The Professional

(This is a tribute to all Marines of the past, the present, and the future. I speak of a Man, with the understanding that there are women who are also in harms way. However, in regards to my experience in the Marine Corps, I served solely with Men. Semper Fidelis, God Bless, and Welcome Home, my brothers.)

Under a foreign sky there is a man who stands ready to do harm on the behalf of his nation. His movements are spare, his manner neat. His body is a finely-tuned machine, trained in the arts of war and kept ready and strong by his own will. His hands are rough, those of a warrior; they have been clenched in anger and held steady under moments of intense crises. They move over his weapon with a deft assurance that one normally sees with less violent objects. He knows his weapon inside and out and he knows its limitations and the devastation that may be wrought from the muzzle of the weapon, and he shoulders the responsibility of carrying such an item with the knowledge that, for now, it must be used.

His heart is full of pride and faith in his brothers; too, he carries the memories of those who have fallen in the heat of combat everywhere he goes, and he has vowed to carry their memory to his own grave and beyond. With every beat of this noble heart he feels the intense weight of the realization that his brothers are relying upon him, even as he relies upon them. He will go to the ends of the earth for them, carry any burden for them, fight any battle for them, share his last meal with them, give them the last drop of his water, and share words of wisdom, courage, and humor with them.

His soul is firm and prepared for the work he has to do, brimming with the sort of courage that is oft misunderstood. Courage is not the absence of fear; it is not the ability to overcome the jitters,
to quell fear, or to conquer the desire to run. It is the ability to know what is, and is not, to be feared. For he knows that fearing death is useless; death comes to us all, whether in the cold, sterile halls of a nursing home or while making a last, desperate charge against a determined foe. Courage, to him, is fearing dishonor, for he knows that to lose his life but preserve his honor is the only thing within his power. To fear disgrace but not death, to fear dereliction but not duty; that is courage to one such as he. The truly courageous do not live in constant fear from morning to night. The truly courageous are calm because they know who they are. And this professional knows who he is.

His steely eyes reflect this knowledge that he carries in his soul for he has looked Death and Fear in the face, and overcome them both. Too, his eyes are older than most, for he has seen in a single day more than most see in their entire lifetime. He has watched his brothers die, he has seen his brothers triumph, and he has seen all this as he has labored alongside them in their tasks. He has seen naked vengeance in all its horrid forms; he has hated and he has loved, and he has wept when he has felt there were no more tears to give.

Where his feet tread, so too has his flag been. Upon his shoulders is the flag of his Nation, and he is the bearer of this Ensign and the adjudicator of his people. He carries the standard that has stood for freedom and justice, that is far older than he . Within that standard is the blood of all those who have gone before, who have fought in every clime and place, who have asked for naught in return for their willingness to shed blood for their Country, and he stands ready to carry that standard to the very gates of Hell itself, and beyond, should he be asked to do so.

He is that which entire libraries of tomes have been written about, that which poems and odes have been penned. In his veins flows the blood of a consummate professional, of a timeless warrior.

He Is A Marine.


(Photos, from top to bottom: Lance Corporal Dane Brown, Republic of Vietnam, 1964-1969; Sergeant E.A. Schrumpf, Iraq, 1997-2004; Gunnery Sergeant Mike Cheramie, Iraq, 1983-2003; Gunnery Sergeant Mike Anderson, Al Asad Iraq, 1992-Present; Myself, Sergeant, Iraq, 1999-2003)

Jesus: Pale-faced wussy boy or Warrior of Warriors?

I became a Christ-follower about halfway through my enlistment in the Marine Corps. One of the things that I had a hard time rectifying was how Jesus has always been portrayed: you know, Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild.

When I returned from Iraq, I had even more issues with this image, and with my "box" that I had put around God. Preface: I was not an infantryman; I was a "Field Wireman," which I like to describe is like AT&T in the middle of nowhere. However, I was part of an infantry regiment, and partway through the invasion we were split up and I was given the task of providing communications in advance of the rest of the Regiment. This meant that I had to work very closely with the front-line battalion units, and the final result is that I saw a lot more action than most of my 5th Marine counterparts. I tell you this not to glorify myself; I know that there are Marine who saw/did much more than I ever did, and I won't hesitate to admit that. I am telling you this, however, so that you can understand where I'm coming from.

