More Dispelling the Myth of Marine "Uniqueness"

Way back on 21 November 2010, I wrote an article in this Blog entitled:

Marine Commandant: Marines are Unique – Dispelling the Myths about Marines

questioning an assertion by the then new Marine Corps Commandant, Gen Amos, that “Marines are unique.” This assertion was reported in a 7 November 2010 Washington Post Federal Page article. As a Soldier for 30 years going from enlisted man squad leader as a sergeant to and commanding units from 2LT (earning a Combat Infantryman Badge) to full Colonel, I totally reject there is anything “unique” about a Marine Infantryman. In fact, since World War II, the Marine Corps has become just another, abet smaller, ground army and their performance has been identical to that of regular Army Infantry units in every conflict. In his definitive account of the Korean War, The Forgotten War, the author Clay Blair proves this beyond any doubt for Korea.  Also, for all their hype, in World War II the US 8th Air Force alone (one of 16 numbered US Air Forces in the War) had more men killed (27,000), almost all in actual combat, than the entire Marine Corps (24,000) suffered including those lost in bar fights around Camp Lejeune.

Over the years I have worked with Marines and even had some attached to me for extended periods and, except for the PR commissars assigned down to the squad level, I found them identical to and even interchangeable with my Soldiers.  As a result of my previous experiences with Marines, I was surprised to learn when I visited the Marine Corps Museum at Quantico that the Marines had won for us every War our Country has fought. Just to put the Marine Corps’ contribution in ALL our armed conflicts in perspective, I will Insert this chart that reflects the sacrifices each of our Military services has made by War:

As further testament to who has “fought our Country’s Battles on the Land” for the past 246 years, here is a list of the 10 deadliest Battles in US History and Marines have only participated in two of them (#1 & #6):

1.    Meuse-Argonne Offensive, World War I, Sep-Nov 1918; 26,277 US Killed.  Of the 2 Million US Military deployed overseas in WWI, only 30,000 were Marines with almost half arriving after the Armistice and remaining for occupation duty.  Of the 116,516 deaths from all causes in the War, only 2851 were Marines. Only one Marine Brigade commanded by US Army BG James G. Harbord served in Combat as the 4^th Brigade of the 2^nd US Army Infantry Division.

2.    Battle of the Bulge, World War II, Dec 1944-Jan 1945; 19,200 US Soldiers Killed.

3.    The Battle for France, World War II; Jul-Sep 1944; 17,844 US Soldiers Killed.

4.    The Battle for Normandy, World War II, Jun-Jul 1944; 16,293 US Soldiers Killed.

5.    Battle for Western Germany, World War II, Mar-May 1945; 15,000 US Soldiers Killed.

6.    Battle for Okinawa, World War II, Apr-Jun 1945; 12,500 US Killed (4907 Navy, 4582 Army, 2792 Marines with another 7,700 US dead from wounds or non-combat).

7.    Huertgen Forrest, World War II, Sep-Dec 1944, 12,000 US Soldiers Killed.

8.    Luzon Philippines, World War II, Jan-Aug 1945; 10,380 US Soldiers Killed.

9.    The Gothic Line, Northern Apennines Italy; World War II, Sep 44-Apr 45; 10,380 US Soldiers Killed.

10. Operation Dragoon, Southern France; World War II, Aug-Sep 1944; 7301 US Soldiers Killed.

Why Comments in the Washington Post Comments Sections Run Ten to One Liberal

I’ve been a Washington Post (WaPo) subscriber off and on for 60+ years and 30 years continuously this time.  Although it’s always been an ultra-Liberal Socialist Rag, I’ve maintained my subscription to understand the alternative reality of the Liberal Left and some comic relief as their obvious mistakes are so blatant as to be humorous.  Because Liberals rarely serve in the Military and the rank-in-file WaPo is an ultra-Liberal, many of their more blatant errors are in their Military coverage although their other coverage gets its fair share of faux paus.

In recent years I have been a frequent WaPo commenter gleefully pointing out and correcting their numerous errors but have noticed fewer and fewer comments from Conservative readers have been showing up.  I had assumed that this lack of Conservative comments was attributable to fewer and fewer Conservative WaPo subscribers as the paper kept drifting further and further to the Left but recently I have learned otherwise.  It seems the WaPo just censors, deletes and ultimately bans Conservative commenters to avoid WaPo embarrassment from having their errors and biased coverage exposed.  I know this because that is what has happened to me.

