155 Year Tradition Ends

[erpowers]

The 155 year tradition of Marine sentries guarding the gates of the Naval Academy ended recently. The change is due to the need for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to an article at Huffington Post, Marines sentries started standing at the gates of the Naval Academy and performing other guard duties in 1851 six years after the Academy was founded.

The Naval Academy is not the only military place affected by the war. West Point had to turn to private security forces in that the military personnel who normally guarded the school needed to be place on military duty. Also, other military bases have had to hire private security forces to make up for the lose of military guards called to duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I made a mistake when I first posted. I misunderstood a part of the article. I thought the article was saying the Marine Corp was founded in 1845 six years before 1851, but the article was stating that the Naval Academy was founded in 1845 and the Marines began guarding the gates six years later. Sorry to all you Marines out their.

[SteppingRazor]

1. Not just acadamies either...

I was up at Arlington National Cemetery recently for a funeral, and we went to the officer's club of the nearby base afterward. The military base was guarded by hired security.
I think it's pretty much par for the course these days.

[Canuckistanian]

5. SECURITY GUARDS at Arlington?

I realize that there's not much security to be kept at a cemetery, but isn't it symbolic to keep fellow servicemen there as a token of respect?

Just another example of "supporting the troops", I guess.

[SteppingRazor]

10. No, no.. at the base next to Arlington...

There's still a soldier guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns.... but for how long, Spock?! For... how... long?!!

[Canuckistanian]

13. Oh, sorry.

Still, imagine what the servicemen at that base must think of security guards looking after them.
Isn't the military supposed to be self-sufficient?

Wait, don't answer that.

[Bluesplayer]

18. don't you mean

the "Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Tomb of the Unknowns" in "MBNA National Cemetery"?

[NMDemDist2]

2. Holy CRAP! I knew the military was stretched thin

but this is ridiculous!

:cry:

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

3. Well, one problem with this premise...

the USMC was founded in 1775.

The Naval Academy may have been founded in 1845, but when basic facts like this are wrong, I have a problem with the whole.

On edit... found the orignial article in the WaPo
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/13/AR2006011301753_pf.html

seems as if this is true. sad. we had enough Marines during VietNam, but not now.

[Captain Hilts]

9. There was a draft during Vietnam.

It is disconcerting to see overweight, civilian cops at base gates. It's weird being saluted by a civilian when we go through the gate in Mom's car.

[Surya Gayatri]

4. Only the most external signs

of a once-proud military being gutted and decimated by ill-advised policies. SG

[WePurrsevere]

6. Provide links to your sources for this info please. TIA n/t

[erpowers]

12. Source

The link for the source of my post is www.huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post will link you to the article by the Washington Post. It appears the date of the founding of the Marine Corps is wrong. I may have read that part of the article wrong; however it seems to me that the Washington Post may have gotten that part wrong. I believe that everything else has been confirmed.

[Captain Hilts]

7. Part of a long-term trend from before Iraq War.

The navy narrowed the kinds of bases being guarded by marines. I think the last - such as the academy - were bases with a flag officer in residence.

So, Naval Amphibious Base in Va. Beach hasn't qualified in years, but USNA has.

The marines have been pushing this for a long time.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

14. Not exactly true. If there are nukes somewhere

they will have Marines.

Not just flag officers. And there is a flag at NAB... COMNAVPHIBGRULANT unless that has moved. :shrug:

What's next? No Marines at CIA? WH? Shit, let's put security guards at the Washington Marine Barracks too.


Sorry, this does not fly. The Marines don't want this. It is being pushed on them. The Marine Corps has long felt that gate guards are their best recruiting posters. And for many years, practically their only recruiting posters.

This makes me on the verge of tears. There were enough Marines to man these posts in 1944 when Marines were dying by the hundreds every day. There were enough Marines when there was only 2 brigades between the wars and the Corps was as busy as they are today with "little wars."

I can't help but believe this is a conscious affront to the uniformed services from BUSHCO.

[Captain Hilts]

15. The marines I know HATE doing it.

And consider it beneath them on a lot of levels.

They're kind of right.

I think sailors - not private contractors - should take over these duties. They look great wearing the leggings a la the Sand Pebbles.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

16. Of course the Marines hate it. All lower-level

enlisted people hate their jobs. That's life.

I mean the larger Marine Corps.

[Captain Hilts]

17. A friend of mine - marine corps colonel retired - said they HATED

losing good marines to this duty.

It's not just a lower-rates thing.

[HereSince1628]

8. I imagine THIS cheers the hearts of the enemy more than anti-Bush OpEds

Imagine how good you must feel when your recruiting is going GREAT, and your enemy is running out of manpower.

The neocon's advocated using American military hyperpower to fulfill a dream of military hegemony, that vision is looking more and more dream-like everyday.

[underpants]

11. They do?

in '98 I was at a conference in Annapolis (GREAT little city-spectacular state capital) and I went for a run into the Naval Academy. It was a Sunday morning but still there was no one guarding the gates.

I dunno.

I finished my run by going over and going inside the State capital. I couldn't get inside the actually room but there didn't seem to be anyone around to stop me.

Just saying.

Maybe the Marine guys were there in a guard house and just didn't stop me.

BTW-there is very high likelihood that this is being farmed out to a security service making big bucks on this.