The Few, The Proud, The Underfunded

Bane says that if he had to do it all over again, he'd have joined the Marines.

Both times when the physicians at the MEPs in Milwaukee told me I was too tall to qualify as a Marine Aviator some seargant set upon me with the feriocity of a bulldog to join "The Best Ground Program in the World" where I could learn logistics and follow orders.

"What's logistics?" I asked the first time I heard the pitch.

Logistics was explained as ordering and scheduling all supplies, including toilet paper, for the troops as they were deployed. The recruiter then went onto inform me that toilet paper was usually taken for granted, but vital for smooth operations, and that I'd be amazed at how much toilet paper a group of men used.

I was in my final years of college. Extreme shortages of toilet paper caused me to go from a clumper to a folder when it came to wiping. Raids of the dorm toilets for the precious paper were common. I knew how important the stuff was.

While I'd have gone anywhere to fly, the question was, would I join the Marines to learn how to order toilet paper? Did I want to be surrounded by men who thought ordering toilet paper was a vital skill?

To the recruiters credit, he did explain that logistics was a valued skill in the civilian world and would get me a good job, but I was going to be getting my engineering degree shortly and thought that that would be more valuable than the ability to order t.p. on my resume.

Ah, but I digress...

Sometimes I wonder how things would have gone, had I joined the Marines. Then I read things like this from ARMOR GEDDON.

After a few more minutes of conversation, I realized for the first time that the Marines weren’t nearly as well equipped as soldiers in the Army. They had been shooting all night long with machine guns that were only effective for 600 meters at a target 1800 meters away. On top of that, they did not have any night vision equipment to speak of, and that’s why they kept shooting star clusters – to make sure no insurgents were climbing up the berm at them. When they saw how well we’d been equipped, they thought we must have been Special Forces.“No, I’m telling you most Army soldiers have this stuff.” I promised them. There had been a huge push to get us the latest and greatest toys when we deployed. Unfortunately, the Marines hadn’t been so fortunate, and they were at a huge disadvantage. For the first time, I could see how budget fights between the different services of the military could filter down to the lowest level.

Maybe Bane had more toys to play with in the Army than he would have had in the Marines.

Me? Had the recruiter told me that I'd get to shoot weapons, daily, that are illegal for most civilians to own I'd have signed right then and there. If I had the choice though, I'd have gone for the branch with the most and best toys.

This does beg the question "Why are American troops being sent out underprepared?" which is a whole other topic of much greater importance.