He got pinned =P
Well, he didn't get pinned hard, but that doesn't make him any less of a Lance Corporal.
=D
One of the many amusingly painful traditions of the Marine Corps is the "pinning" ceremony: when an enlisted gets promoted, they have to change out their lapel pins to indicate their new, higher rank. The men being promoted are given these new pins by their superiors, who will stick the chevron pins on the lapels, but leave the backs off (they're straight-backed). Said superior then hits the pins as hard as he wants - yes, there's often a bragging right if blood is drawn - and, for the rest of the day, the newly pinned Marine has to leave the backs off his chevrons and anyone of equal or higher rank is allowed to hit them into his soft flesh. (Here's a picture to illustrate the pinning - not the hitting...)
When I visited EJ awhile back, one of his buddies had just gotten promoted to PFC, so the backs of his pins were off. EJ, totally relishing the opportunity like the sick b*st*rd he is, gleefully pounded his fists - and the pins - into the poor guy's chest. To his credit, the PFC didn't even flinch, even as he pried them back out. Apparently, earlier in the day, someone had struck a vein, which bled completely through his cammies.
EDIT: It's a matter of pride not to flinch when someone pins you. I kept freaking out at the prospect when I was down there in Florida and the guys around me just kept repeating, "It's no big deal."
=D
One of the many amusingly painful traditions of the Marine Corps is the "pinning" ceremony: when an enlisted gets promoted, they have to change out their lapel pins to indicate their new, higher rank. The men being promoted are given these new pins by their superiors, who will stick the chevron pins on the lapels, but leave the backs off (they're straight-backed). Said superior then hits the pins as hard as he wants - yes, there's often a bragging right if blood is drawn - and, for the rest of the day, the newly pinned Marine has to leave the backs off his chevrons and anyone of equal or higher rank is allowed to hit them into his soft flesh. (Here's a picture to illustrate the pinning - not the hitting...)
When I visited EJ awhile back, one of his buddies had just gotten promoted to PFC, so the backs of his pins were off. EJ, totally relishing the opportunity like the sick b*st*rd he is, gleefully pounded his fists - and the pins - into the poor guy's chest. To his credit, the PFC didn't even flinch, even as he pried them back out. Apparently, earlier in the day, someone had struck a vein, which bled completely through his cammies.
EDIT: It's a matter of pride not to flinch when someone pins you. I kept freaking out at the prospect when I was down there in Florida and the guys around me just kept repeating, "It's no big deal."
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