definitely but the funny thing about interactions between the French military and the US Marines is that operationally and philosophically they're much more aligned with the way that we operate than our British cousins.
the French prize discipline in the ranks and so does the Marine Corps. the French prize being shock troops and being on the attack and so do the Marines...the French believe in more mechanized operations (especially for its sea borne troops) and so do the Marines in the attack...so doctrinally the French are really a better fit for MEU integration with us than are the Brits.
hey Grim901, quite honestly, i see them operating more like one of our heliborne companies in an MEU-
they operate generally much lighter than we do. they're committed to a higher tempo of operations and in the attack they are more raiders than anything. holding ground is something they appear capable of doing but are uncomfortable doing.
not bad things just a case of different doctrines, equipment sets and possibly most importantly size.
the entire British Marines are less than the size of one of our divisions. as a matter of fact the 7th Marine Regiment has more firepower, more equipment etc than the entire British Marines.
like i said, its not a bad thing just something i observed when i trained with 45 commando. when it comes to mechanized raids the equipment set is extremely light when compared to either US or French Marines.
but it allows for that (know you're getting tired of it) higher tempo of ops....as a matter of fact the heaviest vehicle i saw them operate was the viking. they might have something heavier but i don't remember seeing it.
i know i'm repeating alot hear but i was as amazed at how light they were as they were at the amount of gear we had. i think it also explains my shock at the mechanized assault from the sea that the British Marines just carried out in Somalia.
Thanks for the answer Sol. I would agree with you on that stuff, and i'm pretty sure Viking is the heaviest vehicle the Marines operate.
I guess it's important to remember with the Royal Marines is that they are all Commandos (see their selection course), they've always been designed as a rapid raiding force, and they do it very well. I guess that's where the lack of heavy equipment comes from as light infantry would seem to be a better fit for the role than mechanized. If you need to hold ground that's what the army should be used for.
Using that logic it always confuses me to look at the US Marines, with a full range of capabilities right up to M1's. It just means they are expected to do a different set of tasks to what RM's 'should' be used for.
I don't have much info on the French Marines so I don't really know how they operate, I just try and keep an open mind as I've heard some less than stellar stuff about standard French infantry.
well i just remember hearing a joke about the french tanks and other tanks, you know their french when they have on forward gear and ten reverse :). i am sure their marines are very capable, but it seems the civilian government has no backbone to stand up to dictators (which kind of surprised me with their eagerness to go into Libya) but their wiliness to sell a Mistral to Russia with advanced computer systems worries me deeply along with their desire to see the weapons ban from NATO to china lifted, which would be horrendous, so i am sure their soldiers are brave honorable men and women but i have distaste for their foreign policy could mean alot of dead Americans if we ever get into a fight in Asia.
are we allowed to make french jokes on your site?
ReplyDeletedefinitely but the funny thing about interactions between the French military and the US Marines is that operationally and philosophically they're much more aligned with the way that we operate than our British cousins.
ReplyDeletethe French prize discipline in the ranks and so does the Marine Corps. the French prize being shock troops and being on the attack and so do the Marines...the French believe in more mechanized operations (especially for its sea borne troops) and so do the Marines in the attack...so doctrinally the French are really a better fit for MEU integration with us than are the Brits.
Just out of interest Sol, how would you characterize the British style of operation? How does it differ from the points you described?
ReplyDeletehey Grim901, quite honestly, i see them operating more like one of our heliborne companies in an MEU-
ReplyDeletethey operate generally much lighter than we do. they're committed to a higher tempo of operations and in the attack they are more raiders than anything. holding ground is something they appear capable of doing but are uncomfortable doing.
not bad things just a case of different doctrines, equipment sets and possibly most importantly size.
the entire British Marines are less than the size of one of our divisions. as a matter of fact the 7th Marine Regiment has more firepower, more equipment etc than the entire British Marines.
like i said, its not a bad thing just something i observed when i trained with 45 commando. when it comes to mechanized raids the equipment set is extremely light when compared to either US or French Marines.
but it allows for that (know you're getting tired of it) higher tempo of ops....as a matter of fact the heaviest vehicle i saw them operate was the viking. they might have something heavier but i don't remember seeing it.
i know i'm repeating alot hear but i was as amazed at how light they were as they were at the amount of gear we had. i think it also explains my shock at the mechanized assault from the sea that the British Marines just carried out in Somalia.
Thanks for the answer Sol. I would agree with you on that stuff, and i'm pretty sure Viking is the heaviest vehicle the Marines operate.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's important to remember with the Royal Marines is that they are all Commandos (see their selection course), they've always been designed as a rapid raiding force, and they do it very well. I guess that's where the lack of heavy equipment comes from as light infantry would seem to be a better fit for the role than mechanized. If you need to hold ground that's what the army should be used for.
Using that logic it always confuses me to look at the US Marines, with a full range of capabilities right up to M1's. It just means they are expected to do a different set of tasks to what RM's 'should' be used for.
I don't have much info on the French Marines so I don't really know how they operate, I just try and keep an open mind as I've heard some less than stellar stuff about standard French infantry.
well i just remember hearing a joke about the french tanks and other tanks, you know their french when they have on forward gear and ten reverse :). i am sure their marines are very capable, but it seems the civilian government has no backbone to stand up to dictators (which kind of surprised me with their eagerness to go into Libya) but their wiliness to sell a Mistral to Russia with advanced computer systems worries me deeply along with their desire to see the weapons ban from NATO to china lifted, which would be horrendous, so i am sure their soldiers are brave honorable men and women but i have distaste for their foreign policy could mean alot of dead Americans if we ever get into a fight in Asia.
ReplyDelete