The real reason why Amos was never respected...

Much has already been written about why General Amos failed in his mission to lead the Marine Corps.

Some say that the turning point was the issue with the Sniper Platoon urinating on the bodies of Taliban scum.  Many couldn't wrap their heads around the fact that its alright to kill these bastards but urinating on their corpses...after knowing that they too have beheaded and hung the bodies of US servicemen from bridge overpasses was allowed.  The Marine Corps community wanted punishment....a slap on the wrist and a don't do it again.  Them "crushed"?  No.

I disagree.

I think its something more primal.

General Amos at the behest of the President did something even more fundamentally evil.

He fucked with the very fabric of the Marine Corps.

For better or worse facts must be faced.  The military in general and the Marine Corps in particular is a conservative organization.  Perhaps in "spirit" only but conservative none-the-less.  Amos attempted (again at the behest of the President) to cause wholesale culture change in the Marine Corps.  No pause was allowed to let each initiative sink in.  Just whirlwind change that threw the Marine Corps off its stride and caused confusion in the ranks.

First up was the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell".  I can tell you for a fact that gay Marines have served in the Marine Corps without problem.  I can tell you for a fact that no "persecution" of them EVER occured.  They were punished at a far lower rate for their "sexual" practices than straight Marines.  But that wasn't good enough.  They threw it front and center in Marine faces.

That was a massive culture change that struck many as wrong.  Pictures of Marines jumping up into the arms of their gay lovers was a step too far.  Marines were told by the SgtMajor of the Marine Corps to shut up and deal with it.  They did but they were pissed.

Next up was the issue with Women in the infantry.  Everyone knows the truth, but unfortunately we don't have people like Colonel Ripley with the moral strength of character to speak the truth on the issue.  Instead we have the politically correct position of simply "accepting" a test to see if it works when we all know the results are pre-ordained.  Marines already know that they will be told to shut up and accept it.

Most will.  And most will punch out of the Marine Corps at the first chance they get...especially since the small community of Marines that are female tend to attract an inordinate amount of problems...mostly not their fault but again its simply a fact.

Now we have Marine leadership attempting to boost the number of female Marines in a force that is down sizing.

It was never about the punishment that he meted out to the Snipers.  It was never about his questionable procurement practices (from the F-35 to the M27 modern day BAR, I vehemently disagree with the majority of them), it was always about his attempt to "transform the Marine Corps...to a liberal institution".

Amos failed because he did not uphold Marine Corps values.  The truth is stark but there you have it.

General Dunford will also fail if he continues down the same road.  It'll take six months for Amos' agenda to wash out and for us to see where Dunford will take us.  Let's hope he chooses well.