In California, there is a surprisingly robust 80-year old gentleman who might get a laugh out of that. “Child soldiers?” he might chuckle, “Like me, maybe?”

Rot Spots

There is in fact a serious, rapidly growing and terribly tragic “child soldier” situation festering in several rot-spots around the world. It has been created both by “sovereign states” and non-governmental entities like narco-terrorist organizations, criminal networks operating under religious banners and simple, but sizeable and vicious bandit gangs. Their abuse of children bears no sane resemblance to the service of our under-18 Marines, but that doesn’t seem to matter to those smugly congratulating themselves over this largely meaningless “triumph.”

In Myanmar – the malignant remains of the country formerly known as Burma – boys as young as 10 are routinely kidnapped and shanghaied into the army. Frequently they are forced at gunpoint to take part in the slaughter of innocents and brutal repression of the ethnic minority Karen tribe. This is intended to create the feeling among these kids they can’t ever go home again — not after what they’ve seen and done.

In Colombia, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia and a dozen other places, little boys have been snatched off the streets of slums and out of dusty villages, then pressed into service as couriers and cannon-fodder; kidnappers, killers, drug-mules and diminutive human bombs. One widely-used “control technique” is to slash their faces and rub cocaine or other drugs into the open wounds, to create chemical dependency and at the same time forever mark the victims as “our property.” Most real “child soldiers” do not survive to see their 17th birthdays.

Gotta Beat Up Someone …

Doesn’t sound much like our treatment of voluntarily-enlisted, educated, highly trained and motivated young Marines, does it? So, you might wonder why these “concerned humanitarians” would single out the Marine Corps for attention? It’s simple. I’ve worked with some of them, and this is my take on it:

Directly confronting the thugs and tinpot dictators who commit the real child-soldier abuses is dangerous, dirty and fruitless. It is safe and productive to attack and make demands of American institutions, because they are so sensitive to any hint of “inhumane” doings, and so willing to comply with any demand couched in humanitarian terms.

Confronting a big aggressive schoolyard bully can get you beaten. Instead, you confront the good boy who wants to do right. You get a concession, and you declare a victory. Then you go drink some wine and celebrate. It doesn’t matter whether you really accomplished anything; only that you record a victory. This gives them wonderful feelings, and attracts more donations and memberships.

The Marines’ pledge didn’t change operations much. At any one time, only a dozen or so young Marines would be affected. Few qualify to enlist at 17, and by the time they’ve graduated boot camp, undergone infantry training, a specialty school and pre-deployment prep, they have reached the age of 18. Still, I feel — and perhaps you agree — that to concede to even the least-impacting “demands” when they are based on false and even ludicrous premises, is manifestly improper, and each one sets the stage for greater interference. And I can’t help but wonder how Jack Lucas’s old comrades would have fared if he had not been a “child soldier.”