> Several Marines had shot M16s into the building, we were told, at the request of police officers who were fired upon by a man with a shotgun while answering a

> Several Marines had shot M16s into the building, we were told, at the request of police officers who were fired upon by a man with a shotgun while answering a domestic-violence call. The details of this incident are rather famous in the Marine Corps and are retold to the illustrate the importance of clear and standardized communication in combat. The police wanted to cross the street to get to the entrance of the building, but might be fired upon as they crossed. So they told the Marines to "Cover us". The Marines immediately laid down a hail of gunfire to the horror of the police, who frantically called for them to stop. Among police, "cover me" means "watch for shooters as I move and shoot back if you see one". In the infantry, it means "lay down a constant stream of fire to keep the enemy's heads down so they can't fire on me while I move". This is called "suppressing fire", and it is the only thing an infantry unit will think of if you ask them for "cover". It's unfortunate that the article implies that the Marines were deliberately used as a sledgehammer to provide disproportionate force, when it was actually a simple miscommunication. That said, the military is a sledgehammer. Its tactics are intended for hard and well-armed adversaries, not rioters, which makes incidents like this likely.