Charger Opinion

The few, the proud, and the arrogant?

Kathleen Robles, Charger Staff

Dogfaces, Squids, Birdmen, and Jarheads are the nicknames of the four branches of the military.

The Dogfaces, or Army, are the military’s awesome ground force that attacks en masse to overcome the enemy.

The Squids are the Navy men and women. They attack the enemy from their own shores and from the sea.

The Birdmen of the Airforce fly overhead and attack enemies with smart bombs and other high tech weaponery.

The Jarheads are the special force Marines who do what needs to be done often as the first forces called into a dangerous situation.

From my experiences there is a consistent negativity towards one particular branch, the Marines.

“The few, the proud, the Marines,” is their theme, and everyone knows it.

While attending a concert when then 101st Airborne dropped from the sky , I talked with a Girl Scout who was planning to enlist in the Army, and eventually I began to talk to her about the Marines.

Her version of their theme was “The few, the proud, and the arrogant. “

When I spoke to an Air Force recruit and a Navy recruit, I had the pleasure of hearing more Marine bashing.

I asked them why they didn’t join the Marines.

The junior enlisting in the Airforce said that he wanted a bed, and the man enlisting in the Navy said he did not wish to sleep with the enemy.

I have yet to hear any similarly negative comments about the Navy, Airforce, or Army.

Do people feel completely secure when the news announces that the Airforce is going in?

Do the people know that everything will be perfectly fine when they send in the Navy?
NO!

The Marines are the group called into action first and they are the group we rely on for first line defense.

The Marines are our defensive opening play and deserve more respect from other military branches as well as civilians.

They are the few, the proud, the Marines. I salute and commend them.

Article prepared for web by Joy Wheeler