Hmmmmm... From top to bottom - Outstanding Physical Marines to Outstanding/Good Athletes to Good Army to Good Physical Health to Okay Navy to "The Air Force works out?" But that could just be my Marine Corps Bias talking...

They do tend to do that.

I could also say that about Mortar Bases, Heavy Machine Gun Tripods, and the SMAW.
19:03 was my absolute best in my Final PFT of Boot Camp (MCRD San Diego for the win). I tended to average about 22 minutes for most of my Marine career (ran a 44 Minute Camp Pendleton 10k in NCO School), but did slow down the last year or two. Of course, running with Chronic Bursitis (in the hips) is always fun, which I unfortunately picked up in Boot camp. *shrug*

Trelk.

--



Don't let the last episode discourage you too much. You'll understand why us Farscape fans consider Firefly fans cry babies when they talk about their show getting cancelled.

I was WAY pissed off about the ending of the last Episode, until I found the Movie. In fact, Pissed off does not even cover it.

The shenanigans that Sci-Fi pulled were beyond the pale. Sci-Fi was entirely in support of the show then pulled the rug out from under them.

Here's a write-up of the events that transpired and how the likely lead to the cancellation.... It's apparently Michael Jackson's fault....

Interesting Reading... Thanks.

My recruiter personally knows an Army Ranger who went Marines and stated that Ranger School is easier than Marine Boot Camp. I also personally know a female Marine who's in the last leg of her OCS who picked up a CIA/FBI application that specifically looked for Army Delta Force, Navy SEALs, Air Force Pararescue, or Marines. Not Marine Snipers, not Marine Recon, just Marines. It's been rightly said that the Marines are their own branch of elite military who have their own elite groups inside it.

Indeed... And we are damned proud of it.

See the first line of my sig.

He's wrong or misleading for dramatic effect. The failure rate is not comparable. There was a 42% graduation rate from Ranger school last year IIRC. What is the graduation rate from boot camp? I'm told it is career death for the few Marines who get selected to go to ranger school to fail, but they select officers and NCOs to attend and they select and train to avoid becoming the 60% of failures who fail in the first 3 days due to PT, Land Nav, 15.5 mile foot march or the combat water survival course (in other words, they were not properly prepared).

Sorry couldn't resist ^^
Also I heard a story a while back and Im not sure how true it is, but it is related to that notion.
So I heard that in some sort of exchange program Navy SEALs visited one of our special forces branches. As a fun exercise they were invited to try the mandatory obstacle course and failed admirably.
Worth noting is that this particular branch (known as fallskärmsjägarna "parachute hunters") are considered one of the best Artic climate special forces in the world, they train in the 'where hell freezes over' part of the country and it's likely that this story is severely exaggerated for some national chestbeating pride.

I didn't say anything about the failure rate, I was talking about the whole experience. The PT, the DIs, the length, the mental stress - all of it. Also note I said Army Rangers and not Delta Force or Pararescue - there are definite degrees of elite out there.

We can go back and forth with different branches and their _____ contests, but from everything I've seen, read, and heard, Marine boot is worse than some other branches' lower-tier special ops.

*sniffs* Whew, the testosterone in here is rather thick, someone open a window.

are you nuts?
there's like . . . fresh air out there . . . that's poison to any good nerdery <.<

.... fresh air, and sunlight ...!!! O_O

(Well, not exactly RIGHT NOW ... really it's rather dark out there ... which only means I might TRIP AND FALL ... geeze, why would anyone want to go out there...?

Ranger school is a patrolling and small unit leadership SCHOOL. It's run by the Infantry School. RASP is the selection course, it is run by the Ranger Regiment and traditionally has about a 30% graduation rate.

Navy SEALS
Marine Recon
Army Rangers
Air Force...... Um... Para-rescue (IIRC).

The all have their purpose and roles in the grand scheme. No one is fully better than any other (Though I'll always side with the SEALS for obvious reason.).

After 12 years of service; I still find it amusing that the Navy has it's on lingo besides the acronyms.
Head, Bulkhead, Overhead, Deck, Swab, Cadillac, Scuttlebutt, Gee dunk, etc...

