Another slap to the face of the USA by our Marines. Sheesh.

[The Other Side]

A couple of years ago, a sniper squad posed in afghanistan together with both the FLAG of the USA and a FLAG that bore symbols that many say look like the NAZI SS symbols. Recently, the picture were viral on the web and an investigation started.

I will say that to me, I find this type of messaging disturbing, and someone should have known better than to do something like this. The marines involved were not courtmartialed, but did suffer minor discipline in accordance with an investigation.

What is it with the NAZI symbols that todays military feels so close to imitating? Reminds me of this building in San Diego for the navy seals.

Dont they give our soldiers any education when it comes to negative symbolism?


Sure, these marines have an excuse, but ignorance isnt a valid excuse. I accept that they were disciplined accordingly, and hope this sends out a message to anyone else in our uniform who wants to "represent".


Peace.

TOS

 

[Jones]

It was a Scout Sniper platoon, which is what the SS stood for. The nazi's weren't the only one to ever use lightning bolts for a stylized S and I seriously doubt these guys were neo nazis, they just thought it looked cool. But I agree that someone in their chain of command should have realized how this was gonna look and pulled the plug on it before they started taking pictures. Stuff happens.

 

[scratch]

The German SS never used a flag like that, try again.

 

[BrownMeetPurple]

Marine gets three months in jail for massacring two dozen civilians — RT

 

[soberups]

Just be grateful that you can sleep peacefully at night due to the protection that these brave men provide.

 

[BrownMeetPurple]

Just be grateful that you can sleep peacefully at night due to the protection that these brave men provide.

Protection from who? Slipper wearing insurgents 10,000 miles away? Even if they were there for our 'protection', doesn't justify their criminal behaviour nor killing 24 innocent women and children.

 

[804brown]

Just be grateful that you can sleep peacefully at night due to the protection that these brave men provide.

Wait, I'm "save" in ny when the marines are occupying other lands??

 

[BrownMeetPurple]

Just be grateful that you can sleep peacefully at night due to the protection that these brave men provide.

Put the kool-aid down.

 

[av8torntn]

Dont they give our soldiers any education when it comes to negative symbolism?

Don't you know the difference between a marine and a Soldier?

 

[av8torntn]

Wait, I'm "save" in ny when the marines are occupying other lands??

Turns out you have been.

 

[Babagounj]

tos, do you need to be watched over again by the mods ?
this topic just another falsehood.
The SS symbols dates back to the ancient Egyptians.
Just who are you trying to impress ?

By the way, why don't you answer my questions about what names you posted under prior to 2008 ?

 

[The Other Side]

Wow, reaching for the mods???

This isnt MY story, im posting THE story. AS I said, the symbols can be a bad reference, the marines said it wasnt suppose to be the nazi SS, but it can APPEAR that way to many.

I believe its offensive to use the symbols in ANY fashion. We ought to know better. do you think ISRAEL thinks this is OK? even if a mistake?

Get serious. and take the story for what it is.

Peace.

TOS

 

[soberups]

Protection from who? Slipper wearing insurgents 10,000 miles away? Even if they were there for our 'protection', doesn't justify their criminal behaviour nor killing 24 innocent women and children.

If you want to be pissed at someone, be pissed at the idiot Commander in Chief who sent them to Iraq in the first place.

I'm not condoning or defending what they did, but the reality is that they were a bunch of KIDS who WE as a SOCIETY put into an impossible, horrific and dehumanizing situation where the normal rules of civilization and right and wrong get all screwed up.

Its pretty damn easy to sit behind the screen of a laptop on a couch in a nice safe comfy home, with an SUV full of cheap gas in the driveway, and then pass lofty moral judgements on the actions of a bunch of scared, sleep-deprived and battle fatigued kids who were set up to fail and die in a hopeless war for cheap oil.

We are ALL responsible for the atrocities that occured that day.

 

[Jones]

Funny

 

[bbsam]

It was a Scout Sniper platoon, which is what the SS stood for. The nazi's weren't the only one to ever use lightning bolts for a stylized S and I seriously doubt these guys were neo nazis, they just thought it looked cool. But I agree that someone in their chain of command should have realized how this was gonna look and pulled the plug on it before they started taking pictures. Stuff happens.

I don't think these guys are neo nazis, but I find it hard to believe a good many of them did not know the symbolism. Walk into any tattoo parlor and you can see all kinds of it and tattoos are all about symbolism. It's not about sympathy for nazis, it's about being bad ass or more importantly being of the legacy of the bad asses that kicked the asses of the SS bad asses.

 

[BrownMeetPurple]

If you want to be pissed at someone, be pissed at the idiot Commander in Chief who sent them to Iraq in the first place.

I'm not condoning or defending what they did, but the reality is that they were a bunch of KIDS who WE as a SOCIETY put into an impossible, horrific and dehumanizing situation where the normal rules of civilization and right and wrong get all screwed up.

Its pretty damn easy to sit behind the screen of a laptop on a couch in a nice safe comfy home, with an SUV full of cheap gas in the driveway, and then pass lofty moral judgements on the actions of a bunch of scared, sleep-deprived and battle fatigued kids who were set up to fail and die in a hopeless war for cheap oil.

We are ALL responsible for the atrocities that occured that day.

I agree with you on that 100%. It's your view that they're there for OUR protection is what made me respond. You know as well as I, not 1 man is sent overseas for "our" protection and freedom. It's bunch of bs. I feel sorry for the soldiers who signed up to go. But that is all I feel.

 

[The Other Side]

Symbolism folks, simple symbolism. I dont believe our marines in that photo believe themselves to be NAZIS, but as BBSAM said, no matter their age or religious backgrounds, the SS lightning bolts is something that carries a negative message regardless if the indians or the egyptians used them.

Shame on the commander of these men for allowing them to fly the flag in the first place. You would think a battle tested veteran in command would know to disallow this type of symbolism regardless of how remote the A.O. is.

The taliban and the mountainist people of Afghanistan may not know the image, but when you memorialize the image and place it on the WORLD WIDE WEB, there's gonna be blowback.

I am comfortable that the military took action and hope that bringing this subject to the public ends any future actions of a similiar nature.

Peace.

TOS

 

[BrownMeetPurple]

Symbolism folks, simple symbolism. I dont believe our marines in that photo believe themselves to be NAZIS, but as BBSAM said, no matter their age or religious backgrounds, the SS lightning bolts is something that carries a negative message regardless if the indians or the egyptians used them.

Shame on the commander of these men for allowing them to fly the flag in the first place. You would think a battle tested veteran in command would know to disallow this type of symbolism regardless of how remote the A.O. is.

The taliban and the mountainist people of Afghanistan may not know the image, but when you memorialize the image and place it on the WORLD WIDE WEB, there's gonna be blowback.

I am comfortable that the military took action and hope that bringing this subject to the public ends any future actions of a similiar nature.

Peace.

TOS

You would think commanders would know better but recent leaked emails about the recent pissing on dead bodies event between higher ups tell a whole different story on the mentality of these commanders. Shame.

 

[soberups]

I agree with you on that 100%. It's your view that they're there for OUR protection is what made me respond. You know as well as I, not 1 man is sent overseas for "our" protection and freedom. It's bunch of bs. I feel sorry for the soldiers who signed up to go. But that is all I feel.

I disagree with the mission and I disagree with the maroon (Bush) who sent them there, but I support them 100%.

When those kids enlist they are writing a blank check to us, payable with their lives. We have put them into situations where the normal rules of right and wrong do not always apply, and we cannot pass judgement on their actions without first walking in their shoes.