When we Marines were ther
Please take note that when 7th RCT was in Somalia...the bad guys took a beating every time they tangled with us.
Clinton then wanted us to fall under the UN flag and wear baby blue arm bands and hats. Commandant said HELL NO!! and we turned it over to the Army.
:devious: :flag: Semper FI to the MAX!!!!
Not worth the price of admission.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
FutureBootLouie
I'm pretty sure if President Clinton wanted us to fall under UN Command, he was the authority to do that, and even the theater commander has no authority to do anything about it, let alone service chief who doesn't has jurisdiction over such issues.
That was not the first time that the Clintons' backed down from the Corps. When the first lady handed trays to Marine Security Guards in the White House and told them to serve her guests, the Commandant marched in and asked the President if he wanted to be the one remembered for having the Marines removed from the White House. He explained that they were there for a reason and that it was not to serve crap from a platter (paraphrasing here as I was not privy to the actual conversation).
They also backed down from the entire armed forces when they tried allowing gays in the military. They promised we could serve openly as a platform of their campaign... which ended up as the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" idiocy.
Some decisions are not worth the price of admission.
The truth is that you are correct that the President has the power and the authority to make the services do what he orders. But the commandant and commanders all up the chain have the responsibility to let their commanders know when they are making a WRONG decision. Sometimes that entails a strongly worded opinion. It is the reason Marines are who we are, and why we didn't join the army. Please remember where you came from when you pin on those bars... The President serves the Constitution and the people, you'll serve the Constitution and your Marines. I wish you the best in your career.
When you hit Quantico for OCS/TBS drop me a note. There is a lil Irish pub with a strong Marine history just outside the base on 610. Good beer, pool tables, and Marines. I have two friends that I served with in Somalia, both retired LtCol's that live in the neighborhood. Since I was a CWO, it might help you to hear what it was like from a Regular Officer and a Mustang.
Semper Fi
Marie