The Marines practice Martial Arts. The Army goes for two mile runs. The Marines are making warriors. The Army is making.....runners. Patton talked about teamwork. Cross country running builds....individualism. The LAW OF EFFECT teaches us that we will receive more of the behavior that is rewarded. The Army rewards runners and then wonders why they have so many poor leaders who are only out for themselves. The Unintended Consequences of the Army’s focus on running has been the poor leadership that has meant eleven years of fighting in Afghanistan with no victory. I really don’t give a damn how fast you can run a mile and a half or two miles. Can you build a unit, a team, that can fight, win and survive? It’s time we started rewarding the warriors and the football players. Let the cross country runners go wear out their shoes in a park.
I thought that since the services are having to do so much police work and handling of civilians and individuals, that both the Army and Marines were teaching hand to hand again, something that often disappears in other type wars, like Vietnam, where they wanted you to kill the enemy, not grapple with him.
I know they both run.