One commander estimated that more than half his officers and senior Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) had served under fire before -- in the first Gulf War, the Balkans or Afghanistan -- and, in some cases, all three. They know better than any correspondent, reporter or politician the true nature of war -- that it is the most terrible of human endeavors.
Yet, precisely because so many of them have so much combat experience, they are anxious to get on with the task at hand. They know that the sooner it gets started, the sooner it will be over. Many of them expressed frustration that what was supposed to be a "blitzkrieg" has become a "sitzkreig." One young NCO said, "We're the best there is, but this is going to be the most ‘telegraphed punch' in military history."
And that's not the only problem with further delay. A "Recon Marine" -- one of those whose job it is to penetrate deep inside enemy territory to scout out the routes, objectives and enemy targets to be hit -- said: "It's a new moon. We do our best work under conditions of marginal visibility. We don't like to operate when the moon is like a big light bulb in the night sky." Another concern was expressed by an NBC officer -- one of those responsible for ensuring that the Marines survive an attack by weapons of mass destruction. His comment: "The longer we wait, the longer Saddam has to plot and carry out a chemical, biological or nuclear attack -- and the hotter it's going to be wearing those protective suits and masks."
This isn't whining and complaining. It's just common sense. But even this is apparently misunderstood by some of those who have been sent out here to cover this high-risk venture. For reasons that have escaped most Marines, the Pentagon has provided press credentials to a significant number of foreign journalists. Unfortunately, many of the international media appear to have an overt hostility to the subjects they are covering.
One female correspondent from a European news service was overheard asking -- or was it telling -- one of the Marines that she had "never seen so much bravado, machismo or arrogance" in her life. The young NCO listened and appeared to mull over her grievance before replying, "Yes ma'am, that's why they call themselves U.S. Marines."