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I saw this in Terminal Lance today. For those of you not in the know, Terminal Lance is a web comic (i.e. it doesn't normally appear in papers) about life in the USMC as a young, low ranking Marine. The creator was even still an Active Duty Lance Corporal when it began. The term "Terminal Lance" is referring to those who are destined to hit their end of active service (EAS) date still as an E-3 or lance corporal. This is normally not due to any failing on their part, it's just that some military occupational specialties (MOS) just have to many people in them and don't promote quickly. One warning to you, Terminal Lance gets pretty profane as you might imagine a group of your servicemen might do in private.

On to the cartoon. This is pretty much a reoccurring theme in TL - the shave tail LT (as Rocky would have put it). It reminded me very much of a Bill Mauldin cartoon on a similar theme.

The Bill Mauldin

Here's an earlier Terminal Lance of the same theme. This is an example of the profane nature of some of the strips, so be warned - and this is after I did a little editing. Still pretty funny so I thought to include it. . .

The Terminal Lance home if you are interested:

http://terminallance.com/

One of my hero's from WW2, Ernie Pyle would have recognised this and probably written about it. I'm reading his BRAVE MEN at the moment and "shave tail" comes up quite often. Of all the war correspondents 39-45, he got everything about day to day life in the military in great detail as he lived with them.

Colin.

Loved those Todd and no, I had never heard of the "strip". The two comparisons between Terminal Lance and Bill Mauldin, is spot on!