Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include more details of Pfc. Morford’s service provided by the Marine Corps.
A Marine is about to get his ass handed to him for posting a racist, profanity-laced video to social media this week about his feelings on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Citing President Donald Trump, Pfc. Jarrett Morford, 20, blamed China for the pandemic and pledged that if any ‘Ch–nk-headed motherf—-r comes up to me when I’m in the fleet, say five five six b–ch. That’s all I gotta say. Say five five f–king six.”
https://twitter.com/MiCBarin/status/1314214945622380545
‘Five five six’ likely refers to the 5.56mm bullets used in Marine firearms such as the M4 carbine, M16 rifle, and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon.
Well, the Marine Corps may soon have its own three numbers in response: 214.
“We are working to determine the identity of the Marine so that his command can take appropriate action,” said Capt. Joseph Butterfield, a Marine spokesman, in an email to Task & Purpose. “There is no place for racism in the Marine Corps. Those who can’t value the contributions of others, regardless of background, are destructive to our culture and do not represent our core values.”
A Windsor, Colorado native, Morford arrived at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego on March 30, 2020, the Marine Corps confirmed for Task & Purpose. He attended Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton, before heading to the Corps’ communications and electronics school at Twentynine Palms, California.
Though Morford’s MOS school focuses on training Marines in the proper use of communication equipment, from radio, to phones, cryptography, and computers, clearly he never learned what not to say over said comms.
Unfortunately, Morford is only the latest in a long line of Marines recent caught sharing racist views online or in public.
Earlier this week, Stars & Stripes reported that Maj. Gen. Stephen Neary, the two-star general in charge of U.S. Marines in Europe and Africa, was under investigation for allegations that he used a racial slur for Black people during a recent training event with his troops.
More recently, prosecutors decided to postpone the court-martial for 2nd Lt. Felippe Maher, who is accused of posting racist images and video on his Snapchat account, after further allegations of misconduct emerged.
Vasillios Pistolis, a lance corporal, was kicked out of the Corps in 2018 after he reportedly assaulted protesters at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., the prior year.
Another Marine, Mason E. Mead, was given an other-than-honorable discharge in June 2019 after he praised Nazis and tweeted racist images, including explosives formed into the shape of a swastika.
Marine Commandant Gen. David Berger told reporters last month that his branch needs to eradicate all traces of racism and extremism within its ranks.
“You have to be ruthless in rooting it out, and when you find it, you’ve got to separate it like a cancer, quickly – because it clearly will spread,” he said. “It just starts to tear apart the fabric at the tactical level … We can’t have that.”
Adieu, racist boot, and good riddance.