The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff cited the Marine Corps’ historic victory at Iwo Jima in 1945 as a reason why Marines should continue to get haircuts in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
No, really.
Army Gen. Mark Milley explained why haircuts are essential to readiness and lethality during a Pentagon news briefing on Tuesday.
“I think Marines should get haircuts, from a personal standpoint,” Milley told reporters. “As the son of a Navy corpsman who hit the beach at Iwo Jima with the 4th Marine Division, it took extraordinary discipline to conquer that island with 7,000 Marines killed in 19 and 20 days and put a flag on Suribachi. That Marine victory was the result of incredible discipline of America’s 911 force and the expeditionary force. It may seem superficial to some, but getting a haircut is part of that discipline.”
Both Milley and Defense Secretary Mark Esper were asked about a video posted on social media showing Marines at Camp Pendleton, California, waiting in line to get their hair cut. The Marines were not standing at least six feet apart and none wore a mask.
The video was shot on April 5. Marines have instituted social distancing measures at barber shops at Camp Pendleton since then, said 2nd Lt Charlotte M. Dennis, a spokeswoman for Marine Corps Installations-West.
A source at Camp Pendleton sent me this footage of Marines lined up at a base barbershop because grooming standards trump all else apparently https://t.co/awQHjhzR4K pic.twitter.com/3aCrww3JK2
— Jared Keller (@jaredbkeller) April 13, 2020
Both Milley and Defense Secretary Mark Esper were asked about a video posted on social media showing Marines at Camp Pendleton, California, waiting in line to get their hair cut. The Marines were not standing at least six feet apart and none wore a mask.
The video was shot on April 5. Marines have instituted social distancing measures at barber shops at Camp Pendleton since then, said 2nd Lt Charlotte M. Dennis, a spokeswoman for Marine Corps Installations-West.
As a Company Corpsman with the 9th Marines in Vietnam, my Marines seldom had any louse infections that could have lead to typhus or any other diseases that can disable a fighting unit. I only wish the Corp instituted a “full body haircut” and thus eliminate those troublesome body lice. Personal hygiene has always been one of a a Corpsman’s less glamorous daily duties. Crab lice and such venereal infections as gonorhea and lymphogranuloma inguale, were always some of our most challenging duties, aside from the combat injuries the Company Corpsmen faced on a daily basis. At 70 years of age, I still have a full healthy head of gray hair and yes, I still wear it very short, almost to Marine Corps standards.