How is it that most junior Soldiers claim to have never heard of Colin Powell or Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr?

You won't find Marines that don't know who Smedley Butler, Dan Daly, and Chesty Puller are. And I'd be willing to bet that they have studied Desert Storm and most all would know who General Norman Schwarzkopf is. Colin Powell was Chairman of the JCS, and I'm sure some might know him, but I'm less confident that today's troops would know who he is.

The Corps has always stressed studying history and that is one of the cultural differences between the Army and Marines. The Marines are very into history... especially Marine Corps history! I'm not trying to poke the Army in the eye; just stating a fact. PME (Professional Military Education) is a requirement for ALL RANKS of Marines. And 18 years ago when I left, there was a gap in Army leadership -- not as much with the Officers, but especially at the SNCO and NCO level. The Marines at the NCO level were definitely more schooled in history, warfighting, and leadership. Again, this was 18 years ago and the Army may have since emulated that PME aspect of leadership training and closed the gap.

As an aside, I'm not sure if the Marines have continued to progress or if they have started to regress... What I heard recently has me questioning what's going on in today's Marine Corps as far as discipline and conduct. Again, I'm not trying to poke anyone in the eye, but things seem to be slacker than when I was in. In two years, the guys coming in when I retired will be eligible to retire, so virtually an entire generation of Marines has grown up in the Corps since I left and things may have changed. Personally, I feel like Obama's use of the military as a social experiment may be the root cause of the lack of discipline.

My cousin is with the Myrtle Beach Police Dept and [being equally honest] he related an observation to me... He said, "We get groups of military guys down at the beach all the time and I can look at them and the way they stand and carry themselves and I can immediately tell if they're Army or Marines." He added, "If there's trouble and we ask the Army guys to leave, they tend to listen pretty well and they just get out of there. The Marines are generally younger and they don't listen to anybody; they just get loud, obnoxious, and stupid when they're drinking. When they're causing trouble and we ask them to leave, they tend to stick around and give us a hard time... and they end up getting arrested!" <@@>

I don't remember being like that when I was a troop, but we did have our share of belligerents. That said, if you were in a group out in town and one guy started acting stupidly, the others would intervene and give him the what for. They would try to keep him out of trouble so they wouldn't get in trouble! I'm not sure if we've gotten worse in this area with Millenials simply being more self-absorbed instead of being team players and not getting the whole look out for your buddy thing... or if things haven't changed at all? It could just be my faulty memory...

LTC Stephen F.

I was at Camp Humphries a few years back, supervising the TOC night shift, and began talking to the OIC, a Major who had been prior service about our respective active duty days. The topic of Desert Storm came up, and a new soldier on the shift began listening in. We talked about the invasion of Kuwait, General Schwarzkopf and the other players. When we finished, the Private looked at me with a puzzled look and said “Sergeant, so that really happened?” My jaw just dropped.

I'm around high school athletes a lot. Majority know nothing about the national anthem.

Funny how both Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkopf,Jr made their bones in little ole Vietnam bet that would blow their minds,Geez I forgot that’s Ancient History and that’s definitely not taught anymore,not to the politicians of that time anyway

to young, and we have transitioned from a school system that teaches real meaningful history, to one where all the evil Europeans came and destroyed everything and we should be ashamed.

Powell and Schwarzkopf aren't in any of the video games they grew up with.

It isn't just the schools. It is the Army too. You all do not teach enough history, customs and courtesies in boot camp or on an ongoing basis. Every Marine knows Chesty, Dan Daily, Alfred Cunningham, Archibald Henderson and a host of other historical figures. They know about Chapultepec, the Banana Wars, Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, Iwo, Hue, Khe Sanh and a bunch of other places. The public schools do not and have not taught that level of detail even when I went to school. If you want them to know it, you have to create courses for it and teach it. I am sure the training schedule is packed with a host of less important things than knowing your legacy.

I watched GEN Powell mow his lawn in a regulation white t shirt, shorts, knee high black socks and penny loafers. I was dating a woman in Virginia that lived next door to him... AS for why young people don't know... because the schools gloss over vast swaths of history in order to teach to the tests.

I've answered several questions on RP from guys wanting to know the difference between the Army and the Marines. Having served in both branches, I gladly offer my opinion. While there are pros and cons to each, the Marine Corps far outdoes the Army in this area. When I went to boot camp, Marine Corps history was the focus for about the first 4 weeks. Dan Daly, Smedley Butler, Archibald Henderson, Pappy Boyington, Opha Mae Johnson, Chest Puller, etc. etc. This list goes on. Part of the esprit de corps in the Marines comes from the history that's instilled in boot camp. The Army (and other branches) would do well to follow suit.

CH (MAJ) William Beaver - Because most officers don’t bother teaching army history to their subordinates. That being said, the army as a whole does a very poor job, of passing on our history. In my experience, the Navy and Marine Corps do much better job.