Back when I first began adding to the content on this blog, I got an e-mail with a suggestion. The writer of that e-mail asked for information about why the Marines, a separate military branch, come under the oversight of the Navy.
In my Monday blog I mentioned the Navy exercise that had been planned for the first week of May, 2008. That exercise was going to take place off the coast of a country in Southeast Asia. Now the boats that were supposed to be part of that exercise are helping with the relief efforts in Myanmar.
That exercise was officially a Navy activity. Still, 1800 Marines were aboard one of the aircraft carriers to be used in that exercise. Today, those Marines are using their helicopters to get a limited amount of aid into Myanmar.
The willingness of the Marines to work closely with the Navy puts both military forces and civilians at an advantage. Perhaps that underlines the reason that no one has sought to abolish the current relationship between the Navy and the U.S. Marines.
