Marine Corps Moms: USMC Cpt. Richard Lund educates Code Pink

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October 15, 2007

USMC Cpt. Richard Lund educates Code Pink

On September 26, Code Pink members staged an after hours demonstration 9/26 protest in front of a Marine Corps recruiting office that happened to be in San Francisco. Here's a snippet of the event coverage from the Berkeley Daily Planet:

Marge Lasky, a member of Grandmothers Against the War, said she had no idea that the office was there.
"I am pretty shocked it's here," she said. "Why would the marines come into the belly of the beast? Either they are really desperate for recruitment or they think they can get people by being near Berkeley High and the university."

Kali Steel from Code Pink said the group would protest in front of the office every Wednesday until it was shut down.

"This is exactly where our kids hang out," she said. "We don't want military recruiters in Berkeley."

"Keep it up," said a lady in a silver Toyota. "We love what you do."

No one came to drag the protesters away as they stood waving banners and talking for almost two hours.

"It's my first-amendment right," Budd said smiling. "Who's going to stop me?"

Ironic when one considers that Budd obviously has a deep understanding of her constitutional rights under the First Amendment. It's sad that she has no appreciation for how she got those rights or for the Marines who, for the last 231+ years, have fought, bled, and died to protect her right to publicly make an idiot of herself.

In response, Cpt. Richard Lund, USMC officer selection officer for the northern Bay Area wrote this open letter to the Code Pink demonstrators:

While the protest that you staged in front of my office on Wednesday, Sept. 26th, was an exercise of your constitutional rights, the messages that you left behind were insulting, untrue, and ultimately misdirected. Additionally, from the comments quoted in the Berkeley Daily Planet article, it is clear that you have no idea what it is that I do here. Given that I was unaware of your planned protest, I was unable to contest your claims in person, so I will therefore address them here.
First, a little bit about who I am: I am a Marine captain with over eight years of service as a commissioned officer. I flew transport helicopters for most of my time in the Marine Corps before requesting orders to come here. Currently, I am the officer selection officer for the northern Bay Area. My job is to recruit, interview, screen, and evaluate college students and college graduates that show an interest in becoming officers in the Marine Corps. Once they've committed to pursuing this program, I help them apply, and if selected, I help them prepare for the rigors of Officer Candidate School and for the challenges of life as a Marine officer. To be eligible for my programs, you have to be either a full-time college student or a college graduate. I don't pull anyone out of school, and high school students are not eligible.

I moved my office to Berkeley in December of last year. Previously, it was located in an old federal building in Alameda. That building was due to be torn down and I had to find a new location. I choose our new site because of its proximity to UC Berkeley and to the BART station. Most of the candidates in my program either go to Cal or to one of the schools in San Francisco, the East Bay, or the North Bay. Logistically, the Shattuck Square location was the most convenient for them.

Next, you claim that I lie. I have never, and will never, lie to any individual that shows an interest in my programs. I am upfront with everything that is involved at every step of the way and I go out of my way to ensure that they know what to expect when they apply. I tell them that this is not an easy path. I tell them that leading Marines requires a great deal of self-sacrifice. I tell them that, should they succeed in their quest to become a Marine officer, they will almost certainly go to Iraq. In the future, if you plan to attack my integrity, please have the courtesy to explain to me specifically the instances in which you think that I lied.

Next, scrawled across the doorway to my office, you wrote, "Recruiters are Traitors." Please explain this one. How exactly am I a traitor? Was I a traitor when I joined the Marine Corps all those years ago? Is every Marine, therefore, a traitor? Was I a traitor during my two stints in Iraq? Was I a traitor when I was delivering humanitarian aid to the victims of the tsunami in Sumatra? Or do you only consider me a traitor while I am on this job? The fact is, recruitment is and always has been a part of maintaining any military organization. In fact, recruitment is a necessity of any large organization. Large corporations have employees that recruit full-time. Even you, I'm sure, must expend some effort to recruit for Code Pink. So what, exactly, is it that makes me a traitor?

The fact is this: any independent nation must maintain a military (or be allied with those who do) to ensure the safety and security of its citizens. Regardless of what your opinions are of the current administration or the current conflict in Iraq, the U.S. military will be needed again in the future. If your counter-recruitment efforts are ultimately successful, who will defend us if we are directly attacked again as we were at Pearl Harbor? Who would respond if a future terrorist attack targets the Golden Gate Bridge, the BART system, or the UC Berkeley clock tower? And, to address the most hypocritical stance that your organization takes on its website, where would the peace keeping force come from that you advocate sending to Darfur?

Finally, I believe that your efforts in protesting my office are misdirected. I agree that your stated goals of peace and social justice are worthy ones. War is a terrible thing that should only be undertaken in the most dire, extreme, and necessary of circumstances. However, war is made by politicians. The conflict in Iraq was ordered by the president and authorized by Congress. They are the ones who have the power to change the policy in Iraq, not members of the military. We execute policy to the best of our ability and to the best of our human capacity. Protesting in front of my office may be an easy way to get your organization in the headlines of local papers, but it doesn't further any of your stated goals.

