Posted on 09/30/2001 2:28:55 PM PDT by kattracks
Oh, I see. So in this time of trouble and turmoil, when Americans of every political persuasion are coming together for the common good, YOUR primary concern is that "eveyone in America" knows that Clinton was a Commie.
Oh, and that would be the America that voted for him twice, and nearly voted for him a third time, by proxy, in the person of Algore.
IOW, you think that after 8 1/2 years, Americans are finally gonna "get it" because some of the Marines' boosters (that would be yourself) want to continue a pointless p*ssing contest with the other branches of the service.
If you're haven't yet reached adulthood, please forgive what I'm about to say. But you are an adolescent moron.
We have far more at stake here than your endorphin levels. We happen to be at war, and it will take every man-jack of us--even a hyper-extenuated teenager like yourself--to pull through this thing.
And if you're trying to convince ME that our other SpecOps assets are without any merit, and ONLY the USMC can save the day, then you've failed. I happen to respect and admire ALL of our highly-trained and highly-motivated fighting men, the Marines not least of all.
Go back to your comic books. The adults have work to do.
I have to agree with you. I'll never forget when Clinton's female Deputy SECDEF got on national television, and called the Marine Corps "an extremist organization." She confirmed the idiocy of their whole mindset.
The people in this country who need to grow up are the ones who think we can have Congress mandate handicapped access battlefields or that calling the nearest female a "naval aviator" makes her one.
And if SMEDLEYBUTLER will accept the salute from a cousin ... Semper Fi.
Junior, we Gyrenes don't give an airborne sex act what you believe!
People like you couldn't last the first day of boot, much less a firefight.
There are some real heroes on this forum, and a lot of them are my fellow Marines.
When you step on one of their toes you step on mine and all the rest of us, and I assure you, you don't want to do that!
There has always been a rivalry between the services and there always will be. It's part of the life of being military.
Try a hitch in the Corps before you start evaluating any part of our psyche.
The difference between the Corps under Al 'Fireplug' Gray, and under P.X. Kelley his predecesor, was a very stark contrast.
Immediately following Boot Camp, I was one of the first of six SOI (School of Infantry) platoons that was selected for an experiment at Camp Geiger called 'MCT' (Marine Combat Training). They stretched us to the breaking point, then calibrated the training down a pip and instituted it in regular Basic Training called 'The Crucible'.
In USMC Basic, the 'Crucible' lasts two days. For us, it went on for eight weeks. Sleep deprivation, poor living conditions, scarce food, MOUT training, and a 21-mile road march (no roads that I saw, BTW) came at us with no warning when we thought we were going to hit the rack one evening. Two days later, we humped 21 miles back -- again with no warning. Lots of head games, physical fitness regimens, mixed with some outstanding training in weapons that even the old lifer sergeants hadn't even seen yet.
Toughest time of my life. School of Infantry training was actually a few steps down in pain, by comparison. That was when the fun came in: Amphibious assaults by LCAC (hovercrafts) and Amtracs, doing 'Jacob's Ladder' drills from Gator Navy ships, etc. All the MEU and BLT exercises.
General Gray was a son-of-a-bitch, let me tell you. I only appreciated it after MCT was over. Everyone was taken to the limits, even the instructors. I was only 20 years old then.
I'm sure I'd die if I tried to do it again at my age. :)
Unless they've been military, Tonkin, they won't understand that.
The closest I can come to your experience are the bar fights we used to have with the swabbies in San Diego who were our best buddies the next night.
There is not many a finer sight than a Marine in his dress uniform.
There are many things that you don't understand illbay, with the inter-service rivalry being just one. For a panty-waist like yourself to be calling Smedleybutter an "adolescent moron" is laughable. Why don't you tell us about your service record, illbay?
I couldn't help but think about my Dad when I read that. He was a USMC lifer who survived WWII and Korea while all of his best friends didn't. As a boy I wondered why he was such a tough SOB, but of course that was what allowed him to survive and why he demanded the best efforts from others.
BTW, he is still going strong.
I think you misunderstood MY statement. At this point, this is about as apropos as arguing who's going to win the Army-Navy game.
It ain't about the winner of the p*ssing contest these days. The only contest is with the enemy.
And I, in turn, don't care what you think about the folks paying your salary, so long as you get the job done.
I understand inter-service rivalry perfectly well. Go back and read my post (let me know if you need help with the long words).
What I said was, there is a time and a place for everything, and NOW is not the time, and the MIDDLE EAST is not the place, for a stupid-*ss teenage p*ssing contest.
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