Pogeybait, Squid...

That's just mariner talk innit?
Yet to hear someone call right bloody right on a boat...

Well,
Port is a place where you park a boat
and a Starboard is much like a Surfboard, but for star surfing.

As a Marine, I used Right and Left, personally.

Head, deck, eyes, bird, butterbar, chow, jarhead, ink stick, rack, LPCs... Marines have their own lingo too.

Marine'r' not Marine, as in seafarer

Yeah, I know...

Some of which we share with the Navy Squids.

One of the first RPGS I boutgh other than D&D. I have fond memories of taking out bumpers with 40mm HEDP grenades. Nothing like playing the 40+ year old Colonel with one of the last M1A2's in the western front. Youngest PC I ever made was a 15 year old East german kid with an AK-47......

Yeah, I was an old school Russian Spec Ops character forced to work with the East German Interrogator, the British SAS guy, and a couple of American GI's because we had all been cut off from our units. Worked out pretty well in the end. Even if we did lose the Brit 5 minutes into the game from an ill thrown grenade.

Well, it does make sense that the navy would use nautical terms, don't you think?

Aye, but it's not like it's a navy specific thing, as he made it sound like

You apparently missed the part where us Marines don't care about those antiquated Seafarers. Left and Right, as opposed to Port and Starboard.

It is quite silly, their terminology. "Turn starboard at the next intersection, then it's the second road to the port"?

Indeed... Squids are crazy...

I was refering to KnightAries who clearly is a navy guy... But suddenly I feel like I'm missing something.
and I only speak boat in my own language thank you very much

Boat is a Language?

I'd slap anyone who said that to me.

It's what they speak in Boatswana.
Um, excuse me I need to punch myself for that one.
I actually live in one of the largest harbor cities in Europe but I'd be damned if I know nautical terms in other languages, I only got like 4 ranks in English...

Some of those aren't Marine-specific, they're just "Soldier-talk". LPC and Jarhead, I heard in BCT for the Army, for example. And not from the DI who was a former marine gunnery sergeant, either.

Would you laugh at the utter level of ridiculousness before or after said slapping? Obviously they only apply to seafaring vessels. (well, except for referring to the head. I regularly use that term).

Boatswana? Consider yourself on report.
Hey, a Rank 4 English skill is outstanding. Better than most Americans, I would wager.

However, the Army does not Identify as "Jarheads"... That would be "Dogs".
Us Marines, however, wear the term Jarhead like an Honor, and we are the fiercest Devil Dogs around.

Funny anecdote: in BCT, that former-marine D.I.? Declared he was the only man in the company allowed to make Marine jokes or call marines Jarheads ... "Officers included but don't tell them I said that".

And the ONLY joke he made?

Q: How do you kill a group of marines?

[ Spoiler ]

A: Throw some sand on a brick wall, and tell them to hit the beach.

*chuckle*

I remember a marine captain in FAOBC who told the class to "secure the hatch". Then louder "secure the hatch". Then shouted "close the damn door!"

Heh... I like that one.

It does have the advantage of not being disrespectful.

My last Ship was an LPD where we could carry 4 - 6 hundred Marines. Great bunch of guys.
Ask one where they got the rank Gunnery Sargent and see how many different answers you get besides "I don't know". I'll say after 2 deployment with the same MEU I've only had 1 actually answer it.

Oh, and a marine who's been on a small ship actually understands why were are crazy.


I LOVE high wind; high seas.

What Hatch? There's only a door. LOL!!!

USS Tuscaloosa... Worst Ship Ever to be on as a Marine. I was sick for 11 days. Damned Flat Bottom Boat.
The Pelelieu, on the other hand, was a cruise ship in comparison.

I wouldn't laugh. Dead pan is the only way to go. It elevates the humor of it for observers.



Hatches are doors on a boat.....

Hatch is on a Tank. Maybe on a Submarine.
Bulkhead is on a Ship.

Bulkheads are the WALLS on a ship.

The doors are Hatches.

Specifically dividing walls on the ship, otherwise it's the hull.