Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for January 21, 2010

Yeah, don’t mess with a Marine if you’re unarmed!

(As an aside, I thought for sure his advisor looked old enough to have served in ‘Nam. Shows what I know …)

Love this professor, he’s just what Leo needs.

Nothing out of line with a Nam vet still in the service for Somalia.

Just this past year, a Massachusetts National Guard sergeant finally retired. He was a Nam vet, and he was SIXTY … he’d been deployed in Iraq and didn’t look a day over forty. The papers were pretty sure he was the last Nam vet still on active duty in the field.

Some are still serving, such as this one in NC that just returned from Iraq at 71. He has served in Afghanistan, Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2006 and the Gulf and Vietnam Wars.

Bless’em all

I don’t get it. They’re in a parking lot; so what?

I agree with @jonathanyoung - I don’t get it, why the parking lot?

When I was in stationed in Korea in 1993, The last of the still active duty Korean War Veterans, a Chief Warrant Officer, retired.

When I was in Iraq, My OIC was a 58 year old National Guardsman

And the oldest soldier killed in Iraq was 60.

Professor may deck student off school property, perhaps.

I’d like to know about the “parking lot” reference, too.

Anyone?

Having a box to check about your preferences to serve doesn’t mean a whole lot. The government reserves the right to change their mind at any time.

My father was 14 and “borrowed” his cousin’s ID so that he could sign up with the Navy during WWII. Volunteers were given a choice as to what sort of ship they wanted to serve on, but the inside information was that they gave you the opposite of what you asked. My father wanted to be on an aircraft carrier, so he took his brother’s advice and checked off “PT boat”. Sure enough, he was sent to serve on a carrier.

During the Vietnam Conflict, some draftees were sent to the US Marines rather than the US Army.<<

Same with Korea…my dad was a draftee sent to the Marines. Didn’t deploy. Answered a phone at Pendleton.

HOAH! Way to go soldier. I like the professor character, but a Marine with an advanced degree? Don’t you have to be able to read to get one of those ;)?

Because a parking lot is where you go to kick somebody’s a** for being a wise guy. I see a good-natured rivalry here between the Army and the Marines in the personna of Leo and Dr. Shipley. Excellent strip.

I had a low number. I joined the USMC instead of being drafted into the Army because I figured, if I’m gonna get shot at by Vietcong, I at least want some decent training first… my kung fu instructor from high school taught hand-to-hand for the Corps.

I agree with SteepBumps - excellent strip. I am really enjoying this storyline.

bradwilliams – I’m a Marine with 2 and working on my third advanced degree.

AND…

I teach at a community college.

Heh.

OOOHRAH, Doc! Get Some!

Oh, and as for the parking lot comment…he’s basically telling Leo he’s not afraid to kick some Army butt, especially since they are out of view of a lot of eyes. Heh

I’ve joked with my Vet’s like that as well – and they always know its a joke!

To bradwilliams:

Belittling the marines in general is STUPID! Belittling any group in general is STUPID! Where did you get the idea that marines are illiterate?

Many real marines, without a doubt, have a far more nuanced understanding of this imperfect world than you do.

To Everyone:

I have mixed feelings about marines. Much of what I perceive about the marine “mindset” is troubling. For them, as I imperfectly understand them, the world is divided into “us” and “them” and “they” are the enemy, with little hope for any change other than victory.

But then again, maybe it’s only a marine’s bravery that stands between me and some real enemy out there.

Belittling divides people. Belittling is too bleeep easy! Much harder is honest dialogue. I don’t trust the “right wing” to honest talk and they don’t trust me and we are stuck detesting each others descriptions of the world. We so easily hate each other! It’s far easier for me to decry the “right” for belittling the “left” than for me to take responsibility for my own tendency to belittle the “right.”

This is a nation and a world terribly divided. The divide between “right” and “left” in this county seems irreconcilable. It scares the hell out of me and it sickens me.

Unnecessarily dividing it further is STUPID!

Gary Trudeau works hard to challenge the stupidities of this world. He walks a fine line between helpful and hurtful humor.

We can all be more careful with our comments.

People are missing the point: Both of them served in the military and both of them are screwed up.

Mr. Williamson: Permit me to recommend a quick course in good-natured teasing.

I am a former Marine. One of my best buddies is a former corpsman. We kid each other. I call him Squidward, he calls me things I won’t quote on a public website, and it’s okay. We’ve been there. We’re allowed. It isn’t belittlement.

