Will the Marine Corps become the smartest US military branch? (Article)

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I was reading through this forum thread from last year: Call to Recruit Infantry as Elite Branch which has some really interesting discussion to read through. A few minutes later I came across this article: Will the Marine Corps become the Smartest US military branch? I'm curious to hear the forums thoughts on this and whether putting up various gates such as higher test scores, or the completion of degrees is an effective way to improve the competence of the average Marine, NCO, Officer etc.?

Also seems like it follows from the Force Design 2030 which if I remember correctly, specifically states a willingness to give up increased manpower numbers in exchange for better gear, training, and standards.
 
I was reading through this forum thread from last year: Call to Recruit Infantry as Elite Branch which has some really interesting discussion to read through. A few minutes later I came across this article: Will the Marine Corps become the Smartest US military branch? I'm curious to hear the forums thoughts on this and whether putting up various gates such as higher test scores, or the completion of degrees is an effective way to improve the competence of the average Marine, NCO, Officer etc.?

Also seems like it follows from the Force Design 2030 which if I remember correctly, specifically states a willingness to give up increased manpower numbers in exchange for better gear, training, and standards.
Will we say we are the smartest? Yes. Does it matter what anyone else says? No, not really. What was the question again? The answer is Semper Fidelis.
 
I think it's possible. But is it necessary?

I read the article. For many reasons, including its relatively small size, its massive recruiting and propaganda machine, and the current state of the economy, I think it would be possible for the Marine Corps to reach the goals outlined in the article. But why do they need to do that?

The article doesn't make a compelling argument, IMO. Tech complication and remote distribution of forces is going to happen to everyone. But at the end of the day, to paraphrase Fehernbach, you're still going to have to put your young men in the mud. Make the ASVAB/GT requirements tougher in the more-technical fields. Leave the infantry, artillery, and tankers (whoops, sorry, no more tanks for the Marines) alone. If you start raising your requirements too high, you're going to have a retention and recruitment problem, especially when the economy recovers.

Also, because it was brought up in the original post, I still maintain that "elite infantry," in the manner described in the linked article, is the "Green New Deal" of the military and is just as stupid.
 
But at the end of the day, to paraphrase Fehernbach, you're still going to have to put your young men in the mud.

Armies exist to place a 19 YO armed w/ a machine gun on a 10 digit grid coordinate until relieved. All of the theory, hopes, and dreams of academics won't change that requirement. No doubt, a better educated force is a better force, but everything has its limits. We may not want to admit this, but sometimes the 85 IQ with a 240 is better than the MENSA member with a radio.

A military is like a salad, and for a reason.
 
I hate math. I LOATHE math. I suck at math. Ergo, when I wanted to go to grad school I took the MAT instead of the GRE. If you score high enough on the MAT you get an invitation to join MENSA. I got an invitation. The high-IQ/MENSA thing, it's such a load of back-slapping-naval-gazing-self-aggrandizing bullshit. You either can do your job, or you can't.
 
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