# HUGE Marines



## MBuzzy (Dec 18, 2008)

I know that we have a lot of Jarheads around here....So I thought you might be amused by this.

So I was on a TDY for the last two days to Quantico.  And I have an observation.  I'm about 5'7 or so...and I seriously felt like a munchkin.  Are they are short Marines?  Or small Marines?  I think I saw one guy the whole time that was less than 6' and he was built like a refrigerator....a very large, muscular refrigerator.  And I don't think that a single one of them smiled at me.  Of course, I'm this short little Air Force dude greeting these massive mean looking Marines and probably looked like an idiot.  I was just in shock!  Its almost like they hid all the little guys to try to scare me or something.

Also...do you really need to build bases in the middle of forests?  It was like, 6 miles through a very dark, foggy forest to get to the cantonement area.  I almost expected Marines to run out of the woods with guns.

It seems to me that Marines work VERY HARD at ensuring that everyone thinks that they are the meanest toughest dudes in the world!!!


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## jarrod (Dec 18, 2008)

most of the small marines are hispanic & on the west coast.  i was 175lbs, 5'11 when i went through boot & was probably the 4th or 5th largest guy.  

jf


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## MBuzzy (Dec 18, 2008)

Ha!  So they do just hide the little guys when the Air Force comes around!


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## jarrod (Dec 19, 2008)

air force?  you mean chair force? :lol:

jf


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## Andy Moynihan (Dec 19, 2008)

WHy ya gotta pick on the Air Farce--I mean Force.

After all, you know the Marines are just a department of the Navy.......(he's gotta know the answer to this one...)


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## girlbug2 (Dec 19, 2008)

Last year a couple of Marines were walking around the strip mall nearby handing out brochures and recruiting. They were Asian, smallish at less than 6 feet tall and thin, I would go so far as to describe them as skinny. So yes short Marines do exist!


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## MA-Caver (Dec 19, 2008)

MBuzzy said:


> It seems to me that Marines work VERY HARD at ensuring that everyone thinks that they are the meanest toughest dudes in the world!!!


Well, that's because they are.


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## Tez3 (Dec 19, 2008)

MA-Caver said:


> Well, that's because they are.


 

Oooo I'll take our marine commandos to beat your marines 


And all forces would be lost without airforces! of course the RAF is the daddy!


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## MA-Caver (Dec 19, 2008)

Tez3 said:


> And all forces would be lost without airforces! of course the RAF is the daddy!


Oh of course. The battle of Britain proved that luv.


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## Tez3 (Dec 19, 2008)

MA-Caver said:


> Oh of course. The battle of Britain proved that luv.


 

Ah true heroes those men! and women the WAAFs often get left out when their part was vital. Many women were shot down as they flew aircraft to be delivered to RAF stations, they were unarmed and the Luftwaffe pilots assumed they were fighter aircraft. Amy Johnson died that way.


On the subject of size my other half ( he was RAF Regiment..rockapes - known for their big size lol) worked with American Marines at RAF Greenham Common when it was under 'attack' by the peace women (very violent people!) and he said all the Americans including the women were built like brick outhouses. (I've censored that saying lol). He also said it was odd as the men and women shared the showers there!

On the other hand here in the tank regiments the guys seem to all be fairly small!


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## MA-Caver (Dec 19, 2008)

Tez3 said:


> On the other hand here in the tank regiments the guys seem to all be fairly small!


Well... you gotta make room for those big guns of theirs! :uhyeah:


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## CoryKS (Dec 19, 2008)

MBuzzy said:


> Are they are short Marines? Or small Marines?


 
My second hat in boot camp was a wee feller.  Maybe 5'5"... the breast pockets of his service uniform actually tucked into his pants.  :rofl:  He looked like an angry, angry rodent, and he was the meanest one of them all. 



MBuzzy said:


> It seems to me that Marines work VERY HARD at ensuring that everyone thinks that they are the meanest toughest dudes in the world!!!


 
That's a feature, not a bug.


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## CoryKS (Dec 19, 2008)

Tez3 said:


> Oooo I'll take our marine commandos to beat your marines


 
I'll see your marine commandos and raise you a battalion of ROK Marines.


