Gotcha, that makes sense.
The standards are still pretty low for the Seals, but the thing is, the training is so rigorous that virtually everyone is miles above the base standard. It’s a similar deal for the marines. The base standard is low, to accomodate non-combat MOS, but for the most part, Marines are far above the base standards.
Isn’t it a little hypocritical Gabe for you to be getting worked about your dads eating habits when you are a smoker? why aren’t you more ocncerned with your own health?
http://www.military.com/military-fitness/marine-corps-fitness-requirements/usmc-pft-charts
28 minute 3-mile is the slowest possible run time that a marine can have and still pass with a pathetic 3rd class score and usually followed by an adverse counseling. In order to have a favorable first class score the majority of marines have to have ~22 minute or less run time. You don’t waste the effort to get more than a perfect score in an event when you hit the fleet because you look like a tool but in boot camp there are tons of dudes who run the 3-mile in 16 mins or less. This was on a track that was half sand and mud, early as hell in the morning, with little sleep and adequate nutrition to most athlete’s standards not to mention after days and weeks of physical and mental abuse from drill instructors.
@dwheats-I eat well,sleep well,workout well.5 days a week I smoke less than 2 cigs a day.Sometimes even less than 1(I put it out after the nicotine need has been satisfied).I know for a fact that even the 2 cigs is doing me harm but its not like I smoke a pack a day.I am reducing smoking to 1 cig a day,its been like this for the past 2 weeks
A few points…
A 5K = 3.1 miles, for those who are on the metric system.
And yes, for AF standards, where everybody is over 6 feet tall, makes over $650k per year, participates in MMA in between their marathons and their 2.5 hour gym workout, and bangs Victoria’s Secret runway models while jetsetting between their vacation homes in Vail and the Hamptons, then a 28-minute mile is pretty slow.
But for the vast majority of the population, a nine-minute mile is a pretty good pace. And as BS noted, that’s the bare minimum, even for the “real” Marines. Most Marines, especially those in a combat MOS, are well-conditioned where the 28-minute rule is a joke.
SEALS are Navy, Delta is Army, which have different fitness standards. I do not know if the special forces have special standards. I do know that Force Recon, which is the Marine special force, doesn’t have an explicit requirement, except that you have to get a first-class score (the details of which are outside the scope of an AF thread).
@Mark1440 - I’m curious as to whether you were you ever in the Marine Corps. Based on what you said, I have my doubts.
@Greenman-Actually I am a pretty fit guy and if the baseline is someone like me then thats good.I am curious ,I used to think the SEALS were the SF of navy and delta SF of the army,also where are the greenberets ?
Each branch’s SF is designed to fullfill a different goal aligned with its branch’s mandates that can be coordinated through centralized agencies.
-Navy Seals carry out infiltration, and stealth missions, often involving water.
-Rangers are the primary SF of the army, with a mission typically built on holding key points at any cost. They are loud, proud, carry far more equipment and go in expecting an full on throw down whereas a seal mission typically is conducted behind enemy lines to the extent that firing your weapon means you messed up somewhere (obviously there are missions that don’t fit that mold).
-Marine SF are typically focused on recon and sniper roles which fits the marine core mandate as being the tip of the spear.
Because the army is so large they have several SF components, the green beret were more of a vietnam thing but still exist per my understanding but are a separate from the rangers and focus on guerilla tactics.
Delta force, again, I’m just going off my rememberence here, but they are an elite subset of the rangers focused on sharp shooting and sniping.
Green Berets = Army
BS is pretty close to right. I personally wouldn’t consider Rangers to be SF. They’re more like “infantry-plus”, but not anywhere in the same ballpark as the true “elite” SF’s.
I would consider Marine SF’s to be the snipers and Force Recon. The Army also has snipers, but AFAIK, they’re not as elite as the Marine snipers.
SEALs and Deltas are more or less interchangeable now. It used to be that Deltas were land-based, and SEAL’s were underwater incursion, but the lines are far more blurred now.
^What made you leave the marines ?
A better question would be “Why would you want to stay in the Marines?”
An even better question would be “Why the hell did you joing the Marines in the first place?”
I don’t think Marines is a career thing for most people. Maybe that one scary guy.
May I direct you to the follwing quote from “The Caine Mutiny”? (sub “Marines” for “Navy”)
“The Navy is a master plan designed by geniuses for execution by idiots. If you are not an idiot, but find yourself in the Navy, you can only operate well by pretending to be one. All the shortcuts and economies and common-sense changes that your native intelligence suggests to you are mistakes. Learn to quash them. Constantly ask yourself, “How would I do this if I were a fool?” Throttle down your mind to a crawl. Then you will never go wrong.”
Everyone knows what the cologne is trying to cover and doesn’t work anyway. I’ve had several “secret” smokers in my office and they didn’t fool anyone. Unless you change clothe, take a shower, and brush your teeth, you can’t hide the smell of cigarette smoke.
^Dude either the cigs they smoke is some heavy shit or they get intimate with people.A cologne and a chewing gum works fine.Either way I only have one bad health habit and thats smoking a few puffs a day
I think it’s much more socially acceptable for men to smell like cigarettes than cologne.
Also there are Tier 1 and Tier 2 assets … Tier 1 are the badasses
Thanks for this. An interesting thread.
Does the Air Force have a SF unit? The Air Force is kind of a strange service. It used to be part of the Army but then was sectioned off into its own service. As far as I can understand, their primary function is to maintain strategic bombing capability, and perhaps provide cover for ground forces performing land functions. They also had some role in the development of supersonic aircraft and test piloting for NASA, but I’m not sure if there’s any special role for them there today.
But so much of the air power projection is provided by Navy carrier-based groups today that the role of the Air Force in anything other than the Strategic Air Command is a bit of a mystery to me. Marines also provide air support if I recall correctly. The Army has helicopters (Apache for attack, plus the big Chinook ones for lifting and carrying transports). So what the AF actually does is a bit of a mystery. Maybe they don’t need Special Forces.
I had a relative who is a Marine Colonel and he was talking about how each service is organized around a technology and supporting unit. The Navy is primarily organized around Carriers and carrier groups. The Army is organlized around Armored divisions (and to a lesser extent, the administration of occupied territory so that it can be held). The Air Force is organized around planes and squadrons. I seem to recall that every active pilot needed approximately 10 ground crew to support the pilot, plane, and activities, though I think that was a Navy figure.
He said that what was unique about the Marines was that it was organized around an infantryman with a rifle. And that this meant that Marines knew that they were more disposable than the ships and tanks and planes, and that this was what contributed to the hyper-soldier identity of the Marines, as well as the emphasis on not being too wedded to any particular technology more complex than their rifles.
I just thought those were intersting observations and might affect what the character of the attached special forces units would be.
Kind of true. Though I wish I never have to pick
I think the Air Force is in charge of military satelites and also cyber warfare.