 Arasas, yeah, that's it. Hup. All the guards, come with me. Being a Marine is a state of mind. It is an experience some have likened more to a calling than a profession. Being a Marine is not a job, not a paycheck. It is not an occupational specialty. It is not male or female, majority or minority, nor is it a rank and signal. Stars, bars, chevrons are only indicators of the responsibility or authority we hold at that given time. Rather, being a Marine comes from the even-globin anchor that is tattooed on the soul of every one of us who wears the Marine Corps uniform. It is a searing mark in our innermost being which comes after the rite of passage for the boot camp or officer cannon school, when a young man or woman is allowed the first time to say, I'm a United States Marine. And unlike physical or psychological scars which, over time, tend to heal and fade in intensity, the even-globin anchor only go a more divine, more intense, the longer you are on it. Once a Marine, always a Marine.