Join the Navy... end up a grunt!

This is wrong... like the war itself. Sailors are simply not trained for ground combat. Looks like they're just throwing bodies at the war.
- - - - -
1,000 more sailors expected to join ground forces in Iraq
By Alex Fryer Seattle Times staff reporter


Three years after Baghdad fell, the Navy is poised to dramatically increase the number of sailors in Iraq and Afghanistan, filling gaps in Army and Marine Corps units.

The seamen, called "individual augmentees," support ground operations thousands of miles from the nearest port, in deployments that can be far different from the Navy's traditional role. New requests for Navy personnel in the Middle East and Afghanistan are coming in weekly. There are 4,000 sailors in Iraq — a number that is expected to increase to 5,000 in the next few months. It is unclear how many more sailors will be called to serve ashore by the end of the year.

"Ground forces have been in a very tough rotation over the last several years, and if we can pitch in to help relieve some of that, we're going to do that," Adm. Michael Mullen said during a recent interview with reporters. "We are replacing some of the Marines and soldiers who are on the ground. ... I couldn't tell you exactly what it's going to grow to."

"If you're wearing a uniform, you're a volunteer for whatever the military needs from you," said Lt. Trey Brown, a Navy spokesman. "We want to take the people who are more eager, but everybody has got to be ready to go."

Not all sailors are enthusiastic about the Navy's support role.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002870555_navy17m.html

Misusing the military......who would have thought?:sarcasm:

That's incredible. Why not just be honest and call them Unique Rifle-holding entities

and call them IED fodder?

The Navy is the one branch of the military not suffering from record shortfalls in recruiting. Looks like someone has finally realized that.

I guess they'll give 'em a 10-day course on the rifle range and send them along to the desert.

This is crazy.

already been augmenting the Army/Marines and in greater numbers than the Navy.

Probably Rummy thought the marines needed some help with the smooth sailing. And since the insurgency is in its "last throes" maybe they wanted a boatswain's mate to tie up the lose ends.

believe me, you'd see it!

2300+ of them and counting.

My former brother in law is a civil engineer in the navy stationed in Virginia. His wife had a great job as a teacher in Alexandria. They just bought a house and were chugging along in their life just fine. But they just found out that they are moving to Mississippi where he will undergo training as an Army grunt and be shipped out to Iraq. My ex-wife's whole family is shocked and disgusted. But, he also voted for * in the last election. I feel really bad for him, but you reap what you sow.
KJ

hey i joined the navy and ended up with a marine artillery group as a corpsman.

Force Troops 2nd FAG (how's that for a name)at Camp Lejeune

but at least we were trained for it.

Any Marine knows that corpsmen are special people.
Balls... big BRASS ones!

Years ago I read an actual scholarly paper that examined the psychology of corpsmen and medics. Apparently, they become more - for lack of a better word - saintly. Willing to take chances with their own lives and comfort to help and save others. I was crying when I finished reading, thinking about a couple of corpsmen I knew a thousand years ago and a million miles away.

Ya done good, Doc.... even if you were a squid!

of corpsmen can serve with the Fleet Marines.

Salute

180

was working the wards at great lakes and bethesda and seeing the wounded from nam.

the hardest thing i had to do was to go and get the parents of a marine who had been run to death at

parris island and his kidneys had shut down. i had to wake them in the middle of the night and bring

them over to see their son before he died. i was so disgusted that i leaked it to the newspaper.

I mean after all, didn't Shit-for-Brains tell us "Mission Accomplished" a couple of years ago?

:sarcasm: