And it gets worse....
Quote:
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On a sultry day in July 2008, Marine Sgt. David W. Budwah strode in his battle fatigues to the front of a picnic pavilion
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Cammies in public!?
That's a no-no in the Marines.
There's actually quite a bit of this kind of stuff that goes on, though. Not on this scale, of course. I don't think I know a single marine who would be caught dead falsifying a war record (or at least I hope I don't), but a lot of people fudge medals and the like when they think they can get away with it.
Case-in-point, if you ever attend a Marine Corps Ball you'll notice that virtually everyone has a "rifle expert" badge. I guaran-freaking-tee you that probably less than half of them are actually rifle experts, and most of those are just marksmen (the lowest shooting badge you can attain). Nobody wants to wear the pizza-box to the ball, though. There are girls there.
Another one you'll see a lot of is the combat action ribbon, or CAR. Everybody wants a CAR, but not a lot of people get the chance to earn one in the Marines. To recieve it, you have to recieve and return fire. Mortars don't count. IEDs don't count. Rockets don't count.
Considering how few Marines are ever on actual patrol duty (most of them are in support MOSs back at the base), it can be difficult to get into a situation where you can obtain one. Nonetheless, every mf'er at the ball will have one on.
I don't usually get on to them about it, other than some teasing. The way I see it, they'd have one if they'd gotten the chance to earn one, and some of us who earn them didn't do much to get it. Now a purple heart or something would be a different story. Wearing an important medal that you didn't earn is an insult to the men and women that did earn them.