What Makes Us Special?

Frank Borelli
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com

I just finished editing and posting an article from our of our Officer.com contributors and one line he wrote caught my eye: after he'd assisted an elderly gentleman on a flight the man asked him if he was a Marine. He replied that no, he was a police officer. Why did this catch my eye? I had to wonder what he'd done that the elderly man would assume he was a Marine? Sure, it could have been his appearance. That particular writer is in pretty good shape and keeps his hair cut "high and tight". But that's not enough for someone to assume you're a Marine. So what is it? As the brother of four Marines, the father of a Marine and father-in-law of a Marine, I had to sit back and - as objectively as I could - "take stock". What would make a Marine stand out? It goes far beyond appearance and I found myself trying to identify those characteristics about the stereo-typical Marine that stand out? Beyond that, why don't law enforcement professionals enjoy the same "status"? So the characteristics of Marines as I view them are: clean cut physically fit nicely presented (how often do you see a sloppy Marine?) polite / courteous happy - as compared to grumpy which they are sometimes confident If you'll accept those characteristics as correctly stereo-typing Marines, then I'll add only one more: Pride. Marines know they are special; they were taught that they are and they are encouraged never to hurt the Marine Corps image by doing anything dishonorable. They KNOW that they are part of something special and they do what they can (in my experience) to insure they never sully that image. My conundrum was why aren't law enforcement professionals the same way? We are clean cut, physically fit (most of us), nicely presented (don't usually see sloppy cops), polite / courteous (unless given reason not to be, and confident. The one I'd leave out is "happy" and that's most often due to the stress we live with daily. That leaves PRIDE and that feeling of belonging to a SPECIAL group of individuals. In my opinion, too many officers today view the job as just that: a JOB. They don't feel a huge sense of pride and belonging; there's not the same level of esprit de corps as there is with the Marines. Am I comparing cops to Marines? Absolutely not. What I'm saying is that I think we law enforcement professionals can do better. We can focus, as a whole group, on sharing that special united feeling and taking pride in our good works. We can teach the rookies and support the veterans as we all recognize and appreciate each other for what we have done, what we do and what we're committed to. After all, it's not something just anyone can do. It takes a special kind of person. What are your thoughts?