As a Marine officer in combat, I was responsible for the lives and safety of all the Marines who served with me.

I would not trade you a billion dollars for the kids I led to combat in Vietnam or in fact any of the Marines that I served with for a quarter of a century.

As a civilian, I know nothing about combat, the Marine Corps experience or modern man's struggle adjusting to peace after war. I only know what's been shared with me; confidences I would never betray, nor use as details in a novel.

Your job is to be the hardest motherfucker in your platoon," he said while pointing at me across the desk. "Do that, and everything else will fall into place."
He added that I was assigned to Bravo Company, call sign Hitman, and wished me luck.

NMCRS is an incredibly important safety net for our Sailors and Marines, both active duty and retired, and their families. Everyone has temporary emergencies, bad things happening to good people, but not everyone has the financial savings to take care of them without help.

A Commander-in-Chief needs to do two things. One - tell us who the enemy is. And two - say we are fighting to win.