Heh...Marine envy in the Army

It appears that Army's change of thier dress uniform was due to Marine uniform envy: USMC Wannabe Blues.

All this is the result of longstanding "uniform envy" soldiers have had for marines. The USMC has always sported the most impressive dress uniform, and young enlisted marines were glad to spend at least $300 to buy themselves one. The marine "Class A" uniform is also green, but a darker green, and the jacket is worn with a belt. This looks much snappier, and many soldiers have suggested something like this for a new army Class A uniform. But many career army types have been campaigning for a spiffier Class A uniform, and something in blue, preferably with a belted jacket. But instead of a new uniform design, the army simply made the current dress blues the new Class As. The dress blues have been around for a long time, and have a good reputation. That doesn't mean that a belt cannot be added down the road. The important thing right now is to dump those hideous green Class As, which have embarrassed several generations of soldiers.

Here's the Army dress blues (now service uniform) in comparison with the Marine dress whites(the blues would be with the blue trousers):


Apparently, I missed the Air Force and their new dress uniform:


Alright, I've had my fun. I now await all the "dumb Marine" jokes my dear service brothers and sisters are going to unleash.

Georgia

The best info thus far from the conflict: Hidden Victories in Georgia.

More time will tell, but I hope things will go well in the future.

Agreeing to Disagree

As I have been going through school here in North Carolina, I've had a roommate. Over the last month, we've had various discussions on a wide range of topics. Several times we have completely disagreed on many of these. For example, he felt the wealthy should be taxed more than they currently are. I disagreed with my opinion that more taxes would stifle the economy far more than it would help. In addition, I dislike how so many taxes turn into wealth re-distribution that those taxed have no control over. Nonetheless, we have these disagreements and remain very amicable. I have watched many times as those involved in similar disagreements dissolved into screaming matches with either side no longer listening. This is highly counterproductive and results in nothing more than high blood pressure. If you listen to the other side, it helps your critical thinking...it sharpens your mind.

Now, if the other side is obviously not interested in anything other than steamrolling your thinking, it may be best to walk away before it turns into a melee of words.

Onslow Beach

Today, Sarah and I went to the beach. Now, I normally hate the beach. The crowds, the parties, the theft...it all rubs me the wrong way. However, all that has changed with Onslow Beach. It's a nice comfortable beach with no major crowds:


I like it. Alot.

Review: Star Wars: Clone Wars

Today, Sarah and I went to the base theater for a early screening of the new Star Wars movie. After mulling it over, I have come to my conclusion: meh, it's okay.

The first thing that caught me was the sudden pace that starts the movie. You almost feel thrown into the middle of a movie that had already started. The plot moves along quickly, but younger viewers may find it slow after the initial start. As with most computer animated movies, the movie is visually spectacular with lots of eye candy. The charaters all have a highly stylized look. Together, it seemed to make a movie that had the feel of one of the many Star Wars games released. Somewhere between Jedi Knight 2 and Republic Commando, perhaps.

Anyway, it was okay. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't outstanding, either. I'm sure Star Wars fans are going to go regardless, but I'd say it's a rental.

Out of the classroom...and into the Brig.

Today we took a field trip to the Brig to see for ourselves the procedures Marines who have run afoul the UCMJ must go through. It was rather uncomfortable walking through, but I feel it was a worthwhile experience. Like any civilian jail, the brig at Camp Lejeune carries all types of prisoners. From those serving 30 days confinement for being UA (Article 86...more commonly known as AWOL) to those serving up to 10 years (those longer are taken to Leavenworth).

I hope I never have to send any of my Marines to the brig, as it is a soulless place. I certainly plan on using my experience there to convince them to think though what they do. I know I will.