|
Posts:
3,832
From:
Albuquerque
Registered:
8/2/06
|
|
(46 of 70)
Re: 4,000 US Marines Invade Taliban Stronghold
Jul 2, 2009 5:31 PM
|
> I wonder how many of those are strictly combat
> troops? Usually support troops (ie quartermaster,
> mechanics etc.) account for 40-50% of any listed
> number.
>
I am not up on where every unit is any more but if I can use the II MEF as an example:
The II MEF is comprised of many units, one being the 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division and that has 4 battalions. Each of about 800 men. With one more battalion to augment it, you’d get your 4000, so logistic support would be provided from elsewhere. There is also the 2nd MEB of 20,000 of which contains the Regimental Combat Team 3, which holds 4 battalions as well. But the 2nd MEB also has an air component and three logistics Regiments which could be used to augment the RCT3. This would be my choice of the unit to use. The II MEF also has three MEUs, each with 2200 marines (including logistics), so 2 MEUs could be thrown into the fray. I would be curious about the actual make up if anybody hears.
|
|
|
Posts:
519
From:
Near the craters of the moon.
Registered:
10/25/08
|
|
(47 of 70)
Re: 4,000 US Marines Invade Taliban Stronghold
Jul 2, 2009 5:41 PM
|
|
Don't know the breakdown but from what I have seen they are saying that the actual combat element is 1000 men/ U.S. and 650 native soldiers.
|
|
|
Posts:
1,371
From:
Poconos, PA
Registered:
2/28/06
|
|
(48 of 70)
Re: 4,000 US Marines Invade Taliban Stronghold
Jul 2, 2009 6:15 PM
|
Vets are not the ones putting their lives on the line today for you and me. Also, I have no way of confirming what you claim your everyday work is. All I know is that you haven't voiced any support for the Marines now engaged in a critical battle in Afghanistan. That speaks volumes.
UMMMmmm PB ... we may just be "a bunch of dumb grunt automatons" to you lefties; but we CAN see through the BS that you call "supporting our troops".
Just because, in this one thread, you claim to support the troops in combat, now that your messiah has ascended the throne, doesn't mean we don't remember the years of hate & blatant contempt that we HAVE heard, and will continue to hear from those of your persuasion.
Never forget that just 2 weeks ago; NWO-Bama's DOJ / DOHS announced that, when those troops come home, they will return under suspicion of being "the next biggest threat to American security". Obama's words, I watched him say them.
|
|
|
Posts:
13,654
From:
South of occupied San Francisco
Registered:
12/7/02
|
|
(49 of 70)
Re: 4,000 US Marines Invade Taliban Stronghold
Jul 2, 2009 7:25 PM
|
"Put that same M16 into the hands of a Marine and you have a heavy weapons expert. "
Nothing aagainst the Marines, cwayne, but that's just nonsense.
A "deadly rifleman" I'll grant you.
--
"You may want to look up the notion that telling something that is obvioulsy untrue is not really a lie." - S, 4/5/2009
"You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things!" ~Julius Caesar, Act 1, Scene 1
|
|
|
Posts:
13,654
From:
South of occupied San Francisco
Registered:
12/7/02
|
|
|
Posts:
19,040
Registered:
5/13/05
|
|
(51 of 70)
Re: 4,000 US Marines Invade Taliban Stronghold
Jul 2, 2009 7:30 PM
|
> "I thought Obama was bringin em all home? "
>
> However you have shown repeatedly that you think a
> lot of weird things that are not the case.....
>
> Obama never said he was bringing the troops home from
> Afghanistan.
>
> You have a lot of opinions about him. It is a shame
> you have no facts to go beside them.
>
Who on earth said that? LOL. Obama has consistently been more hawkish on Afghanistan and Pakistan than even Bush. He was heavily criticized for it. But as usual, his strategic thinking was impeccable.
|
|
|
Posts:
519
From:
Near the craters of the moon.
Registered:
10/25/08
|
|
(52 of 70)
Re: 4,000 US Marines Invade Taliban Stronghold
Jul 2, 2009 7:36 PM
|
Only partially true, the days of second hand equipment are in most cases over.
As far as heavy weapons are concerned. For this operation you can bet Obama will not approve another
al Fallujah to take place in Afghanistan.
If it were up to me I'd authorize Napalm if it would save a few American lives but that aint gonna happen.
|
|
|
Posts:
3,832
From:
Albuquerque
Registered:
8/2/06
|
|
(53 of 70)
Re: 4,000 US Marines Invade Taliban Stronghold
Jul 2, 2009 8:10 PM
|
> "Put that same M16 into the hands of a Marine and you
> have a heavy weapons expert. "
>
> Nothing aagainst the Marines, cwayne, but that's just
> nonsense.
>
> A "dealy rifleman" I'll grant you.
>
Isn’t that the same thing? 
|
|
|
Posts:
3,832
From:
Albuquerque
Registered:
8/2/06
|
|
(54 of 70)
Re: 4,000 US Marines Invade Taliban Stronghold
Jul 2, 2009 8:23 PM
|
> Who on earth said that? LOL.
>
Obama did. He said he would bring them home from Iraq in 16 months. But the right hand was saying that he was going to invade Pakistan to get Bin Laden. No wonder you guys fell for it and voted him in.
