This is what you said:Not ill-informed. Rather, I was confused. You make it more clear you're referring to the Ranger School and not the 75th Ranger Regiment. Huge difference. That's why I mentioned Force Recon as a comparison (to the Rangers), which should have made the confusion evident.
In all frankness, my only belief is that if Group A has a lot more resources and development to be a lot better at X function than Group B, it's no surprise is Group A is better at X. If some entity is doing something better than another, I'll say it how it is. There is no "liability" or "attitude" of any kind from my part. It just seems some people have strong emotions regarding certain matters. Let's forget about infantry. Talk about armor, and there are Marines and ardent supporters of the Marines who will become less-than-orderly if you suggest the Army does it better.
As an example, if you were an engineer, most of your job would be looking at a problem or even something already working "well", and asking yourself how you can make this better or create something better, or what you are doing wrong that so-and-so is doing better. Having worked at companies where others just simply outdid us in certain areas, you learn to very readily accept it and consider what you can do better. If you blow hot air as an engineer, you're doomed to fail. I've seen it a million and one times. Regardless of that, the crusaders are limitless. If you tell people Apple makes a better SOC than Samsung, you're going to start a war even though what you said is absolutely true.
And forget about my own personal experiences or opinions, because I'm talking about the experts' experiences and opinions. Even if I was lecturing you on subjects I've at various points been considered an SME with, like Intel and AMD processors and architectures, my rich personal experience is nothing compared to the experts. And when you talk to the experts, you come to understand why Intel makes higher-performance processors. This doesn't prevent AMD, however, from massively marketing why everything they make has the Midas touch and Intel products are basically scrap metal. Now you may ask me, "Why?" Because that's just how competition works. However, when infantry from the Marines, Army, and both tell you more or less the same things and they walk you through what they do, how they train, what they use, their experiences in both roles, etc. you then understand things.
Is it possible I dealt, worked, or spoke with all the "wrong" people in the "wrong" contexts/places with the "wrong" combat experience who were infantry in the Marines, Army, or in both services? Certainly. We can see Random8145 has a very different anecdote himself.
With that said, in areas such as armor or artillery where there's no debate about who reigns supreme, you will still find people (evidently on this forum too) who would claim the Marines are a lot better. It's just the competitive nature of things.
Believe me. I'm very thankful I will not be doing anything in that capacity again. However, I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch because Afghanistan is apparently a very popular MOB for reserve officers in this community.
Imagine this. You're a teenager. A family member needs a very expensive life-saving surgery which you have no idea who's going to pay for, and of lesser concern you have no idea how you're going to pay for eventual college for yourself and a sibling on your own. Do you A) take advantage of an opportunity to qualify and do something seasonal taking advantage of particular "skills" you have, and make loads of money to do crazy things (which you're eventually very fortunate to mostly forget), even if you know it's an almost guaranteed death sentence, or do you B) go away for 4 years (even maybe sitting on a comfy Air Force base if you go that way), making jack in pay, said family member almost certainly dies, sibling is barely scraping by, but hey you get the GI bill? At least at the time, the choice was very simple.
No disrespect meant at all. If I'm going to be arrogant about anything, it'll be my professional achievements, but even there I feel no impulse. If I was arrogant, I certainly would have gone with choice B. Getting seen as a superhero for doing anything in a uniform plays far more to the arrogant mind than frankly thankless, risky work one is forced to do for their family's sake.
I hope it wasn't anything serious, but I think it would be very strange if you were dishonorably discharged for medical reasons.
Okay, you mean the Ranger school. Yes, that's for anyone who is qualified to attend, including outside of the Army. That's a substantial difference from the proper 75th Ranger Regiment.
Nope, I was comparing Force Recon to the Rangers. Griz clarified specifically Ranger School and not the 75th Ranger Regiment and their ridiculously high standards. The confusion was I mistook him as comparing TBS to the Rangers, which is why I suggested Force Recon would be a better comparison to the Rangers.
“Genuinely curious as this is the first time I've ever heard TBS compared in any manner to Ranger school. They're two functionally different things. Are you confusing TBS with something else like Force Recon? TBS is for any Marine officer, no matter what they do, not just infantry. It's a peanut butter spread school for all officers. Ranger school is for elite special forces and the standards and qualifications are much higher than even other Army infantry units, nevermind TBS.”
Every additional response just further illustrates that you have no clue what you’re talking about.