When someone off the street belittles my Marine Corps, I know him for a fool. When someone who gets to climb the same beaches belittles my Marine Corps, I buy him a beer.

DAProf: No, the point is that they’re less screwed up than folks assume they are.

All, I am a Soldier with 16 years of commissioned service. The Army and Marine Corps have mutual respect and rivalry. I purposefully but ;) so people would know I was poking fun. If any Marine was truly offended I apologize. I would also suggest you have rather thin skin for a Marine.

‘Parking lot’ in this context sounds a lot like Sgt. Hulka saying “I’ll remove my hat”.

Though as a Naval veteran (no horse in the fight), I’ve heard Army types brag that they are better than Marines. I’ve never heard Marines brag. Never thought they needed to.

DirtyDragon,

I have heard many Marines say if you aint a Marine you aint SH**, along with airborne, rangers, etc.

Seals, Speciela Forces Delta and the like dont brag, dont need to.

@Alex

There has long been a good-natured rivalry between the branches of the military. Squids vs Jarheads vs Legs vs Flyboys vs Coasties… You can’t really think that we go around picking fights in parking lots just because we served in different branches, do you??

I have stood and fought beside many remarkable, brave men and women. In the thick of the $#it I never cared what Secretary of what branch signed their checks. But get us back to the Oclub and we’ll pick at each other like brothers and sisters always do.

Step aside children… Special Forces coming through… Hooah!

PiratePTG,

Thanks for remembering Coasties (or Puddle Pirates as our Navy [Squid] brethren would say)!

Brad…I get what you’re saying, (re; Bragging) but when we all get togther on JT drills, we still talk smack down to each other during down time….it is the nature of hte beast. It is not bragging so much as it is ripping on each other.

Exactly, thank you.

My grandfather commanded an Army regiment in the pacific during WWll. He said: “For every Marine rifleman, there were 10 photographers.”

Brad, Micheal, Pirate and any other Service People

As one of those, we civilians can can be great nitwits. I assumed (and we all know what that means) that Brad was speaking from the outside.

I missed the point, I suppose. I guess I’ve seen too many posts from folks who really mean what they stupidly say. (Not here at Doonsbury.)

I appreciate the education. I did not spot banter when I saw it.

I have not served. I was 4F for medical reasons. I also got a low number.

We civilians are nitwits from time to time. I hope you forgive. I hope you don’t think we’re COMPLETE nitwits.

I still think that the divisions here in the US and elsewhere are toxic. They can potentially tear the country and world apart. Banter is great. Civil discourse is desperately needed. Hateful speech still exists. I hope for more banter and more discourse.

We call each other, squids, jarheads, airdales, ground pounders, but if you have never worn the uniform of any, you do not have that right!!!!

I thought the smiley face made it quite clear that Brad was kidding. I have a grandson who is a medic with an Army combat unit in Afghanistan and another who is a Marine training for deployment to Afghanistan and on the list to go in a month or so. They take digs at each other. It’s a military thing.

Semper Paritus . We are all in this together right? Nice to have a place to lighten up a bit .Be sure to check out all the new VA benefits. You earned them.

Two close friends are Viet Nam Vet Marines. Neither has “come back”. Both have PTSD, and live in a parallel universe they have been good enough to let me stow away in from time to time.

They gave all.

In my experience as a retired sailor, I’ve found that those who did the least always have the most to say about it.

@Alex

No harm, no foul. :-)

The best way to look at us servicemen/women is that we’re all a bunch of brothers and sisters who poke fun at each other like siblings always do. But put us in a fight together and we become one mind, one force.

And afterwards go back to picking fun…

It’s just what we do! LOL

” For them, as I imperfectly understand them, the world is divided into “us” and “them” and “they” are the enemy, with little hope for any change other than victory. ”

I would say that “imperfect” is a pretty good descriptive for your understanding of Marines.

As a peacetime volunteer, Navy, friendly rivalry between the services is always good. (A knock down drag out is sometimes fun, too. I’ll take the SEAL over anyone) To the person who said BoBo, Bush the 43rd volunteered for Vietnam, why did he render himself unfit for duty. IE not show up for his flight physical for the last 3-4 years of his contract? Was it because the service started drug testing? as rumored? Whoa way to political for just a comic strip.