Secretary of the Navy AND Marine Corps - new title maybe

[Mike]

The Fleet Reserve Association again applauds Congressman Walter Jones
for reintroducing H.R. 34, a bill to change the name of the Secretary
of the Navy to the Secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps. This was
among the very first measures introduced in the 109th Congress and is
similar to a bill introduced by Rep. Jones, and endorsed by FRA, in the
108th Congress. This proposal would highlight the role of the Marine
Corps as an equal member of the Armed Services in the eyes of our
citizens who have always admired Marines for their dedication and
loyalty to the nation. The Commandant of the Marine Corps is a
permanent member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which is sufficient
justification to recognize the Corps as an armed service equal to the
task of providing its opinion and recommendations on joint and combined
operations with the Army, Navy and Air Force. The participations in
Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom prove again the
Corps merits this recognition. The Corps has filled a unique niche in
our nation's history not duplicated by any of the other armed services.
The Corps, as the second most senior armed service, should receive the
honor it truly deserves: equitable distinction among the military
departments in the U.S. defense structure.

[old hoodoo]

Perhaps rather than attempting to make the Marines a semi-autonomus
service perhaps we should be looking at reevaluating the purpose of the
Marine Corps and determining if our current use of the Marine Corps is
effective and cost-efficient. The Marine Corps has a purpose, but is it
being properly used?
It seems like a lot of Marines are being more used as an adjunct to the
US Army rather than serving the purposes of the Navy.

[zzbu...@netscape.net]

Well, that's the problem though. Both the Marines Corp
and the Army want a unified 5 forces services.
But the navy has been asking both the Army
and the Marines since WWI, not the Iraq War,
the key question:
Just what do submarines have to do with the army?
It might save a lot of money for everybody
if you make drones rather than ships.