Marine Body Bearer Training

[MeatPotato]

Apologies if this has been posted before. I know there are some other Marines/Vets on the board and thought this would provoke some more discussion on how we could implement more applicable PT regiments.

These guys are obviously not serving in the field, but I found it interesting the Marine Corps is obviously letting these guys buck the usual height and weight standards in order to perform their job.

Makes you wonder why the same lee way isn't provided to Combat Arms Marines who want to put on some good weight and get strong.

Training to become a Body Bearer - YouTube

[Mark Rippetoe]

Is it not obvious to you that the military is only non-political when it absolutely has to be?

[David A. Rowe]

I tend to rail heavily against decisions made by the head shed. I have also accused the Marine Corps of being best at sucking its own dick. These sorts of things (looking bad at a funeral by messing up the manual at arms and not being jacked) absolutely get exceptions, but not the line units.

Mac Ward once quoted me on these forums not too long ago for my tirade against the new Marine Corps fitness program. "Can't we give it a chance?" he asked. It gave me pause, and I reconsidered my stance. Ultimately, I arrived at NO. We cannot. We should not. Knowing what we know, those of us who have followed the model, educated ourselves and done the fucking program... how can you make allowances for anything less than the most effective and efficient training by which Marines could gain the strength they NEED to perform in combat? How is demanding the best anything other than gross incompetence? How is taking your Marines out for a boots-and-utes run with rifles and flak not considered a huge detriment to their physical health and readiness?

I have been out, but as I understand it... Marines can STILL be submitted by their superiors to the body composition program for "looking too fat." That is regardless of their performance on the PFT or CFT. In fact, I had a Lance Corporal who was forced out of the Marine Corps with a first class PFT simply because he could not lose body fat past a certain level. I got no say on it as his sergeant, either.

Ironically, after having been out for a few years my family remarked that I "looked more like a Marine now" than I ever did when I was in... purely from strength training. I only run when something I can't shoot is chasing me.

[Matt Neilsen]

It costs more money to feed big and strong marines/soldiers/sailors while out on deployment.

I would imagine the costs associated with transporting a fallen soldier, the funeral, future payments to the family, recruiting/training new soldiers, etc outweigh the costs of extra food for a strong soldier.

Plus, you know, the fact that he/she isn't dead is a big plus.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Yes, and thriftiness wins combat engagements every time. I suppose our priorities are occasionally adjusted.

[Matt Neilsen]

An example:

On the 688i, they have to layer the floors with canned food above and beyond the galley stores in order to have enough food for patrol. Bigger dudes using more air and eating more food is not trivial.

I'm not saying stronger soldiers isn't ideal, but numbers get crunched at every level. A lithe 175lb male is much more thrifty when it comes to food and resources than a 225lb male.

That's a fair point - I wasn't thinking about submarines when I responded.

You reminded me of an Eisenhower quote:

"You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics."

I've always thought the Los Angeles class was a cool sub. Perhaps we should staff them with all midget crews?

[David Kirkham]

Yes, and thriftiness wins combat engagements every time. I suppose our priorities are occasionally adjusted.

Pentagon thriftiness? Holy hell.

Maybe they could find a few extra pennies under some back Pentagon desks to buy the men some whey.

"Pentagon buries evidence of $125 billion in bureaucratic waste." To put that in perspective that is roughly (not quite) 10 TIMES the budget of the state of Utah.

Pentagon buries evidence of $125 billion in bureaucratic waste - The Washington Post

[David Lee]

It costs more money to feed big and strong marines/soldiers/sailors while out on deployment.

Since when is the government concerned about how much taxpayer money it spends on anything?