So…you may remember that I was wondering how my son’s little brother was doing. He signed up for the Marines and went into basic training in March. We hadn’t heard from him and I was wondering how to get ahold of him.
Well, wonder no more. He called his aunt and told her he was discharged due to “Inability to Adapt.” I’ve never heard of this before. When I told my husband, the Vietnam era Marine, he was stunned. He said the general approach to this sort of thing in 1962 was, *“Well, you BETTER FUCKING ADAPT!”, * which was usually accompanied by a slap upside the back of the head.
I guess my question is, what constitutes an “inability to adapt” discharge? Emotional? Attitude? Intelligence? This kid came from a very rough background and really has no other options. He’s currently living with his new girlfriend’s family in Florida. None of them work. He’s washing dishes. And he’s considering going back to Colorado near relatives on the other side of the family…none of which are being held up as the pillars of the community.