The Few and the Proud? A Red-Band Marine Recruiting Video

At a time when we are reconsidering every decision made during the Bush/Rumsfeld era, from torture to the invasion of Iraq to the speculation of adding a sixth side to the Pentagon (thank you Douglas Feith for floating THAT trial balloon!), comes a new, equally disturbing revelation. We all know that the Department of Defense was (and still is) desperate for new recruits in all branches of the military. What is less well known is a program that the Marines, in particular, had of trying to compete for today's sex, violence and drug-obsessed youth. An apparently newly declassified video reveals one such trial effort.

The Marine Commandant reportedly said of this program:

We need some hardcore recruiting videos to grab the attention of America's youth. They watch R-rated movies, play violent videogames and most are on drugs. If we're fighting for the hearts and minds of the next generation, we have to compete aggressively. What we need is the equivalent of what they call those 'red band trailers' for the movies.

Thankfully, wiser heads must have prevailed, and the recruiting video in question was rejected on the basis that it:

...reflects poorly on the Marines, sends the wrong message and defies modern standards of good taste and decency.

I, for one, would have to agree. This is one of the most vile, obscene and offensive government efforts I've seen since the Teapot Dome scandal. Maybe that's not surprising: It comes to us courtesy of the Harding Institute for Freedom & Democracy (led by dubious "former McCain adviser Martin Eisenstadt"), which claims to have been the DoD contractor for this project. But don't take my word for it. See for yourself (warning, NSFW-language).

Comments

[USMarines]

Dear Sir/Madam:

The YouTube video mentioned in this story is not a product of the U.S. Marinie Corps. The Harding Institute uses their organization "credentials" as a guise to fool mainstream media into publishing the author's statements­/activitie­s as genuine news.

Although it is labeled under the "comedy" section (tab), the article's tone is serious, and implies that the video may have actually commissioned by the Marine Corps Recruiting Command, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and even displays the watermark of the Defense Department. Let me reassure you that this video was not written, filmed or produced by the U.S. Marine Corps, it's agents or contractors, or the Department of Defense. Furthermore, the implied false attribution of the Commandant of the Marine Corps may be reviewed for appropriate legal action.

There is a lack of transparency regarding the author and the subject, his ties to the Harding Institute, and it is possible that the editor is not aware that this article has been posted, as it certainly represents questionable journalism at best.

Accordingly, we ask the Huffington Post to more clearly identify the author as a satirist and the article as a piece of satire with a disclaimer at the top or the bottom of the article itself--as we would not want the public to regard this video as an accurate portrayal of the behavior of our Marines or a product of taxpayer dollars.

Major Christian Devine, USMC
U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Command