A few servicemen getting a little rowdy on liberty is a recent invention, right? Never happened before, never happens outside Wilmington, I suppose? No one is justifying idiotic behavior while on liberty. My point is that idiotic behavior by a few does not justify wholesale bans for all. Go get a high-and-tight and see how you're welcomed downtown. Banning all Marines because a few have caused trouble is absolutely no different than banning all Blacks because a few of them caused problems. Now, we'd never think of allowing them to ban Blacks, but as long as it's "just Marines," it's okay. If a Marine gets out of line on liberty, it's his buddies' obligation to get him out of there and get him back to base. A lot of times, that's exactly what they're trying to do when the rescuer is suddenly smacked and forced to defend himself. Every one of those Marines has a First Sergeant or Sergeant Major ready to hand him his rear-end and make life miserable for the next few months when he acts irresponsibly. He also has a Commanding Officer ready to take away money and stripes, if needed. Assault is against the UCMJ whether a Marine is in the barracks at Camp LeJeune or in a bar in downtown Wilmington. So you hammer the offenders. I have no problem with that. But you DON'T bar all Marines. That's no different than any other form of bigotry and predjudice.