What's wrong with the Army???

[SgtMcCrory]

Every now and again i run into someone that asks me why i think Marines are better than the army. I'm extremely proud of my time in the corps and most of my stories worth telling happened to me while i was in so eventually if you know me you're going to know i was in.

Anyway i felt especially proud the other day when i was in the local pool room. two army soldiers came in wearing their cammies. one pulled a pocket sized bottle of wiskey out of his pocket and got more drunk then lit up a blunt out back. i told him he shouldn't be doing that **** and he said "man f*ck that! i'm not in boot camp anymore". and people wonder why Marines are proud to be Marines! And get this. when he took his blouse off because the booze made him hot he wasn't wearing his belt. I'm so glad i didn't join the army

[thewookie]

he wasn't wearing his belt.

OOOh my GOD!! No belt -- that sloppy, worthless, degenerate of a solidier!

HA - just bustin your chops.

The Army is nasty. You just don't know until you know!

At the college that I work at, which is semi military, we have some reservist type doggies that run around here on Fridays trying to look cool for the females. They're always in cammies/ACU's cause they know their dress uni's are funny looking! There are a few of us Marines (retired or non-active types) on this campus, and the Army kids all seem to know us cause that's the only time they ain't slime-in.

I help out with the shooting team here and there was this one Army reservist kid that one day tried to give me the low down on shooting, HAHA - that was funny. I went over to him cause he had this ganked up position and then he proceeded to go on and on (he had no clue about my background as this was one of the first few times I was helping) and eventually the time came where he had to pull the trigger and then the truth came out that he didn't know sh1t from shangola. So, of course he blamed the rifle, and of course i was waiting for him to do that anyway, I put a few rounds down range and made a nice little group and then told him I spent 8 years in the Corps and my last 5 teaching shooting full-time. Now, I see him around campus and he practically bows to me.

[Mongoose]

I had a brother, who served in the Army. He went to Nam in 66. When he came home in Oct. 67, I had just got a draft notice. I told him I was thinking of going ahead and joining the Corps. He told me, what ever you do, don't join the Marine Corps. He said those guys are crazy azzholes. Well, I had always thought I was a little crazy, and I knew for a fact I was a azzhole. So it was an easy choice for me.

[montana]

welcome to my world Mongoose lol
think i wrote this somewhere else but oh well....was in VA hospital in Hellena..had knee surgery....sent me to rehab next morning...as i walked down the hall on cruches..i was teasing the nurse that was showing me the way there...she told me when we was about there ..you were in the Marines...yuppers i said...how did you know....she said...they are just differant....i think it was a complament?????

[Mongoose]

About 5 years ago. One of my son-in -laws and I was driving down the road. We came upon a road side vender selling all sorts of flags. I saw a Marine Corps flag in the bunch. We got out and went over. He had flags from all branches on display. I told him I wanted a Marine Corps flag. He said I was getting the last one he had. Said he buys them by the box. He said a box of flags from all the other branches of military, will last a month. But he always sells out of Marine Corps flags in one day. That says it all.

[advanced]

Are you sure about that Mongoose, I didn't know the other services had flags. I certainly never see any.

[vets rep]

yup...a highschool buddy of mine went to college and signed up for Army ROTC. After a year I called him up and told him I was thinking about joining the Marines enlisted.

Over the phone, his voice got real serious and he said---don't join the Marines, those guys are crazy. Well...few months later I was standing on the yellow foot prints.

I know Marines have tougher standards, i.e., harder pft, longer distance on the rifle range to qualify than the Army, -- I used to think we were way more bad ass than the Army (I still kinda do), but take a look at the list of KIA and Wounded coming out of Iraq and Afganistan. The list is made up of mostly Army folk...granted, their large numbers are on account of how big they are, but the Army has sacrificed a lot for this country.

Don't get me wrong, Marines are second on that list, followed by navy and then Air Force (Air force is last last --- we were all expecting that). I still love the Corps, I think we have tougher standards and attract more hardcore badasses, but in general I think too much trash talking between the services is really not warranted in my opinion.

[awbrown1462]

when I was a gate guard here on Ft Knox had alot of SNCOs ask me if I was in the Marines when I asked them how did they know, They would say because you called me by my rank ( S/Sgt, SFC, MSG ) and not Sargeant like the Army calls them

[advanced]

Vets Rep - There are major differences between us and the army. I see that you were attached to the 3/5. Well, the 3/5 that I was with was one green killing machine. When we weren't out on big operations we were doing squad size (about 7 Marines) ambush patrols. Why, because Marines don't die easy and we kill everything in front of us, we were in a war of attrition meaning we killed more of them than they did of us, that's why they kept sending us out, for body count.

