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Army feels stung as Marine gets command post (SACEUR) in Europe
St. Louis Post-Dispatch ^ | 4-27-02 | Harry Levins

Posted on 04/27/2002 6:32:09 AM PDT by FairWitness

Edited on 05/11/2004 5:33:34 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

"Organizational issues tend not to have a great deal of interest broadly out in the public." Even so, Rumsfeld said, "They can make an enormous amount of difference internally."

Amen. One such "organizational issue" has sandbagged the Army.

The next SACEUR - the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe - will be Marine Gen. James Jones, a Kansas City native. He'll replace Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston, who got the job in 1999.


(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: army; marinecorp; military; nato; saceur
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To: 91B
He was Chesty's cousin......Semper Fi
41 posted on 04/27/2002 8:49:46 AM PDT by gunner03
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To: Willie Green
Why do we need to maintain expensive military bases in Europe?

To keep the Europeans from killing each other, again.

42 posted on 04/27/2002 9:02:02 AM PDT by JamesWilson
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To: FairWitness
I have never heard so much rediculous whining and posturing in one short article as in this. From start to finish.
43 posted on 04/27/2002 9:26:18 AM PDT by AndyJackson
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To: 91B
Actually, Patton and Puller were cousins. Came from the same line of Confederate veterans from Virginia!
44 posted on 04/27/2002 9:37:31 AM PDT by BnBlFlag
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To: BeAllYouCanBe
The cobras will be in service for 50 years which is amazing.

Nothing wrong with that, as long as they get the job done and are properly maintained.
I certainly don't object to deploying new technology that would be truely beneficial. I just don't care much for useless bells & whistles that needlessly complicate matters.

45 posted on 04/27/2002 9:42:11 AM PDT by Willie Green
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To: NMFXSTC
Well, I'm not sure how to respond to that. I will agree that's there's fat and waste in the USAF, I had to deal with it my whole career. But the Air Force is not the Marine Corps, that's for sure. It's not the Army or the Navy either. It's main mission is AIR combat. Some time ago the Air Corps had enlisted pilots which were every bit as good as the officer ones (which were damn good), but the powers that be decided only officers would "fly and fight". Now a-days, enlisted crew positions don't even exists on any combat aircraft.

The USAF's enlisted force is there to support the pilot warriors, and simply doesn't have the mission (rifleman) that Marine enlisteds do (there is a very small cadre of Air Force enlisted forward air controllers and pararescuemen that do fight with small arms, but very few). We could, of course, hire civilians to support the combat pilots, and move all the Air Force enlisteds into the Marines or Army, I guess. But until and unless some power decides to do so, I'll still be proud of my enlisted service to this country, and those I knew who are still in the Air Force.

i think you did not mean to flame my service, but remember the roles the Air Force and Marine Corps in fighting our country's wars are very different.

Semper Fi to you, too, Mac.

46 posted on 04/27/2002 10:44:26 AM PDT by Alas Babylon!
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To: Alas Babylon!
Now a-days, enlisted crew positions don't even exists on any combat aircraft.

Whoa!!! I forgot about the vaunted AC-130 gunships, which do have enlisted gunners aboard. There are, however, very few of these overall.

47 posted on 04/27/2002 10:46:21 AM PDT by Alas Babylon!
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To: SLB; Wally Cleaver; Ben Hecks; PhiKapMom; LadyX; Lion Den Dan
This (Kernan) should generate interesting discussions on Monday.
48 posted on 04/27/2002 10:59:16 AM PDT by Fred Mertz
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To: JamesWilson
Why do we need to maintain expensive military bases in Europe?

To keep the Europeans from killing each other, again.

LOL,LOL, That's what hubby said. The same exact words.

49 posted on 04/27/2002 1:34:01 PM PDT by Teacup
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To: Fred Mertz
Thanks for the ping! This is long overdue -- the Army should have realized that something was up when SecDef Rumsfeld named a replacement for the current Chief of Staff of the Army who is not due to retire until next year -- think he should do himself a favor and retire!

Several years ago I stayed up most of the night listening to the DoD budget briefings to the Senate -- only Gen Mike Ryan and the Chief of Staff of the Marine Corps told it like it was. Will never forget Cohen and Shelton trying to shut them up. After that General Ryan was not welcome at the White House.

This is a coup for the Corps since they also were picked as the Vice Chief to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Never did like Ralston who was clinton's boy but he was never as bad as Wesley Clarke!

