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Marine drill instructor Charles “Chuck” Taliano Jr. appeared in the Marine Corps’ iconic 1970 recruiting poster.
The new Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Troy Black, is in town. And you still do not get a rose garden. Nor can you run around with your hands in your pockets.
From the article: Black told Marine Corps Times in an exclusive interview that Marines shouldn’t expect significant changes to tattoo policies, grooming standards, uniform regulations or re-enlistment incentives: What he’s focused on is the foundation of the Corps and its Marines.
The Corps exists for “a singular purpose” Black said. “The round hitting the target. The Corps is about warfighting.”
And there are certain non-negotiables that make up the identity of the Corps. He said he’s focused on reinforcing those. – article
Nothing wrong with going back to your roots. In this instance, it’s focusing on the Marines as what they were originally meant to be, a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). After all, when John Paul Jones sailed the Barbary Coast (now named Libya) he sent the Marines ashore to invade Tripoli. He didn’t send in the Army.
This should give that guy in the pink bathrobe some relief.
Category: "The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves", Marine Corps
I am sure John Paul Jones would have happily sent the Army in to Tripoli, but that would have been an Act of War, so he settled for a small incursion against pirates.
So when are the marines going to realize they are just a highly specialized Army unit and leave the Navy? They would get better equipment, better budgets. They could keep their uniforms and train and work better. Think about it, except for the Jets, they are really just a big Ranger Regiment!
When will army read US Code and realize the Congress has established the Marine organization as three divisions and three air wings which rises well above whatever a “really big ranger regiment” might be.
Only because I know someone will ask:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/5063
Only because someone will want to compare:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/7075
AKA “those guys milling about smartly over there”.
When is the Army going to realize that they are in fact a larger generic version of the Marine Corps?
No sir!! The Marines are not just a “big Ranger regiment”. You don’t see U.S. Army Rangers tromping around with two road guards and someone to call Cadence for everything they do. Marine training is hard but does not hold a candle to Ranger training. RANGERS LEAD THE WAY!!
Well, that escaladed quickly.
No sir! The Marines are not “just a big Ranger Regiment”. You will never see a U.S. Army Ranger with two road guards and someone to call Cadence. While Marine training is tough, it does not compare to the Ranger Course. Perhaps some of their advance courses may come close. Yes, the Marines should be severed from the Navy for lots of reasons but regardless, RANGERS LEAD THE WAY!
Sung to the tune of Pop goes the weasel.
I don’t go out with girls anymore
I live the life of danger
I swing from trees and play with myself
Wheeee I’m a Ranger
That ought to pour some JP-8 on the fire.
You got it wrong doggie. We do army right. Like the army does not. you guys do one thing really down through the years, being cannon fodder. And back in those days guys like Jefferson didn’t care about “acts of war”. Marines went because they were there, and were ready. Like we always are.
But Millennial and Generation Z Marines will still be allowed to talk and text while walking with their smartphones right?
No. 🙂
“After all, when John Paul Jones sailed the Barbary Coast (now named Libya) he sent the Marines ashore to invade Tripoli. He didn’t send in the Army.”
I was under the impression that JPJ didn’t sail near those waters until he was in the service of Catherine the Great. As he died in 1792 and the First Barbary War was almost ten years later, I’m looking for a reference.
For years, Jones had been corresponding with Thomas Jefferson about the fate of ‘our poor countrymen’ imprisoned by the Dey of Algiers. Jones had been all for raising a fleet to put down the Barbary Coast pirates (hearing of Jones’s agitation and employment with the Russian infidels, the Dey had put a price on Jones’s head). Lacking the will or funds, Congress had dawdled. But now some thirteen American prisoners, sailors seized from merchantmen and thrown in grim cells of Algiers, were writing pleading letters, saying they would have to covert to Islam if help did not come soon. In the late spring of 1792 Congress was at last moved to create a delegation to negotiate with the Dey. Remembering Jones and his deep concern for the fate of prisoners, Jefferson, the first American Secretary of State, appointed Jones to lead the American delegation. But Jones was dead by the time his commission and instructions reached Paris at the end of July.” – Evan Thomas in “John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy.”
Jones was dead by the time his commission and instructions reached Paris at the end of July 1972.
Jones died at the age of 45. Congress authorized payment of “tributes” as ransom to Barbary Coast Pirates. But, when more tributes were demanded, Jefferson called for a strong naval response, which led to the First Barbary War in 1801.
