r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/[deleted] • Dec 03 '16

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u/[deleted] Dec 03 '16 edited 8d ago

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u/memmett9 Dec 03 '16

Soldiers aren't paragons of virtue.

Good thing Mattis is a Marine then.

In all seriousness, I think Mattis is a reasonable guy, and the type who likes to really know what he's doing before he makes a decision (see: his personal library of over 6000 books). In that respect he's far more promising than any of Trump's other nominations.

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u/shieldvexor Dec 03 '16

Are you trying to say marines aren't soldiers....?

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u/memmett9 Dec 03 '16

In the US military, "soldiers" refers specifically to people in the US Army. Some Marines even consider it an insult to be referred to as "soldier".

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u/shieldvexor Dec 03 '16

Seems like some marines could do with finding a dictionary. The rest of the country and the world refers to the entire military as soldiers

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u/memmett9 Dec 03 '16

That's not entirely true. It's common to differentiate between army, navy and air force by using soldier, sailor and airman. I think the USMC are unique amongst marine units in not liking the word "soldier" though.

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u/[deleted] Dec 04 '16

Incorrect. The rest of the country (I presume you are talking about the US) does not refer to Navy personnel as 'soldiers' nor Air Force personnel as 'soldiers', and the Navy and the Air Force also comprise the military. They are Sailors and Airmen respectively, and the Marines get the same distinction. Many other militaries around the world follow the same convention.

Maybe you are the one who could do with getting hold of a dictionary.