Eleanor Roosevelt's opinion of the USMC.

[Chas]

The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale and the lowest morals of any group of animals, I have ever seen. Thank God for the USMC.

[dog fight]

if there is one thing i regret most about my US military career it is going army and not marines.... oh well, at least i have the foreign legion to look forward to!

[Ex-Pongo]

if there is one thing i regret most about my US military career it is going army and not marines.... oh well, at least i have the foreign legion to look forward to!

A soldier can stop a bullet as good as any Marine, have pride in your unit.

[Chas]

In any country, regiments and units complement each other. Teeth arms, i.e. bayonets can't survive without logistics.
As for the Brits there is nothing ultra special about being a para or bootneck. Of course we are proud of our testing training.
However other line units, which were once the county regiments, now sadly reduced or amalgamated have equally distinguished histories. Man for man Brits are superb soldiers despite their lack of decent equipment. Blame the politicians and MoD who simply
regard the amed forces as 'disposable assets'. The former are callous self serving bastards and out top brass are not over bright.

[gatorojo]

In any country, regiments and units complement each other. Teeth arms, i.e. bayonets can't survive without logistics.
As for the Brits there is nothing ultra special about being a para or bootneck. Of course we are proud of our testing training.
However other line units, which were once the county regiments, now sadly reduced or amalgamated have equally distinguished histories. Man for man Brits are superb soldiers despite their lack of decent equipment. Blame the politicians and MoD who simply
regard the amed forces as 'disposable assets'. The former are callous self serving bastards and out top brass are not over bright.

I've never wished that I had been a Marine, but I will say that, had I not been a Paratrooper, I would have been a Marine. In the US Military, they are unique among regular line units in that every man is a rifleman first, what ever his official MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) might be (e.g., supply, cook, clerk, canoneer, truck-driver, etc.)

But Chas, my brother, how can you say that there's nothing special about being a para or a leatherneck? I can only speak for us Yanks, but I can assure you that there definitely IS something special about being one of the elites. And paras and marines are definitely elites, at least in the US.

We admire the spec ops folks the most (Special Forces, Rangers, SEALs, and the smaller elite groups like Pathfinders and Air Commandos,) but don't ever try to tell a US para or Jar that they are "nothing special." At least, don't try it if you wish to keep all your remaining undamaged body parts intact.

The truth is that these folks are recognized as elites because they work at being the best Warriors they are capable of being. As a group, each of these go beyond what is required and strive for excellence in every aspect of their craft. They are special; not because someone else believes it, but because they do, and they EARN that recognition by their dedication to being the best they can be.

I am here because of my admiration for the men of the FFL, the Greens, who are that because of the same motivation and desire that drives every elite.

I salute you, Brother, you are a Marine and you have my unreserved, earned, Respect and Admiration! And I salute the Greens here for the same reason.

[Chas]

Gatorojoro,
Thank you. And yes our RM and Parachute Regiment are superb. Nevertheless the Paras tend to look down on that they believe to be lesser brethren. The point I was trying to make is that our Line Regiments, (whats left of them) have served our country with distinction. They should not be demeaned. Ask any Brit infanteer, engineer or gunner whether he would sooner serve with Cdo Brigade or Airborne ? As for versatility, specialities open to RM even now are good. From rifleman, sniper, heavy weapons specialist, frogman/diver, MAW leader, fixed wing and rotary pilots. All terrain drivers with various vehicles.Small boats and landing craft experts. Then there is the SBS. Finally the RMs' provide 4.4% of UK military manpower, yet they provide 43% of frontline, ' badged' Special Forces. The other 57% are derived from all other army regiments, various Corps and from the RAF.
Sincere apolgies to Anciens about banging this drum. Like the FFL who are really self sufficient so are the RM.

[Chas]

Margaret Thatcher on the Royal Marines- quote.
A Royal Marine should be kept caged and only released in time of war.
I thought she also said; Rejoice..........which she did.

