Dogs Need Training, Just Like Marine Corps

Re “False K-9 Records Land Marines in the Doghouse,” Nov. 9: I’m semi-disturbed but not at all surprised. I understand forgery is wrong, yet I empathize with the Marines.

The claim that they faked records because of too many or too massive alternate assignments is most likely the truth. While not an excusable defense, it’s a nice inside clue as to how the Marine Corps, in large part, does business. Orders are handed down often without regard for the time needed for a project or the methods utilized to complete it. As long as the job gets done, they say.

New procedures have been adopted to ensure that the dogs are getting their training. The Marines, on the other hand, will be busted down, given extra duty, and/or kicked out. Just send in a new batch and assign them the same tasks; they can handle it. I’m sure glad my tour is finished.

Robert William Kunda

Laguna Beach

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I was appalled that people would fake the training records of the dogs. The explanation was that they “were assigned too many other duties.” So what? They could have told someone in charge that they were given too many duties and ask to have some given to someone else. Is that really so hard?

For the person or people who made the false reports, someone could have come to use the dogs that weren’t ready, possibly putting lives at risk.

Because of the Marine K-9 training, these dogs have saved the life of many a human, and what did these people do? They took it for granted. They figured that one little lie wouldn’t hurt anything or anyone. They jeopardized the lives of many, and they deserved to be fired, demoted or reassigned.

Megan Park

Anaheim