I thought this was good.... enjoy!

A Marine was attending a college course between missions in Iraq and
Afghanistan. The professor, an avowed atheist, shocked the class one day
when he walked in, looked toward the ceiling, and said loudly,

"God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform.
I'll give you exactly 15 minutes."

The lecture room fell silent and the professor began his lecture.Ten
minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, "Here I am God,
still waiting."

It got down to the last minute when the Marine stood up, walked toward
the professor and threw his best punch knocking him off the platform and
out cold. The Marine went back to his seat and sat down.

The other students were shocked and stunned and sat there looking on in
silence. The professor came to, noticeably shaken, looked at theMarine
and asked, "What the hell is the matter with you? Why did you do that?"

The Marine calmly replied,

"God is busy today protecting American troops who are protecting your
right to behave like an idiot and say stupid s***. So He sent me."

Marines Join Special Ops World

It's work they've done as far back as World War II, but never before as part of the U.S. Special Operations Command. The change means battalions of Marines will be focused on special ops work just as Navy SEALs and Army Green Berets and Rangers are.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made the change official after arriving at Camp Lejeune aboard an Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. He said special ops Marines will help "seek new and innovative ways to take the fight to the enemy."

Demand for highly trained special operations forces has increased as the U.S. war against terrorists continues.

"We face a ruthless enemy that lurks in shadows," Rumsfeld said. "It has become vital the Department of Defense and armed forces arrange ourselves in new and unconventional ways to succeed in meeting the peril of our age."

The Marines plan to establish their first special operations company in May and have the command fully staffed with about 2,500 troops by 2010. The command will recruit corporals, sergeants and officers with reconnaissance experience and language training.

As part of the change, the Marine anti-terrorism brigade headquartered at Lejeune will go out of business and shift some of its troops to the special operations command. The command will have combat battalions on both U.S. coasts, along with support units and schools to teach special operations skills to U.S. and foreign troops.

Units to train foreign military officers will deploy within months, Marine Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee said. A special operations company will deploy with an expeditionary unit aboard ships by the end of the year, other military officials said.

The Tampa, Fla.-based U.S. Special Operations Command will control the Marines' special forces.

Special operations will give the Marines "a role they otherwise would not be able to get, to do counterterrorism," said military analyst John Pike of Washington-based Globalsecurity.org.

"The struggle against evil doers is a growth industry and the Marines want a piece of that," Pike said. "The special operations community is getting a lot larger and they need more people."

Sound Off...What do you think?

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Top 5 Reasons Why People Fail Boot Camp

Let’s face it, basic training is tough. For the first time ever recruits find themselves having to wait for permission to eat or even go to the bathroom. Given the several weeks of rigorous mental and physical stress, it’s no wonder that many recruits fail basic training before graduation. But did you know that 90% of what you learn at basic training you can learn before you even look at a drill sergeant? Won’t that make life easier! Here are the top 5 reasons why people fail boot camp:

5) Lack of physical preparation - Often times a recruit thinks they are fit enough for basic training because they spent several months before boot camp going to the gym. Guess what, you won’t see a gym at basic training. The workouts you do at boot camp are specifically designed to strengthen the core muscle groups to prepare your muscles for combat situations.

4) Lack of personal drive - Why did you join the military? Did you join because you love your country, because of the college benefits, or because you needed more structure in your life? Whatever the case, it is important to keep that focus through the good and bad times at boot camp. It might sound cheesy, but before you leave for basic training, write the number one reason why you’re in the military.  Keep it with you during basic training and refer to it whenever you need a morale booster.

3) Easily intimidated - I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a muscular, tough-looking guy at basic training claim that drill sergeants won’t scare him. Then, when the drill sergeants start yelling, they are the first ones with their palms on the pavement banging out those push ups. If you don’t understand how a drill sergeant needs to break your civilian habits down and build you back up into an intimidating fighting force in just a few weeks, you will not have a good time at basic training.

2) Lack of knowledge - When you arrive at basic training, you will receive what’s called a “smart book.” It will contain tons of detailed information including the phonetic alphabet, marching procedures, military traditions, and more. Often a recruit has trouble absorbing all this information in such a short time. Do you know your phonetic alphabet, your general orders, how to read military time, and the soldiers code? If not, memorize this information before even seeing a drill sergeant.

1) Lack of mental preparation - This is the number one reason recruits fail basic training.  Many people think the lack of physical preparation would be the number one reason. However, MENTALLY preparing yourself for basic training is more important than the previous four reasons, combined. Why? If you’re prepared for basic training mentally everything else will fall into place. You won’t mind waking up at 5 a.m. to do road marches or buff the barracks floor. Your mind will be clear and focused on a single goal, for you to graduate. By preparing properly you can even achieve rank and higher pay faster! Now there is a great reason to prepare properly for boot camp.
In my book The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook, I focus on these 5 topics to make sure you will be more than prepared for a very stressful couple months.

SGT Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Surviving Boot Camp, available at www.ultimatebasictraining.com.

Navy and Marine Relations

MIlitary Drinking Age

State Rep. James Splaine, D-Portsmouth, said his new bill would show servicemembers the respect they deserve for their work in the military.

“It seems hypocritical that we expect people to be able to make life or death decisions in Iraq, but in New Hampshire they don’t have the right or privilege to be able to drink,” he said.

This summer, Wisconsin state Rep. Mark Pettis, R-Hertel, introduced a bill to drop the $500 fine for underage drinking to just $10 for servicemembers. Half of that fine would go into a veterans support fund, and would effectively allow young troops to drink at any bar in the state.

Earlier this month, a Wisconsin House committee approved the bill 7-2. Officials from Pettis’ office said the next step is a vote before the full House, but no timetable has been set for that.

Pettis had crafted the $10 fine as a way to skirt federal drinking age minimums but still protect the state’s more than $50 million in federal highway funds, which could have been revoked if the federal age minimum of 21 was repealed even in part.

Splaine said he will seek a waiver from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the New Hampshire bill to preserve the state’s federal funding and allow the drinking exception.

“It’s not as much of an issue here because New Hampshire has already given up many of those (federal highway) funds,” he said. “We have no motorcycle helmet requirement, and no seatbelt law requirement, so they’ve taken away some funding for that.”

Splaine, who did not serve in the military, was the primary sponsor of the bill which raised New Hampshire’s drinking age to 21 in the early 1980s. He hopes that legislative history will give his new proposal more credibility among critics.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving has already lobbied against both the Wisconsin and New Hampshire measures. Splaine said he expects a hearing on his bill in late January.

Defense Department rules require that all U.S. military facilities follow the 21 drinking age, but overseas bases can drop their drinking age as low as 18 based on their host country’s laws. Base commanders also can set the limit at 21, regardless of the foreign laws, at their discretion.

General Order Number 1, in effect in Iraq and Afghanistan, prohibits the “introduction, possession, sale, transfer, manufacture or consumption of any alcoholic beverage” while in the combat zone.

-- Maybe I should go live in New Hampshire...lol.