Muzings From The Edge: Amos The Infamous
Read Time:3 Minute, 32 Second
A little of over 49 years ago I became a United States Marine. I had survived Pariss Island during the heat and humidity of August and September and into the month October amongst the sand fleas, mosquitoes, and drill instructors. I went from there to Camp Geiger which is actually on the Camp LeJune Marine Base in North Caroline for Basic Infantry Training and despite all their efforts to the contrary I managed not to get shot or lost in the the God forsaken North Carolina woods. Through all of that and to this day I have always been a proud member of the Marine Corps. During my four years I had some good times and some tough times. I was like many other young men who join the military at a young age I believed I was invincible and did not realize how dangerous some of the things we did were until I was older and no longer on active duty. During those years I served with a lot of good men who were good Marines. Most of them were heterosexual some were not. To me, and the vast majority of men I served with it really did not one damn bit. What did matter was could the man next to me do his job when it was time to do his job. The last thing on my mind was who he screwed the night before or who he would be screwing the next night.
General James Amos, the Current Commandant of the Marine Corps, has apparently forgotten what it was actually like to have his butt on the line and depend on the man next to him. In a recent statement he said, “”When your life hangs on a line, on the intuitive behavior of the young man … who sits to your right and your left, you don’t want anything distracting you,” and, “”I don’t want to lose any Marines to distraction. I don’t want to have any Marines that I’m visiting at Bethesda (hospital) with no legs.”
In the Corps we were always taught to respect the Commandant, but if General Amos thinks in a combat situation all a Marine thinks about is the sexual orientation of the Marine next to him he doesn’t need to be Commandant because he has lost touch with with the battlefield. My primary concern was taking care of business and my buddies and getting out of whatever hell hole I was in and getting back home. I remember one of the questions always drilled into me by my senior drill instructor Staff Sergeant Williams, “Did you you join the Marines to die for your country?” The correct answer, if you are wondering is, “No Sir, I joined to make the enemy die for his country, Sir!”
I will end this little rant with a piece of information and a question for General Amos. First, for the four years I was in the Marine Corps I do not remember a time when there where not gays in my unit though they kept these things to themselves. I knew it, and so did everyone else. But they were good marines and they did their jobs. That was 1961 – 1965. Marine Staff Sergeant Eric Alva, who was also openly gay, and who in 2003 lost his leg after he stepped on a landmine and earned the distinction of being the first Marine to receive a serious injury in the Iraq War told reporters, “He (General Amos) pretty much spit on me, my Purple Heart, and my 13 years of service. I would definitely ask Amos for a meeting to explain his comments, and I’d bring my Purple Heart with me.”
So I would ask General James Amos, are you saying that, since there has been gays in the Marine Corps since at least 1961, have all the injuries to Marines been caused by distractions due to gays? NO? Then What percentage have been caused by gays compared to dumbass decisions by Presidents, Generals, Colonels, Captains, Lieutenants, or Sergeants?
General James Amos – A man who has embarrassed the entire United States Marine Corps with his ignorance and his personal homophobic prejudices. He should be fired immediately, if not sooner!!!
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All you have to do is get your ass in the grass (or sand, mud, shit and etc.) and fire your weapon. You don’t have to kill the enemy if you are so opposed but you gotta convince them that you will.
Lazer I can’t/won’t say anything about my boss but I can say that homophobia in this day and age is something I don’t get.
Semper fi…..
Lt., I never had any fear of killing my enemy nor any enemy of my country. Matter of fact I still don’t, especially if they would give me my M1 back.
As for as speaking out against you boss, I get that. However, as I mentioned in a previous response, I am far too old to fear speaking my mind now. As we all say, once a Marine, always a Marine. I just need a slightly larger set of fatigues now.
Keep your head down and your rifle clean Marine.
Semper fi
I would never presume to speak for the Corps, but as someone who could have been a marine if it were not so hard, I want to add my voice to the din of those who know that Amos should be fired. He comes out of his closet as narrow-minded, backward and foolish and I never liked his cookies anyway!
Thanks JMyste. I am sure you could have been had you chose to do so. General Amos reminds me of a lot of officers who were not real Marines. I know very little of his background so perhaps I should judge him, but I am way too old to feel like I have to agree him.
I agree Bill! Obama needs to FIRE AMOS! As you and I both know when you are rolling around in the mud and the blood you don’t give a shit whether the man next to you is black, yellow, or rainbow as long as that man can fire his weapon and protect your ass. Although I served in the United States Army I think I can say to you…Semper fi my friend.
Yes you can Mike. It is much like like being a cop on the street. As long as your partner has your back you really don’t care what his persuasions are.
Good reading Lazer. You know, I am of the mind that PO needs to get this guy into the WH and remind him who is the boss. Oh wait, he hired him so he knew about his homophobic tendencies before hand. I was so happy to see that sergeant Alva guy give a piece of his mind on Rachel’s show the other day. Oh and not for nothing, but he was the first service person to lose a limb in our desert adventure, wonder if Amos knew that before he let his mouth run. This is what happens with any religion and the people who take it to extreme levels, my god says this so we can’t do that.
Amos is one of those born again people that takes his religion very seriously. He is basically using gay panic, like the cowards that killed Gwen Araujo or Matthew Shepard. Disgusting bigot.
He can be any religion he wants to be Jess, I really don’t give a rat’s ass. But when it comes to making calls regarding battlefield safety and what gets people hurt he needs to leave it at home. Additionally, that kind of B.S. might work when he is sitting in the cockpit of whatever plane he is flying (notice the aviator wings on his chest) but on the ground it doesn’t fly worth a damn.
Well-said through and through, Lazer.
Thanks GL
I can’t speak of the USMC, but in the British Army in the 70s, it didn’t really matter to us either. It was known that Sergeant B or Bombardier W was gay, but who cared?
The only time it became an issue was when a WOII abused his authority to get a new recruit into his bed. That went beyond the limits, and he was eventually court martialled. Actually they were both charged, I honestly cannot remember what the outcomes were, but I think the WOII was reduced in rank to sergeant.
I can’t speak for every unit in the Corps, obviously, but in my unit we really didn’t care as long as everyone respect each other. We all shared barracks, tents, and for over a month some cramp quarters on a ship and I never noticed anything out of line. Of course I wasn’t looking for anything either.