From a Retired Marine

Sent from a retired marine - and Vietnam Veteran - in response to the four marines and one sailor murdered by Islam in Tennessee last week.  Original was sent by email to his friends.  Copied in full below with his permission:

How every single Marine feels right now:

Congratulations, ISIS? You wanted attention and you got it. Only, you chose the wrong people to seek that attention from.

You didn’t get the attention of our weak President. He tweeted his support for your medieval holiday following your cowardly attack.

You did not get the attention of our useless and corrupt Congress. They are too busy lining their pockets.

When you attacked those four Marines, you got the attention of every one of our 186,800 active duty Marines, along with every Marine veteran.

You just stirred up hate, discontent, and malice within a group of people who relish the idea of engaging the enemy.

There is something you obviously don't yet know about Marines. The brotherhood we share is stronger than the challenges we face, the weapons we master, or the enemies we destroy. You will learn that soon though.

You attacked a group of men who bond over the smell of gunpowder and misery and actually enjoy it. You didn't attack America's leaders, you attacked America's Marines, and that is a battle you are not prepared for.

You see, we won't play by the rules you're accustomed to. When you play in our backyard, we don't have to answer to any chain of command. We will not follow ridiculous ROEs crafted by a spineless bureaucrat to appease some goat-herding tribal leader. And we won't be wearing uniforms so that you can easily ambush us.

Nope. None of that shit.

When you think you're walking into a target-rich environment, you're really walking into an ambush.

That pudgy, middle-aged guy wearing khakis in the mall, who unbeknownst to you is a former 0311 and armed, will dump your sorry ass before you have a chance to scream "Allah snackbar.” And that soccer mom pushing a stroller, she's got a Glock19 and will happily leave you gasping in a pool of your own blood before she lets you hurt her children.

We are here and we still have the training and experience to wage war, whether here or abroad, and wage war we will. Every one of us is willing to fight and die to protect our Marine Corps brothers and sisters, our families and friends and our way of life.

And we will win, because while you fight to destroy what you hate -- we fight to protect what we love.

How do I sign up?!

In related news: It took a few days longer than at the Capitol, but the white house flag was moved to half-mast today.

My original post.