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if a disciplinary matter found it’s way to my attention—they wanted to handle these matters internally—they looked upon their squad as family. This spirit is the essence of the Marine Corps. —first Marines are trained to be responsible for their own behavior—if there are times when circumstances develop where that becomes an issue then the NCO’s and even fellow Marines will step in and immediately correct the problem—this rarely happened—to my knowledge?! in our platoon. Our NCO’s were the best at providing that small unit leadership that is absolutely necessary in the United States Marine Corps.!
A platoon of Marines is a powerful force. The reason is the training an preparation that begins the day they step off the bus in ‘boot camp’ in Parris Island, S.C. or San Diego, CA. Marines know their way around the ‘killing fields’ of combat. Their training is the best in the world—each Marine has met the very high standards necessary to become a Marine. The culture and the traditions of the Corps. are ingrained in their character. No matter where they’re sent—no matter which unit they are assigned —they fit in and become an instant contributing member of that unit. A Marine platoon consists of three squads— each squad consists of three four man fire teams and a squad leader. the platoon Guide , platoon Sgt. and platoon leader make up the entire platoon. On occasion the platoon can be reinforced from the Company weapons platoon with a machine gun section, mortar section and rocket launchers. In addition, heavier artillery support is available from the Battalion in the form of 106 mm recoiless rifles, 81 mm mortars 4.2 in. mortar section, 105mm Howitzers, tanks,
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