Posted on Jan 12, 2016
Does one US military branch think it's superior?
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Do you feel there is still an "inner service rivalry" between the Service Branches or that any one branch thinks they are Superior?
RP Members what do you think - be honest and professional in your responses please! Thank you
With all the deployments and joint operations that we have been involved in over the last 15 plus years of war and prior to that as well, aren't we all part of something a little bigger than our own service branches? We represent the United States of America in so many ways! We represent the freedom that all of the American citizens enjoy, to include ourselves!
For myself, I think is great to that we have the Navy/Army/Air Force rivalry on the football field and other sports, but I think it is important to realize the importance of joint operations and synchronization among the service branches.
I don't think that anyone branch is better than the other. That is my personal feeling.
They all have their specific missions, training philosophies, challenges, and characteristics that make them unique and special, but does that make them inferior or superior to the other service branches?
I'm sorry if I didn't tag some of the specific service branches!
RP Members what do you think - be honest and professional in your responses please! Thank you
With all the deployments and joint operations that we have been involved in over the last 15 plus years of war and prior to that as well, aren't we all part of something a little bigger than our own service branches? We represent the United States of America in so many ways! We represent the freedom that all of the American citizens enjoy, to include ourselves!
For myself, I think is great to that we have the Navy/Army/Air Force rivalry on the football field and other sports, but I think it is important to realize the importance of joint operations and synchronization among the service branches.
I don't think that anyone branch is better than the other. That is my personal feeling.
They all have their specific missions, training philosophies, challenges, and characteristics that make them unique and special, but does that make them inferior or superior to the other service branches?
I'm sorry if I didn't tag some of the specific service branches!
Branch
Pride
Service
Discipline
Mission
Edited 7 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 458
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I've always enjoyed 'sibling rivalry' with many of my friends, active and veteran, from other services. Healthy competition is good and keeps us on-our-game. Just wish Airmen would keep their pony tails above the base of the collar.
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Not counting the Navy, as we've always been # 1, a little rivalry between the other branches is good for moral!!!
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs
I'm not allowed to pick on the Air Force anymore. My Uncle Fred Otte was an Air Force helicopter pilot in Vietnam and won 2 Silver Stars and 2 Air Medals. So yeah, my Uncle is pretty much a certified bad ass.
Update: It wasn't 2 Air Medals, but rather two Distinguished Flying Crosses. So yeah, Uncle Fred is even more a legit bad ass!
I'm not allowed to pick on the Air Force anymore. My Uncle Fred Otte was an Air Force helicopter pilot in Vietnam and won 2 Silver Stars and 2 Air Medals. So yeah, my Uncle is pretty much a certified bad ass.
Update: It wasn't 2 Air Medals, but rather two Distinguished Flying Crosses. So yeah, Uncle Fred is even more a legit bad ass!
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PO1 John Miller
Cpl Gabriel F.
Thanks Devil Dog. And as an update, it was actually two Distinguished Flying Crosses, which rank higher than the Air Medal.
Thanks Devil Dog. And as an update, it was actually two Distinguished Flying Crosses, which rank higher than the Air Medal.
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I retired from the US Army many years ago. But I can say with total honesty, that I feel we have one military force and they all play a part in our defense of this country. Take our body for example, the body is one but it has many members working in harmony with each other. How can you say the hand is more important than the arm, or how can you say the eyes are more important than your brain. We need all of these parts working together. That's the way I fell about the military, we need all branches. No one branch of service is better than the other. I am proud of all of them.
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CPT Earl George
I don't believe there is a rivalry. Some people serve in the military and may never see a member from another branch of service the entire time they are in.
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The parochial view that some branches are superior to others is as tiresome as a branch saying their blood is braver and more sacred than others. We all bleed red no matter what the branch, gender, rank, and the color of our skin.
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This may not show much rivalry, but I often share this comparison which gives us a general idea about the various services when they deploy. It is important to remember this is not saying one is better, but how they might be fulfilling their mission in a deployed status. The Navy stays aboard their ships and enjoys their bunks. The Air Force moves into a tent city and installs HVAC and a lot of other nice things since they know they'll usually be in the location for some time. The Army moves into a tent city, but they realize they'll probably be moving soon so they forgo many of the nice things. The Marines just throw their ponchos over their heads as they run from one location to the next. I realize there are exceptions to this generalization, but it is fun to tell people this comparison.
Is this a fair assessment, or am I way off base?
Is this a fair assessment, or am I way off base?
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CSM Charles Hayden
SSG Edward Tilton Old Soldier!- Now you might explain Pro Pay to the Newbies on Rally Point - enjoy!
They love to learn! 'Cept SSG Warren Swan He is older!
They love to learn! 'Cept SSG Warren Swan He is older!
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SSG Edward Tilton
Every year each soldier took a test based on his/her MOS. The top ______% got Pro Pay $_______ a month. Needed skills got a multiplier of the Pro Pay amount. It was an extra couple hundred dollars every month. I always remember at E-5 I could draw a multiplier of 1 as a Sergeant 13F or a multiplier of 3 as a 13E Specialist. In Vietnam we weren't tested but continued drawing it. That and all of the other extras were more than my pay
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs - Mikel; Of course there is "inter-service rivalry". There always has been and there always will be. At one level it is extremely healthy. At another level it can get toxic.
The "healthy" level is where each member of a service considers that THEIR service is "better than" ANY OTHER service. This keeps up morale and builds group cohesion.
The "toxic" level is where each service's pointy hats insist on being included in each and every operation regardless of whether it makes operational sense to have diversified commands using differing equipment according to uncomplimentary doctrine attempting to accomplish separate parts of a single task. (see "Grenada", "Afghanistan", "Iraq", "Syria" etc.)
The "healthy" level is where each member of a service considers that THEIR service is "better than" ANY OTHER service. This keeps up morale and builds group cohesion.
The "toxic" level is where each service's pointy hats insist on being included in each and every operation regardless of whether it makes operational sense to have diversified commands using differing equipment according to uncomplimentary doctrine attempting to accomplish separate parts of a single task. (see "Grenada", "Afghanistan", "Iraq", "Syria" etc.)
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I used to think the Navy was, and then I was stationed in an Air Force base. Their 5 day weekends are far superior to any regular Liberty I've gotten in the Navy.
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Cpl Gabriel F.
The navy mess deck was far superior to anything the Corps had but the AF mess hall was the top chow hall to crash.
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PO3 Donald Murphy
Being an Air Force brat until I joined the Navy, I would have to agree that AF bases are the absolute best as far as taking care of the service member and his family goes. But...that Navy paycheck tends to overcome it real quick. I was making close to double my pay in 1980's dollars.
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