From my earliest days, I was always awed by the character of the Marine Corps, by the passion and love that inspired the sacrifices of Marines like my father and his friends.
As a young boy, I admired the warriors and thinkers who joined our family for a meal or a visit ...
Marines like;
"Howlin' Mad" Smith,
Lemuel C. Shepherd,
Gerald C. Thomas,
and Keith B. McCutcheon.
I wondered about the source of their pride, their selflessness, and their sense of purpose.
Now, at the twilight of my career, I understand those Marines.
I know that they were driven by love for the institution to which they had dedicated their lives and by the awesome responsibility they felt to the Marines who shared their devotion and sacrifice.
Today, that same motivation burns deep within the heart of each of us.
The ethos of our Corps, purchased so dearly by these heroes of old, reaches into our souls and challenges us to strive tirelessly for excellence in all that we do.
It profoundly influences the actions of every Marine that has ever stood on the yellow footprints at our Recruit Depots or taken the oath as an Officer of Marines.
The ethos of our Corps is that of the Warrior.
It is defined by two simple qualities ...
our two Touchstones.
The first is our Touchstone of Valor.
When we are summoned to battle, we don our helmets and flak jackets;
we march to the sound of the guns;
we fight and we win -
Guaranteed.
The second is our Touchstone of Values.
We hold ourselves and our institution to the highest standards ...
to our core values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment.
These two Touchstones are inextricably and forever linked.
They form the bedrock of our success and, indeed, of our very existence.
Our Touchstone of Valor is the honor roll of our Corps' history.
Bladensburg, Bull Run, Cuzco Well, Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Inchon, the Chosin Reservoir, Hue City, Kuwait ...
the blood and sacrifice of Marines in these battles, and countless others, have been commemorated in gilded script and etched forever on the black granite base of the Marine Corps War Memorial.
The names of these places now serve as constant reminders of our sacred responsibility to our Nation and to those whose sacrifices have earned the Marine Corps a place among the most honored of military organizations.
The memory of the Marines who fought in these battles lives in us and in the core values of our precious Corps.
To Marines, Honor, Courage, and Commitment are not simply words or a bumper sticker slogan.
They reflect our deepest convictions and dramatically shape everything that we do.
They are central to our efforts to "Make Marines," men and women of character who can be entrusted to safeguard our Nation and its ideals in the most demanding of environments.
We imbue Marines with our core values from their first moments in our Corps because we know that Marines, not weapons, win battles.
We also know that success on the battlefield and the support of the citizens whose interests we represent depend on our ability to make moral and ethical decisions under the extreme stress of combat ...
or in the conduct of our daily lives.
As an institution, we have had to fight hard to maintain our standards. To some, they may seem old-fashioned, out-of-step with society, or perhaps even "extremist," but we know that our high standards are the lifeblood of the Corps, so we have held the line!
In this regard, what individual Marines are doing everyday counts far more than anything that is done in Washington.
The standards of our Corps are not simply maintained by generals, colonels, and sergeants major, but, far more importantly, by leaders throughout the Corps, at every level.
The Marine conviction that Semper Fidelis is a way of life, not just a motto, speaks powerfully to the citizens that we serve.
It also unites us with our fellow Marines, past and present -
inspiring us to push harder, to reach further, and to reject the very notion of failure or compromise.
Sustained and strengthened by the ethos of our Corps, you have accomplished a great deal during the past four years.
I have been humbled to be part of your achievements and witness to your selfless devotion.
Time and again, Marines distinguished themselves in contingencies around the world, across the spectrum of conflict.
Marines from across the Total Force were the first to fight, the first to help, and the first to show America's flag --
consistently demonstrating our resolve and readiness to win when called to action.
With the involvement of the Fleet Marine Force and input from the entire Corps, the Warfighting Laboratory has looked hard at the 21st Century strategic environment.
Marines "stole a march" on change by testing new concepts and emerging technologies, exploring new tools for developing leaders and decision makers, and experimenting in the "Three Block War."
Our recruiters, drill instructors, and small-unit leaders have implemented the Transformation Process and are recruiting, training, and developing the "Strategic Corporals" for tomorrow's conflicts.
Led by Marines at the Combat Development Command, we have deepened our understanding of Operational Maneuver From The Sea (OMFTS), its enabling concepts and technologies, as well as its many challenges.
The men and women serving in the many thankless billets at Headquarters Marine Corps and in the joint arena have developed and articulated our requirements for the future and have secured the resources to translate OMFTS into a reality.
Our supporting establishment, at every post and station, has epitomized selflessness and dedication while providing for our readiness requirements.
All these things are important -
and they are the accomplishments of every Marine.
None of them, however, are as significant as maintaining our hands on the twin Touchstones of our Corps.
The words of my father ring as true today as when he first wrote them over fifty years ago.
"We exist today -- we flourish today --
not because of what we know we are, or what we know we can do, but because of what the grassroots of our country believes we are and believes we can do ... that the Marines are masters of a form of unfailing alchemy which converts unoriented youths into proud, self-reliant stable citizens -
citizens into whose hands the nation's affairs may safely be entrusted ...
And, likewise, should the people ever lose that conviction - as a result of our failure to meet their high - almost spiritual - standards, the Marine Corps will quickly disappear."

