Marines Killing Themselves In The Name Of "Trust"

Jillian Bandes | September 08, 2009 3:01 PM

A game called "Trust," where Marines point a gun at each other and shoot while believing the gun is not loaded, has been taking the lives of young soldiers, according to a report in today's Marine Corps Times. They do it to promote camaraderie and “maintain an edge.”

The Corps can't really crack down, because the game is of course not endorsed by official Marine entities. So it has pervaded their social culture with little rebuke.

Some Marines took chance after chance playing the game. One close call, in which a Marine realized a round was chambered in his pistol after he’d pointed it at one of his buddies, prompted him to stop playing the game — for a while, more than one Marine told investigators.