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## Tez3 (Dec 19, 2008)

CoryKS said:


> My second hat in boot camp was a wee feller. Maybe 5'5"... the breast pockets of his service uniform actually tucked into his pants. :rofl: _He looked like an angry, angry rodent, and he was the meanest one of them all. _
> 
> 
> 
> That's a feature, not a bug.


 
that's what we call 'Little Man Syndrome' lol!


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## MBuzzy (Dec 19, 2008)

Tez3 said:


> that's what we call 'Little Man Syndrome' lol!



I think they might get meaner as they get smaller.


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## MBuzzy (Dec 19, 2008)

jarrod said:


> air force?  you mean chair force? :lol:
> 
> jf



YES I DO!  And very proud of it!  In fact, you know when I'm the MOST proud of it???  When I'm sleeping in my nice Air Force air conditioned trailer, on my nice comfy Air Force bed, working in my nice air conditioned Air Force office, and eating at my wonderfully maintained Air Force chow halls.

It's funny.....at the deployed Marine bases....I always slept in a tent and ate MREs......


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## CoryKS (Dec 19, 2008)

MBuzzy said:


> YES I DO! And very proud of it! In fact, you know when I'm the MOST proud of it??? When I'm sleeping in my nice Air Force air conditioned trailer, on my nice comfy Air Force bed, working in my nice air conditioned Air Force office, and *eating at my wonderfully maintained Air Force chow halls*.
> 
> It's funny.....at the deployed Marine bases....I always slept in a tent and ate MREs......


 
Have to agree, the Air Force has the best chow in the service.  We used to try to find reasons to be in the area of Kadena AFB around lunchtime.


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## Tez3 (Dec 19, 2008)

MBuzzy said:


> YES I DO! And very proud of it! In fact, you know when I'm the MOST proud of it??? When I'm sleeping in my nice Air Force air conditioned trailer, on my nice comfy Air Force bed, working in my nice air conditioned Air Force office, and eating at my wonderfully maintained Air Force chow halls.
> 
> It's funny.....at the deployed Marine bases....I always slept in a tent and ate MREs......


 
Exactly! Thats why I joined the RAF! My shift partner now was in the army, he originally was in a Scottish infantry regiment. He was on exercise once, stuck in his little hole in the ground trying to shave with cold water when a voice asked him if he wanted some hot water, he said yes and then said yes when asked if he wanted a cuppa and a bacon buttie. After enjoying the treat from the medics ( Royal Army Medical Corps) he heard them discussing what to watch on the television that night in their trailer, that did it for him, when he came off exercise he applied to join the medics which he did. As he said why get cold, wet and tired when you don't have to? 
He's a bit of a hard nut and is great to have watching your back, our other partner is an exPara, ask him who the best soldiers in the world are and he'll look at you as if you're daft and tell you in no uncertain terms "THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT" lol!


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## HG1 (Dec 19, 2008)

All branches have there gung-ho units.  The Air Force has Pararescue & Combat Controllers.  Check out www.specialtactics.com


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## theletch1 (Dec 19, 2008)

Andy Moynihan said:


> WHy ya gotta pick on the Air Farce--I mean Force.
> 
> After all, you know the Marines are just a department of the Navy.......(he's gotta know the answer to this one...)


Yep. The MEN'S department. :lfao:



HG1 said:


> All branches have there gung-ho units. The Air Force has Pararescue & Combat Controllers. Check out www.specialtactics.com


The difference is that the Corps IS the gung-ho unit.  Maybe it has something to do with the concept that every Marine is a rifleman first and a specialist in their field second.

Tez, I had the chance to work with some British Marines when stationed at Camp LeJeune many years ago.  Those guys were abso-freakin-lutely crazy... they fit right in.  Really enjoyed my time with them and gained a great deal of respect for our British counterparts.


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## theletch1 (Dec 19, 2008)

MBuzzy said:


> YES I DO! And very proud of it! In fact, you know when I'm the MOST proud of it??? When I'm sleeping in my nice Air Force air conditioned trailer, on my nice comfy Air Force bed, working in my nice air conditioned Air Force office, and eating at my wonderfully maintained Air Force chow halls.
> 
> It's funny.....at the deployed Marine bases....I always slept in a tent and ate MREs......


