Help settle an argument. Are US Navy personnel ever considered "soldiers"?

[Passport1]

There was a Seabees patch on the front of the bomber jacket that Tom Cruise wore in Top Gun

Maybe he was building something with Kelly McGillis and earned the patch.

 

[burbguy82]

How about active duty or current reserve?

active squid, reserve squid

 

[burbguy82]

Marines do have a special force division which is called MARSOC but not all Marines are in special forces.

"Special Forces" is a very improperly used term. Special Forces, used properly, denotes an Army Special Forces soldier, commonly referred to as a "Green Beret"

Other branches have a Special Operations branch, with their own names....the Army, technically has 4 Special Operations branches, loosely 5.

MARSOC is being disbanded currently.

 

[burbguy82]

No. One is an act and other is a generalized term. There are soldiers in the Army who only push papers or cook meals. Nothing do with fighting. Civilians always like to think about the military as the boots on the ground grunts or SpecOps, but in reality the majority of the Armed Forces are not those in those roles. Even in your Pearl Harbor analogy, there were sailors on ships providing medical or preforming damage control to keep ships afloat. All of which requires guts and tenacity, but none of which requires a rifle. A sailor is a sailor. A soldier is a soldier.

Many today forget that the service is a machine. No portion is any more important than the other. Nearly all jobs are necessary. A cook in the military has a hard job, and maybe even one of the most important. Imagine food poisoning on an aircraft carrier, or in an Airborne Infantry battalion on QRF cycle, going down with food poisoning because the someone did not wash their hands..........as an example.

Every service and every discipline within the services has studs, and for lack of allowed language on this site "poopbirds". Every unit.

 

[WeyounDS9]

Aaand Enjoy:

 

[y_p_w]

Many today forget that the service is a machine. No portion is any more important than the other. Nearly all jobs are necessary. A cook in the military has a hard job, and maybe even one of the most important. Imagine food poisoning on an aircraft carrier, or in an Airborne Infantry battalion on QRF cycle, going down with food poisoning because the someone did not wash their hands..........as an example.

Every service and every discipline within the services has studs, and for lack of allowed language on this site "poopbirds". Every unit.

Doris Miller comes to mind.

 

[ls1mike]

Many today forget that the service is a machine. No portion is any more important than the other. Nearly all jobs are necessary. A cook in the military has a hard job, and maybe even one of the most important. Imagine food poisoning on an aircraft carrier, or in an Airborne Infantry battalion on QRF cycle, going down with food poisoning because the someone did not wash their hands..........as an example.

Every service and every discipline within the services has studs, and for lack of allowed language on this site "poopbirds". Every unit.

I always say cook is one of hardest jobs, everybody is a critic and you work weird shifts.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Aaand Enjoy:

Navy got rid of MARDETs on carriers prior to my last deployment in 2000 and replaced them with MAs and ship’s company. Not sure if that stayed that way or not.

 

[GON]

I always say cook is one of hardest jobs, everybody is a critic and you work weird shifts.

One can tour the American Cemetery and Memorial in Manila, and see the name and occupation of every service member who gave their nation the ultimate sacrifice.

Many more cooks on the walls of the 17,000 memorialized at the cemetery for their Pacific WWII service and sacrifice than dedicated trigger pullers.

 

[I<3oil]

Soldiers = Ain't Ready for Marines Yet (ARMY). (Never gets old).

Army isn’t an acronym. Sux 2 sux

 

[ATex7239]

Army isn’t an acronym. Sux 2 sux

True, but the Marine Corps is definitely a cult.

 

[burbguy82]

Soldiers = Ain't Ready for Marines Yet (ARMY). (Never gets old).

yeah, the feeble aren't that hard to entertain.

 

[burbguy82]

So what is a member of the Coast Guard called? I know the Squids call them Puddle Pirates, but what is the real name? Coast Guardians? Sailors?

Honest question.........TBH, if I had to do it over again, Coast Guard might have been my choice.

 

[4WD]

So what is a member of the Coast Guard called? I know the Squids call them Puddle Pirates, but what is the real name? Coast Guardians? Sailors?

Honest question.........TBH, if I had to do it over again, Coast Guard might have been my choice.

Coast Gaurdsman

 

[Pew]

So what is a member of the Coast Guard called? I know the Squids call them Puddle Pirates, but what is the real name? Coast Guardians? Sailors?

Honest question.........TBH, if I had to do it over again, Coast Guard might have been my choice.

Coasties is the only thing I've heard

 

[GON]

So what is a member of the Coast Guard called? I know the Squids call them Puddle Pirates, but what is the real name? Coast Guardians? Sailors?

Honest question.........TBH, if I had to do it over again, Coast Guard might have been my choice.

Coast Guard often fills their yearly recruiting mission in the very first month of the fiscal year (October).

If one wants to join the Coast Guard, likely a best practice to prepare a year in advance for the upcoming fiscal year. Find out all the requirements, have a waivers completed in advance, etc.

I have a hard a few stories (unconfirmed) that it is not uncommon for one to complete their Coast Guard contract, without ever attending their mandatory Occupational Specialty schooling requirements. If accurate, is a very big concern.

 

[KrisZ]

I sure hope people taking these silly hierarchies seriously realize they’re just “expendable assets” in the grand scheme of things.

 

[I<3oil]

True, but the Marine Corps is definitely a cult.

Amen to that

 

[I<3oil]

Many today forget that the service is a machine. No portion is any more important than the other. Nearly all jobs are necessary. A cook in the military has a hard job, and maybe even one of the most important. Imagine food poisoning on an aircraft carrier, or in an Airborne Infantry battalion on QRF cycle, going down with food poisoning because the someone did not wash their hands..........as an example.

Every service and every discipline within the services has studs, and for lack of allowed language on this site "poopbirds". Every unit.

Years ago, sure. Nowadays, almost everything is contracted now, at least overseas. Every major DFAC in Iraq was Halliburton/KBR. The only time cooks actually cooked was small little COPs or outposts in the middle of the desert.

 

[Astro14]

I sure hope people taking these silly hierarchies seriously realize they’re just “expendable assets” in the grand scheme of things.

It’s only silly to those who have never worn the uniform. If you believe they are “expendable” - then you fail to value human life or their service. Perhaps both.