Falling Asleep on Post

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Why Not To Fall Asleep On Post LCPL Islam When a Marine falls asleep on post, a number of terrible things can happen. I have been the guy that falls asleep on post before. My consequences were fitting to my wrongdoing but could have been much more severe. I now know the true reason why a Marine needs to stay alert and awake on post. One must be able to protect what he is guarding at all times. It is important for his own protection as well as everybody else’s. If one Marine falls asleep on post then it leaves a gap for the enemy to infiltrate. It not only leaves Marines in close proximity to that particular post vulnerable, it creates a base wide security breach. There once was a marine on post outside of the gate of a U.S. embassy in Germany. He fell asleep. He was woke up to the sound of a loud explosion inside of the gate he was protecting. A terrorist observed that he was asleep and took advantage of the situation. He breached the wall and planted explosives outside of a nearby building. If that Marine would have stayed awake the entire incident could very well have been prevented. His laziness, complacency, and carelessness caused lives to be lost for no reason other than the inability to follow the most basic of Marine Corps principles, the 11 general orders. Usually when a Marine takes charge of a post there is not much going on. Most nights are just placid and boring. But just because the majority of the time nothing is happening does not mean it is always going to be like that. A Marine must always be in a combat mind set. Anything can happen at any given time. Anyone on duty must ALWAYS be prepared. When I was the individual that fell asleep I was very lucky. Not only was I asleep but so were two other Marines that were at the same post with me that night. Anybody could have walked into the compound I was guarding and not
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