May God bless each and every one of you
and
May God Bless our Corps

Subject:CMC Speech to USNA Alumni Association
From:[email protected]

Draft Remarks for:
The United States Naval Academy Alumni Association,
Greater Washington Chapter
by Gen. Charles C. Krulak
CMC

I want each of you to take a trip with me back in time ...
remember back ...
you are nearing completion of three difficult years at the Academy and you are staring at a new ring as your date pulls it from the water of the seven seas?
What did that ring mean to you then?
Did it just symbolize the impending escape from Mother Bancroft?
Or was it something more ...
something that epitomized the naval heritage of a great Nation...
the selfless commitment of some of the great leaders in the history of the world
... Nimitz ... Lejeune ... Halsey ... Leftwich ... Stockdale?

What value do you place on that ring today?
And far more importantly, what value is placed on that ring by our fellow Americans?
What was the impact on the standards represented by the ring when a star athlete -- for the sake of my speech I will call him "Midshipman W. T. Door" --
was not only commissioned, but awarded the NAAA trophy for leadership excellence after being involved in a sexual relationship, while UA, with a plebe?
Let me share a short story with you.
A few months ago, my Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, Policies, and Operations, Lieutenant General Marty Steele, went down to Pensacola, where his son was going through flight training.
He took his son and one of his flight school classmates to dinner.
During the course of the meal, Marty asked his son's friend how he obtained his commission.
When the young officer responded that he was a Naval Academy graduate, Marty then asked him why he wasn't wearing his ring.
The young man's reply was shocking.
He said,
"General, I'm a member of the Class of 1998 ... the class of W. T. Door ... and as long as he's wearing the uniform of a commissioned officer, I don't intend to wear my class ring!"
Imagine that?!!
Shame on us!

Certainly the problems of the last several years have tarnished our institutional reputation.
The "Double E" cheating scandal ...
the drug and car theft ring ...
sexual misconduct ...
all have taken their toll.
Often, these incidents were made worse because they were revealed to the American public through so-called "investigative reporting" by the Baltimore Sun or Evening Capitol, instead of from the Academy's leadership.
But beneath the tarnish remains a resplendent luster ...
a luster that can readily be restored ...
if we are willing to invest the "elbow grease."
Let there be no question that in some areas, the public confidence has been shaken ...
to deny that is to stick our head in the sand ...
but it has not been destroyed.
The moment of truth, however, is just over the horizon.
Now all officers ...
Academy graduates, along with their peers from other source programs ...
must compete for augmentation to active commissions.
How will we compete?
Will the American public find its Naval Academy worth its continued investment?

General Cates, the 19th Commandant of the Marine Corps, once asked my father,
"Brute, why does America need a Marine Corps?"
His reply was insightful.
He said that our Nation does not need a Marine Corps ...
that everything the Marine Corps does could be replicated by the other services.
America has a Marine Corps for one reason ...
because it wants one.
My father then went on to say,
"We exist today -- we flourish today -- not because of what we know we are, or what we know we can do, but because of what the grassroots of our country believes we are and believes we can do ....
The American people believe that Marines are downright good for the country:
that the Marines are masters of a form of unfailing alchemy, which converts unoriented youths into proud, self-reliant stable citizens --
citizens into whose hands the nation's affairs may safely be entrusted ....
And, likewise, should the people ever lose that conviction --
as a result of our failure to meet their high -- almost spiritual standards, the Marine Corps will quickly disappear."

