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:rofl
Like you'd know.
Sounds like you've lost a shirt or two to a soldier in your time
Personal military experience is not required to say any of the things I've said on this thread, and you know that. Hit a nerve, I did.
The only soldiers I saw were the ones I replaced in Iraq. They were an undisciplined lot - barely left their outpost. But there was one platoon of Marines attached to that Army unit and those Marines patrolled at least two times a day into the hot zones, and they set ambushes every night.
The local insurgents knew the difference between the Army grunts and the Marine grunts right away. My unit didnt see a single KIA in the most heavily IED-infested area of the country. Can't say the same for those Army boys...
Well silly head, there should be a big difference when you replace the common soldier with any special forces unit, be it Marines, Rangers, etc.
And I like how you left out what those soldier's MOSs wereThat's ok, I understand, you didn't want to compare your unit to an equivalent unit of another branch. You ran right back to the basic Army grunt instead :2wave:
Infantry Marines don't replace Army cooks, Jer. Thought that'd be obvious.
Oh, and it wasn't a platoon of Marines, it was actually a squad of Marines that was attatched to that Army INFANTRY unit I helped replace.
Yeah now you sound like one of those kids on the play ground..."my dad makes $10K...oh yeah well mine makes $20K...I meant my dad actually makes $40K, not $10K..."
Keep moving those goal posts, Ethereal :2wave:
Hey, Jer, how do you know an Army Ranger can beat any Marine any day? Simple question.
In my short time on this earth I've worked with a few guys who've won trophies off of Marines because they beat the Marine in some contest; usually something like pull-ups or rifle qualification.
Granted these soldiers were special forces, but that's efectivly what the Marines are: the Navy's special forces. Compairing the USMC to the Army is like comparing Rangers to the rest of the Army: and a Ranger could beat any Marine any day.
Well the biggest and strongest guy I ever saw in a military uniform was an Air Force guy. That doesn't mean I have to put the entire Air Force on a pedestal and say they are the equivalent or better of the Marines.
He died last Sunday. He was 90 years old.
Sorry for your loss.
And when you see one Marine stay in study hall until he gets a 100% on every test, that doesn't mean you have to put the entire USMC on a pedestal :2wave:
Would you suggest that the Army train all soldiers as riflemen first and foremost? And should the US Army increase its period of training? I read somewhere that the British Army have the same length of training as the Marines....
Secondly are there units within the US Army the more accurately replicate the spirit, and ingenuity of the Marine Corp? And if there are, should the Army to try to replicate such a spirit within its general infantry units?
Interested to hear your thoughts GySgt and what the US Army should be doing. :twocents:
The Marines are put on a pedestal because we've earned it through hundreds of years of exceptionalism in battle, which continues to this day. We ARE different, it's not some myth we've conjured up in order to make ourselves feel better. It's about the training we receive and the values that are instilled into us.
Gunny made an excellent point that it shouldn't be about everyone having their own little military trophy, it should be about doing what is best for everyone.
The Army unit I replaced in Iraq was attacked every single day. They had several KIA's and WIA's by the time they left. My unit? The enemy engaged us directly the first week we were there...they never engaged us directly again after that. My unit had no KIA's and a few WIA's. By the time my unit left we were handing control over to the Iraqis. What was one of the nastiest pieces of land in all of Iraq was turned around and handed over in seven months by ONE company of Marines.
If those Army boys had been properly trained they'd probably be alive today. That's the point people keep missing because they're so intent on handing out "Everybody's a Winner" trophies.
Ever hear the one about the Marine and the kid in the restroom?
By the way Marines have a 3 mile run and pull ups as part of the physical fitness test but the Army doesn't run as far in the PFT and there is no pull up requirement.
Marines women do not have a pull-up test, they have a flexed arm hang test. Marine women also do not have a crunch test whereas Army women do, and Marines do not have a push-up test at all.
I'm speaking from personal experience as of 1981. It may have changed. Please cite your source(s).
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