Kevin Drum’s “Political Animal” column has become quite popular with many on the left recently. He’s a good writer, and he sometimes has insightful comments, but he has absolutely no clue how the military works. It was obvious during the…

That Charlie Rangel is a Jackass… But the news out of this debate is the slur Rep. Rangel casts on the Navy. Both Rangel and Preble are introduced on the program as veterans, Rangel from the army, Preble from the Navy. The anchor begins the segment b…

meek

However, Rangel did mean it in a disparaging way and should be chastised. He is discounting the unique hardships a sailor faces because he isn’t “in the trenches.” I suggest Rangel spends a few months at sea to see what the Navy is really about.

And, for those of you who aren’t regulars, I spent six years as a Navy Corpsman…all of it with the Marines. Mike is right about one other thing, I am always given tremendous respect and affection from any current or former Marine I ever meet. For that, I thank all Marines.

If I could have,I would have e-mailed you. FMF Corpsman were ALWAYS afforded a place of honor at any Marine Corps function I have ever attended. They always will.

For once, I agree with Charlie Rengle, “sailors are not soldiers.”

The statistics on the navy men who were killed should be compared with the army and Marine losses. And please, remove the navy Corpsmen numbers from the navy list and add them to the Marines, where they belong.

Thank you Doc Smith, and Welcome Home.

Mike Farrell
1st Sgt of Marines
(retired)

Well, I apologize then, since I misuderstood you.

However, you sentence is rather confusing, since you use “I” twice in the same sentence, the first I referring to you (”I do think the ugly class warfare aspect of his argument is genuine”) and the second time referring indirectly to Rangel (”I want more white people dying”), with nothing to indicate a change of antecedents.

Well actually to hear Rangel tell it he didn’t join to “serve his country”, he joined because it was the best deal government was offering him. He feels he was effectively forced to enlist. I don’t see how this is more “service” than any other job.

Rangel can kiss my ex-Corpsman ass. And the asses of my friends who served with the Marines during the first Gulf War, Somalia, Gulf War II: Return of the Son, etc.

If you’d actually studied the matter instead of just shooting your mouth off, you’d know that “white people” are actually overrepresented among front line combat units and among casualties. While minorities are overrepresented in the military as a whole, they tend to be more concentrated in support units.

Saturday, April 24, 2004

BAGHDAD — Two U.S. sailors were killed and four were wounded Saturday in apparent homicide boat bombings near an oil platform off Iraq’s Persian Gulf coast.

He genuinely thinks it helps him politically, and he’s probably right about that. I’d be wary of calling anything else about him genuine.