Small Acts of Mutiny and Clandestine Subterfuge

This contribution to "Symposium: Military Dissent" describes the small acts the author committed or participated in as a means to rebel against the US Marine Corps. He had accepted the physicality of boot camp with enthusiasm, for which he was commended, but then began to have second thoughts about the hierarchical bureaucracy in which he was at the bottom, especially after he found himself in Vietnam serving primarily with poor, working-class ethnics & wondered why no rich men's sons were there. However, he soon noticed that not everyone followed orders. He & others began to control what facets of their lives they could, sneaking out when confined to base, using common sense about putting themselves in danger if they could escape the attention of the officer in charge, & performing acts of kindness for the Vietnamese. He realized that loyalty to his country had been replaced by loyalty to his comrades in arms. After spending a month recuperating from a wound suffered in an ambush, he committed yet another mutinous act -- missing the plane that would take him back to Vietnam with only a few days before his tour was over. But the realization that he needed to be there for his friends made him find a way to go back. His final act of mutiny was a forbidden night on the town before going home. Caught in the act this time, most of his last night in Vietnam was spent in jail, which he described as a "fitting ending to my ongoing battle with the Marine Corps to stay alive & maintain my humanity.". References. J. Stanton