The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps was caught off guard by the situation. Senior enlisted personnel must advocate vigorously for the well-being of their junior Marines. Rather than excusing the oversight of Marines at the training facility by attributing it to disinformation or highlighting the construction of a new firehouse, he should be holding accountable all enlisted personnel and officers who failed in their duties. Leadership should prioritize professional courage over merely being executive figureheads or yes-men. Authentic leadership requires action and integrity.
Yea it's kind of up to Congress to fund it. They set the budget and which accounts the $ goes into. 1. Budget has doubled in 10 years to 800b 2. War fighting is our task and purpose Funding goes to training, equipping, weapons and fighting 3. When that young Soldier or Marine receives that pay raise every year no one says they will give it up to be spent on barracks. 4. When that Soldier or Marine is in combat with the latest gear, the ammo the need to win, arty, and air support they are not thinking about barracks. It's thank God for the equipment 5. After training, logistics, weapons, medical care and warfighting we still have to pay for R&D for future weapons. Money is not infinite; I guess most of you are to young to remember when we didn't have funds to train, or pay for vehicle fuel or even ammo for ranges.
SgtMaj Ruiz is the Real deal, and if you've worked with him, you would know that he genuinely cares about Marines and their well-being. Seems like he got stumped on the question, but for a dude who has been in the role of Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps for a little over six months, I am not sure it is reasonable to expect one person to boil the ocean over night.
The Marine Corps has NEVER had the budget to build hotel quality living like the Air Force does. Not a dig at the Air Force, just a simple Jarhead's view of his time on several bases. Having grown up with an Army Air Corps (Air Force) father, and having been on and off many Air Force bases, there is a DISTINCT difference in quality. If Congress really thought this was a problem, they would have allocated funds a long, long time ago. As in the 70s and 80s!
I served under SgtMaj Ruiz in 3/5 - one of the few senior staff that actually cared. I won’t allow congressional gaslighting impare my memory of him. When I was injured he sat by my bedside for hours to ensure I would recover without issue. Housing in the military - particularly usmc - is complex - important- and isn’t an overnight fix. Like all things in government - many hurdles stand in the way.
What was her question from the transcript?
Lawrance Andrus, it's called CYA because the United States Marine Corps knows their barracks are outdated. The US Army is still working through this issue, saw it myself at Fort Cavazos 10 years ago.
Is this Congress disrespecting the SgtMajMC? They have busily been losing wars for the past 24 years and they’re worried about the barracks? Aren’t they in a giant hurry to make the Marine Corps smaller, more diverse, and less effective as a fighting force? Ridiculous.
I personally know SgtMaj Carlos Ruiz, we were Gunny's together at CPEN. He's one of the best I had the pleasure to work with. Great leader, very smart and he gets shit done! He's up there trying to cover the tracks of his predecessors and the current, long time senior officer leadership for something they have not done or was willing to do. They should have just told him to fix it, and he will fix it. Give him time, he's a damn good leader...hopefully the politics & bureaucracy doesn't hold him back too much from doing his job the right way.
Where is the discussion focused on... what MCB? M2
1stSgt Retired
4moLet’s be honest, this isn’t his fault, it’s the fault of all those who came before him. He’s just the puppet who now carries all the burden and blame. He’s the product of the majority of Sergeants Major we see in the Corps nowadays… too wrapped up in politics and personal advancement, and not enough focus on the welfare of their Marines. As it was explained to me, to have a successful career as an 8999 (nowadays), one must “kiss the ring.” It’s all politics on the 8999 side of the house. While I will admit that the living accommodation across the Marine Corps are subpar, and should have never been allowed to erode to their current state, I will also say that it’s totally believable since the past 15+ years the focus has centered around “social issues,” trends, or the wants and desires of Congress. Hopefully we’ll see a day when the military regains focus on warfighting over feelings. I sure as hell haven’t heard of a war being won by hugging one’s enemy to death!