To conclude, I don't consider myself a "recruiter." I am a Marine who happens to be on recruiting duty. As such, I conduct myself in accordance with our core values of honor, courage, and commitment. I will never sacrifice my honor by lying to anyone that walks into my office. I will never forsake the courage that it takes to restrain myself in the face of insulting and libelous labels like liar and traitor. And, most importantly, I will never waver from my commitment to helping individuals who desire to serve their country as officers in the Marine Corps.

Code Pink's portrayal of military recruiters as liars and predators, and young men and women as children who need to be protected is insulting and wrong. The ones I've talked with can't get past their talking points - ask them anything outside their comfort zone and they shut down or revert back to their catch phrases. Pink used to be my favorite color, but they've really taken the fun out of it. This latest idiocy by women who should know better is unfortunately, what I would expect from an organization who donated over half a million to insurgents in Fallujah - the same ones that our troops are fighting. Instead of supporting our troops, they've chosen to support the enemy. Kudos to Cpt. Lund for showing them civility in the face of their disrespect. They don't deserve it.

Posted by Deb at October 15, 2007 08:17 AM

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Comments

Maybe it isn't the lying as much as it's the leaving out!!
No one said that for $1,300 a month they would be working 10x harder then a factor worker who makes more then $1,300 a month.
No said they would be bet duning boot camp if not by the drill sargents by fellow recuits. No society those people would be in jail!!!!!!!! Not honored!
No said they would not be able to spend Holidays with their families when they were not on deployment!
That's what make people pissed off . To say you will sacrifice I think most people think it means you will have the work out of your life, not you will give up things you desire like freedom from violence and Holidays because you live more then 400 miles away!
These guys /gals go into to earn respect the only respect they get is when they are off base!

Posted by: Laura at October 30, 2007 08:33 AM

To all the RECRUITERS:

My son just signed up with the marines. The whole idea is very scarry. Gunny Sage, based out of the Eureka recruiting office, has gone behind my back WHILE my child was a minor I would not support my sons efforts in joing the military. I also explained if this country were not at war, my decision would be different.

I had a few discussions with Gunny Sage regarding the fact he went behind my back to recruit my son while he was still a minor. Gunny Sage takes no responsibility stating the tests are given at the schools and need no parents agreement. I also expressed as a recruiter he has not even considered what my son has always wanted to do....a police officer. He is currently trying to have my son be a truck driver!

During the recruiting process, the war and affects are not discussed as well as personal career opportunities. When I confonted Gunny Sage, he could not give me any type of direct answer of how he has considered or discussed what my son wants out of life, how the spontaneous decisions are based on his age and the desire to get out of his own to see the world, and most importantly when asked if he discussed the war with my son and promoted both side of the war, he stated he has not! That only leads me to believe recruiters are promoting the military and the war dishonestly and unfairly. A one sided promotion of anything is unfair to the individual making a decision, especially an impressionable young man.

TO ALL YOU RECRUITERS WHO THINK THEIR PERSONAL ACTIONS ARE OKAY:

TELL THE WHOLE STORY. BRING IN A VETERAN WHO HAS A DISABILITY FROM BEING IN THE WAR AND LET THAT PERSON TALK TO THESE KIDS. SHOW THESE KIDS ALL SIDES AND THE POSSIBILITIES OF ALL OUTCOME....NOT JUST THE GREAT ASPECTS. WHEN THESE KIDS COME INTO YOUR OFFICE...DON'T HIDE ANYTHING FROM THEIR PARENTS. YOU'RE LIKE A DRUG DEALER OR GANG LEADER......BUT YOU JUST DON'T GET IN TROUBLE. YOU MAKE THE KID FEEL LIKE HE IS A PART OF THE GANG AND SEND HIM OUT ON THE STREETS TO FIGHT AND POSSIBLE DIE FOR WHAT!? THESE KIDS ARE JOINING FOR ALL WRONG REASONS...DO YOU REALLY CARE! IF YOU DID CARE YOU WOULD SHOW THE ENTIRE MOVIE AND NOT CLIPS! I CAN ONLY ASSUME IF YOU DID TELL AND SHOW THE WHOLE MOVIE, THE AMOUNT OF KIDS YOU RECRUIT WOULD DECREASE IN NUMBERS. NO PAY RAISE FOR YOU! I HOPE THE GANG LEADERS AND THE DRUG LORDS DON'T GET A HOLD OF YOUR KIDS LIKE YOU GOT A HOLD OF MINE!!!!!!!!

Dawn Schultheis
Mother of a Very Young and Uninformed Son

Posted by: Dawn Schultheis at November 3, 2007 02:18 PM