Congratulations, ISIS

When you attacked those four Marines, you got the attention of every one of our 186,800 active duty Marines, along with every Marine who ever served.

You just stirred up hate, discontent, and malice within a group of people who relish the idea of engaging the enemy.

There is something you obviously don’t yet know about Marines…

The brotherhood we share is stronger than the challenges we face, the weapons we master, or the enemies we destroy.

You will learn that soon though.

You attacked a group of men who bond over the smell of gunpowder and misery—and enjoy it. You didn’t attack America’s leaders, you attacked America’s Marines, and that is a battle you are not prepared for.

You see, we won’t play by the rules you’re accustomed to seeing. When you play in our backyard, we don’t have to answer to any chain of command. We will not follow ridiculous ROEs crafted by a spineless bureaucrat to appease some goat herding tribal leader. And we won’t be wearing uniforms so that you can easily ambush us.

Nope. None of that shit.

When you think you’re walking into a target-rich environment, you’re really walking into an ambush.

That pudgy, middle-aged guy wearing khakis in the mall, who unbeknownst to you, is a former 0311 and armed, will dump your sorry ass before you have a chance to scream “allah snackbar.” And that soccer mom pushing a stroller, she’s got a Glock and will happily leave you gasping in a pool of your own blood before she lets you hurt her children.

We are here and we still have the training and experience to wage war, whether here or abroad. And wage war we will. Every one of us are willing to fight and die to protect our Marine Corps brothers and sisters, our families and friends, and our way of life.

And we will win, because while you fight to destroy what you hate, we fight to protect what we love.

Semper Fi!