I am here to tell you that the same is true for the United States Naval Academy!
Our Nation does not need a Naval Academy.
NROTC and OCS can -- and do -- produce superb naval officers.
If we want our ring to be more than anhistoric artifact, we had better realize that!
This Nation has a Naval Academy because it wants one ...
and we had better look hard at why they want one and how we can bolster the support of our fellow citizens and their elected representatives.
Fortunately, this is far from an insurmountable challenge because the Naval Academy has a long and distinguished history of success that we can rely on as a guide.
We must ensure that the Academy is focused on the two timeless qualities that make it unique and precious to our Nation.
First, every graduate of the Naval Academy must be a person of character, a young officer that has been taught, held to, and exceeded the highest, uncompromising standards of honor and conduct.
Second, every Naval Academy graduate must be a strong leader ...
ready to lead Sailors and Marines in combat, through the most desperate crises that our Nation may face.
The Naval Academy will never best MIT in the study of engineering or Harvard in the study of humanities....
And while we must continue to fight hard on the sports fields, we will never be recognized with Florida State, UCLA, and Nebraska, as a national sports powerhouse.
We must recognize, however, that the American public does not expect us to compete in these areas!
They want their midshipmen to be immersed in a strong, competitive academic and sports program that supports a greater purpose ...
that greater purpose is commissioning the highest quality professional naval officers ... leaders of integrity and character.

Much to the credit of the Academy's current leadership, I believe that they have recognized this fact and are doing everything they can to get us back on course.
But there is a great deal left to do ...
and those of us in this room today have an obligation to help get it done. We have a vested interest ...
both as concerned American citizens and because we want that ring to be something more than a paperweight.
The Academy's reputation is our reputation ...
to borrow a phrase from our founding fathers, it is a matter of "our sacred honor."

Our institutional emphasis must be on character.
We must actively seek out young men and women --
among American high school students ... in our enlisted ranks ...
and at our preparatory school -- who have demonstrated the character to meet our high institutional standards ...
character that can be counted on, when our Nation entrusts them to lead young Americans into combat.
Character must be the single most important criteria in our recruiting process ... more significant than academic or athletic credentials ...
for it is the basic building block of a professional naval officer.
We'd better know how to identify it!
And I did not mis-speak when I said "recruiting process."
Recruiting is precisely what we must do.
If we expect to get leaders for the 21st Century, we have to do more than sit back and judge applications ...
we must promote those applications.
If we cannot find enough qualified men and women of character to fill the Academy's seats then we would be wiser to suck it up and become smaller than to compromise our standards.
But let me tell you, they are out there ...
we just have to find them.
When I first became the 31st Commandant, a team of psychologists told me what to expect from Generation X and Generation Next.
I expected to hear about broken homes and drugs and how they were bombarded with violence on TV, almost from birth.
And while some of those things are true, they told me a few other things that I found surprising.
They told me that today's youth shared five characteristics:
they were looking for standards -- something to be measured against ... they wanted to be held accountable ... they don't mind being followers if someday they have the opportunity to lead ...
they want to be part of something bigger than themselves -- something challenging ...
and
they have faith in a higher being -- not necessarily faith in God, but faith in something bigger than themselves.
This is not a generation of self-interest and greed!
And the military services ... along with the service academies ...
have been letting them down.
It's time to quit talking to them about "the benefits" and start challenging them!
As my father pointed out, standards are the key to maintaining the public confidence.
While measures of public acceptability may waver, American respect for core values ... for honor, courage, and commitment ...
never do.
They are the American ideal ...
the bedrock of our society.
And our Nation will always demand that the officers it entrusts with its defense, and with the lives of its youth, have a character firmly based in those values.
In the profession of arms, there is simply no room for situational ethics. Midshipmen must see this as a part of their daily lives at the Academy.
We must educate them on our institutional standards and hold them strictly and uniformly accountable for meeting them.
Their company officers and instructors must demonstrate sound character through their own example.
We cannot tolerate hypocrisy or a double standard.
Similarly, we must look beyond methods of teaching ethics through sociology classes and leadership with a managerial approach.
Leave that to Harvard and MIT.
Our leadership and character courses must be based on the challenges that midshipmen will face in the Fleet and the Fleet Marine Force ...
challenges with far greater consequences than those at General Motors or IBM.
Midshipmen must be able to make the "hard calls" when they are commissioned, and the only way we will ensure they can is through a consistently positive example and with repeated exposure to actual case studies in naval leadership.
Theory doesn't hack it when you are leading Flight Deck Ops' at 0200 in the middle of the Adriatic.

