I Just Figured This Out: A Marine Doesn’t Like Those From Other Services

When I worked in the federal government, I served on an inter-agency task force that included many federal agencies. There was, among others, the DoD and representatives from each of the military services. Initially, I thought everyone within the umbrella of “military services” would be on the same page within the task force. DoD, Army, Navy, Air Force…

Oh, was I wrong. What I witnessed was nothing like the Army-Navy football rivalry. It was way worse.

The Service Divide

Based on my experience and outside of war, some of the services at some level did not respect the other services, whether articulated or not verbally. And the Marines thought of themselves as not part of the Navy (although they are); they saw themselves as a separate entity and as such, entitled to separate attention. Add in the Seals and the Rangers. Then there was the Coast Guard, often ignored. The National Guard and the Reserves weren’t even represented on the task force; they were on the outside. Real service members, apparently, are full-timers who serve in their respective branches.

Bottom line, I thought these military branches were all on the same (military) tree within and outside of combat, namely the tree of those who serve our nation, protect our freedom and put themselves selflessly at risk for the benefit of the rest of us. Nope. Not so. For reasons that I am sure I do not fully understand, the branches of our military jockey for primacy outside a war zone; they repeatedly think that certain service branches are superior to others. For real. Yes, they are all on the same “team,” the US team. They all protect us in one way or another. But apparently, within the team when not at war, there are remarkable tensions and competitiveness and even derision.

The Vance Stance

I am sure that at least on the public facing front, service members recognize the service of those within other branches. And, in war, they need to work together. I am sure there is mutual respect in many settings, including war time. There needs to be.

But, JD Vance is a Marine and as such, he seems to look down on the National Guard. And therein lies his personal attacks on Tim Walz. Vance is expressing his view, I suspect, that the Marines “trump” (intended word use) other services, in this case the National Guard.

Military personnel are surely entitled, in the privacy of their own minds and within their military habitats, to consider themselves the “superior” service. Pride isn’t always bad. But, in the context of an election and public service, Vance’s degrading the service of another (Walz) is downright nauseating. Nauseating. For the record, I often regret not having been in uniform. And Walz has corrected his misspeaking on having been in a war; of course, not all service is on the front line.

I now think I have a wee insight into Vance’s venom, at least as I see it. He is thinking his service is better than the service of another. Now, I haven’t plumbed Vance’s actual service record. But, he is a Marine (and generally speaking Marines are remarkable men and women) who thinks his branch of the service is above the rest.

The Larger Point

There are many folks who serve our nation, not all of whom are in uniform. There are folks who serve our states and locales, many of whom are not in uniform. Yes, there are police and firefighters in uniforms but there are also teachers and social workers and community workers. Do we have a hierarchy that suggests that some who serve are “better” than others? Are doctors better than dentists? Are teachers “worse” than psychologists? Are social workers “better” than food service providers?

If the Pandemic taught us anything (actually, it taught us a lot as my co-author and I address in our new book Mending Education releasing on Sept. 27, 2024 from Teachers College Press), it is that everyone who serves contributes to our individual and collective wellness. The professionals in and out of uniform help our communities, our families, our nation.

It is in this context that, at least for me and I hope others, what matters is service and what service teaches us about helping others. I am reminded yet again (thanks to CL) of the phrase (attributed to many possible authors), that “service is the rent we pay to live on this earth.” Note the word “service;” it is not specific. It bespeaks work and contributions (of all sorts) that helps others.

My message to Vance: you are denigrating yourself and your service. You are mistaking military jockeying for the word “service” in the broadest sense. Walz, among many others, has served our nation and our Veterans. And by the by, when we honor Veterans, we honor them all, not just those from a select service.

I just finished Kristin Hannah’s amazing books Women and Nightingale. These fictional histories share that there is another set of people who were not recognized as having served in war: women. And historically, they did not all serve on the front line. They served as army nurses, as providers of shelter to children whose parents were sent to concentration camps, as resistance workers who saved lives by secretly taking allies across borders. Surely, then, it is not the uniform that defines service.

Walz served for decades. Vance served for years. One type of service is not better than another. Vance is misunderstanding service and as such, he is misunderstanding the role of leadership and leaders. He doesn’t get it. Period. Full stop. And it is sad and frightening actually.