ARMY RESERVES,...worth joining or no?...

[javaguru]

chesty Not really. And that is not a slam. It is a fact of dewindling budgets and so forth. And as far as the island hopping better check your history. The Marines secured every major island, port and air strip in the pacific theater. The army was along for the ride. Okinawa, Tarawa, Guam, Saipan, Phillipines, etc. Yes, we secured the beachead, did the job they couldn't and let them in to mop up. But they did help us along the way and they were good at what they did.

Well, considering I spent four years in one of the top military history programs in the country I hope I can get my history straight! Otherwise, the US government wasted quite a bit of money, not that they seem to mind!

Sorry for the history.....
There were basically two "prongs" in the Pacific Campaign, the northern led by Nimitz and the southern led by Mac. The Marines played a much larger role in the northern campaign taking many of the small islands nearly single handed. The southern prong involved predominately Army units and they saw a great deal fo action in areas with much larger geographic regions in which the fighting took place. As a side note, there was a great rivalry between Nimitz and Mac with Nimitz resenting the "favortism" Mac received with regards to assets and operational approval. Regardless, looking at the orders of battle relatively few marines took part in operations as compared to US and Australian Army units. Also due to the nature of their roles Marine operations typically took weeks while Army operations took months as they tried to root out and destroy resistance under dismal conditions.

Regardless of budget cuts, the average US soldier is better trained and equipped than 99% of the world. The average US soldier spends more time in the field conducting training operation than most every country in the world. There is no country in the world that can match our projection power and ability to sustain operations far from our own borders. We certainly lack the preparedness of the Cold War Reagan years and early Bush Sr. years but those were exceptional moments in that regard.

Those of you who decide to enter military service will find there is a great deal of rivalry at all levels. There is rivalry between branches, rivalries exist intra branch ( Infantry, Armor, Artillery) and even within units. A certain amount is encouraged and healthy. There are some pretty high speed guys in Army infantry units, many wear Ranger tabs, and there are weak dick marines.
However, at the end of the day lets not forget we're all on the same team and once the bullets start flying that's how it works out.

 

[Big Buck]

It's all good bro....you know we gotz to fuck with you Army dogs I've 'chewed the same dirt' as many a Ranger. They're all a bunch of good guys. Take care....and thanx for serving your country bro.

Semper Fi

 

[javaguru]

It's all good bro....you know we gotz to fuck with you Army dogs I've 'chewed the same dirt' as many a Ranger. They're all a bunch of good guys. Take care....and thanx for serving your country bro.

I know, nothing like a good natured rivalry.

Nobody can match a marine in esprit de corps, that's for sure.

 

[theoak01]

imin the reserves for a co-op and im going away for a summer course and so far ive been loving every minute of it and im on nomination for course candidate(being the best in group),im sure you will love it to as canadian and american training is very similar

i also volunteered for a bosnia peacekeeping mission next may,and if i get accepted im staying reserves until im back from that and then going regs

hopefully you will join and if you dont like it get a discharge

 

[chesty]

That is true. but our job was to seize and defend forward naval bases. And we did that all the way to Japan.

As for the rivalry, you know the Marines have the biggest head in the group!

I'm suprised that Ranger hasn't popped up on this thread.

As for the training I am not comparing us to the world I am comparing us to ourselves. And due to budgets and shitty leaders we have lost a huge edge which we used to have.

 

[the People's Champ]

As for the training I am not comparing us to the world I am comparing us to ourselves. And due to budgets and shitty leaders we have lost a huge edge which we used to have.

true that... one reason I declined to stay in.

body temple-if you want to join the military, go active duty. don't go in the reserves. as far as the reserves helping you out? it all depends on your unit, your current job sitch, etc, etc. I gto screwed because I would HAVE to go to drill during the middle of the week, and my employer would always give me shit about it. yes, I was protected by the sailors and soliders act, but still that was a headache I didn't need. if I could do it again, I would go active. depending on your job in the reserves, it may or more than likely not require you to spend your "weekends" during the week, where it may conflict with school or work(if you have a steady job.

 

[Longhorn85]

As for the training I am not comparing us to the world I am comparing us to ourselves. And due to budgets and shitty leaders we have lost a huge edge which we used to have.

Let's talk about training for a second. I am an artilleryman, and when I got trained at the artillery school at Fort Sill, I wondered why there were so many Marines there. I found out that it is because they use the Army's school to train Marines. You guys don't even have your own arty school.

I have worked with many Marines, with the Rangers and elsewhere. Some good, some bad. Mostly good. Many Marines comment that SF, Ranger, 82d are good, but the rest is not. What Marines don't realize is that the Army's missions require a lot more, and a lot different kinds of soldiers. Logisticians, Scientists, Researchers, Engineers, Communicators...AND WARFIGHTERS! The USMC is dwarfed by the Army when it comes to responsibilities and capabilities. They are after all, a part of the Navy, many countries refer to thier Marines as Naval Infantry.

Chesty and Buck, again mighty props to you, but let's look at the facts. The Marines were in Afghanistan for weeks and NO ACTION. The Army, (the part you criticized, the regular Army like 10th Mountain( my old outfit) and 101st are taking it to the enemy.

Usually when Marines ARE in combat, they are commanded by an Army guy, like Schwartzkopf or Franks or MacArthur.

The Army is the shit!
Rangers lead the Way!

 

[SDRaver]

You can blast the Reg Army all you want

But if anyone has anything to say about Rangers fill me in. I i was in SOCOM (Special Operantion Command ) from 91-2001. Every branch of the military has units except for one. You know who you are. Another little known fact is that this one unit alows PADI diver certification for their dive quals. Giving it the same merrit as the Combat Diver Qualification Course down in Key West. These guys refer to themselves as Special operations capable but they are by know means in the Spec Ops community.

 

[BronzedGoddess]

Re: You can blast the Reg Army all you want

But if anyone has anything to say about Rangers fill me in. I i was in SOCOM (Special Operantion Command ) from 91-2001. Every branch of the military has units except for one. You know who you are. Another little known fact is that this one unit alows PADI diver certification for their dive quals. Giving it the same merrit as the Combat Diver Qualification Course down in Key West. These guys refer to themselves as Special operations capable but they are by know means in the Spec Ops community.

Yes SSG!

in the fron leaning rest position.

 

[SDRaver]

Time for some fratnization swettie Bronzed all over I hope