No the Marine Corps aren’t a “big Ranger Regiment”, they are dirty, nasty LEGS.
Rangers are not.
That said, let’s leave Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children to the Navy. The Army has its own issues. We need the USMC to do what they do, and the Army to do what they do.
“Lacking the will or funds, Congress had dawdled.” Bet that wasn’t the FIRST time that happened. Damn sure wasn’t the last time.
Good article and linkies. Another adult has been put in charge.
Loosening the obi of the pink robe may bring the guy some relief.
Wow, a Marine/Army slugfest right here at TAH! But from a distance ya can’t tell the goats from the sheep.
Marines have specialized mission that ” Big Army” shouldn’t have to spend budget and manpower on.
The Rangers and Special forces are just a small portion of Big Army. Marine Force Recon, Recon Battalion and Raiders are just as Elite.
one last thing…
How Many women have made it through Raider Indoc/ Training?
Is ‘I don’t really care’ a valid answer?
*grin*
Yer back at it- fightin’ each other instead of minding the mission. Semper Fi.
Don’t forget that the Marines at Tripoli were led by an Army officer, William Eaton. There are a lot of misconceptions about both the Army and the Marines that don’t serve anyone well in understanding the role and capabilities of either force. The Marines are a relatively highly capable expeditionary force that is optimized for what we used to call the low to mid intensity end of the spectrum, while the Army is a much larger force with a wider range of capabilities that span the entire spectrum. Both have incredible histories that begin with the founding of the nation (in the Army’s case, before the founding), and continue right up to present day. The difference is scale and capability, not in quality. Let me give you a sense of scale. The Marine Corps has about 185,000 active duty troops and about 40,000 reservists, providing the nation with a total of 32 Infantry Battalions, 24 active and 8 USMCR. There are 2 Marine tank battalions on active duty and a third in the USMCR. There are a total of 11 artillery battalions, 3 of which are in the reserve. Now in case you think small size alone makes the Marines elite, keep in mind that the entire British Army (active and reserve) is just over 100,000 troops (85,000 or so active). The Army is about 480,000 active duty, but roughly 3 times the size of the Marines in ground combat units. I may be off by a brigade or two, but the Army has more than 30 Brigade Combat Teams on active duty and another 25 or so in the National Guard. Of course, there are multitudes of Combat Aviation, Fires (artillery), combat engineer, MP, Intel, and sustainment brigades out there as well. Now, for capability. Again, the Marines are optimized for amphibious assault and expeditionary operations in the littoral supported by a Navy/Air Force/Army logistics train. Once ashore, they are limited in tactical mobility, firepower, and armored protection. On the other hand, a typical Armored Brigade Combat team has almost as many tanks as the entire active duty Marine… Read more »
Well, there you go injecting copious facts and reasonable insight into a perfectly good slugfest. Those things have no place here.
When the actual assault on Derna was made, a Marine officer. Presley O’Bannon was leading it. The doggie was in overall command but he didn’t put boots on the ground and participate in the bloodletting.
You forgot the insidious USMC plot to infiltrate the ARNG – half of the damned personnel are former Marines. 🙂
Seriously, what’s up with that? It was true even when I was in TXARNG in Robstown, Texas, in 1987 (2-141 Infantry, ‘Remember the Alamo’). Our 1SG was a former Marine as were quite a few of the NCOs. They all wore their unofficial and unauthorized Marine combat patches. I didn’t know any better, plus I was just a private, so I wasn’t going to say anything…
Most of the NCOs were Vietnam vets. My squad leader was a 101st vet with a CIB. Our brigade and battalion commander both had been in the 173rd.
True story: When I became a cadet the battalion commander threw his helmet at me and another cadet in a fit of what I assumed was PTSD induced rage at Camp Bullis. He missed, probably on purpose, although me and the other guy moved out of the way pretty fast. I remember one odd detail: It was a steel pot with the old camo pattern (I believe it was called the Mitchell pattern
As an Army guy I would say the only reason Marines rather than soldiers invaded Tripoli was, no soldiers were available. Also, the invasion occurred in 1805, 13 years after John Paul Jones died in Paris. The “shores of Tripoli” force consisted of 500 mercenaries and eight (8) Marines, led by Marine Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon, with overall command by Consul William Eaton.