This is relevant to this discussion. It's self-explanatory. I don't know if any of the Code Pink people work at Oakland Airport (in fact, most of them probably don't work at all.)
Commentary: An Open Letter to Code Pink
By Richard Lund
The Berkeley Daily Planet
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.
---Captain Richard Lund is the United States Marine Corps' officer
selection officer for the northern Bay Area.
Commentary: An Open Letter to Code Pink
By Richard Lund
The Berkeley Daily Planet
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.
---Captain Richard Lund is the United States Marine Corps' officer
selection officer for the northern Bay Area.