See, I had been operating under the assumption that a Christ-Follower is supposed to be some sort of push-over. You know, the weak, pale-faced "Christian" who gets bullied and simply smiles and takes it all. My experiences were quite different, to the point of actually seeking out the "bullies" and 'neutralizing' them, before they had the opportunity to attack. Therefore, when I returned to the States, I had this sort of self-imposed guilt that I carried around in me. Weak? I never perceived myself as physically weak in any way! Mentally weak? You're talking about the United States Marine Corps! We are not known for our weakness. And yet, there it was, in Matthew 5:5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Coupled directly to that verse was the images of Christianity that are visible everywhere you go: Jesus, sitting in a pasture with little lambs and little kids gathered around him, a gentle smile on His face, His hair neatly trimmed, his beard in perfect proportion, His hands smooth and clean...

In short, I labored for years under the impression that Christ was weak, and therefore I had to be weak.

However, I learned later on the true definition of Meekness: it is the opposite of being out of control. It is not weakness, but supreme self-control empowered by the Holy Spirit.

One of the images that was used to educate me, was that of a wild stallion who, once he learns that his human will not harm him, allows the "cowboy" to put a harness on his neck and a saddle on his back. Can that horse, if he so chooses, kill the cowboy? Heck yeah! He could buck him off, trample him, kick him in the head, or dispatch him in any number of ways. Prior to the invention of the gasoline engine, the primary "tank" of warfare was... the horse! And for good reason, if you know anything about horses.

However properly trained, the horse submits to his master and does his bidding.

A better analogy that came to me was... me. Better, those like me. You know, Marines. From boot camp we are trained to kill; "This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me my rifle is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than the enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will. My rifle and I know that what counts in war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, or the smoke we make. We know that it is the kills that count. We will kill. My rifle is human, even as I am human, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. Before God I swear this creed. My rifle and I are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life. So be it, until victory is America's and there is no enemy, but Peace."

What other purpose does a Marine have? They teach us how to fight with our hands, our feet, our rifles, and most importantly, our minds. But, out of all the millions of Marines that have been trained, how many of us actually kill? A small fraction, I'm sure. Yet, we have all that power, all of that knowledge, at our disposal. What keeps each and every Marine that has ever been trained, from going out and killing folks? Discipline; meekness; power under control; self-restraint. We submit to the laws of the land, and to our Commanding Officers, and we act only when we have been ordered to do so.

In the same way, we are to submit to our master, and do His bidding. As believers we are under His control, and we obey His voice and His Hand. Are we any weaker because of this? Absolutely not, not any more than a Marine trained during times of peace is than a Marine trained during times of war. Our Perfect Example is that of Christ Jesus.

Think about the amount of absolute self-control and strength that Jesus had to have possessed, to be tortured to the point that He was no longer recognizable as a man (Isaiah 52:14 - Just as there were many who were appalled at him-- his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness--) and then have spikes driven through His hands and feet? We're talking about the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, humbled and under control, doing as His Father commanded. In less time than it takes a human being to blink, Jesus could have reversed the roles, had ten thousand legions of angels hooking and jabbing, and have total control over the entire world. However, that wasn't in God's plan; so He obeyed, and kept His power in check. Was Jesus weak? Not by any stretch of the imagination!

Look at Revelation 19:11-21; we'll focus on 11-16 for now, but I urge you to read the entire passage: "11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On His robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KING AND LORD OF LORDS"

Tell me... does that sound weak to you? Try this passage from Isaiah 63 on for size: "1 Who is this who comes from Edom, With dyed garments from Bozrah, This One who is glorious in His apparel, Traveling in the greatness of His strength?-- "I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save." 2 Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? 3 "I have trodden the winepress alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, And trampled them in My fury; Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My robes. 4 For the day of vengeance is in My heart, And the year of My redeemed has come. 5 I looked, but there was no one to help, And I wondered That there was no one to uphold; Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; And My own fury, it sustained Me. 6 I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, Made them drunk in My fury, And brought down their strength to the earth.""

I highly recommend reading all the way through Chapters 63-65 there in Isaiah. What a prophetic vision, what an image of our God, Who is mighty to be praised!! Who are we, that we have such a One who fights for us? Humbling, humbling, humbling. And I thought that Christians were supposed to be weak. No, not if we are truly made in God's image: remember, God has no form (John 4:24 -- God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.) so we know that our earthly bodies are a product of His amazing Imagination and Creativity. However, it is our attributes that are in His image, and our warrior nature is that of God's. (With the caveat that His nature is perfect, and our nature has been destroyed and muddied by sin).

This has brought me great comfort, when I look back on my life and especially my actions in Iraq. Also, it gives me great comfort, knowing that I do not follow and worship some massive wussy boy, but Elohay Mauzi - God Of My Strength.