From the Desk of: Marines United (MU) Public Relations

Greetings redditors!

We would like to start by thanking you all for your support of the finest fighting force in the world, the United States Marine Corps. This country owes a debt of gratitude to its fighting men and women, not the least of which are those who proudly claim the title “United States Marine”.

Marines United is a support group (currently numbering approximately 27,000 members) for male Marines and Marine veterans (with a co-ed group designated Marines ReUnited) designed to provide assistance is times of crisis, with the chief goal of suicide prevention. We would like to see the “22” become “0”. The I've Got Your 6 movement has done much in this regard, but the founders of MU have taken it a step further and created a community where Marines can be themselves and talk about more than just their issues and demons, but the good times, the laughs, the escapades and all the things that Marines enjoy. This leads to some colorful conversations, as we're sure you all can imagine.

Since the first Marine was posted aboard a naval vessel, stories of their valor, integrity, brotherhood and hardiness have been told. Shortly thereafter, stories of the bar brawls, broken homes, scorned women and drunken stupors were spun as well. As Marines, we revel in all of it, and while it may seem less than civil to the uninitiated, to us (even those of us who have left the ranks of active duty) it's just another day in the life of a devil dog. Some hold themselves to a higher moral standard and do not take part in this chicanery, and we applaud them. But as a whole Marines are a rough and tumble group of war dogs with a taste for the carnal things in life.

Within the MU community, some have begun to share content that may be described as explicit. We allow this provided no one is being harmed, harassed or otherwise unduly disturbed. There have been instances where members' current or former significant others have been involved or featured in these exchanges. We ask that our members get permission to share such content before doing so, although under the fair use policy and laws regarding the ownership of digital media, they are not required to do so.

The content shared in any MU managed or owned community is at worst juvenile, but exactly what you would expect from the kind of men who have experienced what less than one tenth of one percent of the population has experienced. We support our members' right to share this content so long as it does not violate the aforementioned guidelines. Going forward, we aim to be more responsible in the content we actively encourage to be posted, but at the same time we do not wish to make any further efforts to censor our members. After all, a Marine with a clean sense of humor is a lonely Marine.

In short, MU is not a bully, not a collection of rabid cavemen, and not the devil's playground it was made out to be by the OP. As with any group of alpha personalities, there are a few loose cannons among the members of the Facebook group. But MU's community, mission and spirit are MUCH bigger than a Facebook group and the content shared by a few to entertain each other and keep morale intact. We invite any who have served our beloved Corps to join MU or MRU today and be a part of the effort to keep America's 911 force from being forgotten. Chesty knows we haven't forgotten all of you...

Semper Fidelis,

Marines United Public Relations and Board of Directors