Advancing Into Chaos

I find this commercial disquieting.  We open with the Marines advancing toward....Stalingrad?  The whole city seems to be smoldering.  Women and children are screaming in the background.  We don't see any enemy activity as the Marines advance in the open, with perfectly aligned APCs and air cover.  The only thing missing is Nicolas Cage and the Windtalkers.

But wait!  The absence of an enemy is merely an opportunity to change the focus of the mission.  Hidden inside the APCs and helicopters are strangely uniform boxes containing Aid.  We know it's Aid, because each box is carefully labelled as such.  Lord knows the sharp end of the spear doesn't need ammunition, food or water in the first wave, unless that's what's in the boxes, in which case I'd like to order some Aid myself.

What bothers me the most is that whoever approved this commercial sees the Marines not as shock troops, which they are, but as some kind of generic relief force, equipped at all times for any situation.  This is remarkable.  The Marines are looking for a few good men to field what amounts to a U.N. peacekeeping force.  I find it astonishing that this is how the Marine Corps has decided to sell itself.

What I do not find astonishing is that this is what could be envisaged as the Marines' mission going forward under the current Administration.

Update:  This has been going on for some time.