2 days ago
A Marine Corps reply-all email apocalypse has an incredible real-life ending
An email apocalypse that swept across the Marine Corps earlier this year now has a legendary ending, cementing its place in Corps lore.
It all began in April, innocently enough, when Marine Cpl. Andrew Hundley, a cyberspace warfare operator, completed his corporal's course, an important but routine series of classes that Marines must take as they move up in rank.
But then someone tasked with the incredibly ordinary and minor office chore of emailing a copy of Hundley's training certificate made a big boo boo.
You see where this is going.
In addressing the email, the sender picked a Marine Corps-wide distribution list, sending Hundley's paperwork to hundreds and perhaps thousands of inboxes across the globe. The countless subsequent responses of recipients asking to be taken off the list created a legendary email storm that clogged inboxes across the Corps for days, including, apparently, the one belonging to Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Carlos A. Ruiz.
So epic was the SNAFU that a petition was posted online in an attempt to have Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith to attend Hundley's graduation.
Alas, the petition was quickly shut down – after garnering close to 1,700 signatures – but the spirit of Chesty Puller was likely smiling on Thursday when Ruiz showed up for Hundley's graduation ceremony from 8th Communication Battalion's Corporals Course at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
'The Marine Corps gods have called upon me,' Ruiz told those in attendance, recounting the Reply-All-pocolypse that had engulfed them all. 'All of them assembled at Marine Corps Barracks, Washington, D.C., they were pulling toes in the middle of the night. They were doing crazy stuff. They were setting up a schedule, and the schedule somehow ended up with – where you at, Hundley, raise your hand.'
With that, the famous Cpl. Hundley put his hand into the air, earning knowing laughs and applause from the other Marines.
Ruiz described the spark that lit the explosion as 'an unintentional, so innocent email that went to everyone.'
When Ruiz asked the audience, 'All of you got it,' they replied with affirmative Marine noises.
'And then the beautiful people who Replied-All,' Ruiz continued. 'And then the people who said 'stop Replying-All' to Reply-All.'
As the email storm raged, Ruiz said, he was traveling to various Marine bases, where he found that Marines did not want to talk about their barracks or other quality of life issues. There was just one topic on their minds.
'It's 'Cpl. Hundley!'' Ruiz exclaimed. 'That's all I could hear about for two days, and that's why the gods have called me to see you graduate.'
Speaking to Task & Purpose after the ceremony, Hundley said that Ruiz's visit was 'an amazing surprise,' adding that although he had heard rumors that Ruiz may attend, he assumed the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps was far too busy to fit the graduation in his schedule.
Hundley laughed when asked what he felt like when Ruiz asked him to raise his hand in front of the rest of the Marines.
'It was a huge mix of emotions there,' Hundley said. 'I was shocked, to say the least, and in the best way possible to say I was a little embarrassed, I guess. But also it was a pretty amazing feeling just to get recognized by him.'
Although the email storm was initially very stressful for him, Hundley said he has come to enjoy the many memes that have been posted about it. He also wants people to know that his staff sergeant, whom some people have claimed on social media sent the errant email, is blameless in the matter.
Bravo Zulu Cpl. Hundley! May your inbox always be free of spam.
UPDATE: 06/05/2025; this story was updated with comments from Marine Cpl. Andrew Hundley.
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