For those in Army who speak ill of the Marine Corps all I can say unless you have worked with the USMC you have no right to be critical.
I meant to write this prior to the Marine Corps Birthday. . .but I was delayed by the fact that my wife and I had to look for a new home in the Washington DC area. . .that is another post.
Last week in the Army Times, a retired Army Sergeant Major made disparaging comments about the United States Marine Corps; I find that the Sergeant Major reflects a bias of many in the Army, who know nothing about the roles and missions of the United States Marine Corps and as such fail to understand that the Army and United States Marine Corps have separate and distinct roles and missions. To paraphrase a former Commandant of the Marine Corps, “the Marine Corps wins battles; the Army wins wars.”
Since my days as a cadet at VMI I have had the pleasure of having worked for, alongside, or with members of the United States Marine Corps—in every case I have found the members of the USMC to be true professional Officers, Warrant Officers, and Non-Commissioned Officers.
After having served with, worked for and alongside people like Lieutenant General Joe Weber, Lieutenant General Rick Zilmer, Colonel (retired) James R. Williams, Majors Eric Marble and Scott Leonard, I have concluded that as an Army Officer there is no other land force in the world that I would want to be on my flank than the United States Marine Corps. For those in Army who speak ill of the Marine Corps all I can say unless you have worked with the USMC shut your mouths.
A belated Happy Birthday, Marines, Semper Fi.
Scott Leonard *89*, and of course don’t leave out COLONEL JOHN C. COLEMAN ’76.
Many thanks!
I’ve run into Marines at Knox when my unit went there for gunnery and other armor training, at BAC and when Marine units trained at JRTC. Individually, I’ve never had any complaints; they acquitted themselves as they ought to. I’ve only done a few rotations with Marines, but from what I’ve seen I’d say a typical Marine infantry unit is on par with a typical Army infantry unit.
So, from the lower enlisted’s perspective, Marines are all around good people. I saw the Army Times headline, but I didn’t read it because the Army Times is crap. It sounds like their typical attempts to troll up some controversy.
The only problem I’d say Marines have is their ridiculous PR machine that sets them up as being God’s gift to America. Pride in your service is fine, but when you take it that far you tend to invite criticism. I’m not saying the Corps should curb the PR though, as they need to attract the talent it takes to maintain an elite force, just that they’re going to have to accept that criticism as part of doing business.
Ben: Harry Truman once said that the Marine Corps’ propaganda machine was second only to Stalin’s. OTH, no organization does a better job of teaching new recruits the Corps’ history and the obligation they owe to those who served before who made that history. Much like the Spirit of VMI and the link each cadet feels to the New Market cadets.
Can you post a link to the Army article?