[mad jock]

I've never wished that I had been a Marine, but I will say that, had I not been a Paratrooper, I would have been a Marine. In the US Military, they are unique among regular line units in that every man is a rifleman first, what ever his official MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) might be (e.g., supply, cook, clerk, canoneer, truck-driver, etc.)

But Chas, my brother, how can you say that there's nothing special about being a para or a leatherneck? I can only speak for us Yanks, but I can assure you that there definitely IS something special about being one of the elites. And paras and marines are definitely elites, at least in the US.

We admire the spec ops folks the most (Special Forces, Rangers, SEALs, and the smaller elite groups like Pathfinders and Air Commandos,) but don't ever try to tell a US para or Jar that they are "nothing special." At least, don't try it if you wish to keep all your remaining undamaged body parts intact.

The truth is that these folks are recognized as elites because they work at being the best Warriors they are capable of being. As a group, each of these go beyond what is required and strive for excellence in every aspect of their craft. They are special; not because someone else believes it, but because they do, and they EARN that recognition by their dedication to being the best they can be.

I am here because of my admiration for the men of the FFL, the Greens, who are that because of the same motivation and desire that drives every elite.

I salute you, Brother, you are a Marine and you have my unreserved, earned, Respect and Admiration! And I salute the Greens here for the same reason.

Sorry mate but I served in one of the line regts that chas speaks of, we hosted the entire British military at a wee camp called otter burn many years ago, we were there for 3 months (for those that know of otterburn you will see where my unhinged mentality comes from lol), whilst there we offered every unit a square go (you guys call it a scrap or punch up) the only ones that obliged were the booties (my nose is still squint after the meeting, and i refuse to get it straightened lmao), as for the paras, they like the rest of them shat it, and as for that I only had respect for the booties, like he pointed out, our paras seem to have this god complex thing going on, exactly the same happened when they took over the garrison from us, they were all running about dragging knuckles along the ground screaming "airborne, airborne", a few interviews without coffe sorted the attitude out, at least until we had gone, measure that up to the booties who turn up (in good order) sit quietly and generally mix with every unit they come into contact with, and you can see why some people have a certain disdain for airborne units in the Brit military

[gatorojo]

Sorry mate but I served in one of the line regts that chas speaks of, we hosted the entire British military at a wee camp called otter burn many years ago, we were there for 3 months (for those that know of otterburn you will see where my unhinged mentality comes from lol), whilst there we offered every unit a square go (you guys call it a scrap or punch up) the only ones that obliged were the booties (my nose is still squint after the meeting, and i refuse to get it straightened lmao), as for the paras, they like the rest of them shat it, and as for that I only had respect for the booties, like he pointed out, our paras seem to have this god complex thing going on, exactly the same happened when they took over the garrison from us, they were all running about dragging knuckles along the ground screaming "airborne, airborne", a few interviews without coffe sorted the attitude out, at least until we had gone, measure that up to the booties who turn up (in good order) sit quietly and generally mix with every unit they come into contact with, and you can see why some people have a certain disdain for airborne units in the Brit military

As with Chas and me, each of us, and that includes you, speaks with the voice of our own unique experience, and reflects the times we served. Chas and I are almost the same age, but our experiences are markedly different and I respect that. Yours seems roughly the same as Chas', so I have to (and do) accept that the Brit military is significantly different from the Yank experience on this matter.

My primary internet hangout is a site called "ArmyParatrooper.org" where, oddly enough, the majority of the members are Paratroopers. But we have many who are legs also (we have women and other civilians also, but they are not germane to this discussion.) There is a lot of friendly ribbing back and forth, but no one confuses that with anything else and the overwhelming attitude that prevails is respect for the fact that we all signed a blank check to our nation, redeemable at any time, for any amount up to the last drop of blood in our bodies.

And finally, as much as we Yanks and you Brits share in cultural background; in some areas we couldn't be more different. This may well be one of those areas. It's all good though bro', we are all closer to Tommy Adkins than we are to Joe Six-Pack.