Posted on 10/26/2005 7:01:52 AM PDT by SuzyQ2
Specifics have yet to be finalized regarding the Marine detachment, but the prototype unit has been fighting in Iraq, performing raids against insurgent strongholds and conducting special operations missions.
Fighting is how they train to fight.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
The best thing these 'unconvential' Marines could do would be KILL FIRST, and then ask their surviving comrades (if any) where they want their dead comrade's bodies sent.
oops...'unconvential' = 'unconventional'
As long as they don't make my fellow Marines wear those silly looking berets. LOL
Semper Fi,
Kelly
PS I had to laugh at the title, "Unconventional Marines?"...
kind of redundant. LOL
Silly berets? That type of comment makes the 1977 Brookings Institute Study on the future of the USMC more meaningful today than it did then. It also shows that myth and rhetoric can make it difficult to separate fact from fiction.
"That type of comment makes the 1977 Brookings Institute Study on the future of the USMC more meaningful today than it did then?"
And what was the Brookings Institute finding?
"Fighting is how they train to fight." ??
Has it become so politically correct in the "other" US armed forces that conventional USMC training is spoken in those words?
Of course MARINES are trained to fight - to close in, engage, and DESTROY the enemy. I know that petrifies the USAF types that MARINES are aggressive and would actually KILL the enemy rather than to sit down and play "patty-cake" with muhamed.
The USMC has always had these, as the army calls them, SOGs. They usually just create the units on the fly in an existing unit by transfering in necessary troops.
In VN, my grunt (infantry for non-Marines) platoon was made up of mostly Recon and Snipers and a few basic 0311's (Marines). We had a special tasks that had to be done without all the pomp, braids, and headresses that other services seem to require.
< quote >
"SOCOM members or not, Marines have always had a hand in the craft. Special operations units in the Marines are not accorded the same respect as they are in other branches. The Marines view special operations as simply another realm of warfighting. Marines are Marines, and no individual Marine or Marine unit is considered more elite than the other."
< /quote >
GLORY is not why the USMC exists.
Well you don't hear much if anything about the SOCOM units in Iraq, except rumors.
But when the guys at the next table in the chow hall have beards, non-issue "uniforms", and foreign weaponry, you know they are around.
Like many other Sailors, I first wanted to be a Marine...unfortunately, like the many other Sailors, my cranial cavity was too large to fit my head in that tiny little jar.
"Like many other Sailors, I first wanted to be a Marine...unfortunately, like the many other Sailors, my cranial cavity was too large to fit my head in that tiny little jar."
or the smallness of your testicles... LMAO
The Marines experimented with the beret in the mid 70's in the pre cammie days. Decided to keep the regular cover.
and with the entire U.S. Army wearin' 'em now, it kinda discounts the "exclusivity" of it all...
the silliest beret I ever had to wear was the "girl scout orange" one worn on MFO (multiforce observers-we called it something else) in the Sinai peninsula rotation of the 18th ABN Corp.fun TDY as far as tours go...
Thank God for broadband, so that the internet is big enough for your head.
Marines are in a quandry...modern warfare is going the SPECOPS direction, and with that, funding. SOCOM has been granted broad authority in the GWOT, and once again, increased funding goes with that. The problem is, if Marines are under SOCOM control, HQ USMC loses them operationally, but they still count against law-mandated force-structure. If they want Marines to play, they gotta pay by donating them to SOCOM.
well I guess I'm just ol' school, but I like the Marine Corps dress greens...no patches, no berets...
the eagle, globe & anchor are enough decoration for me.
and that purple ribbon...lest I forget
Semper Fi,
Kelly
The USMC has had "special ops capable" elements for years, but has traditionally been hesitant to relenquish any control over equipping, manning, command or employment of those elements.
SOCOM has an ENORMOUS budget. The USMC has always been "fiscally deprived" as a Navy stepchild - gaining a foothold in SOCOM is an outstanding opportunity for the USMC to enjoy some of the budget windfall the rest of the DoD special operations units currently enjoy.
Hey, no offense to you jarheads, you guys were great as our security force in DaNang back in '67 when I was in the Navy! Just like my dog "Slimer" does today, y'all kept our homes well-protected...only difference: "Slimer" is housebroken and has a measurable IQ.
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