I Have a Story to Tell

I’ve been saving this story for a few days. I thought it’d be a great after Christmas tale for everyone to enjoy.

Let me take you back to December 23rd. The setting is a dingy office on a Marine Corps base in North Carolina. We have a bunch of Marines and their wives and children gathered for their shop Christmas party. Everybody has brought a dish to share (They were required to do so. Remember the bread I stayed up until 2 am baking??), and there are toys and games for the kids. It’s a pretty good time overall despite the fact that it is “mandatory fun”.

In the midst of the kids running around and all of the joking, a certain Staff Sergeant suggested to a Corporal that he shoot the Warrant Officer with a Nerf gun. It’s the type kids have been playing with for generations where the “arrows” have suction cups on the ends. You all know what I’m talking about, I’m sure. Anyway, the Corporal takes aim at the Warrant Officer and misses. Not so sure what his poor aim says about him as a Marine, lol. Upon his failure with the “gun” the Corporal takes an arrow and sticks it to the Warrant Officer’s forehead. This embarrasses the Warrant Officer due to the fact that his audience is family members and he berates the younger Marine as is his right. In all fairness, the Corporal stepped over the line when he physically put the arrow on the Warrant Officers person. The incident puts a damper on the afternoon, but everyone goes home early for the day which is a nice privilege during the holiday season.

Christmas Eve: All the Marines have to check out for their holiday leave at 0800 the next morning. They dutifully arrive as ordered however, all is not as it seems. Apparently, the Warrant Officer’s pride was injured more than everyone thought and he has now decided to bring the Corporal up on charges for the Nerf incident at the Christmas party. This means that the Staff Sergeant is also in trouble for putting the Corporal up to the prank in the first place. Additionally, because none of the other Staff Sergeants present stepped up to stop the Corporal, they are potentially looking at a negative report in their files as well. Marines are mind readers in case you didn’t know. Comes in real handy in a war zone.

To sum it up, a Corporal’s career is going to be ruined because of a toy at a Christmas party and all the Staff Sergeants are looking at formal reprimands in their permanent records as well. Because…of…a…toy. True story. I can’t say, “The End” because it’s not over yet. We’re still waiting to see how much trouble everyone is going to be in.

It’s such bull. If they want a professional atmosphere where everyone can hide behind their ranks, they shouldn’t have Christmas parties at the shop. Work should be work and play should be play. I really can’t believe that this is an issue at all. This guy is making such a big deal over a toy, making himself look like a whiny baby, he put a damper on everyone’s Christmas, and he beat the crap out of the shop morale so there isn’t any. All because of a toy. A TOY!! A child’s toy. I can’t wrap my head around it. It’s pure stupidity and it lacks any common sense that an adult should possess. It would totally be a different story if the Marine had stuck the arrow on the Warrant Officer’s head out of the blue, in the middle of a normal workday. He didn’t though! This was at a Christmas PARTY where there were kids running around and toys and food everywhere. Get a grip.

Now it may be a bit clearer as to why the decision to walk away after 12 years and a $26,000 reenlistment bonus has been so hard to make and no, the decision hasn’t officially been made yet.