Savings a brother (via Marines Instagram) or covering up leadership failure?

Thanks to Dave for the link!

• marinesSaving A Brother
  A Marine pulled a fellow Marine out of an AAV that went up in flames after hitting an exposed natural gas line. 
  See the link in our bio for the full story. 
  #camppendleton #marinecorps #marines#USMC #semperfidelis #OohRah #yut#devildog

The pic and the caption above are from the Marines Instagram Page (it annoys the fuck outta me that they don't capitalize "Marines" on our damn page).

Pretty heroic stuff huh?  Don't get me wrong.  I'm down with it and proud of the Marine in question.  Going into a burning vehicle to pull a fellow Marine out?  That's doing the hard thing.  That's doing the Marine Corps thing.

But there is another side to this.  Check this out via KPBS.com

An investigation into a fiery accident at Camp Pendleton that injured 14 Marines and a Navy corpsman in September showed that the Marines were aware of the potential danger.

The fire happened on Sep. 13 during a training exercise. KPBS obtained a copy of the 210-page command investigation report through a Freedom of Information Act request. The report absolves the troops on board of any responsibility for the accident, which placed at least 9 Marines in critical condition with severe burns.

Marines on the ground acted heroically but leadership did not.

They were aware of the potential danger.

They obviously did nothing.

That is leadership failure on a grand scale.  Think about it like this.  Junior Marines are hammered for MUCH MUCH LESS, but those that are responsible for the lives of those Marines can not only fail, but they can get Marines killed/seriously injured without penalty.

THAT MUST CHANGE!  I want some stars laid on a desk, a retirement taken away, a little ass kicked and some righteous retribution for those that were hurt.

It's the Marine Corps way.  Plus it's the right thing to do.