They put us in places where we had to fight for our lives just to survive. Some of these size patrols were wiped out but not many, it's hard to kill all the Marines in a unit even if it's small, most of the time. But we drew blood.

I've seen the army attack, it's like they go forward as long as everyone around them does. With Marines when we attack everybody better keep up. Some of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen was when my squad was on line and the sheer firepower that we could put out with just an m60, a blooper and our rifles, and hopefully some artillery and some gunships. And we don't quit and we don't run. Of course when you're surrounded there ain't no place to run to.

Here's the big point. Have you ever looked into the eyes of combat hardened Marine Corps Infantry, that's how you know.

[vets rep]

Here's the big point. Have you ever looked into the eyes of combat hardened Marine Corps Infantry, that's how you know.

Woot...I agree, In general, pound for pound, Marines are a different breed and we sure as hell have a lot more pride in our Branch than the other branches. And from what I've seen, civilians seem to think the same, that Marines are just hardcore badasses.

But overall, what I guess I'm trying to say is that military service members as a whole, whether army, chair...um i mean air force, navy, or USMC, all have a history of sacrifice and men and women who died fighting for their fellow platoon mates and for their country. That is something that deserves respect...no matter what branch you were in.

[tmzjr]

I was in the Corps from 1982 to 1986 and I am very proud of my time. I was in the Army from 1987 to 1993 and I am proud of that also. Both branches have pros and cons about them. In the Army I won many awards for Bn soldier of the month, Bn solider of the Qtr. And Nco of the year. I don't know where you found the dirt bags, but I would never allow any of my troops to become like that. And I live near MCAS Cherry Point and worked there for many years, and the same is happening to the Corps. Same drug problems, poor care in the uniforms, and poor attitude towards anything and every thing. Its not the branch of service, its the gerenaration of kids now in. My son is in the Army. He is Airborne Infantry and he stands above the rest. I taught him well and he is as good as any Marine I servered with. And I did win the Blues Awards in boot camp also.

[advanced]

I have always respected all the service members, as well as all Marines regardless of MOS. When you're in deep **** nothing sounds better than an f4 making a napalm run or the sound of those rotors coming into get us. And the artillery has saved my ass more than once. S/F Marine

[Mongoose]

yup...a highschool buddy of mine went to college and signed up for Army ROTC. After a year I called him up and told him I was thinking about joining the Marines enlisted.

Over the phone, his voice got real serious and he said---don't join the Marines, those guys are crazy. Well...few months later I was standing on the yellow foot prints.

I know Marines have tougher standards, i.e., harder pft, longer distance on the rifle range to qualify than the Army, -- I used to think we were way more bad ass than the Army (I still kinda do), but take a look at the list of KIA and Wounded coming out of Iraq and Afganistan. The list is made up of mostly Army folk...granted, their large numbers are on account of how big they are, but the Army has sacrificed a lot for this country.

Don't get me wrong, Marines are second on that list, followed by navy and then Air Force (Air force is last last --- we were all expecting that). I still love the Corps, I think we have tougher standards and attract more hardcore badasses, but in general I think too much trash talking between the services is really not warranted in my opinion.

It's the ratio, my brother. In Nam, one in nine Marines were either killed or wounded. As compared to one in fourty-five, in the Army. There were way more Marine causalities in Nam, than in WW2. The average grunt in WW2 saw 42 days of combat in 4 years. As compared to 240 days of combat in a year, in Nam.

[Mxzero]

Different style of fighting between the Army and Marines. Not necessarily bad either way, only an idiot or someone straight out of boot camp, but I repeat myself, would say the Army's horrible, they just fight differently, though they can afford it much more then Marines can. And it's a bit different in the Army, the POGs generally do suck, but the infantry all things considered are pretty good. Plus considering that the Tora Bora and Hindu Kush mountain ranges have things worse then anything seen down in Helmand, it's not too surprising why they have the higher casualty numbers.

[sempidr]

Mom says it all.
While still in school, I was sent to Fort Monmouth, NJ for Crypto School. I met and became very good friends with one of the Army personnel in our barracks. Ronald S. Bagen, was in a different class, and flunked out after about 10 weeks in school.
I spent Christmas leave with him and his family in Cleveland Heights in '66. We stayed in touch after he left and was sent to Army DI School. He went to Vietnam in Feb '68.
Was in country less than 2 months and was killed in an operation with two others in his unit. 11 days before his 21st BD. Wall Panel 38E-Line 75
I talked to his mother one time, right after I got back to the States in late '68, and her last comment to me was. " I think he would still be alive, if he had been in the Marines". All I could say, was, "Probably."
But who knows. And I think about Ron every day.

What can you say???

Sempidr