7/25    Friend of mine's thinking about joining the armed forces.
        He was thinking either marines or army.  I was going to say that
        marines are far more dangerous, but then I stopped and thought of
        the Three Block War vs. the Navy shelling the crap out of Iraq
        before the  marine had to storm it; is the notion reversed now?
        Does the army has a tougher job/more dangerous job than the marines
        (because occupying is no longer about occupying pro-western areas)?
        \_ well discuss why he wants to do join the armed forces.  If it is
           about getting 'a job' then a 'safer' branch might be for him. If
           he wants to go out and actually see combat action and shoot people
           either of those will do.
        \_ How old is he? Is he psychologically malleable enough for
           brainwashing? Finally, does he have a college degree? -Army Vet
           \_ He's 23, got a degree from san jose state.
              \_ Does he want to be an officer? Is he planning on just doing
                 one tour, or is he thinking about making it a career? In
                 general, I agree with military brat below, the Air Force
                 treats its people the best, though I personally would
                 way rather be in the field than cooped up in a ship.
                 way rather be in the field than cooped up on a ship.
                 If you just want to do a short tour of duty as an enlisted
                 man to check it
                 man to check it out, then the shortest tour of duty is probably
                 advised, this usually means Army.
                 \_ I thought if you had a degree they put you as an officer?
                    Or is that an urban legend..
                    \_ A degree is no guarantee of commission, in fact one of
                       my seargents had a BS and was trying to get sent to OCS.
                       \_ How scary was your tour? (I told him airforce btw)
                          \_ I was in the 82nd Airborne, so it was pretty
                             tough, but I got a lot out of it.
           \_ What's your take on this:
              http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_block_war
              It sounds like a total nightmare to me. :-(
              \_ It sounds like a good recognition of what the US Army should
                 have realized a long time ago: the need to better train their
                 small unit leaders in subjects beyond just small arms and
                 fieldcraft.
                 \_ How about we train our mility to fight in guerilla style?
                    It seems like no national militaries do that.  Is there a
                    reason?
                    \_ guerilla tactics don't accomplish our military goals.
                    \_ We did. a longtime ago.  Look up "frontier fighting"
                       in any history book in the 80s and 90s.  Doubt it
                       would be in any book now but yes, the US Armed forces
                       fought guerilla style wars against the British under
                       Mr. Founding Father Geo. Washington.  It was of course
                       Highly successful against troops that were taught at
                       Blenheim or Aughrim other conv. theatre in Europe.
                       \_ Oh how the wheel turns.
                       \_ This is a U.S. myth; it was only after we got
                          better at using rank and file tactics that we
                          started winning battles.  -tom
                    \_ Read up on "inflitration tactics" though this it not
                       strictly guerilla style. You can't really take and
                       hold territory that way.
        \_ My whole family is military: Army and Air Force. Tell him to
           join the Air Force. It's almost civil. Whatever you do, stay
           out of the Army. It's the definition of grunt and they treat
           you like it. I say this as a person with a Lieutenant Colonel
           in his family and a West Point grad Colonel step-relative.
           Marines isn't much better, but at least it is a small
           fraternity of men who serve with honor. If I were to join I'd
           choose Air Force and Navy in that order.
           \_ My dad was Navy for 35 years; started out as E-1 and finished
              as O-5; got sponsored for OCS and got his Bachelors/Masters
              while in. If your buddy bears grudges, can't let things go,
              and can't get goal-oriented, no branch of the service will
              advance him. If your buddy is looking for travel, training,
              and opportunity, go Navy, or, as above, Air Force.
              \_ Why do you say "bears grudges"? Why is a forgiving nature
                 important to career success in the military?
                 \_ Military life, like civilian life, has plenty of
                    jerks, both as coworkers and bosses. Being
                    constructive with your frustration is fine and will
                    generally be rewarded; rising to bait, mouthing off,
                    and letting the minutiae get to you, however, will
                    hold you back. In theory, if you study your material,
                    pass advancement-oriented tests, and do your time,
                    you will advance; in reality, if you get written up
                    for fighting or otherwise being immature, you will
                    not advance. Buddy of mine, whip-smart, did great on
                    the tests, impressed the Captain and XO with his
                    reliability, and was headed for promotion, but he
                    couldn't keep his temper or let go of small slights,
                    and he got written up. After five years of failing
                    to advance, he gave up and bowed out. That's all I
                    mean.
                    \_ Yeah, I got into a lot of conflict with people when
                       I was in, I can see how that would not work if you
                       wanted to make a career out of it.