U.S. Marines Photographed Posing With Nazi Flag in Afghanistan

[Peter Lemkin]

U.S. Marines Photographed Posing With Nazi Flag in Afghanistan


The U.S. military has apologized following the release of a photograph showing a team of Marines in Afghanistan posing in front of a flag with a logo resembling* that of the Nazi SS. The SS is notorious for having killed millions of people during the Nazi Holocaust. Despite the apology none of the Marines will face disciplinary action**. It is the second major controversy involving Marines in Afghanistan this year following the discovery of video showing troops urinating on the bodies of dead fighters.

* The only difference is the Nazi SS flag had a black background - this has a dark blue background. No other difference and no mistaking it for anything BUT!

** Boys will be boys.....

[Peter Lemkin]

The US Marine Corps has confirmed that a sniper team posed for a photograph in front of the offending flag, and had been given a warning but escaped punishment.

The photo taken in September 2010 showed several Marines ''with a flag that depicted what appeared to be a Nazi-related symbol,'' said a statement from Camp Pendleton, in California.

The photo shows a flag with what appear to be the letters "SS" in the shape of jagged lightning bolts. The symbol resembles that used by SS units in World War II.

Authorities were only notified about the case in November 2011 after the picture was posted online. The Marines involved were members of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

''The photo appears to have been taken in Sangin, Afghanistan,'' a military spokesman, Mark Oliva said.

A statement added: ''The incident was found not to be racially motivated. Those involved acknowledged that the symbol could be misinterpreted and is not in keeping with our Marine Corps ethos and values.

''The commander determined that disciplinary action was not warranted. Further, all Marines in the unit were reminded that any such behaviour would not be tolerated and further display could result in punishment.''

And it said: ''The history and the connotations connected with this symbol are not in keeping with our highest traditions of our Core Values and aren't in keeping with good order and discipline.''

The Marines in the photograph, posted on an internet blog, are no longer with the unit.

The SS, or Schutzstaffel, was the police and military force of the Nazi Party, which was distinct from the general army. Members pledged an oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler.

SS units were held responsible for many war crimes and played an integral role in the extermination of millions of Jews along with gypsies and other people classed as undesirables.

The SS was declared to be a criminal organsation at the Nuremberg war crime trials.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation in Washington said it was outraged and wants a full investigation.

Mikey Weinstein with the foundation said he has been flooded with calls from former Marines offended by the photo and from one member of his organisation who is an Auschwitz survivor.

"This needs to be fully investigated. This is a complete and total outrage," he said.

Weinstein said his organisation was sending a letter to the head of the Marine Corps and Defence Secretary Leon Panetta.

This is the second time this year the Marine Corps has had to do damage control for its troops' actions.

[Peter Lemkin]

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Jim Amos has ordered an investigation after a platoon in Afghanistan displayed the notorious Nazi SS organization's logo with the U.S. flag.

The logo was depicted on a flag in a photograph of a scout sniper platoon taken in September 2010 in Helmand province's Sangin district. The Marines were with Charlie Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., and are shown sitting in combat gear with the U.S. flag and a blue flag with the stylized letters in the "SS" logo hanging behind them.

"On behalf of the Marine Corps and all Marines, I apologize to all offended by this regrettable incident," Amos said Friday.

The incident has brought scrutiny to a longtime practice among members of scout sniper teams. Members have used the "lightning bolt" SS logo for years on patches, posters and tattoos, a nod toward their title. The position is exclusive to the Marines Corps; the Army has scouts and snipers, but separates their duties into two occupations.

The commandant said Friday that he has directed commanders to investigate the prevalence of the SS logo and other unauthorized symbols within the reconnaissance and sniper communities and for Training and Education Command, out of Quantico, Va., to review scout sniper school training to ensure it is clear the logo's use is banned.

Sgt. Maj. Mike Barrett, the Corps' top enlisted Marine, will meet personally with every senior staff noncommissioned officer in the sniper community in coming days to "reinforce my message and expectations," Amos said. Barrett served as a scout sniper during the Gulf War, and later designed sniper training for Marine units in Iraq.

The controversy erupted Thursday after the Military Religious Freedom Foundation distributed the flag photograph and another image from 2004 showing a Marine posing with a 7.62mm M40 sniper rifle inscribed with an "SS," leading to widespread media coverage. The Corps acknowledged that the inspector general at Pendleton's I Marine Expeditionary Force was made aware of the "SS" flag photograph in November.

The incident was found not to be racially motivated, and the Marines depicted later acknowledged the symbol could be misinterpreted and "is not in keeping with our Marine Corps ethos and values," said Lt. Col. Stewart Upton, a Marine spokesman. The Marines' chain of command determined that disciplinary action was not warranted. They were ordered not to use the symbol anymore, and told that further use of it could result in punishment.

A full investigation is necessary, said Mikey Weinstein, president of the MRFF, an organization that says it is devoted to religious freedom in the military. The SS, or Schutzstaffel, was a military organization that committed a variety of war crimes, including killing U.S. prisoners of war. It was outlawed by Germany after World War II.

"We don't have all the information, but we know enough to know the Marine Corps needs to open a full investigation," Weinstein said. "If these guys just get a non-judicial punishment, it's absolutely absurd."

The SS logo has been worn by scout snipers going back to at least the 1980s, said Earl Catagnus Jr., who served as a scout sniper in Iraq and now teaches military history at Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Pennsylvania and other institutions. Catagnus never got an "SS" tattoo, he said, but he knows Marines of many races who did.

"This symbol has taken on a myth of its own with scout snipers," he said, adding that he does not condone its use. "They're sporting it like it's nothing because they have no idea what it means."

A Marine official, speaking on background due to the sensitivity of the issue, said Marine leadership does not believe the Marines depicted with the SS flag understood the significance of the logo. That seems possible, said Allen Falk, national commander of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America.

"We believe that these young men likely did not understand the significance of this symbol, and we call on the Marine Corps to increase education on American history," said Falk, who served in Vietnam as a Marine captain. "This issue goes beyond one of racism or anti-Semitism. Our fellow Americans fought and died to stop the Nazis, and it is shameful for any member of the military to display the symbols of Nazi Germany."

The Corps has addressed the use of the SS logo before, however. A presentation posted on a Marine Corps website said it should not be used in any tattoos. The logo was used by German special police during World War II and is still used by neo-Nazis to characterize anti-Semitism, white supremacy and fascism, according to the presentation. It also has been included in previous scout sniper training at Quantico, Catagnus said.

MRFF's action was prompted by 45-active duty Marines expressing concern about the logo's use, the organization said in a letter to Amos, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and other top Pentagon officials.