(Part 2) Top products from r/USMC

Just read 'On Desperate Ground' 2 weeks ago. About the USMC defense of North Korea. Not sure if you read this yet, but it's pretty good. The Corps at this point had faced almost every enemy and every terrain. Except extreme cold and 250,000 Chinese. At the 'Frozen Chosin', they got introduced to both. They did amazing, but it was too mucb for them. check it out of you get a chance. great book.

To swim better, easier, and longer.

You will need to train up to the suggestion below, start with something like Starting Strength and then Corps Strength. Do a Higdon running plan.

Seriously, don't do this until you can do 300 PFT and have a solid strength/cardio base, do it with a friend.

I did two WTI's in Yuma, never saw one do anything vertical. I'm sure they do but they seemed to operate at 45 degrees on the nozzles most of the time. [A Nightmares Prayer] (https://www.amazon.com/Nightmares-Prayer-Marine-Harrier-Afghanistan/dp/1451608071) is a pretty good look at the operations at Bagram. At that altitude it did good to leave the ground at all and used up all the runway doing so.

Are you already a Marine Reservist or are you thinking about joining?

I'm trying to shape my response to the right audience.

Your post history sounds like you are ANG, so forgive me if my response tells you things you already know.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_the_United_States_Marine_Corps

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Corps_Light_Armored_Reconnaissance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_Light_Armored_Reconnaissance_Battalion

https://www.amazon.com/Marine-Expeditionary-Clancys-Military-Reference/dp/0425154548


http://www.marforres.marines.mil/Major-Subordinate-Commands/4th-Marine-Division/4th-Light-Armored-Reconnaissance-Battalion/


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> What job codes do they have at that unit?

Grunts. Armor Mechanics. Radios. Intelligence.

> What vehicles do they have at their disposal?

LAV's; LAV retrievers maybe; 5-tons; Humvees

> Do they ever work with aircraft from other units?

No organic air assets in a LAR Bn to my knowledge.
They are not prepared to assist with Air either.

I've been out a long time. I suppose it's possible they have access to lightweight drones now.

> Are they considered a good unit?

LAR elements are good units, in the general sense.
I was active duty. We generally hate reservists.

LAI / LAR are light weight Tanks. They are generally more mobile than big fat Abrams, and are savagely lethal against Infantry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LAV-25

Our LAVs are completely outmatched by any proper tank, since unlike an M2 Bradley, the LAV doesn't have a TOW Missile Launcher.


> Do they ever go overseas for their AT?

AT as in Annual Training? Not likely. USMC has a HUGE training facility at 29 Palms California.
LAVs are expensive toys to move around.

> How do people make it there during a winter shitstorm?

Make it where?
Standard USMC procedure for enduring cold weather involves a woobie and shivering, combined with "sucking it up".
The Marines are NOT known for well-funded logistics. Marines make do with what we have.


> I imagine some people live quite far since there aren't too many units in New York. Will they put you up in a hotel if you're >3 hours away? Please feel free to throw anything else in.

Those are all legit reservist questions, and I'm sorry I have no idea.

*Former gunny

Does he like to read? These are two of my favorites, and I'm fairly certain most vets would enjoy them too:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Forever-War-Joe-Haldeman/dp/0312536631/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367616641&sr=8-1&keywords=The+forever+war

http://www.amazon.com/Without-Remorse-Tom-Clancy/dp/0425143325/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367616649&sr=8-1&keywords=Without+Remorse

I really hope they make a film on ORW2/Whalers. JJ Konstant & Fox 2/3 really deserve to tell the story, as do many.

IIRC Ed Darack's book Victory Point was selected by the Naval Academy as one of the best books of the year 2009

E* Maybe a min-series even w/broader scope

Drunk or not, I hope you keep this up.

It sounds like you really gained a lot from your time in, namely: (1) personal growth and maturity, and (2) a broadened world view from experience. Experience as someone actively taking part in US foreign policy, and also just as a young American going overseas and seeing how the rest of the world lives (and how truly fortunate we are here). Just that you called your 16-year-old self "naive" shows this change in mindset. Also, I think that any introspection is healthy and natural, especially for such a serious topic. It's a tough time, especially watching the current shit-storm in Iraq with those ISIS assholes.


I appreciate and generally agree with Nate Fick's view of the US on the international stage:
http://youtu.be/7mBr1UydKf0?t=18m2s

Sure, the US has done some not-so-great things or maybe done well-intentioned things the wrong way. But I don't think we're the bad guys in the broader scheme of things. Yeah, that's up for debate. Also, I'm gonna guess you're not evil on the individual level.

and more along a similar line, specifically about the Middle East and elsewhere:
http://youtu.be/fQu_7hNjPqY?t=3m27s



a serious issue, but a little [British] humor on a related note: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToKcmnrE5oY

Check out the Commandant's Reading list recommendations for Officer Candidates. I'd add One Bullet Away and What it's Like to go to War to that list as well.

How is your general knowledge? Do you know all of your Troop Leading Steps, Leadership Traits, General Orders, and Operational Order sub-paragraphs?

I don't know of a good bio to recommend. Leatherneck Legends (https://www.amazon.com/Leatherneck-Legends-Conversations-Marine-Corps/dp/0760321574) is fantastic. The author delves into several future commandants' careers and tells their story in alternating chapters.

>The monks of the Albertian Order of Leibowitz preserve the surviving remnants of man's scientific knowledge until the world is again ready for it.

https://www.amazon.com/Knowledge-Rebuild-Civilization-Aftermath-Cataclysm/dp/0143127047

Congrats on being a big part of the reason why this book was published.

Try to do a little research before you make a comment like that. Might I suggest some light reading:

https://www.amazon.com/Chesty-Story-Lieutenant-General-Puller/dp/037576044X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=chesty&qid=1565270202&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Wikipedia works too

Ok. Interesting. Here's the memoir I read - by Sharkey Ward. There's a passage in it where low on fuel he has to make the snap decision to fire cannons at an argentinian hercules flying a mission back to Argentina.

https://www.amazon.com/Harrier-Falklands-Cassell-Military-Paperbacks/dp/0304355429

He blew the wing off, sending it down. Then 20 years later he gave an extraordinary interview with the son of the hercules pilot, very emotional -

https://perros.metro951.com/2011/04/27/malvinas-para-siempre/

Gunner's Glory?

You can read this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Battle-Okinawa-The-Blood-Bomb/dp/0762772794

This anthology from Military History Quarterly covers everything from the development of the stirrup to the Battle of Jutland. It has stories that will turn you white:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0393031063/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1410575364&sr=8-1

And while not exclusively about the Corps, Thunder and Flames deals with the AEF during WW1 leading up to the St Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives. Lots of stuff in there about the 4th Brigade, which included the 5th and 6th Marines. The same author wrote To Conquer Hell on the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which although has very little USMC history in it, it is the only book Ive ever read that gave me nightmares.

> He was operated on by a Navy doctor (a trauma surgeon), not a nurse

From the book The Evolution of Forward Surgery in the U.S. Army: From the Revolutionary War to the Combat Operations of the 21st Century he was referred to as Navy Nurse.

So maybe I got my information wrong, can you point me to an article or a book that says Navy Doctor so that I can change the info in here?