Although I was routinely making respectful but provocative comments, for some reason and without warning or justification my ability to comment was abruptly and without notice shut off and I was banned.  A couple of times a week my comments would garner “most responses” and were often even WaPo featured comments but that made no difference. My only transgression was I routinely pointed out glaring mistakes in their reporting that I’m sure were embarrassing to the WaPo because it called into question the accuracy of their entire article.

Although being banned was irritating, what was even more so was the WaPo had the chutzpah to tell me: “If you think this has been done in error, please contact our community team.” Of course they failed to mention that when someone “contacts the community team” they get the below “auto-reply” so what is the point in the WaPo directing someone to contact their community team? It is obvious there is NO Community Team, just an auto-reply that tells loyal readers to “go pound sand.”

The only good thing that has come out of this experience is I have found out why WaPo Comments are so heavily skewed Liberal and only occasionally does a Conservative comment slip by the WaPo censors.  It's because as soon as a Conservative commenter is detected, they are banned and never heard from again.  Mystery solved and, in the immortal words of Paul Harvey, “Now you know the rest of the story.”

Since being banned weeks ago, I have written, emailed and phoned the WaPo several time to appeal my ban but have gotten only the below auto-reply and definitely no satisfaction.  I will attach below my latest exchange and the email I sent directly to the WaPo Executive Editor but I'm confident I will never hear from a real live Washington Post person ever!

---

To: Army-COL
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2022 5:43 PM
To: Sally.Buzbee@WashPost.com
Cc: Kat.Downs@WashPost.com
Subject: FW: Response to Ticket #[2249327] Re: I have been banned from commenting with no explanation and for no reason

Ms. Buzbee, Washington Post Executive Editor,

            See below, I am a retired U.S. Army Colonel/06 with 30 years of service serving in significant Pentagon positions. I routinely make respectful but provocative comments and a couple of times a week my comments would garner “most responses” and are often featured. For some reason and with no warning or justification my ability to comment was suspended/banned. My only transgression is I routinely point out glaring mistakes in your reporting that I’m sure are embarrassing to the Post because it calls into question the accuracy of your entire article.

Part of my frustration is the capricious and arbitrary manner in which you exercise your power of censorship which probably accounts for why the overwhelming majority of your comments lean left; you just ban anyone that might post a right leaning comment or point out an obvious mistake in your reporting. One example was recently your crack military reporter mentioned someone in their article “had been drafted into the Navy during Vietnam.” When I pointed out the Navy not only DID NOT use the draft during Vietnam but had not drafted anyone since WWII, my comment was deleted as “violating community standards.” Seem “facts” must violate WaPo “Community Standards.”

Finally, here is the way you inform a reader they have been banned, they get this banner when they got to comments:

Your account has been banned from commenting.

Someone with access to your account has violated our community guidelines. As a result, your account has been banned. You will no longer be able to comment, use reactions or report comments. If you think this has been done in error, please contact our community team.

The height of chutzpah is when you say: “If you think this has been done in error, please contact our community team.” When someone “contacts the community team” they get the below “auto-reply” so what is the point in you directing someone to contact the community team?

Although I don’t expect you to even read this email let alone reply but it feels good to get this off my chest.  Regardless, I have a Blog with ~ a quarter of a million hit and I intend to begin posting all the WaPo mistake with my corrections there.   Previously, I would have just posted them in your comments.

v/r

Army-COL

Blog:  https://old-soldier-colonel.blogspot.com/

---

From: Washington Post Customer Care [mailto:help@washpost.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2022 1:54 PM
To: Army-COL
Subject: Response to Ticket #[2249327] Re: I have been banned from commenting with no explanation and for no reason

##- Please type your reply above this line -##

Washington Post (Washington Post Customer Care) Mar 29, 2022, 1:54 PM EDT Hello,   Thank you for reaching out to The Post about your commenting account.   Moderators may suspend or ban a reader after they post multiple comments against our rules. Suspensions will automatically lift after the allotted time. A ban is a permanent block from commenting on the site.   Suspensions and bans only preclude readers from posting in discussions on The Post. If you are suspended or banned, you will still be able to read all of The Post’s reporting. Due to the volume of messages we receive, we cannot respond to requests to appeal bans or explain suspensions. If you are banned, do not attempt to create a new account after being banned. We will also ban the new account.

