The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, the service’s top non-commissioned officer, is supposed to be tough, hard-charging — and more than a little intimidating.

Sgt. Major of the Marine Corps Micheal P. Barrett speaks to III Marine Expeditionary Force Marines and Sailors at Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, June 13, 2011. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. J.L. Wright, Jr.)

In that respect, Sgt. Maj. Micheal Barrett, recently selected to be the senior enlisted adviser to Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos, fits the bill. Sgt. Maj. Barrett has a long military resume, including combat service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and he doesn’t need a microphone to get his point across.

Sgt. Maj. Barrett joined the commandant on a visit last week to Marine bases in the Pacific. It was a chance for Marines to meet their top non-commissioned officer, who recently wrapped up a tour in Afghanistan as the sergeant major of I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), and get his unvarnished opinion on issues of importance to the Corps.

There was Sgt. Maj. Barrett on Marines who fail to meet height and weight standards (“get out and pound pavement!”); on the new automatic rifle the service is issuing (“an amazing weapon”); and of course on the war in Afghanistan (“we are kicking the s— out of the insurgency”).

Sgt. Maj. Barrett also tackled questions on the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the military’s ban on gays serving openly in uniform. The Department of Defense is preparing to implement repeal, and Sgt. Maj. Barrett addressed that issue directly.

“Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution is pretty simple,” he told a group of Marines at a base in South Korea. “It says, ‘Raise an army.’ It says absolutely nothing about race, color, creed, sexual orientation.

“You all joined for a reason: to serve,” he continued. “To protect our nation, right?”…