Having visited the Academy on several occasions recently, I must tell you that we aren't there yet.
We are making progress.
Midshipmen are noticing the standards being more rigidly enforced, and predictably ... they are responding positively.
They have noticed the increase in emphasis on their leadership and ethics instruction.
But both they ... and I ... question the form.
The atmosphere for moral and professional development is full of theoretical classes and seminars ...
mumbo jumbo about Freud, Kant, and utilitarianism ...
but short on straight talk, responsibility, accountability, and example. More significantly, they are still somewhat demoralized ... and very cynical. The Academy, they feel, is "talking the talk," but in many cases still not walking the walk.
They point to the inconsistent decisions in several misconduct cases -- such as the "Door" case --
as examples of the lack of integrity in the Academy's message.
Equally important, the Academy must demonstrate to midshipmen ... and to the American public ... that it is not paranoid.
If you are consistently maintaining the standards of professional naval officers in training, there simply is no cause for paranoia.
When the inevitable incident occurs, and it will, Academy leadership must demonstrate to the Brigade and to the public, that they are willing to make the "hard calls."
Having high standards is useless, unless you are willing to enforce them. If a midshipman violates the Academy's standards, that midshipman must be held accountable.
The punishment must be uniform and consistent.
The proceedings, consistent with maintaining the midshipman's rights, must be open ... and Academy leadership must be able to enunciate clearly why the standard being violated is important to producing naval leaders of character ...
leaders who merit their Nation's "special trust and confidence."
And, finally, the Academy must make the news release-not wait for the Baltimore Sun to do it.
As alumni, our role is an important one.
We have a responsibility to the American people ... and to one another ... to promote the Naval Academy and the naval services.
We can begin by reexamining the priorities of our own Association.
For example, during a critical time for the services ...
a time when junior officer retention -
particularly for surface warfare officers, SEALS, and both Navy and Marine Corps pilots -- is exceptionally difficult ...
why does our Association commit a significant portion of its effort to career transition?
If the Naval Academy's mission is:
"... to provide graduates who are dedicated to a career of naval service ..."
are we really doing everything we can to support that mission?
Read Shipmate...
take a look at the Association's web page.
What programs or resources do you see oriented at making a career in the naval services more appealing?
Now I'm not suggesting that we eliminate the Career Transition Program ... but I certainly believe that ... at a minimum ...
for every resource that goes toward career transition, our Association should be devoting an equal amount in an effort to keep our officers on active duty.
I would like to ask you to get involved at the Academy itself.
Seek opportunities to share your experiences with the midshipmen ...
to mentor them.
You live here in the area ... become a sponsor family.
Encourage fellow alumni in other areas to become Blue and Gold officers and to assist the Academy in finding qualified applicants.
Offer your services to speak to the midshipmen in some capacity ...
at a dining in, a mess night, in the company wardroom, or one of their integrity development seminars.
Do it!

Remember Lieutenant General Marty Steele?
The officer I told you about earlier, who visited his son in Pensacola?
He recently shared his professional experiences with a small group of midshipmen ... just 10 to 20 ...
and you should have seen their after action comments.
Let me read a few:

--"He ... has remembered that officers should also be leaders and should genuinely care about their people, not just pretend so they can check off a box in their fitreps (an all too common trait around here)."

--"I would like to see more ... officers sharing their experiences with us instead of just droning on and on about something we really know nothing about."

--He "provided a unique perspective of life with a military career and how that relates to family.
It is unfortunate more ... sessions cannot be this productive."

--"He makes it sound like what we are doing really makes a difference and I want to make a difference in people's lives."

--"The session with LtGen Steele was probably the most worthwhile hour and a half I've had while at the Academ y ...
that's what it's all about ... those sailors and Marines out there."

