Marine Corps Generals

1-star to Marines: Turn in spice users

You blow the whistle on a drug user in your unit.

Are you:       

a. A good Marine.       

b. A snitch.       

A one-star general in Japan is putting Marines on the spot, urging them to ignore a deeply ingrained cultural mindset prevalent among junior troops in which informing on others for drug use — or just about anything else — makes you a snitch. Which is to say, the enemy.

Branded “Not in My Corps,” the general’s new campaign at 1st Marine Aircraft Wing was launched as commands throughout the service battle a relentless problem with drugs in the ranks. Since October 2009, more than 3,100 Marines have been thrown out for alleged drug use, according to Marine officials at Manpower and Reserve affairs in Quantico, Va. So far this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30, an average of 150 are booted monthly.

The initiative has been praised by senior Marine leaders, including the commandant. And the three-star head of all Marine forces in Japan calls “Not in My Corps” a model that commands everywhere should follow. But among the rank and file, this concept poses a difficult question: Is it right to rat out fellow Marines?

The man behind it says yes.

“What I’m starting to see here is that instead of being considered a rat, or in the minority, the people who bring attention to those who have broken with us, from a core-values standpoint, are starting to be heralded,” said Brig. Gen. William D. Beydler, 1st MAW’s commanding general and star of a “Not in My Corps” TV spot now airing in Japan on the Armed Forces Network. “That was the whole intent: Take a stand. You’re frustrated. I’m frustrated. ... Let’s do something about it.”

Beydler’s primary focus is spice, which is similar to marijuana, except it’s made from synthetic compounds whose potency can vary wildly. Some people smoke it and catch a slight buzz. Others get so whacked out they have to be hospitalized. Spice has proved popular with some Marines and other service members because, until recently, it was unregulated and readily available in tobacco shops and gas stations. Moreover, standard drug screens couldn’t detect it.

But that’s changed.

In March, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration outlawed the sale and possession of specific chemicals used to make spice. And now the Defense Department has a test that can determine whether troops have ingested some of these chemicals, although the Corps uses it only in conjunction with investigations. Soon, Beydler said, that too may change.

Webb questions Air Force on number of generals - Marine Corps News ...

A key senator wants to know why the Air Force has proportionally far more general officers than the other services.

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s military personnel panel, said he will hold a hearing later this year to find out why the Air Force appears to have a top-heavy force structure.

Webb pointed to Defense Department data showing that the Air Force has one general officer for every 1,058 airmen in the force.

He compared that to the Navy, which has one admiral for every 1,279 sailors; the Army, with one general for every 1,808 soldiers; and the Marine Corps, with one general for every 2,350 Marines.

Webb also noted that the Air Force has more four-star generals than the Army, despite being a significantly smaller service.

That may be in part because the Air Force has uniformed generals performing some jobs for which the other services hire civilians, said Lt. Gen. Richard Harding, the Air Force Judge Advocate General, when Webb asked him about the disparity at a recent hearing.

United States Marine Corps generals of World War II, a biographical dictionary

United States Marine Corps Generals, Anthony Zinni, James L. Jones, Charles C. Krulak, Pedro Del Valle, Chesty Puller, Smedley Butler

LIFE

Congressional Record

The Marine Corps and the State Department, enduring partners in United States foreign policy, 1798-2007