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On what do you base this assessment? If the Marines are ready, the Army is ready as well. Anything a bunch of jarheads can do- the Army can do.

And anyway, what is the standard here? Are we saying our military isn't up to this job? Are we saying they will get defeated? Will they win? I think they will and when they do, please take a moment to thank them and admit that they were indeed up to the task.

Look, I like Hack and I like reading what he writes so as to have a balanced look at things, but just as I'm an optimist so is Hack a pessimist. Things will never be the way he figures the military ought to be or how it might've been a long time ago. Hack is stuck in perpetual "In my last unit" mode. If you served, you know what I mean. New guy shows up, fresh from a transfer from some other unit. I'm not talking about a raw recruit straight out of Benning, you know? I'm talking an E-4 to E-6 PCSing to Germany (or somewhere) from a Statesside post. You know before you talk to the guy that he is going to be telling you all about how "it was better at Carson" or Benning or Stewart or Bragg or Cambell.... Their last unit was always the sh!t, their last Platoon SGT was always the meanest, their last platoon was always the craziest. Never fails. This is a coping mechanism. Stressful coming to a new place, having to learn new rules, get to know new people. Having past stories is a way for the new guy to put himself in perspective. Some guys never adjust though. With them, it's always the "Old Army this and the Old Army that" "When I was in the Ranger Batt we did this and this and this..." This is Hackworth.

Here's my own "last unit" story. I had a First Seargent in my last unit. The only man I ever met in the Army that scared me. He was that perfect combination of smart, strong (physically) and psycopathic that makes a great soldier. Voice sounded like he gargled with gravel every morning and he could outrun/outPT anybody in the company. I saw him standing in the gas chamber with CS gas for hours without a gas mask and he looked like he was breathing a pleasant sea breeze. Any way, he lamented to us one day- "Men, I hate this battalion. We are so low speed it depresses me. I've been in some high speed f%^%ing units men and all we ever did was train. This unit is without a doubt the lowest speed unit in the Infantry and all we ever do is deploy". There's a lot to chew on in that statement.

I am a Marine Sergeant stationed alongside Recruit Depot Parris Island, SC. I have the oppurtunity to see what the Corps is graduating, not to mention what hits the streets in our Fleet. I can assure you that our newest Marines leave PI. squared away, but there is always that 10 percent.

"These young people today are not the same calibur of recruits as my generation," is a common statement of the generations serving before us. I am the fourth generation of my family to serve the Marine Corps. My experiences do not mirror those of any that came before me, other than the fact that we all stood on the same parade field and earned the title Marine. It is the current policies of our Armed Forces that makes us different.

My grandfather would have to get a special Liberty Pass to go out in town during the 40's. I can leave the base at anytime of the day. My father was drafted into the Army, but enlisted in the Marine Corps. I was ready to join when I was ten.

The mind set of the average American teenager is not of service to his country. It is a trait that needs to come back. The services are looking for these few, motivated individuals. The services are putting out commercials that say they have the most to offer, or are the best. The individual that walks into a recruitors office or responds to the presence of a recruitor is a hot commodity.

It is tough to be a recruitor. They are torn between putting the best possible candidates into service, and meeting the enlistment goals of the branch of service they work for. Once signed, they have no idea how this individual will perform in recruit training. It is now up to the Drill Instructor to mold this individual into a well disciplined team player.

There is always that ten percent. Some are Sick Bay Commandos, others say they lied on there enlistment package to get kicked out, and others just volunteered for the wrong job. It could be worse. They could all be conscripts that feel no allegiance to our country, or the values we live by.

Those undesireables that make it to the Fleet have to deal with Marines Like me. It is my job to develop them, train them, and look out for there welfare. We have a motto that I live by. It is "Semper Fidelis!" Always Faithful.

God Speed Ted Williams, and God Bless America.

Sgt Karkota

The 241 that dies in Beirut was a dircet result of politics, not training. Just look into the Rules of Engagement for Force Protection.