CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- A Marine's offhand complaint in a base newspaper has sparked a swift rebuke by a senior officer and a war of words among fellow Marines across the country.
Staff Sgt. Paul Rinnander, an 11-year veteran with a spotless record that includes successful tours as a recruiter, was asked last month by a reporter for the Scout newspaper whether anything bugs him about the Marine Corps."Recruit discipline," Rinnander, 29, answered in comments printed in the Scout's "Marine on the street" column. "There is a total lack of discipline and respect shown by Marines coming out of basic training."
The day the column was published, Sgt. Major Lewis G. Lee, the corps' senior enlisted man, was visiting Camp Pendleton. He read it and blew his lid.
"You take a swipe in public at what the commandant and I and a lot of fine Marines are trying to do, you shoot your mouth off to a newspaper, and you're going to hear from me," Lee told the Los Angeles Times.
Rinnander was ordered to report to Parris Island, S.C., by Jan. 2 to become a drill instructor. He got a blistering e-mail from Lee, expressing "regret" that they didn't get to discuss the matter in person: "It would have been an unforgettable meeting for you."
The situation has prompted mounds of letters to the Marine Corps Times, a nationwide weekly. Sympathies are roughly split between the two men.
Rinnander appealed and the reassignment was delayed so he could finish his tour of duty at Pendleton.
He was dismayed by the sharp rebuke.