gobbledonk Posted November 17, 2011 Report Share Posted November 17, 2011 Flash, I hope you are feeling the love right now: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/obama-in-australia/us-president-touches-down-at-fairbairn-airforce-base/story-fnb0o39u-1226197111255 When they finally boot the Marines out of Okinawa, they will have two logical destinations for them - Guam and Northern Oz. And a more American perspective: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/16/us/pacific-military-capabilities/index.html?iref=allsearch Strangely, the news wasn't met with wild enthusiasm in China and Indonesia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted November 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2011 A Marine company is 250 men? Fark ... an Army company is about 125. I knew the USMC had heavier units than the Army, but double the strength? No wonder they kick ass when the go in, they are more like a battalion than a company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Munchmaster Posted November 17, 2011 Report Share Posted November 17, 2011 19 was the average age of GIs in RVN. 19 - Paul Hardcastle In 1965 Vietnam seemed like just another foreign war, but it wasn't. It was different in many ways, as so were those that did the fighting. In World War II the average age of the combat soldier was 26... In Vietnam he was 19. In inininininin Vietnam he was 19..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Munchmaster Posted November 17, 2011 Report Share Posted November 17, 2011 Australia has agreed to host a full US Marine task force in the coming years, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced at a news conference with US President Barack Obama in Canberra. She said about 250 US Marines would arrive next year, eventually being built up to 2,500 personnel. So eventually there'll be more US soldiers in Australia than Australian soldiers?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted November 17, 2011 Report Share Posted November 17, 2011 No problem... if the US$ drops any lower we'll buy them all for about $6.59 AUD a head. Them being on site will save on transport costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted November 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2011 Nah, these aren't soldiers. These are Marines. Soldiers don't have webbed feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted November 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2011 No problem... if the US$ drops any lower we'll buy them all for about $6.59 AUD a head. Them being on site will save on transport costs. We'd be happy to sell you a president for 2 cents, a VP for a penny. All of Congress for a farthing, if you have any still laying around. We'll pay transportation costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted November 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 Australia tells China to fark off Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has assured China the boosting of US troops on Australian soil was not directed at Beijing while warning the country not to interfere in Canberra's security decisions. US President Barack Obama announced in Canberra on Wednesday that the US would deploy up to 2,500 Marines in the northern city of Darwin in what many see as a counterbalance to China's growing might. The US has viewed with concern China's increasing assertiveness in the region over territorial disputes, as have many of China's neighbours. While Beijing's official reaction has been relatively mild, the country's state media has gone further, accusing Obama of trying to win votes by using his diplomatic ambitions in Asia to detract from his country's economic woes. Rudd said China, whose voracious demand for natural resources has made it Australia's biggest trading partner, had been briefed about the announcement before it happened. "It's fair to say from what you see from the Chinese foreign ministry that they have reservations about what we have done, but Australia will not be changing its position," Rudd told ABC television late Thursday. "Number one position from us, and it's based in absolute reality, is that this enhanced set of arrangements with the United States are not directed at any one country," he said. At the same time, Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking China expert and former prime minister, warned Beijing not to get involved in Australian policy decisions. "Let's just be very blunt about it, we are not going to have our national security policy dictated by any other external power. That's a sovereign matter for Australia," he said. "We don't seek to dictate to the Chinese what their national security policy should be. Therefore this must be advanced on the basis of mutual respect." Rudd dismissed suggestions the arrangement with the US could make Australia a potential target if tensions flared in the South China Sea. "It is simply imprudent and wrong to speculate publicly on what might or might not happen in given strategic contingencies in the future," he said. The initial deployment of up to 250 Marines will occur from mid-2012 with the US planning to eventually send up to 2,500 troops to northern Australia as the two nations expand their 60-year military alliance. BP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 I wouldnt worry too much about Ruddy - he's just biding his time and sharpening a set of steak knives. When he gets back into the top job, a few of the little grey men who unseated him will be getting amateur vasectomies. Payback will be a serious bitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted November 18, 2011 Report Share Posted November 18, 2011 So eventually there'll be more US soldiers in Australia than Australian soldiers?! Sounds attractive to the taxpayer, but one analyst claimed you only have to look at Japan to see what happens when you 'outsource' your armed forces to a superpower - this surprised me, as I thought they had a massive standing army and all the hi-tech gear you could want to fight a war, but he claimed they wouldnt be able to defend themselves in a conventional war with one of their neighbours - 'Right, so China and Russia would be formidable enemies, eh ?' Surprising, really - I thought Putin was too busy running his Empire to wage war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.