Reddit reviews First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps (Bluejacket Books)

> Honestly, Marines really need to learn what they are.

Uh... the only force in the world capable of sending out a ground combat element, a logistical element, and an air combat element under a single commander. No other service does this. Source.

Who were the first conventional forces to set up a coalition base in Afghanistan? Oh yeah... The Marines. Source


>The crew that gets all the out dated shit the Army doesn't want anymore,

This is just as big of a circlejerk as the dumbass saying basic Marines are on par with Army Rangers. GTFO with that shit. The Marines first fielded the MRAP (Source) which became the premier combat vehicle above the Army's contracted option at the time, as the Army now uses MRAP derivatives. And then the MRAP II, which then lead to the M-ATV

Or you know, the V-22.

[Oh and the Growler, specifically designed for use with the V-22.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growler_(vehicle) Which you know, USSOCOM wants to now use.

Or how damn near every soldier in the Army would rather wear the superior MARPAT.

Just a few examples there of Marines not using the Army's old crap.

>and they're becoming increasingly irrelevant in their actual combat roles.

Ramadi, Iraq: Army cordons the city. The Marines take the Government Center and then the Hospital. [Source](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ramadi_(2006)

Fallujah, Iraq: Considered the bloodiest and hardest fighting of the entire war. Fought almost entirely by Marines. Source, Source

Marja, Afghanistan: "... the largest joint operation of the War in Afghanistan up to that point and aimed to remove the Taliban from Marja and eliminate the last Taliban stronghold in central Helmand Province." What do you know? Predominately Marines... Weird. Source

Sangin, Afghanistan: Marines took control from the British, pushed into Taliban strongholds. [Source](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sangin_(2010) This helped create an area of greater security around the zone surrounding the Kajaki Dam, a pivotal item in the infrastructure of southern Afghanistan. More on the Battle of Kajaki Dam.

>I wouldn't be surprised to see them get swallowed up by the Army in the future.



Lol, ok. They tried that before, but were unsuccessful. But thankfully there are people smart enough to understand the consequences of such a mistake. For some light reading, pick up First to Fight: An Inside View of The U.S. Marine Corps

You're right down the line, with one exception: while "naval infantry" was definitely the reason we existed originally, the average Marine today never trains for shipboard fighting, let alone "first." The tactics and fighting styles we learned at boot camp were completely land-based. Much of the training we received could be used aboard a ship, but the Marine Corps as I experienced it never pretended that we would be fighting aboard ships. As I understand it (from reading First to Fight by Victor Krulak), the Corps has not been envisioned as primarily for naval defense since the Civil War. Amphibious still, but not for fighting aboard ships.