I believe (and pray) that your prayers may have already been answered. When this young man goes through the pain and uncertainty of leaving his wife and child…gets off that bus at Paris Island (or San Diego), and that DI (drill instructor) tells him to get off his (DI’s) bus and on the “yellow footprints” (marked on the sidewalk for recruits to stand on and be in the proper order)…and he discovers that internal and external discipline, and self-sacrifice for his fellow recruits and his mission are the keys to his success and his happiness…its not only “zero” tolerance for drugs…its “zero” tolerrance for excuses. He will gain a new perspective about being a husband and father: Honor (integrity, responsibility & accountability), Courage (do the right thing…do it the right way…do it for the right reasons), and Commitment (fidelity to [God, family] Country and [Marine] Corps) – the core values of the Marine Corps. If he does not quit and puts his best effort into his recruit training…he will become a U.S. Marine. Both he and his wife and especially their children will receive excellent medical care, an array of family support services (e.g., priest-chaplain who not only performs liturgical duties…but trains, lives with and deploys with his unit), and very adequate pay compensation to help them through these financial rough times…but make no mistake, he will have to earn these benefits each and every day of his service in The Corps…and his wife will have to be a member of the Marine Corps family (his unit’s Ombudsman program will help her/family if needed when he is deployed) because she will endure many sacrifices and trials due to his intense training schedules, numerous deployments and 24/7 service in a very uncertain and dangerous time in our world. Our son just returned from Iraq. My wife of 42 years and I feel like we are reliving many of the trials and tribulations of our 36 years of service in the Marine Corps. Yet, we would not change a thing…those sacrifices helped us immensely in understanding the sacrifices we needed to make for each other in our marriage and our five children…and fostered our spiritual growth and conversions–we are still a work in need of much progress! It was and always is the work and help of God’s incredibly powerful graces…through the awesome power of the Holy Spirit. All we have to do is be faithful…just like in the Corps…Semper Fidelis! We will pray for you and them and their children…as we pray everyday for our fellow Marines and service members and their families.
