Commandant of The Marine Corps, General Amos is not really a Marine at all.

[Nightvisionary]

This goes along way to explain his disconnect with Marine Corps culture. Records indicate that Amos was commissioned in the U.S. Navy and attained the rank of Lt. JG before he transfered directly into the USMC aviation. He never attended the "Basic School" which is the Marine Officer equivalent to USMC boot camp but completed the course, ahem, via "Correspondence courses" several years later. That means he never earned the title. What a travesty. Now he holds the dual distinction of the first USMC Commandant to come from the Air wing as well as the first Commandant to not actually earn the title Marine.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2014/10/10/marine-commandant-faces-new-questions/17066817/

[skydivr]

Oh, that's gonna piss a lot or our Marine Officer friends off....their one common thread - Every Marine a rifleman first...

[chuckman]

To many of us in the Navy/Marine Corps that isn't "news," but you are right, it does explain his disconnect.

[rocsteady]

I've always felt that, barring extraordinary circumstances, leaders should come up through the ranks so they can actually use a little thing called "experience" to do right by the position. I think it applies even more with the military. Sadly, actual knowledge of how things work doesn't seem to be a prerequisite for anything any more.

[Eurodriver]

We all knew this years ago when he replaced Conway. When you've been at war for 9 years and your HMFIC doesn't even have a CAR - that's saying something. When you make a policy change that virtually every single NCO in the Marine Corps disagrees with so vehemently that they actually send you letters - that's saying something.

Luckily, General Dunford appears to be much more qualified.


During his 37-year Marine Corps career as an infantry officer, Dunford has spent considerable time in both post-9/11 combat theaters.

He commanded the 5th Marine Regimental Combat Team during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, where he earned his “Fighting Joe” nickname, spending nearly two years in that theater in various roles over the duration of the war.

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/article/20140605/NEWS/306050057/Dunford-picked-next-Marine-Corps-commandant

[wildcard600]

I've always felt that, barring extraordinary circumstances, leaders should come up through the ranks so they can actually use a little thing called "experience" to do right by the position. I think it applies even more with the military. Sadly, actual knowledge of how things work doesn't seem to be a prerequisite for anything any more.

Yep, I see it happen all the time in jobs I have held over the years. Thank god the clowns in charge are not "leading" anyone into and kind of life threating situations in my experience. I can't imagine how it would be from a military leadership perspective. scary stuff.