Well of all things. This was sent to me by a USMC friend and it went out to his buddies and one wrote back that he was the father of this kid's company commander and personally knew of this young man. He just made sgt, is in the 3rd Marines at Kaneohe HI, qualled as a sniper, and just passed a PT test and will stay. He did a 2 mile run in 14 min.

And we have a couple graduates from our BSA troop who are muddling their way through college, don't really want to be there and occupy their time playing electronic combat games on their gameboys or whatever they are. I've asked them what about the military and been told that they don't want anybody telling them what to do. With that, I conclude that they are not good candidates for the military and I wish them the best of luck in finding jobs where nobody tells them what to do. I know that young men like this Marine are our true national treasure.

The young men of today-- the electronic age-huum??
 

[quote=Bruce Day;47792]Well of all things. This was sent to me by a USMC friend and it went out to his buddies and one wrote back that he was the father of this kid's company commander and personally knew of this young man. He just made sgt, is in the 3rd Marines at Kaneohe HI, qualled as a sniper, and just passed a PT test and will stay. He did a 2 mile run in 14 min.

And we have a couple graduates from our BSA troop who are muddling their way through college, don't really want to be there and occupy their time playing electronic combat games on their gameboys or whatever they are. I've asked them what about the military and been told that they don't want anybody telling them what to do. Bruce- I recall maybe 14 years ago, my nephew with an IQ of Mensa range- I asked him what games he liked (hoping maybe Baseball or even straight pool) and he said- "Uncle Francis, I like to play computer games (Super Dooper Mario brothers, maybe?) with my friends" I then asked him- did they take turns (like a poker group maybe) and rotate from house to house to play these "games"-- "Oh, no" he replied- "Not at all- we just sit at our computers and play from our own rooms"-- Took him 5 years to graduate college- quit his first job because his boss (also his ex-girl friends father) asked him to do something he didn't want to do--

For every good invention, the ultimate results can be chaos- We have Al Gore's Internet- and hackers like the Limeys that worked for Rupert Murdoch- we have our PGCA website- but there are porn and other garbage sites out there also--I think the computer age has, to a great extent, made many of us "social hermits"--

Now as for the 2 mile in 14 minutes (Full pack and rifle?) as our DI's said at MCRD San Diego (51 years ago for me) would have said-- "Out-%^#$*@%-standing"!!:cool:

And, the future of this great country!!!!

I couldn't be more proud of the young men in our military.

I don't know if this is national news or local news, but Walter Reed Army Hospital had a closing ceremony this week and now Walter Reed is part of the Naval Hospital at Bethesda, MD. An immense building program has been in place for several years at Bethesda Naval. I guess the new, modern complex is a good thing for the patients. Bethesda is a better venue for off campus activities than Walter Reed was. There is a lot of history in both facilities. My Dad was a guest at the dedication of the Naval Hospital in 1940, a big event attended by many dignitaries including FDR. Until recently, I had in my collection, a beautiful program commemorating the event, including the list of attendees. I framed it and gave it as a retirement gift to the senior NCO of the Dental Section at Bethesda. The retirement ceremony was held in an auditorium at the hospital and the reception, attended by more high ranking commissioned officers than I have ever seen in one place. Linda works in a dental office with this gentleman's wife and is acquainted with the whole family. I suggested the gift and he was quite impressed. Because of the proximity of the two facilities to local sporting clubs, Wounded Warrior events are regularly held in our area.

Hi All.
My god those USMC boys have got some guts.

Shoulder to shoulder with the SAS, David. Competance and courage.

You know, we have a member in Tasmania who has come over here and hunted with us on the plains. Borrows a Parker since the gun laws in Australia are so restrictive. He can get his Parker into the US but he is afraid he could not get it back into Australia. Think about it.

Ran into a ret. SAS Sgt a couple years back. Came over, bought a Harley and was spending time riding from coast to coast , north to south and up to Alaska, a great adventure.

Latin mottoes- common bonds?
 

-- USMC Semper Fidelis- SAS Royal Marine Commandos-"Quid Audere, Vincere"!!

I remember running the PRT in June of 1965 at MCRD and I did the 3 mile with combat gear in 23 minutes and 45 seconds and that was after doing all the rest of the stuff. I will probably be bragging about that until they cart me away. In those days all I did in off duty hours was run and go through the obstacle course.Good thing too as a couple of months later I was humping a radio with 3rd Recon in Vietnam.Our young people always seem to be up to the task when duty finally becomes an imperative and they put away childish things.

My Co, at Pensacola, FLA when I checked in to start flight training was Colonel Don Conroy. He was a giant, maybe 6'4" and pretty thick. He was very blond with a crew cut and had a voice that could be heard all over the base. When he got mad, which was all of the time, his neck turned bright read and the veins stuck out. When he spoke the building trembled. We were all scared spitless of him.

His son Pat, wrote a book about the colonel entitled "The Great Santini". It was mostly true. Then man was bigger than life. Google Pat Conroy's funeral oration of his dad.

Years ago I found an old "Life" magazine, dated 1946. Inside was an article about Pappy Boyington's return to Pensacola after he was released from a Japanese prison camp. He was in uniform. They met at the San Carlos hotel in P-cola to have a few. There was a Life photographer assigned to photograph the event. In one picture Pappy is sitting on the shoulders of a huge marine, all singing and shooting their watches (making 'handies' their hands being airplanes). The man holding up Pappy was none other than the Great Santini himself. He was one hell of a Marine. Pappy wasn't bad either.

I flew in the Marines for nine years and it almost ruined by life. Nothing seemed worth while after that. Nothing nearly as exciting. If someone wasn't shooting at you, well; who cares? There is a sound that you hear in the early morning in the Marine Corps that you will hear no where else. It is the cadance call of the sergeants as they march their platoons to morning chow. To an old Marine it is the sweetest and most sturring music on earth and I'd give anything to do it all over again.