My fellow veterans in the Facebook veterans group warned me not to write about the E4 Mafia. I should have listened. My most recent column contains errors so obvious that I absolutely deserve the ”What the hell is the matter with you?” messages from readers. I should have made sure I understood the NCO ranks of the Navy and Marines. And above all, I should have simply Googled “Marine Corps enlisted ranks” so that I wouldn’t have been the moron saying a lance corporal was the fourth Marine enlisted rank. I apologize to my readers, to Marine corporals, and to the Marines in general for my error.

I wish I had an excuse, but sometimes, in writing and in the military, a man just needs to admit he messed up and accept he’s going to have to eat some s***.