--"... it was a positive experience, which will ... motivate us to achieve our highest potential as leaders."

They want to hear you ...
to learn of your leadership challenges and experiences.
They crave it!
You can help John Ryan and the leadership of the Academy immensely.
You can help as they move to change the climate within the Brigade. It is vital to their development ...
to the health of the naval services,
and ... in my estimation ...
to the very existence of the Naval Academy.

We can restore the ring's luster if we take the inscription above the Chapel doors to heart:

Non sibi sed patriae ...
Not for self, but for country.

Get involved ...
and send the Academy leadership and our Alumni Association a loud and clear message:
We will support you ...
with our money ...
with our service ...
and
with our time.
But we will not tolerate situational ethics or mismanagement of public perception ... we will not tolerate anything less than the strict adherence to the mission of our Academy,
"to develop midshipmen morally, mentally, and physically and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, honor, and loyalty in order to provide graduates who are dedicated to a career of naval service and have potential for future development in mind and character to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government" ...
we will not tolerate these things because they are too important ...
to the Academy,
the naval services,
and
the nation.

Thank you,
Semper Fidelis ...
and

BEAT ARMY!

Senior Officer's (Very Senior Active Duty Officer) Comments on the above Speech:

April 1999, General Krulak, 31st Commandant of the Marine Corps, addressed the Washington Area Chapter of the USNA Alumni Association.
His topic was Restoring the Luster:
Refocusing on Tomorrow's Naval Leadership.

As I waited eagerly for the General's comments I spoke with my table mates.
To my left was Capt T, USNA '43.
During our conversation, I learned that during the Captain's long and illustrious career that included almost 22 years of sea duty, he was the gunnery officer of a tin can that provided naval gunfire support to the Marines during the Saipan, Tinian, and Guam operations.
When I told him that he more than likely had taken call for fire orders from my Dad, who had made the landing at Guam as a young Marine Cpl. naval gunfire spotter, he smiled and related that during one 24 hour period, they fired over 700 rounds in support of the Marines ashore.
I felt a close sense of kinship with Capt T grow as we talked .
On my right was Col Paul D, USMA (that's right) '51.
Paul regaled me with sea stories about the time he took his Battalion of soldiers through Amphibious Landing Training at Little Creek and what a great experience it had been.

After lunch was served, General Krulak mounted the podium to speak.
He was received with a warm round of applause from the assemblage of graduates from the classes of '31 through '98 and he quipped immediately, "I hope you'll have as warm a round of applause for me when I finish."

Then he told a sea story about a Marine officer who went to Pensacola for his sons graduation from flight school.
While there, he took his son and one of his son's classmates to dinner.
During the course of the conversation the Marine asked his son's classmate where he went to school and the young man answered,
"The United States Naval Academy, Sir."
"Where's your ring?" asked the Marine.
"Sir, I'm a member of the Class of '98 and the man who received the Leadership Award for my Class took a Plebe over the wall a couple weeks before graduation, to have sex with her.
They got caught and she was dismissed from the Academy and he was allowed to graduate.
I'm not putting my ring on until that man takes off his uniform."

"What's your ring mean to you?"
Krulak challenged each one of us.

What followed was the Commandant's prescription for removing the tarnish from the Academy's reputation and how to restore the luster. His analysis was straightforward...
he pulled no punches and, in my not so humble opinion, he hit the proverbial nail on the head repeatedly.
His bottom line,
things are far from hopeless.
There are specific things that can be done to right the ship and he thinks John Ryan is headed in the right direction, is the right man for the job and most importantly that the alumni need to take ownership of the problems that currently exist and get involved at whatever level they can, from mentoring individual mids, to speaking to small groups of mids in individual wardrooms to attending mess nights.
He recommended strongly that we seek out opportunities to share our experience of what life in the fleet and FMF was really all about at the deck plate level.

At one point he quoted his father's response to a question about why the nation needed a Marine Corps.
His father said,
"The nation doesn't need a Marine Corps.
We exist today - we flourish today - not because of what we know we are, or what we know we can do, but because of what the grassroots of our country believes we are and believes we can do ...
The American people believe that Marines are downright good for the country; that the Marines are masters of a form of unfailing alchemy which converts unoriented youth into proud, self-reliant stable citizens - citizens into whose hands the nation's affairs may safely be entrusted ...
And likewise, should the people ever lose that conviction - as a result of our failure to meet their high - almost spiritual - standards, the Marine Corps will quickly disappear."

