I served as one of Uncle Sam's Misguided Children (USMC, get it?) a long time ago, and I will ever be thankful for the discipline it taught me. My oath had no expiration date though, and if the going gets tough, I still have skills that I could never put on my resume. Just sayin'...
From what I saw in boot camp (Parris Island), the washout rate was very high. We lost one-tenth of our platoon in the first three weeks due to various reasons of being unfit... so the expectations were quite high then. I suspect they still are, or perhaps being slightly lowered nowadays. Despite what we hear in the "news," there will always be a thin sliver of eligible people who are fit to serve.
Recently I read that something like 72% of American young people are physically, emotionally, and intellectually unfit to serve in the military. But among that 28% remaining, there are no doubt excellent candidates.
And if it comes to all-out war with a foreign power on the American mainland, everyone might be called to duty. Even decrepit, aging and aching me. And I'd do it without reservation. I suspect millions of veterans would do the same.
I served as one of Uncle Sam's Misguided Children (USMC, get it?) a long time ago, and I will ever be thankful for the discipline it taught me. My oath had no expiration date though, and if the going gets tough, I still have skills that I could never put on my resume. Just sayin'...
Thank you for your service, patriot.
I was glad and honored to serve.
Yut
The types needed for USMC (you) will never exist again. Who would sign up now and protect these POS's?
From what I saw in boot camp (Parris Island), the washout rate was very high. We lost one-tenth of our platoon in the first three weeks due to various reasons of being unfit... so the expectations were quite high then. I suspect they still are, or perhaps being slightly lowered nowadays. Despite what we hear in the "news," there will always be a thin sliver of eligible people who are fit to serve.
Recently I read that something like 72% of American young people are physically, emotionally, and intellectually unfit to serve in the military. But among that 28% remaining, there are no doubt excellent candidates.
And if it comes to all-out war with a foreign power on the American mainland, everyone might be called to duty. Even decrepit, aging and aching me. And I'd do it without reservation. I suspect millions of veterans would do the same.
Semper Fi from a squid (63-66) o7
Thank you for your service. My dad was Navy Corpsman with the Marines.
No doubt he earned the title: Doc...
He did, but they all called him "Whitey" because he had blonde hair.
The D.C. National Guard is the only National Guard unit, out of all of the 54 states and territories, which reports only to the President.
Secret service
Not forgetting the US Marshals Service and the Texas Rangers