 Marines fight better when we're pissed off.  Can you think of a better way of doing that?


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## Tez3 (Dec 19, 2008)

theletch1 said:


> Yep. The MEN'S department. :lfao:
> 
> 
> The difference is that the Corps IS the gung-ho unit. Maybe it has something to do with the concept that every Marine is a rifleman first and a specialist in their field second.
> ...


 
It's a bad week I'm afraid we lost four Bootnecks this week in Afghanistan.

Thought you might enjoy this.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3HSPOZzKfBY&feature=PlayList&p=DD4F81949BE0D88B&index=6


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## HG1 (Dec 21, 2008)

theletch1 said:


> The difference is that the Corps IS the gung-ho unit.


No.  Without a doubt the marines are a well trained but they are not the only ones.


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## Tez3 (Dec 21, 2008)

HG1 said:


> No. Without a doubt the marines are a well trained but they are not the only ones.


 
yeah you want to see my Little Dragons class!


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## kidswarrior (Dec 21, 2008)

theletch1 said:


> Yep. The MEN'S department. :lfao:


Ugh, old joke. Funny how many of those macho men screamed for Doc when things went south...even a little bit. Course the sailors did too, but they didn't make these derogatory claims. In the end, it comes down to the individual. I've met more than a fair share of great marines, and some not. And the same with squids. 



			
				HG1 said:
			
		

> No.  Without a doubt the marines are a well trained *but they are not the only ones*


:asian:


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## theletch1 (Dec 21, 2008)

HG1 said:


> No.  Without a doubt the marines are a well trained but they are not the only ones.


My point was that, at least as far as US services go , the Corps is the only one that has that mentality that each and every person wearing the uniform is, first and foremost, a combat infantryman and a specialist in their field second.  Other services in the US add in infantry training as a small part of overall training while the Marine Corps sees it as the base of all other training.  Years ago I had a book that listed all elite forces in the world and all known terrorist groups in the world...late 1980s I think.  The Corps was listed as a whole, Force Recon wasn't singled out, SRIG wasn't singled out... it was the USMC that was listed as an elite unit.  Gung ho, by the was is a phrase that entered the USMC lexicon during the battle for Guadalcanal during WWII.  One of the Marine commanders (Carlson of the 2nd Raider Battalion) had served time with the chinese rebels before being transferred to the Solomons and carried the phrase with him.  It means something along the lines of working together.



Tez3 said:


> yeah you want to see my Little Dragons class!


Under your tutelage, Irene, I can well imagine a tiny infantry battalion snapping to attention!


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## MBuzzy (Dec 21, 2008)

theletch1 said:


> My point was that, at least as far as US services go , the Corps is the only one that has that mentality that each and every person wearing the uniform is, first and foremost, a combat infantryman and a specialist in their field second.  Other services in the US add in infantry training as a small part of overall training while the Marine Corps sees it as the base of all other training.  Years ago I had a book that listed all elite forces in the world and all known terrorist groups in the world...late 1980s I think.  The Corps was listed as a whole, Force Recon wasn't singled out, SRIG wasn't singled out... it was the USMC that was listed as an elite unit.  Gung ho, by the was is a phrase that entered the USMC lexicon during the battle for Guadalcanal during WWII.  One of the Marine commanders (Carlson of the 2nd Raider Battalion) had served time with the chinese rebels before being transferred to the Solomons and carried the phrase with him.  It means something along the lines of working together.



Wasn't that the whole idea in creating the corps?  Basically a big special forces unit?  Or the Navy's original special forces that kind of grew into its own service.


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## Tez3 (Dec 21, 2008)

theletch1;1090005Under your tutelage said:
			
		

> Thank you lol! the funny thing is I do like them to be disciplined! Believe or not we have more fun that way and children feel safe when they know the boundaries and rules.
> 
> Thats the thing about service people though isn't it, the self discipline, the sense of humour and the slang! It's a whole different culture.
> 
> I've always suspected that the spec forces people weren't totally on the same planet as the rest of us, the enjoyment they get out of doing things that terrify the bejasus out of the rest of us along with the sheer disregard for normal rules of what is possible amazes me. Not long ago some Royal Marines in Afghan strapped themselves to the outside of an Apache helicopter to fly to the rescue of another marine, sadly he was dead before they got there but the sheer 'we can do it' attitude blows your mind.


