At some point the Army is going to run out of beret colors

[CryptoLingUSMC]

.

 

[Devildoc]

I find all these distinctive uniform items and devices to be useful in determining who is a confident and capable professional versus who is insecure about their abilities and/or experience. The most impressive CSO's and Recon guys I've worked with never gave a shit about the bling and wouldn't wear any of it unless forcefully ordered to do so. One wouldn't even wear his Silver Star. Another went so far as to refuse to wear his MCMAP black belt and wore a tan belt instead.

My son is in 4th Force and in awe of the Gunny in charge of training. The guy is apparently quite a legend. He sat across from my son at the MC Ball a couple weeks ago and an officer tried to scold the Gunny for not wearing his wings and bubble. The Gunny stared him down and said he didn't give a fuck about that shit. Conversely, there's a CSO drilling in my son's unit who never goes anywhere without his Raider insignia. The Recon Marines think he's an ass. He's also fat and barely passed his CFT last week.

I'm glad my son is figuring out early that the more special you need people to believe you are, the less special you probably are.

The army takes its lineage and history very seriously. I think the Marines do, too, just differently. I always give our army brethren grief about all of their bling, but at the end of the day I think it's pretty cool, in the history associated with it is pretty cool.

Me, I usually wore my top 3 ribbons as prescribed by regs, rarely wore my FMF warfare device or any other device.

 

[BloodStripe]

Why?

Guys who've done more then the minimum should be recognized.

Just because you are [insert title here] doesn't make you special. This is how everyone ends up with a beret anyways because someone is butthurt they dont have XYZ.

 

[Hillclimb]

I'd abolish the CSO device if it were up to me.

To this day i have no idea who drew up the 5 choices i had to vote on. Combat camera/PAO for all I know. All of which had no Raider skull in it, so it made no difference to me either way. I just got tired of dealing with the confrontation of.. "why arent you wearing your stripper chicken?"

 

[Hillclimb]

Just because you are [insert title here] doesn't make you special. This is how everyone ends up with a beret anyways because someone is butthurt they dont have XYZ.

Tell that to every Marine ever. I still meet SgtMajs that think theres nothing specialized about a CSO, and that any Marine could come in out of the fleet and do this job because they're Marines! They possess JJDIDTIEBUCKLE, they can do anything. Errrrrr.

I guess we can get rid of Assessment and Selection then.

 

[BloodStripe]

Specialized is different from special.

 

[DZ]

Specialized is different from special.

Yeah, don't you guys know that every Marine is the equivalent of an Army Ranger??

 

[BloodStripe]

So you're saying that by wearing a hat or a pin makes you a better warrior as much as adding a sticker to a car gives it an extra 10 HP?

 

[Marauder06]

So you're saying that by wearing a hat or a pin makes you a better warrior as much as adding a sticker to a car gives it an extra 10 HP?

Man I hope that applies to Jeeps. But can I have MPG instead of HP?? Please? ;)

 

[Gunz]

Yeah, don't you guys know that every Marine is the equivalent of an Army Ranger??

Decidedly not, obviously. Whoever says that is full of it. Rangers have special operation skill sets to match their special mission requirements. But on the battlefield, where everything counts, Marine Infantry is proven in blood...and as good or better than the best fighting soldiers in the world. Our history attests to that. Our honored dead attest to that.

 

[BloodStripe]

Man I hope that applies to Jeeps. But can I have MPH instead of HP?? Please? ;)

I award you fifteen extra torque.

 

[AWP]

So you're saying that by wearing a hat or a pin makes you a better warrior as much as adding a sticker to a car gives it an extra 10 HP?

I'm such a nerd I read that as hit points.

 

[Marauder06]

I award you fifteen extra torque.

Crap. I meant MPG. I've got a built Rubicon so I get plenty of torque... but gas mileage is another issue.

 

[Teufel]

Marines with gold jump wings and dive bubble kinda stand out...especially in Nerdistan.

amiright @Teufel ?

It isn’t super common, no. I wear my badges because it helps me build instant credibility with the SOCOM partners we frequently engage with.

 

[Teufel]

I find all these distinctive uniform items and devices to be useful in determining who is a confident and capable professional versus who is insecure about their abilities and/or experience. The most impressive CSO's and Recon guys I've worked with never gave a shit about the bling and wouldn't wear any of it unless forcefully ordered to do so. One wouldn't even wear his Silver Star. Another went so far as to refuse to wear his MCMAP black belt and wore a tan belt instead.

My son is in 4th Force and in awe of the Gunny in charge of training. The guy is apparently quite a legend. He sat across from my son at the MC Ball a couple weeks ago and an officer tried to scold the Gunny for not wearing his wings and bubble. The Gunny stared him down and said he didn't give a fuck about that shit. Conversely, there's a CSO drilling in my son's unit who never goes anywhere without his Raider insignia. The Recon Marines think he's an ass. He's also fat and barely passed his CFT last week.

I'm glad my son is figuring out early that the more special you need people to believe you are, the less special you probably are.

There is a big difference between not wearing badges in cammies and dress blues. I’ve never seen a Recon Marine not wear their badges on a dress uniform. It doesn’t make sense.

 

[DZ]

Decidedly not, obviously. Whoever says that is full of it. Rangers have special operation skill sets to match their special mission requirements. But on the battlefield, where everything counts, Marine Infantry is proven in blood...and as good or better than the best fighting soldiers in the world. Our history attests to that. Our honored dead attest to that.

I have a lot of respect for the Marine Corps. I think that they do a better job than the Army at instilling a warrior mindset in boot camp. And I agree with your statement about Marine Infantry.

What I do not agree with is this notion that every Marine is "Special". It's funny the Army gets made fun of by Marines for all of our stupid berets and devices, saying we all want to be special, then they'll turn around and say "every Marine is Special" as if that isn't any less retarded sounding. If everyone is special then no one is.

There are elite and special Marines in the Marine Corps just like every branch, but it is not all of them.

So you're saying that by wearing a hat or a pin makes you a better warrior as much as adding a sticker to a car gives it an extra 10 HP?

Lol hell yeah..
If you took my cool hat and tab away but I still had the same job, I wouldn't care much, and I think most guys in SOF are the same way. I barely need two hands to count the times I've worn a regular uniform anyways.

 

[BloodStripe]

I never said Marines are special. And I certainly agree that not all Marines are specialized.

 

[DZ]

I never said Marines are special. And I certainly agree that not all Marines are specialized.

My comment wasn't directed at anyone on the board, but at the attitude I hear from Marines a lot, ie the reason the Marines didn't join SOCOM to begin with. "All Marines are special already."

 

[BloodStripe]

Because we are.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

but at the attitude I hear from Marines a lot, ie the reason the Marines didn't join SOCOM to begin with. "All Marines are special already."

I think that perception ties into this:

I think that they do a better job than the Army at instilling a warrior mindset in boot camp.