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Since this "SS" flag has obviously been used as a symbol of USMC Scout Snipers for 30 years, I find myself wondering, why NOW, do we become horrified that these terrible Marines dare pose in front of a flag symbolizing the Nazi culture? Cultural context does not even come close to defending it in my humble opinion either. Those are American Marines, not Asian Marines. A swastika, the rising sun, or a pointy white hood might mean a hundred different things in obscure parts of the globe...
...Americans know the meaning that those symbols presently reflect.

However, where was the outcry every time such a picture like this has been taken in the last thirty years? Is this REALLY the first picture that shos scout snipers in front of such a flag? Are we just now noticing that the Marines have insidiously cultured a three decade long plot to bring acceptance of Nazi culture into the mainstream under the cover of being 'scout Snipers?

Or... have we always noticed that it was a Nazi symbol, and just didn't care? Is it because now that the Marines have been filmed urinating on dead savages, we feel morally repulsed and obligated to finally say something about the Nazi symbol on the scout sniper flag?

I don't know the right answer. I know how I would deal with it in my own unit and I wont be discussing that in this forum. I like the comment made in an earlier post - some folks will look at a picture like this and go "these dirt bags haven't shaved, and look at this punk with his hands in his pocket"
...and completely gloss over the "SS" right in the center of the photo. Is that the problem or is that just another symptom of a bigger problem?

What does that say about our current leadership climate? Are we really looking at the root cause of the problem? Are we leading troops and administering discipline based on sound bytes and video clips that make to MSNBC or the cover of the NY Times? I hope not. I hope we are treating our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen based on simple standards of good order and discipline. Media based leadership is going to bite us all in the ass if we aren't careful.

Metaphorically, lets apply medicine to the situation... if this picture was a "cough" does it just need cough medicine or should we step back and find out what disease process is causing the cough?

...maybe ten years of Afghani dust is just irritating the throat?
...maybe the cough is a symptom of the flu?
...maybe the cough is because there is a full blown case of TB

Robitussin ain't gonna cure tuberculosis.

Again, we like to hide behind the "ten years of combat" however, there is no way I can be convinced that every Marine in that picture has spent the last ten years in combat. A few of them look like they may have even gone to a high school prom sometime in the last five years.
Ten Years in combat my ass. The photo was deliberate. Maybe they fully understood, maybe there were a few of them that really did not understand the implications... after all, its the scout sniper flag.

So... who is at fault? The platoon leader, the photographer, the guy that allowed the photo to fall into the hands of the media?
...or is it something that EVERYONE in uniform needs to work on?

Again, I dont know the real answer, I just know that things don't look right to me.