> Obama has consistently
> been more hawkish on Afghanistan and Pakistan than
> even Bush.
>
Really? Are we about to see shock and awe? Invade Pakistan and get Bin Laden. Or run troops through the country side ala Hamburger Hill?
> He was heavily criticized for it. But as
> usual, his strategic thinking was impeccable.
>
Gulp, gulp.
|
|
|
Posts:
3,832
From:
Albuquerque
Registered:
8/2/06
|
|
(55 of 70)
Re: 4,000 US Marines Invade Taliban Stronghold
Jul 2, 2009 8:39 PM
|
> Only partially true, the days of second hand
> equipment are in most cases over.
>
I know. By the time I was mustering out, we were getting all sorts or new toys. Personally I recall retiring the PRC77 and breaking in the 113. Now, the only PRCs are the majority of libs on this board 
> As far as heavy weapons are concerned. For this
> operation you can bet Obama will not approve another
>
That’s what I worry about. What kind of standing orders has he imposed on the troops and SOP?
> al Fallujah to take place in Afghanistan.
> If it were up to me I'd authorize Napalm if it would
> save a few American lives but that aint gonna happen.
>
From what I hear, there isn’t that much napalm left in the inventory. A few daisy cutters should do the trick. But I thought our main concern was getting Bin laden in Pakistan and not policing drug lords in Afghanistan.
|
|
|
Posts:
19,040
Registered:
5/13/05
|
|
(56 of 70)
Re: 4,000 US Marines Invade Taliban Stronghold
Jul 2, 2009 8:45 PM
|
> Only partially true, the days of second hand
> equipment are in most cases over.
> As far as heavy weapons are concerned. For this
> operation you can bet Obama will not approve another
>
> al Fallujah to take place in Afghanistan.
Please, Obama just authorized invading an entire province. He is comitted to this fight for real, so you guys better wake up. The man knows where our threats are, unlike the circular firing squad under the GOP Prez. If Petraeus says I need X numebr of troops, he will get them.
The idea clearly is to not just make this a war, but a hearts, minds and economics situation. As everyone says, it will not be a simple matter of bullets.
|
|
|
Posts:
8,065
From:
What Time Is It? Pay Back Time!
Registered:
10/25/06
|
|
(57 of 70)
Re: 4,000 US Marines Invade Taliban Stronghold
Jul 2, 2009 9:04 PM
|
I have ALWAYS supported our troops.
I have not supported some of the decisions of some of our CIC's, namely Bush's decision to invade Iraq on false pretenses. But that is not the fault of the troops, nor is the gross mismanagement of the subsequent occupation. All Bush/Cheney's fault there, if you believe the buck stops at the White House.
Also, I have always supported the goal of ridding Afghanistan of the Taliban and closing off one of Al Qaeda's primary refuges and training grounds. Unfortunately Bush didn't let our troops complete that task back in 2002, so now we have to go in there again and finish yet another mess that Bush left us.
Cheers for the brave Marines and other allied personnel now battling on the right side of history in the Helmand Valley and elsewhere.
--
"Facts Are Stupid Things" - Ronald Reagan
|
|
|
Posts:
27,250
From:
Flagstaff
Registered:
7/12/01
|
|
(58 of 70)
Re: 4,000 US Marines Invade Taliban Stronghold
Jul 2, 2009 9:34 PM
|
One thing I found when I was in, Marines did get the hand me downs. The new stuff always went to the Army and Navy first. I see that's still true today.
(Or at least he thinks he does. A Marine acts accordingly. He is expected to take charge, to improvise, to adapt, to overcome. A Marine gets by with ancient aircraft (the ratty C-46E Frog, for example), hand-me-down weapons (such as the old M-60 tanks used in the Gulf War), and whatever else he can bum off the Army or cajole out of the Navy. )
--
Beam me up Scottie, no intelligent life down here.
|
|
|
Posts:
519
From:
Near the craters of the moon.
Registered:
10/25/08
|
|
(59 of 70)
Re: 4,000 US Marines Invade Taliban Stronghold
Jul 2, 2009 10:59 PM
|
He authorized the invasion of a entire province while only putting 1600 guys on the ground and so far no heavy weapons have been employed.
This is intended to be a soft hands operation because of all the flak over too much collateral damage.
Only if they can flush out the bad guys will they bring out the heavy stuff. The only other way would be in case of disaster where we have some guys hanging out there in the air, then the gloves would come off.
|
|
|
Posts:
519
From:
Near the craters of the moon.
Registered:
10/25/08
|
|
(60 of 70)
Re: 4,000 US Marines Invade Taliban Stronghold
Jul 2, 2009 11:21 PM
|
I saw an AN/PRC 113 once. The Army had a bunch of them but we were still using the 77.
When I first went in way back when we still had the
PRC 47 man pack HF radio. The things took two men to carry, one guy had the radio Aprox 45 lbs, the other had all the accessory stuff which included two lead type wet cell batteries. They were a better radio than the 104 but I was not unhappy to see them go away.
True Napalm is currently an outlawed weapon but battlefield nukes (TAC type) have not been outlawed, go figure.
|
|
|
|
|
