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Originally Posted by clavus
Just to beat my metaphor into the ground... because the Marines are the TIP of the spear. You can't have a whole spear made out of tips. They do one thing, and they do it well. The army has a different job. They can't do what the regular army does.
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Beg to differ on the TIP of the spear quite significantly. The tip of the spear is 100% dependent upon the mission requirements of whatever assault is planned. Whether it be Army SF infiltrating deep into occupied territory and training indigenous dissidents then patrolling with them (i.e., the Montanyards of Vietnam), SEALs hitting the beach to simulate the landing of an entire amphibious division (i.e., the beach assault conducted in Gulf War I in tandem with Schwarzkopf's 'long left hook' from the land side), Force Recon going into the weeds as the successors to the LRRPs (Long Range Recon Patrols) of Vietnam, air assault troops out of Fort Campbell (101st Air Mobile) or the paratroopers from Ft. Bragg (82nd Airborne), UDT/EOD troopers going in to clear the beaches of landing obstacles, the Navy fighter pilots that fly Iron Hand or Weasel missions looking for enemy radar/AAA and neutralizing it, or the recon screen of the 4th ID pushing its Bradleys out into Indian country.
To claim that Marines are the TIP of the spear is a blanket generalization that is, more times than not, far from the truth. First to hit the beach? Odds are if it's the precursor to an amphib assault, the SEALs and/or Force Recon have been there already. First into combat? Rarely if its on the interior of a country if the Army is in any position to apply force.
This is not to say the esprit'd'corps of the Marines is not commendable, or that their training is easy. However, the United States Armed Forces have become nothing if not versatile, mobile, and agile since Vietnam. By the time Marines are landing or entering combat, there's a good chance that Army SF, SEALs or Force Recon have prepared the way in some manner, even if its "simple" intelligence gathering or weather reporting. One thing that I believe sets the Marines apart, just as the SEALs are set apart, is that they are very
vocal in their pride of place. In contrast, the former Green Berets I've met (three of them now) along with the three active I've met that went through the SFQC and earned their Special Forces tab, have been much more low-key and quietly intense instead of donning the vocal bravado of the Marines and SEALs I've known. Rangers tend to fall in between, since after all, "Rangers Lead the Way."
Lastly, in regrads to someone saying that the 82nd Airborne is the only active combat-jump division, they're forgetting the 27th (I believe that's the proper number) Airborne out of Italy, along with the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Not trying to be offensive to anyone in this thread, but there are plenty of places to find accurate information on all the topics this discussion has encompassed, from Marine Corps Boot to Army Basic, the 101st and 82nd to the 5th Special Forces Group, Navy SEALs and Force Recon. Most of them have .mil or .gov at the end of the web address. It's not the most interesting reading to many, but it's there for the enjoyment and edification of all.