so much what she did as how she has responded to being found out.

Once during the mid-1960s when I was on active duty in the Marine Corps, I was the air liaison officer for a battalion of Marines aboard 11 ships in the Mediterranean. As the air officer and a senior captain, I had a rotating responsibility for the nuclear codebook, kept in the safe in the operations room of the lead amphibious squadron command ship. I shared that duty with another captain, a squared-away young man, liked by all he commanded and the son of a very high-ranking Marine. . . .

Against all regulations, the codebook had been out of the safe and unattended. It mattered not…

…that it was unattended for only seconds, that the ship was five miles at sea or that it was certain no one unauthorized had seen the code. The captain could have explained this to the operations sergeant. He could have told the sergeant that he “would take care of it.” He could have hinted that his high ranking dad could smooth it over.

But the Marine Corps’ values are honor, courage and commitment. Honor is the bedrock of our character. The young captain could not ask the sergeant to betray his duty to report the infraction, no matter how small. Instead, the captain simply said, “Let’s go see the colonel.”

That captain had wanted to be a Marine officer all of his life. It was the only career he ever wanted. When he reported the incident to the colonel, he knew he was jeopardizing his life’s dream. But he did it.

The results went by the book. The amphibious squadron stood down. Military couriers flew in from NATO. The codes were changed all over Europe. The battalion was a day late in leaving the Mediterranean. The captain, Leonard F. Chapman III, received a letter of reprimand, damaging his career. He stayed in the corps and died in a tragic accident aboard another ship.

I saw some heroic acts in combat in Vietnam, things that made me proud to be an American and a Marine. But that young captain stood for what makes our corps and our country great. . . .

Hillary Clinton is the antithesis of that young captain, someone with no honor, little courage and commitment only to her endless ambition. This has nothing to do with gender, party affiliation, ideology or policy. It is a question of character — not just hers, but ours. Electing Clinton would mean abandoning holding people accountable for grievous errors of integrity and responsibility. What we already know about her security infractions should disqualify her for any government position that deals in information critical to mission success, domestic or foreign. But beyond that, her responses to being found out — dismissing its importance, claiming ignorance, blaming others — indict her beyond anything the investigation can reveal. Those elements reveal her character. And the saddest thing is that so many in America seem not to care.

I certainly agree with Glenn on this:

We have the worst political class in America’s history. That is not entirely an accident.

It is and it is not.  It seems that our current crop of politicians, barring a very few, are more self-seeking and power hungry and mad than what Hillary could EVER accuse The Donald of – including Hillary herself.  Do you think our country would be running off the rails, from the selfishness of both Parties, as it has been if they actually lived by the same code that our military holds itself too?

And the piece is absolutely right – politicians like Hillary and her Progressive ilk (also including Republicans as well) could not get elected if the electorate actually had some morals as well.  It isn’t a case of “that so many in America seem not to care” – that requires simple apathy.  It is that so many know what is being done and actively dismiss it out of hand so as to not “hinder the result”.

The end justifies the means in all cases. This is a severe indictment of today’s society at large.

Honor, duty, integrity, courage, consistency, truthfulness, responsibility, and “your word is your bond” – values that used to be held in high esteem now only seem to be mouthed in passing or, again, completely dismissed out of hand for being old fashioned or archaic.

They will learn those values are neither – but not until it is too late.

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