SubSerpent

Like I said, I found the movie to be so-so. I see it the way Skybird does. The point of the movie was the complete opposite of patriotic just about. Sure it was and is patriotic to join your nations most elite branch and serve, but when that "elite" branch becomes obsolete the "eliteness" of it all seems to be nothing more than a faded memory of the fathers who served before in real combat action.

It appeared the point of the movie was to show that the Marines are no longer the first ones in, last ones out like they used to be in previous wars. The training they go through is still hardcore Marine Corps training, but in the end, all that training becomes useless. The Marine Corps training is all about killing and not being afraid to kill. When a Marine is put into a field of battle but does not get to kill anything, he feels worthless. Instead, a Marine has to watch fighter pilots and bombers get all the kills and credit. Some of these pilots are women and I'm sure that adds to the worthless feeling a male Marine would have if he wasn't ever able to get a kill.

I remember posting in a forum on here before about the "worthlessness" of the Marine Corps. This movie showed off exactly what I meant. The movie was based on a book written by a former Gulf war Marine who never got to see combat even when he was in the front lines. This obviously angered him just in the same manner that Lt. Dan from the Forrest Gump movie was angry with Gump for saving him from his "destiny" to die just like his father had and his father before him and his father before him etc.

The same holds true for today's Marine Corps. True, there has been some fighting and combat seen by Marines in this new attack on Iraq. Still though, there hasn't been that much fighting seen by the Marines over there. Most of it has been done by the Airforce, Navy, and Army.

So my point is this. Why don't we abolish the Marine Corps and start training Army Infantrymen with Marine Corps tatics? Isn't the point of the Army infantryman suppose to be about killing as well? I can't even recall a war in where the US Army did not see as much combat action as the Marine Corps. Look at the both Gulf wars and you will see more Army action than Marine action. Look at Vietnam, look at the Korean war, look at WWII and WWI or even back to the founding of the US. The US Army has and always will see more combat and get more enemy kills than the Marines each and every single time. This might be because the Army is a larger branch, but even then, that brings me back to my point about the "usefulness" of the US Marine Corps.

I'm not including Grenada (wasn't a war) since the Marines were the only ones sent even though that turned out to be a complete flop for the US Marines.

Bottom Line....


Marine Corps = Waste of taxpayer dollars.