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## theletch1 (Dec 21, 2008)

kidswarrior said:


> Ugh, old joke. Funny how many of those macho men screamed for Doc when things went south...even a little bit. Course the sailors did too, but they didn't make these derogatory claims. In the end, it comes down to the individual. I've met more than a fair share of great marines, and some not. And the same with squids.
> 
> :asian:


The Corpsmen of Marines was a special breed of sailor.  The list of these men that won the Medal of Honor is long and too many of the awards were posthumous.  I'll tell ya, once a corpsmen was assigned to our unit he became one of us.  As for the derogatory remarks... it's a family thing.  We wouldn't pick at ya'll if we didn't love ya.  And just to show it... here's a link to a list of US Navy personnel who've been awarded the MoH.


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## MBuzzy (Dec 21, 2008)

Being in the military would be BORING if we couldn't pick on other services!


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## seasoned (Dec 21, 2008)

MBuzzy said:


> I know that we have a lot of Jarheads around here....So I thought you might be amused by this.
> 
> So I was on a TDY for the last two days to Quantico. And I have an observation. I'm about 5'7 or so...and I seriously felt like a munchkin. Are they are short Marines? Or small Marines? I think I saw one guy the whole time that was less than 6' and he was built like a refrigerator....a very large, muscular refrigerator. And I don't think that a single one of them smiled at me. Of course, I'm this short little Air Force dude greeting these massive mean looking Marines and probably looked like an idiot. I was just in shock! Its almost like they hid all the little guys to try to scare me or something.
> 
> ...


 
It helps to keep them alive, at the right time. They need that attitude.


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## MBuzzy (Dec 21, 2008)

seasoned said:


> It helps to keep them alive, at the right time. They need that attitude.



  That's what we say about pilots, but they still have big heads!


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## kidswarrior (Dec 21, 2008)

theletch1 said:


> We wouldn't pick at ya'll if we didn't love ya.


All I've got to say is, any of our Marines due for any shots? Need any sutures? :mst: I'm available, just to show the love goes both ways.


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## theletch1 (Dec 21, 2008)

kidswarrior said:


> All I've got to say is, any of our Marines due for any shots? Need any sutures? :mst: I'm available, just to show the love goes both ways.


:lfao:  If ya'll are still using the damn air guns to administer shots I'll pass!  I hated those guns in boot camp.  The corpsman that gave me one of mine was a little nervous (new, I guess) and his hand was shaking when he hit me with it.  Ripped my arm open a little.  Man, did I ever get my *** chewed for bleeding on the DIs deck.

Just before I left Gitmo I punched a set of closet doors... long story... had to go to the BAS/ER to get the bones in my hand set and get a cast.  The corpsman asked if I wanted a local while he set the bones.  I, being the bone head, er, I mean jarhead, said no.  He put the back of my hand against his chest and popped the bones back into place.  I gripped the stool with my free hand, turned pale and gritted my teeth but made it through the pain.  He just shook his head and said "Every damned one of you jarheads are crazier'n hell."  Gotta love the Docs.


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## kidswarrior (Dec 21, 2008)

theletch1 said:


> :lfao:  If ya'll are still using the damn air guns to administer shots I'll pass!  I hated those guns in boot camp.  The corpsman that gave me one of mine was a little nervous (new, I guess) and his hand was shaking when he hit me with it.


Hangover.



> Ripped my arm open a little.  Man, did I ever get my *** chewed for bleeding on the DIs deck.


Ah, the good old days. 



> Just before I left Gitmo I punched a set of closet doors... long story... had to go to the BAS/ER to get the bones in my hand set and get a cast.  The corpsman asked if I wanted a local while he set the bones.  I, being the bone head, er, I mean jarhead, said no.  He put the back of my hand against his chest and popped the bones back into place.  I gripped the stool with my free hand, turned pale and gritted my teeth but made it through the pain.  He just shook his head and said "Every damned one of you jarheads are crazier'n hell."  Gotta love the Docs.


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