50 posted on 04/27/2002 5:57:10 PM PDT by PhiKapMom
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To: Teacup
As a serving Marine Officer I take offense at many of the comments made by former/present Army Officers in the article. They act like we just "got it right" a week ago. Sheesh!
51 posted on 04/27/2002 6:56:56 PM PDT by SICSEMPERTYRANNUS
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To: 91B
Just a bit of history for you: George S. Patton and Chesty Puller are cousins. Figures, huh?
52 posted on 04/27/2002 7:04:40 PM PDT by SICSEMPERTYRANNUS
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To: 91B

No other branch ever produced guys like this.

How about like this?

A Tanker that got hit by a jeep ?? Come on .... Marines kick a$$ ...

53 posted on 04/27/2002 7:11:57 PM PDT by Centurion2000
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To: Centurion2000
Add to the fact that he was part of the force that burned out the Bonus Marchers and he's a POS in my book along with Eisenhower and MacArthur.
54 posted on 04/27/2002 7:13:28 PM PDT by Centurion2000
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To: Fred Mertz
Thanks for the ping, Fred. Fortunately, the Marine Corps has escaped a lot of the PC crap by virtue of its size and the fact that it is less visible. When the politicians decided to "reform" the military, the Army offered a large target. Leadership took a back seat to survival as everyone raced to adopt the latest hairbrained idea. I felt better about the Army before "mess halls" became "dining facilities", "barracks" became "dormitories" and a commander didn't have to explain to an E-7 with 16 years service that his family couldn't join him on an overseas assignment due to the fact that some of the family housing units were occupied by unmarried E-3s with babies.
55 posted on 04/27/2002 7:18:46 PM PDT by Ben Hecks
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To: Centurion2000
Ummm, Dugout Doug was the general who led the troops against the bonus marchers, and what he did in terms of the actions he ultimately took to rout the marchers was in DIRECT violation of the orders given to him by president Hoover. The arrogant bastard didn't think he had to take orders from the president even then.
56 posted on 04/27/2002 10:09:55 PM PDT by RJS1950
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To: BeAllYouCanBe
So congrats to the Marines they deserve the job!!

Agreed. And I speak as an Army veteran. Peacetime has a way of softening up the services and there has been no better example of this that the present day U. S. Army.

This is not to say that there aren't good men who could lead combat units in a shooting war, but they're few and far between. The wreckage left over from the Clinton PC hurricaine is vast and extensive. The Hidebeast and her husband did more damage to the Army than any enemy ever could. The Army isn't lean and mean so much as it's kinder and gentler.

In contrast, the Marine Corps seems to resist this creeping peacetime complacency better than any of the other services. Could be their reputation as first to fight. Or their tradition of having to get more out of less. Nevertheless the proof is in the pudding. They've maintained their high level of training, discipline and competence better than any other service branch.

There is hope for the Army IMO. Shooting hot wars have a tendency to cull out the UNSATs as they say in the Airborne. The downside of this is that a lot of good men may have to die in the process. But the end result will be a tougher, meaner hunter-killer Army. And there won't be any women leading air assaults when it happens.

57 posted on 04/27/2002 10:46:40 PM PDT by Euro-American Scum
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To: RJS1950
Ummm, Dugout Doug was the general who led the troops against the bonus marchers,

True, but Patton and Eisenhower (then captain and a major I believe at the time) rode with him at the time and followed orders that were tantamount to murdering American civilians.

58 posted on 04/28/2002 2:26:03 AM PDT by Centurion2000
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To: Euro-American Scum
The Hidebeast and her husband did more damage to the Army than any enemy ever could.
Two things:

Point one - We may still have to put up with Hitlery when she runs for president. (Boy is this a scary thought.)

Point two - I got out of the Army in 1969 but I witnessed how drugs were taking over then. A relative of mine was in the Army during the Carter years when drugs were everywhere and it took Ronald Reagan to get the Army back on track so I know the Army can shape up. I'm not sure if there is enough of a political will in the Bush administration to do what needs to be done to get this "hunter-killer" Army.

An interesting side point is both my son and daughter have been in the Army in the last 5 years. I got to see my daughter who was always assigned to infantry units get pretty tough in 3 years. My son who was an 11B got pretty good training too. But they've both told me enough horror stories of the support troops to curl my thinning hair.

59 posted on 04/28/2002 8:05:31 AM PDT by BeAllYouCanBe
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To: COB1
"Now we can shoot in any direction."
60 posted on 04/28/2002 8:14:01 AM PDT by tet68
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