First off, if you were on my side, your sure were awful quiet. Secondly, YASOTAY attacked me and the Marines when the subject of this thread an affirmative action Army reservist who not only embarrassed her branch, but the ENTIRE COUNTRY!!
My real beef is with the idiocy at the top levels of the Army that swallowed this PC crap pushed by Clinton. Claudia Kennedy is a fine example. A General officer who had to play 'victim' because she got a pat on the ass!! Ridiculous!! This is the Army's idea of leadership?? The COS of the Army, Shinseki, changing the black berets that were coveted by the elite group and giving it to all the Army as standard issue? I work with Army personnel in my job as a defense contractor, and every one told me of the decline in moral at that bonehead move. Yeah, there have been many fine officers and NCOs whose service in the Army is highly commendable, but Shinseki and Kennedy and Karpinski are notorious for their 'lacklusterness'.
YASOTAY has an ax to grind with the Marines, and that's his prerogative, but this Marine of the past 30 plus years isn't going to stand by and be berated and called a loser and liar BY ANYONE! The Marines are NOT LOSERS or LIARS, and we answer the call EVERYTIME!
Karpinski should have been court-martialed and demoted to PVT! The Army is soooooo easy on her.
If she was wearing a Marine Corps uniform, (which she would have had a very difficult time in achieving), she would have lost EVERYTHING and had hard time as well as a dishonorble discharge!
Read posts 40 to 44 (in order) Please show me my half truths.
Please tell me the name(s) of the Marine Chain of Command held accountable in the listed incidents.
You should research what the Marines said about their M-60 MG team back left behind on Koh Tang Island in 1975 ..... or what the Marines told their families. Maybe a Marine General would like to answer to the families of the Ospery Marines.
Do I have an ax to grind, yes when a Marine wrongfully attacks the Army or makes a false or inaccurate statement I will counter it. I hope the Marines stop fooling themselves and the country.
And this 19-year soldier isn't going to let you do the same to us because you let someone who disagrees with you get under your skin. For every Kennedy or Karpinski I can name dozens of fine officers that made their grade. EVERY TIME!
I'm not going to argue with you about Clinton appointees except to say there's nothing we can do about it. When the likes of Wes Clark get to four stars because they're connected to the president, and then those yoyos go on to sit on boards for more junior generals, who are they going to appoint? The Marines are lucky it didn't affect them as much, but it's not like we have the lattitude to get in the way of the administration's goals. We do work for them, after all.
While I don't like Slate, it was the first article that I found. You can also Google: Marines Army Sunni Triangle and find many other articles on that subject where unfortunately the Marines were wrong.
The Marines that replaced the 82nd were publicly stating that the Army was too harsh and the Marines were going to use the "Soft Approach".
It looks like the Marines were wrong.
If I remember correctly a Marine unit was overrun in Ramadi in April 2004.
In Fallujah 1, the Marines did not have enough troops or combat power to win. Yes 2 Marine battalions might have taken Fallujah, but they did not. In Fallujah 2, I think it was two Marine Regiments that followed two Army heavy battalions into the city (2/2 Inf and 2/7 Cav).
At Koh Tang the Marines failed in their tactical mission.
Beirut. Is there is any doubt?
Fallujah. To be determined.
The Army has held it's Officers' accountable. Even with the most tragic Army incident, Pat Tillman, Officers' were relieved and reprimanded. Again the Marines appear to have started to reverse course, but their actions (and INACTIONS) over the last 30 years have shown otherwise.