How Would You Feel? by Dillon Thomas
Marines can affect environments in many different ways, some good, some bad. For example or Specifically, Marines’ actions have negative and positive effects on civilians in other countries. A Marine, while one of the deadliest forces known to man, can also be influential in bettering a country. However, while this help, in a Marines eyes can be for the good of the people, it is sometimes unwanted by civilians. Rye Barcott does do humanitarian volunteer work; although he is part of the Marines, he was not doing this work as a Marine but as a volunteer. While on duty, he asks his superior if he would let him take time off to do some volunteer work, and his superior allows this which raises the question “do most Marines support humanitarian efforts to better the countries they are in?”
Civilians are a key part in the success of Marines’ missions. The better a Marine is able to help civilians, the more the Marines can get out of them, due to the trust that is created (Restrepo). One question in researching the positive and negative effects of Marines in other countries that repeatedly popped into my head was, how would I feel if this force was in my town patrolling and making orders and trying to take control? If someone was to attack my country, I would doubt whether there is a higher power because if there was one, how could they be letting this happen to us?
In times of war or great disasters, you see almost everyone believing in a higher power to provide them with hope, because without hope life can seem meaningless. “How could they let this happen to us?”. This question seems like it would be the most common question asked by civilians at a time of war. When an outside force is attacking and killing innocent women and children, it seems like the right question to be asked. Marines can have a negative affect on civilians when they start to kill them. This means as a Marine it would seem as though they should always be on high alert. This has happened before, so it isn’t wrong for civilians not to trust Marines. Marines have found it hard to relate to the civilians in foreign countries such as Djibouti. “Half of them didn’t like us being there; half of them loved us being there,” Kornegay said. “All of them wanted our money” (Pecquet, Julian). This can pose a problem in my eyes because if you do not know who likes you and who doesn’t, then how do you know who poses a threat. Much of the time you see that civilians are killed by poorly executed airstrikes on enemies that end up hitting civilians’ houses (Restrepo).
In therapy sessions the doctor always asks, “How does that make you feel?” This question is relevant in many situations. So now I ask, how would you feel if you had a group of outsiders who are infiltrating your country, are patrolling your streets, barely speak your language, and are asking for your help? I feel like when put into that situation, I would have to consider many things. I would have to get a clear understanding of why these people are here, what their true intentions are. Barcott mentioned that his primary mission was to do intelligence collection, not development aid like he did for CFK, when working with the Marines (Barcott pg.233). I would wonder if soldiers were in my country to help, do recon, or to attack the civilians? After finding the answers to these questions, I would decide whether to help them or to defend my country. If you didn’t make the right choice, you might be betraying your country. Would you be able to work with and help this outside force so they could achieve their goal? I think that if things were so out of hand that change was needed to survive, I would have to adapt to change.
Although Marines have been known to kill civilians that have got in the way in completing their missions, they have also found ways in which they are able to help these civilians in a positive way.
Marines are trained with such good discipline you see many of them going out to help these people in need at a time of war. "We're not just into building schools and leaving. We're here for the long run. We're about sustainable development" says Major Greg Catarra (Paul Salopek). Some ways in which a Marine can do their job better and more efficiently is by getting help from the inside. Who better to get the inside scoop of things than the people who live there; the civilians. Marines are often known to communicate with the people living in the towns to try to see if any civilians want to help change what they are trying to change or help what ever intentions the Marines have. “My source, a local power broker in the slums, was the type of contact who might provide nothing for months until he heard something of value and decided to call because we had established a relationship” (Barcott pg.240).Barcott mentions, when talking to his mentor Colonel Greenwood, that his battalion would probably take on a hybrid mission to establish security and provide humanitarian aid. This mission was for something called a “three-block war.” This was the idea that Marines had to be ready to face combat, peacekeeping, and humanitarian aid at the same time (Barcott pg.183). It seemed as though the Marines had to do this to build the nation they were in and make it a stronger more well rounded nation. This might be one way to prevent or stop wars or terrorist groups.
Can Marines be helpful to civilians in foreign countries? Yes, but they can also have negative affects if they are unwelcome or if they had done something to not gain the civilians’ trust. It all depends on the situation the are put into. My research on this subject has made me keep my opinion that we must do our research on an outside force before judging them. Every situation is unique and because of this there are always precautions to take which can lead to negative and positive affects.
Works Cited
Barcott, Rye. It happened on the way to war. New York, NY: Bloomsbury, 2011. Print.
Pecquet, Julian. “Tallahasseeans at center of U.S. mission in the Horn of Africa” icfj. Tallahassee Democrat, December 16, 2007. Web. September, 15, 2011
Restrepo. Dir. Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger. National Geographic Channel. 2010. DVD
Salopek, Paul. “War on terror's hidden front U.S. military quietly trying to wage peace in Africa” chicagotribune. Chicago Tribune, November 18, 2008. Web. September 15, 2011
