Huckleberries Online

Marine Snipers Posed w/Nazi Symbol

Posted by DFO

Feb. 9, 2012 4:41 p.m. • 12 comments

This Sept. 2010 photo posted recently on the Titiusville, Fla.- based arms manufacturer Knight's Armament's Internet blog, shows members of Charlie Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif. in Sangin, Helmand province, Afghanistan. The Marine Corps confirmed today that one of its scout sniper teams in Afghanistan posed for a photograph in front of a flag with a logo resembling that of the notorious Nazi SS. Associated Press story here. (AP Photo/knightarmco.com)

Question: How entirely inappropriate is this?

12 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

Norther on February 09 at 4:47 p.m.
It stood for “Scout Snipers” but was probably a bad idea and in poor taste. Incidentally, it only resembles the two lightning bolts, but not an accurate representation of the SS. Their lightning bolts were cantered.
fishinjay on February 09 at 5:23 p.m.
They have been using this symbol for decades. It’s only in today’s hypersensitive PC world that somebody got offended. Many Marines who went through scout sniper training have the SS tattooed, including Jewish, black, Hispanic and other Marines. In my time in the Marine Corps this was never seen as a Nazi thing, and even this picture shows it to be an average thing in today’s Marine Corps.

A pair of S’s as lightning bolts on a blue flag being used by Scout Snipers has no more to do with Nazi’s than a Chevy Impala SS has to do with Hitler’s car.
fortboise on February 09 at 5:28 p.m.
Hitler had an Impala? I did not know that.
Norther on February 09 at 5:40 p.m.
“Hitler had an Impala?”

Sacrilege! The impala is a beautiful machine.
BigMac on February 09 at 5:51 p.m.
Norther: Their lightning bolts were cantered.

You sure about that?

http://www.military-steel-helmets-and-decals.com/images/SS_Party_2.jpg
JamesBond on February 09 at 5:59 p.m.
I remain unmoved. I also do not believe that symbols are magic or can do things.
hhuseland on February 09 at 6:37 p.m.
I am surprised and pleased that nobody rose to the bait. That is not an SS symbol thought it might resemble Chevy Super Sport. I’m with Norther and many others above. Much ado about nothing.
greenlibertarian on February 09 at 6:59 p.m.
Just Jarheads giving a tribute to this guy:

A public funeral service to honor the life of Sgt. William Stacey will be held at the University of Washington’s Meany Hall at 4 p.m., Saturday.

Stacey, 23, a graduate of Roosevelt High School, was killed by a roadside bomb Jan. 31 while serving with the U.S. Marine Corps in Afghanistan.

He was the son of Bob Stacey, interim dean of the UW’s College of Arts & Sciences, and UW history professor Robin Stacey.

http://today.seattletimes.com/2012/02/funeral-for-marine-killed-in-afghanistan-at-uw/
coeurgenx on February 10 at 9:17 a.m.
They can do whatever the heck they want. They are the reason we have our freedoms in this country.. Its bad enough our Government continues to take away our rights and we the people continue to pick apart the folks who serve this country unconditionally to protect us and what rights we still have..
duroc on February 10 at 9:26 a.m.
They can do whatever the heck they want.

Really? I love and respect our armed forces, but I wouldn’t go that far. Should they be allowed to violate the Geneva Conventions? Should they be allowed to kill children and roast them on a spit for dinner? Should they be allowed to have sex with any women they come across (who needs consent?), as reward for their service?

After all, they are defending our freedoms.

The “outrage” might seem a bit over-the-top (and I agree that it is), but not to people for whom the horrors of the Third Reich are personal. This logo is far too similar to the SS for comfort, and I understand why people would find it in poor taste.
Phaedrus on February 10 at 10:06 a.m.
I searched images on Google for “Schutzstaffel ” and the identical image on the flag pictured comes up multiple times.

Was it intended to make that connection? I don’t know, but if these soldiers are supposed to be smart enough to do their job, then they should know a little bit about history and steer clear of this type of symbolism.
BigMac on February 10 at 12:20 p.m.
Not a single soldier in that photo, Phaedrus. But I agree. The SS symbol has a huge meaning, and I would prefer that the US military never forget that.

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.