Dude... seriously... just keep the mouth shut on here for a little bit and learn.
I tried that approach via PMs. He replied in what I thought was an understanding manner. I was wrong.
Dude... seriously... just keep the mouth shut on here for a little bit and learn.
Lots of guys in AL Anbar province who might disagree. The Marine Corps has in a way morphed into a few extra divisions who wear cooler uniforms. I agree we should not be an occupying force but it has been overcome by events.
oh, some dudes in VT-6 were telling me it was because infantrymen don't trust anyone who has been through the hellish crucible of TBS.
yes this is an inflammatory comment:icon_tong
- Well, this mentality is out there and is really just a very very simplified explanation of what I said in #1 above. Think about it, if you have pilots who spend a majority of their time working on CAS you will feel more comfortable with them then those who don't because of the possibility of mistakes.oh, some dudes in VT-6 were telling me it was because infantrymen don't trust anyone who has been through the hellish crucible of TBS.
BTW, the Marines may win battles, but the Army wins wars. It takes boots on the ground occupying terrain to win wars. The Marines, as an expeditionary force, do not have enough feet or the support systems to keep the boots there.
You are missing the point. The Army, if it really wanted to, has enough boots to occupy ALL of Iraq. The Marines don't. It's a simple matter of size. You have to occupy the entire theater to win the war (at least the strategic portions), the Marines are not big enough.Hmm... yeah... I'm gonna have to say that's pretty much not accurate. I'm a Marine, and my boots spend 7 months a year in the iraqi moondust. This isn't uncommon for Marines since... oh... 2003ish.
By the way, this brings up an interesting point. The Marines are the best at the Marine Corps' expeditionary/amphibious mission... this is pretty much agreed. What can be said of the fact that we are better than the Army than the Army is at their own mission?
I personally believe there are some missions the Marines are better at and some the Army are better at. But I'm not going any further into that quagmire.
You are missing the point. The Army, if it really wanted to, has enough boots to occupy ALL of Iraq. The Marines don't. It's a simple matter of size. You have to occupy the entire theater to win the war (at least the strategic portions), the Marines are not big enough.
....Are the Marines better than the Army at the Army's mission? That is a whole different debate and I'm sure the answers would fall along service lines. I personally believe there are some missions the Marines are better at and some the Army are better at. But I'm not going any further into that quagmire.
The bottom line is that the Army could do Iraq without the Marines but the Marines can not do Iraq with out the Army. Not for the long term. There is a reason something like 80%+ of the Army are support/logistics types. The Marines just do not have the infrastructure to conduct long term occupations or wars on their own. They need the Army to support them in that. The Army has the trucks and transporters. The Army has the engineers. The Army has civil affairs specialists. The Army runs the ports. The Army even has the tug boats and harbor masters if needed. The Marines were not designed this way, the Army was.Agree with the basic theory, Army good at some Marines good at others, but have a question...if we are talking about occupying all of Iraq. Do you count what we are currently doing as occupying all of Iraq? If so the USMC has enough personnel without a rotation. The size of the theater is really important here, say the difference between Iran and Israel. The Marine Corps would have enough to occupy one but not the other...then again the Army doesn't have enough to occupy China so does that mean the US can't win in a war against China? I get your point, just not sure if I buy it...
I personally believe that basing your self esteem upon the baseless denegration of others is a noble aspiration, to say the least. The fact that the Army and Air Force have yet to show up to defend themselves on this Navy/Marine website only proves that they are too scared to admit that they do, in fact, suck and have never accomplished anything. Ever. How could they be good at their jobs when they are "nasty" and wear rounded covers. Better to have one group do everything at once.
This is directed at no one in particular, but I catch whiffs of this sentiment daily (both inside and outside the military) and it grates on me. Few things should raise your respect of someone faster than their own respect for others.