Gear Accountability
Mitchell Strohmeyer
Lance Corporal Uch
3/4 Kilo
20120811
Importance of Gear Accountability Gear accountability is very important in the Marine Corp. What would a Marine do in a combat environment if he left his Kevlar back at the rear? None of his brother’s would just happen to pull out an extra for him to borrow for the patrol. The same fundamentals apply to any other significant equipment items. In combat environments all the gear issued is issued for a reason, whether it is something as major as a rifle or something as small as a flashlight. It is even wise to sometimes bring unrequired gear like an e-tool just in case. I will try to explain why Marines need their gear, what they can do to prevent it, and what could happen if they lose/forget a piece of equipment. Marines obviously need to have their issued gear on them whenever they are instructed to have it. Just like we were told as recruits and again in SOI and even still in the fleet, everything is done for a reason and not just to fuck around with us. When a Marine loses a piece of equipment, not only is gear lost, but it can also blemish the Marines character. A junior Marine may be in great shape and great on his knowledge, but a few mistakes stand out much more than months of good behavior. Aside from the showing of a lack of responsibility, come time to turn in gear the Marine will be responsible to replace the item. This sometimes brings up another issue altogether, theft. The saying, “There’s one thief in the Marine Corp, and everyone else is just trying to get their stuff back”, applies here more than most places in the Service. One person losing a piece of equipment and then ‘tactically acquiring’ it from another Marine just creates a chain reaction of theft and expensive equipment purchases. Being responsible for gear translates to being responsible for the rest of your life as well. The average Marine is pretty competent with their gear accountability, there’s a
Lance Corporal Uch
3/4 Kilo
20120811
Importance of Gear Accountability Gear accountability is very important in the Marine Corp. What would a Marine do in a combat environment if he left his Kevlar back at the rear? None of his brother’s would just happen to pull out an extra for him to borrow for the patrol. The same fundamentals apply to any other significant equipment items. In combat environments all the gear issued is issued for a reason, whether it is something as major as a rifle or something as small as a flashlight. It is even wise to sometimes bring unrequired gear like an e-tool just in case. I will try to explain why Marines need their gear, what they can do to prevent it, and what could happen if they lose/forget a piece of equipment. Marines obviously need to have their issued gear on them whenever they are instructed to have it. Just like we were told as recruits and again in SOI and even still in the fleet, everything is done for a reason and not just to fuck around with us. When a Marine loses a piece of equipment, not only is gear lost, but it can also blemish the Marines character. A junior Marine may be in great shape and great on his knowledge, but a few mistakes stand out much more than months of good behavior. Aside from the showing of a lack of responsibility, come time to turn in gear the Marine will be responsible to replace the item. This sometimes brings up another issue altogether, theft. The saying, “There’s one thief in the Marine Corp, and everyone else is just trying to get their stuff back”, applies here more than most places in the Service. One person losing a piece of equipment and then ‘tactically acquiring’ it from another Marine just creates a chain reaction of theft and expensive equipment purchases. Being responsible for gear translates to being responsible for the rest of your life as well. The average Marine is pretty competent with their gear accountability, there’s a