The US Navy has had a skirmish with some pirates off the coast of Somalia, and unsurprisingly did well.
But, CNN has this oddness in their article:
Perhaps I’m oversensitive on this issue, but it’s baffling to me that reporters (and editors) are ignorant of even the most basic points of military nomenclature. For instance, the Army has soldiers, and the Navy has Sailors.
Update: They fixed it, to their credit.
And those ones way out in front yelling “ERRR” and “OOOH-RAH” are the delightfully playful, though sometimes dangerously malevolent Marines. Spelled with a capital M. Gotta love em!
Well, it’s true, “No U.S. soldiers were injured.” They just forgot to mention there weren’t any there. I’m guessing it’s also true that no sailors or Marines were injured, despite their presence at and participation in the skirmish. I come from a military family (all branches except the Coast Guard represented) and stuff like this makes them nuts.
Seems the editor must have been hiding under a bushel basket to let that one slip by.
Hi Grunt Doc. Ran across your entry in Blogshares and of course, the name drew me like a moth to a flame! I have known a few of our Corpsmen (my son is infantry in the 3/7 and has MUCH respect for their Docs, as do most Marines) and thank each and every one of you when I run across them. Therefore .. thank you for the time you spent serving your country.
I can’t tell from the blog yet (only read the last few entries) but I assume that you are in the ‘real world’ now? In any case .. I agree with you that the reporter for that article OR the editor should have caught that! But I am sensitive to that too :)
Great blog .. I will be back!
Tami aka Marine Mom
Right on, Doc. And for the record: even after 18+ years wearing the Blue, it’s still difficult for me to refer to my female counterparts in the Air Force as “Air-MEN.”
Im more curious to know if the Pirates had parrots and peg legs and flew a black flag and went Arrrgggg.. if they didnt they arent real Pirates….
“Arrrrgggg” is so last year, all the pirates are saying “shiver me timbers” these days.
Although the pirates might not have required peg legs prior to their engagement with the Navy, some of them may need them now…