General Krulak then said plainly and simply,
"Gentlemen, I'm here to tell you, the nation doesn't need a Naval Academy. The OCS and ROTC programs have always and will continue to provide fine officers, and in some cases great leaders, for our nations military. We don't need a Naval Academy, but the nation wants one."
He warned us though, that in his four years and 750,000 miles of travel as the Commandant, he had observed that in the wake of the repeated scandals at USNA, some Americans were beginning to ask themselves if the Academy was any longer graduating officers of high - almost spiritual standards.

There were at least three things he felt needed to be done to regain lost glory.
He said the Academy must focus on developing graduates with two primary qualities - a sterling character and sound deck plate level leadership skills - period.
He said we should not try to compete academically with Harvard or MIT or in the sports arena with UCLA or Nebraska.
Indeed, he doesn't think Americans expect us to compete there.
He believes they DO expect us to graduate men and women of high character and proven leadership skills.
He also said that the Academy must quit allowing investigative reporters to dig out the ugly facts about incidents that may embarrass.
Better to be up front and open with the facts than to defend oneself from reporters digging for dirt.

As he continued to hammer his theme about character he said that if the academy is not able to find enough young men and women of high moral character with proven leadership potential - then the administration ought to allow the Brigade to shrink.
This brought a spontaneous round of applause from the alumni.
He urged graduates to consider themselves spokesmen and representatives for the academy within their own communities and to get involved as Blue and Gold Officers and lead the effort to identify and encourage young men and women who had sound character and solid potential for a career.
He told us that we should emphasize the challenge of service in the Navy, not the benefits, that today's young people are looking for a challenge, want to be held to high standards and are motivated to serve.
Krulak really took the Academy to task for it's current 'mumbo-jumbo' approach to teaching ethics and leadership.
He held up as an example, an article published in a recent Shipmate by Mid'n 3/C Carmella M. House entitled "Preparing for the Future-Lessons Learned from Tailhook" on page 8 of the Jan-Feb issue.
He stabbed his finger at the article muttering about the author's use of phrases like 'Kantian ethics' and 'utilitarianism' and finally threw the rag aside in disgust declaring he couldn't understand a damn thing the author was trying to say.
In another example he read the after action reports of several 1/c who spent an hour-and-a-half with a visiting Marine general officer in an informal Q&A.
One mid said it was the most meaningful hour-and-a-half he'd spent in the entire time he'd been at the academy.
Krulak just looked at us in wonder and asked,
"What does *that* tell us about the Academy experience?!"
and shook his head sadly.
He also held up to ridicule, the Alumni Association's two page Shipmate ads for the SABRE organization, that helps JOs transition to the civilian world.
He challenged the Association to spend at least as much money encouraging JOs to stay in, as they spend in assisting them in getting out.
At one point he made a particularly poignant statement about the high value and esteem in which he holds his Academy experience, saying that his devotion and loyalty to USNA were on a par with his love of the Corps.
I know his sentiment was shared by every Marine there.
Too bad that most of our blue water brethren fail to understand that Academy Marines are 'soldiers of the sea' in the very truest sense of the word.

When the General finished his prepared remarks he received a standing ovation.
In the question and answer period he fielded questions about Kosovo, retiring as a form of protest over misguided administration policy and whether or not he'd consider a tour as the Superintendent of the Academy.
"This is a big deal guys!"
he said in response to the question about Kosovo.
"If we think we can rearrange the map of Europe, while sticking a finger in Russia's eye, and NOT pay a steep price, we've got another thing coming!"
He also challenged every one of us to try and shift the debate from the tactical level of helicopters and troops to the strategic level what the map of Europe should look like in 2005.
"That should drive the tactical decisions,"
he declared to a whole lot of wagging heads of agreement.
And as for falling on his sword, there'd be one response from the administration, "NEXT!" and he cited Roy Fogelman's retirement as sufficient example to prove his point.
About being Supe, interestingly, he never said no.
What he did say was that John Ryan was doing a great job, that the mids were noticing a tightening up and responding positively to it.
But he never ruled out a tour as Sup, ala Larson being called back to active duty! Hmmm.

