Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Hollywood Marine Wannabe Dies After Fitness Test

A former Army Reserves specialist who died after taking a strength test at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego was identified Monday as a Sacramento resident.
 Marine Recruit Darnell McCowan III, 22, became unresponsive Friday morning after completing a test that consists of three pull-ups, 44 crunches and a 1.5-mile run, according to Maj. Michael Armistead.

" The Marine Corps Recruit Depot extends its deepest condolences to the McCowan family," according to a statement issued by Marine officials. "We are saddened by this sudden loss and our thoughts and prayers are with them at this difficult hour."

Here we go again with the tired old sobriquet "hearts and minds". My Marine Corps has no heart and is basically mindless of but one thing; the enemy must die. And an ounce of prevention would have saved this obvious fatty, because any 22 year old incapable of performing so easy a test did not belong in a Marine uniform, so that should have been apparent from the get-go.

One reason why we referred to the left coast recruits as "Hollywood marines". Yes, all of this is cruel but so what? They didn't pay us to be Mary Poppins.

1 comment:

MMurphy said...

It is unbelievable how the world wide web has given a voice to cowards. This young man was my husband's nephew and was not even remotely overweight. If you'd like to prove you are not a coward, why not say it to his family's face. People get on the web and getBOLD. I guarantee you would have no opinion in the face of his father, brother, and uncles.