"I think the Army is much more connected to society than the Marines. The Marines are extremists. Whenever you have extremists, you have some risks of total disconnection with society. And that's a little dangerous."Sara E. Lister former Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs)Sitting around watching football and drinking adult beverages with friends --politics, the world situation, the economy and the state of the Marine Corps came up.
Well you can bet that the debate was on. I found myself in an unusual position. I actually despise certain General Officers that I've watched from afar and have huge man crushes on others...so no. I wasn't defending Marine leadership. As a matter of fact I gleefully threw them under the bus. My defense was for CERTAIN Colonels and generally everyone below. Despite having a bit of control over a small portion of the Marine Corps in view, most are simply obeying orders and Marine-ing as good as possible.
We concluded that Marines are doing the best they can in the situations that they're being placed in. Its leadership that fucking the pooch.
The question should be (and no blasphemy intended) what would Chesty do or say if he could see the Marine Corps today?
I think he'd be pissed. And that's the shame of it. A Democrat appointed Assistant Sec of the Army called the Marine Corps extremist once. The current administration can't get enough of the Marines.
Who changed? Us or them? Think about it but consider a few passages from an article by Thomas Smith, Jr. By his verbiage I assume him to be a Marine...read the whole thing but check this out...
James Adams, former CEO of United Press International, describes in his 1989 book, SECRET ARMIES, “Marines with 20 percent of the [American] force ended up occupying 80 percent of the island [Grenada]”And then this...
Then in a 1992 study conducted by the Heritage Foundation, it was determined that “for every [U.S.] Army soldier in a combat position, one soldier is behind the lines in such supporting roles as administration and supply; for Marines the ratio is two combatants to one administrator or supplier. As a result, the Marine Corps delivers the most firepower in the quickest time when responding to a crisis. … The Marine Corps’ greatest advantage over other services is the speed and muscle with which it can respond to a crisis.”
In 2006, national defense and economics historian Dr. Larry Schweikart – in his book, AMERICA’S VICTORIES – WHY THE U.S. WINS WARS AND WILL WIN THE WAR ON TERROR – describes the performance of U.S. troops during the 2003 invasion of Iraq: “The Marines, given their superiority in combat training and despite their youth (Marines are the youngest, on average, of the enlisted troops) generally fared far better than the regular Army in combat situations.”
And lastly, let’s look at a few examples of how America’s enemies have traditionally perceived us.The last part (marked in bold blue print) is particularly instructive. The enemy in Afghanistan didn't view Marines with fear. They assaulted a Marine Base with the goal of destroying a Marine Corps Fighter Attack Squadron. AND THEY SUCCEEDED! That unit was rendered combat ineffective and the enemy unit that won that battle was outnumbered at least 100 to 1. THAT'S THE TYPE OF BOLD, AUDACIOUS ACTION THAT WAS ONCE THE HALLMARK OF THE MARINE CORPS. PRIMITIVES THAT LIVE IN CAVES DESTROYED OUR MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR MACHINES OF WAR WITH A MORE THAN RESPECTABLE COST/BENEFIT RATIO.
During the Korean War, Chinese premier Mao Tse Tung was so-concerned about the combat prowess of the 1st Marine Division that he issued a death contract on the entire division, which he stated, “has the highest combat effectiveness” of any division in the U.S. armed forces. “It seems not enough for our four divisions to surround and annihilate [the 1st Marine Division’s] two regiments,” Mao said in orders to the commander of the 9th Chinese Army Group. “You should have one or two more divisions as a reserve force.”
During the same war, a captured North Korean officer confessed, “Panic sweeps my men when they are facing the American Marines.”
Years later during the first Gulf War, Iraqi soldiers nicknamed their U.S. Marine foes, “Angels of Death.”
And during the 2004 U.S. assault on the Iraqi city of Fallujah, an intercepted radio transmission revealed the enemy’s utter fear of America’s few good men.
“We are fighting, but the Marines keep coming,” shouted a panic-stricken Al Qaeda insurgent to his commander. “We are shooting, but the Marines won’t stop.”
Something isn't right.
Those that are being led are doing the absolute best they can. Current leadership however is lacking.