All in all,
a magnificent performance.
Made this Academy Marine's back stiff with pride.
In fact, I thought the General's comments were so important that I challenged him publicly to submit his prepared comments to USNI or Shipmate for publication.
He accepted my challenge, but said he doubted the comments would be published. He's probably right - what a shame -
and what an indictment of the leadership of those publications.

Later, as I was leaving with Col D, USMA '51, he said quietly,
"You could replace everywhere Krulak said midshipman or Naval Academy with cadet and West Point and his speech would apply without exception to my alma mater."

Very sobering sentiment.

Subj:EAGLE...OR WOLF?
Date:05/12/1999 5:59:56 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From:X1369

The following speech was given recently by the Commandant of the Marine Corps, to an audience of High School Students.

"I am honored to be here today before such a prestigious audience....
before the Leadership of Tomorrow. . .
the Leaders that will advance our Nation into the 21st century.
I cannot help but be excited when I think of what lies before you. . .
the adventure and excitement. ...
and oh, how I envy you!
You will be the ones to take us to new heights and new accomplishments.
You will be making the breakthrough discoveries and finding solutions to the problems that previous generations, to include my own, simply could not solve.
And it will be you who will have to stand up to the new challenges that will arise tomorrow.
And there will be challenges. . .
there always are.
How will you prepare yourself for this exciting, yet challenging future?
How will you make yourself ready, so that you may be found worthy of the Mantle of Leadership that will surely be placed upon your shoulders?
Perhaps the best way for me to illustrate these concepts is to relate to you some examples from my experience in Vietnam.
It was 0600, the third of June, 1966.
I was in Command of "G" Company, Second Battalion, First Marine Regiment.
I was a First Lieutenant at the time, and had been given this Command because the previous Commander had been killed about one week earlier.
My Company had been given a simple Mission that began with a Helicopter Assault.
We would land in a series of dried-up rice paddies about 6 football fields in length, and three football fields in width.
These paddies were surrounded by jungle-covered mountains, with a dry stream bed running along one side.
We were supposed to land, put on our packs, and do what all Marines do:
"Find the largest mountain, and climb to the top."
There, we would put ourselves in a Defensive Perimeter to act as the blocking force for an Offensive Sweep, conducted by two Battalions.

The Helicopters landed, unloaded my Company of Marines, and had just started to leave when the world collapsed.
Automatic weapons, mortar fire, artillery -
it was 'Hell On Earth'.
Fortunately, a good portion of my Company had managed to move into the dry stream bed where they were protected from most of the fire.
However, one Platoon had landed too far west to move immediately to the cover of the stream bed.
As they tried to move in that direction, the fires on them became so heavy they had no alternative but to hit the deck.
One particular Squad found itself directly in the line of fire of a North Vietnamese 12.7mm heavy machine gun.
In a matter of seconds, two Marines were killed and three were seriously wounded.
As I watched what was happening from my position in the stream bed, I knew that it was just a matter of time before that machine gun would systematically "take out" that whole Platoon-
Squad by Squad.
If I didn't act immediately, they would be lost in just a matter of minutes.
I made a call to the Commander of the First Platoon that had made its way into the stream bed, directing him to move up the stream bed so he could attack across the flank of the gun position -
not having to assault it directly from the front.
At the same time, I directed another Platoon to provide Suppressive Fire that might diminish the volume of fire coming from the machine gun position.
All this was happening in the midst of smoke, multiple explosions, heavy small arms fire, and people yelling to be heard over the din of battle.
Suddenly, my Radio Operator grabbed me by the sleeve and pointed toward the middle of the rice paddy where a lone Marine, a Lance Corporal by the name of Grable, had g o t t en to his feet, placed his M-14 rifle on his hip , and charged the machine gun -
firing as fast as he could possibly fire.
He ran about 40 meters directly toward the machine gun and then cut to the side, much like a running back might do during a football game.
Sure enough, the machine gun, which had been delivering heavy fire on his Squad, picked up off of the Squad and began firing at Grable.
Seeing the fire shift away from them, the Squad moved immediately to the cover of a small rice paddy dike-thick ground, about a foot high separating each paddy from the other.
Both they, and the other two Squads were able to drag their casualties and gear to the position of safety behind this dike.
Grable didn't look back.
He didn't see what happened.
He kept on fighting.
He dodged back and forth across these paddies, firing continuously.
He would run out of ammunition, reload on the run, and continue forward, dodging back and forth as he ran.
BAM!