---

Army-COL Mar 29, 2022, 10:13 AM EDT I am a retired U.S. Army Colonel/06 with 30 years of service serving in significant Pentagon positions. I routinely make respectful but provocative comments and a couple of times a week my comments would garner “most responses” and often featured. For some reason and with no warning or justification my ability to comment was suspended/banned. My only transgression is I routinely point out glaring mistakes in your reporting that I’m sure are embarrassing to the Post because it calls into question the accuracy of your entire article. I realize your reporters are not Military knowledgeable so make these errors out of ignorance but embarrassment should not be a reason to ban someone that has been a WaPo subscriber for over 50 years. Your banning message says that if you believe the ban was done in error, contact the Community Team. When I contacted the Community Team I got an automatic reply saying “we get many requests so we don’t respond to inquiries about bans.” If that’s the case, why do you tell people to contact the Community Team? Bottom line, in all fairness, I request my ban be lifted.

This email is a service from Washington Post Customer Care.

To further prove my point, before I was out right banned, one of my factual comments I posted was removed by the WaPo as “violating WaPo Community Standards.”  The only “WaPo Standard” violated was being 100% factual and contradicting WaPo Fake News.  Below is what I sent to the WaPo to find out what I had done so I wouldn’t repeat my “transgression.”  Of course the WaPo never bothered to respond.

This below was the comment I made to the article: “Former Special Forces soldier and onetime congressional candidate arrested in Capitol riot case

Jeremy Brown, former Special Forces soldier and congressional candidate, arrested in Capitol riot case - The Washington Post

 

And the WaPo removed it with the following comment:

This commenter has been removed by a moderator for violating our community guidelines.

So that I don’t violate WaPo “standards” in the future, can you tell me what, other than being critical of the Washington Post, was objectionable about this below comment?

 

THANKS

 

COLONEL (Retired) US Army

 

=============================================================================

I think the 6 January Insurrection was horrendous and condemn everyone that participated but for Mr. Hawkins to claim “Five people died as a result of the riot” is disingenuous, misleading and untrue.

Dr. Francisco Diaz, the district's chief medical examiner, announced the causes of deaths as:

Capitol Police officer Brian D. Sicknick suffered two strokes and died of natural causes a day after he confronted rioters at the Jan. 6 insurrection, the District’s chief medical examiner has ruled…. the autopsy found no evidence the 42-year-old officer suffered an allergic reaction to chemical irritants…”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/brian-sicknick-death-strokes/2021/04/19/36d2d310-617e-11eb-afbe-9a11a127d146_story.html

Ashli Babbitt, 35, died by homicide from a gunshot to the left shoulder. She was shot by a Capitol police officer while trying to climb through a door near the House chamber.

Kevin Greeson, 55, died of natural causes from cardiovascular disease. From Greeson, of Athens, Alabama.

Benjamin Phillips, 50, died of natural causes from cardiovascular disease. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Phillips of Ringtown, Pennsylvania, was a computer programmer who founded a social media website for Trump supporters.

Roseanne Boyland, 34, died by accident from acute amphetamine intoxication. Boyland, of Georgia, wanted to be a sobriety counselor.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/04/07/capitol-riot-deaths-cause-death-released-4-5-not-sicknick/7128040002/

The Only person that died on 6 Jan or as a result of the Insurrection was Ashli Babbott.  Two people with heart disease died of a heart attack, one drug abuser OD’ed, and the Capitol Police Officer died but none of the deaths were attributed by the DC Medical Examiner.

“Democracy Dies in Darkness and the WaPo is Turning Out the Lights.”

The most disingenuous thing in this article is Derick linking to this early WaPo article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/two-arrested-in-assault-on-police-officer-brian-d-sicknick-who-died-after-jan-6-capitol-riot/2021/03/15/80261550-84ff-11eb-bfdf-4d36dab83a6d_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_12&itid=lk_inline_manual_10

Instead of this later WaPo article correcting the misinformation in his referenced article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/brian-sicknick-death-strokes/2021/04/19/36d2d310-617e-11eb-afbe-9a11a127d146_story.html

That is a blatant effort to mislead readers. Typical of a dishonest WaPo writer (can’t call him a “reporter” or even a “journalist”).