Marines taking over for Army in Iraq

Stars and Stripes ^ | Feb. 26, 2004 | Scott Schonauer

[windchime]

Bump!

[VOA]

Dis-respect the 82nd (or any branch of service)...NEVER!

Maybe my words were not well-chosen.
What I was really driving at was the idea that maybe the "bad-boys" in places
like Fallujah might at least get the perception that maybe the USMC would
be given a bit more latitude in being tougher on the bad-actors in the area.

Not saying the newly deployed USMC troops would be any more/less tough than
the current boots on the ground...just saying that the USMC reputation might be
employed to intimidate the bad-boys a bit.

I guess I'm talking more about the use of public relations (or psychological
operations) to quell the stinkers.

[68skylark]

Interesting. And yeah, you may be right. The Marines work hard to cultivate a certain image. In the U. S. they are hugely successful at it. It's hard to say whether they have the same image among Iraqis, or whether it will work to their advantage.

For awhile they've been saying the 82d Airborne has been too tough in their sectors, and the Marines planned to take a softer approach (no helmets on patrol, for example). There was a recent article in Army Times, where they asked guys from the 82d in Fallujah what they thought of this idea -- it gave the paratroopers a good chuckle. And last I heard, the Marines were backing away from that particular idea.

Here's the article:

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=0-ARMYPAPER-2658066.php

Best regards!