Suddenly, he was picked up like a dishrag and thrown backward-hit by at least one round.
The rest of the Platoon charged.
My Radio Operator grabbed me again, but saying nothing, he just pointed to the middle of the rice paddy.
That young Marine, L/Cpl. Grable, had gotten to his feet.
As he stood, he didn't put the rifle to his hip;
he locked the weapon into his shoulder, took steady aim -
good sight picture,
good sight alignment,
and walked straight down the line of fire into that machine gun.
About four minutes later, my Command Group and the rest of the Unit, finally arrived at the now-silent machine gun position.
There were nine dead enemy soldiers around the gun . . .
L/Cpl. Grable was draped over the gun itself.
As only Marines can do, these battle-hardened young men tenderly picked up Grable and laid him on the ground.
When they opened his "flak jacket", he had five massive wounds from that machine gun.
FIVE . . .

About seven months later, I traveled back to Headquarters Marine Corps in Washington and watched the Commandant of the Marine Corps present Lance Corporal Grable's widow with the Nation's second highest decoration for Valor ...
the Navy Cross.
In this woman's arms was the baby boy that Grable had only seen in a Polaroid picture.
Grable displayed great physical courage.
Somewhere in his character was another kind of courage as well -
moral courage -
the courage to do the right thing.
When he had the chance to do something else, he chose to do the right thing.
His Squad was in mortal danger.
He had a choice to make, and he did what was right, at the cost of his life.
Let me remind you, this was 1966.
Lance Corporal Grable was a Black Man from Tennessee, who couldn't even buy a hamburger at the McDonald's in his hometown.

So, what of your character?
Who are you?
No, not the physical and superficial image. . .
but who are you really?
What do you stand for?
What is the essence of your character?
Where is your moral compass pointing?
Which course do you follow?
Everyday we have to make decisions.
It is through this decision making process that we show those around us the quality of our character.
The majority of the decisions we have to make are "no brainers."
Deciding what we are going to have for breakfast is not going to test your character.
Judgment maybe, but not character.
The true test of character comes when the stakes are high. . .
when the chips are down. . .
when your gut starts to turn. . .
when the sweat starts to form on your brow. . .
when you know the decision you are about to make may not be popular. . .
but it must be made.
That is when your true character is exposed.
The associations you keep,
the peers you choose,
the mentors you seek,
the organizations you affiliate with,
all help to define your character.
But, in the end, you will be judged as an individual,
not as part of a group.
Success in life, like in combat, has always demanded a depth of character.
Those who can reach deep inside themselves -
and draw upon an inner strength, fortified by strong values, always carry the day against those of lesser character.
Moral cowards never win in war. . .
moral cowards never win in life.
They might believe that they are winning a few battles here and there, but their victories are never sweet. . .
they never stand the test of time. . .
and they never serve to inspire others.
In fact, each and every one of a moral coward's "supposed victories" ultimately leads them to failure.
Those who have the courage to face up to ethical challenges in their daily lives will find that same courage can be drawn upon in times of great stress...
in times of great controversy. . .
in times of the never ending battle between good and evil.
All around our society, you see immoral behavior...
lying,
cheating,
stealing,
drug use and alcohol abuse,
prejudice,
and a lack of respect for human dignity and the law.
In the not too distant future, each of you are going to be confronted with situations where you will have to deal straight-up with these issues.
The question is...
what will you do when that happens?
What action will you take?
You will know what you should do.
The issue is. . .
will you DO what you know is right?
It takes moral courage to hold your ideals, and those of God and our Country, above yourself.
It is the DEFINING aspect of your character.
So, when the test of your character,
of your moral courage comes,
regardless of the noise and confusion around you,
there will be a moment of inner silence in which you must decide what to do.
Your character will be defined by your decision...
and it is yours and yours alone to make.
When that moment of silence comes and you are wrestling with your decision,
consider this poem:

Remember,
your Nation depends upon it.
I challenge you to feed the EAGLE.

God bless you all,

Semper Fidelis