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Summary: The Marines' greatest weapon are the Marines themselves
Review: The thoroughness and deep respect Tom Clancy brings to this analysis of a US Marine Corps Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), or MEU (SOC), will not surprise anyone at all familiar with the author. What makes this book different from his similar titles about Army and Air Force units, as he notes early on, is that whereas technology is a key element in defining the armored cav unit or air wing, the principle distinctive for the Marine Corps is the Marine ethos and, therefore, the Marines themselves. Clancy does a fine job in capturing what makes the USMC unique among American, and indeed the world's, military forces.Liking or disliking Clancy's writing is largely a matter of taste. Though I generally find him informative and reasonably insightful, he does tend to go on. Though "Marine" is relatively more compact than some other of his titles, here too I occasionally found myself skimming over long sections on training or, especially, the various weapons and other "tools of the trade" the Corps uses. Other people might find these the highlight of the book, though. To each his own. On the whole, this book is a fine overview, not only of what a MEU (SOC) is and how it operates, but the larger issue of why we have a Corps and what makes it distinctive. As some of the reviews on this page indicate, the Corps is the only American military force that continually has to justify (to some) its existence. This book, like Victor Krulak's "First to Fight" (USNI Press, 1984), helps do that. It would also be a very valuable read for someone considering becoming a Marine, or for family members and friends wondering what their Marine has gone through, and why. This book may not be for everyone, but Clancy fans will definitely enjoy it, and interested readers will probably get a lot out of it.
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Summary: Clancy says "Semper Fi" to America's 911 unit.....
Review: The United States Marine Corps, as best-selling author Tom Clancy explains in the fourth entry in the Guided Tour series, is America's most hallowed armed service. Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit, is an in-depth look at a Marine Expeditionary Unit - Special Operations Capable, a 2,000-strong assault force equipped with armor, artillery and a small but powerful air support detachment that is capable of executing many types of military operations. Currently, seven MEU(SOC)s are in active service; three each on each coast, plus one in Okinawa with the Third Marine Division. Each unit can carry out almost any type of operation, ranging from short-duration raids on an enemy shore to providing humanitarian assistance after a natural or man-made disaster. Clancy describes the tools and weapons used by the men and women of a MEU(SOC), the amphibious ships of the Navy (the Corps' parent service) as well as the history and doctrine of the United States Marines. There is an interview with the 31st Commandant of the Marines, as well as a fictional depiction of how a MEU(SOC) might be employed in a future combat.
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Summary: Clancy says "Semper Fi" to America's 911 unit.....
Review: The United States Marine Corps, as best-selling author Tom Clancy explains in the fourth entry in the Guided Tour series, is America's most hallowed armed service. Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit, is an in-depth look at a Marine Expeditionary Unit - Special Operations Capable, a 2,000-strong assault force equipped with armor, artillery and a small but powerful air support detachment that is capable of executing many types of military operations. Currently, seven MEU(SOC)s are in active service; three each on each coast, plus one in Okinawa with the Third Marine Division. Each unit can carry out almost any type of operation, ranging from short-duration raids on an enemy shore to providing humanitarian assistance after a natural or man-made disaster. Clancy describes the tools and weapons used by the men and women of a MEU(SOC), the amphibious ships of the Navy (the Corps' parent service) as well as the history and doctrine of the United States Marines. There is an interview with the 31st Commandant of the Marines, as well as a fictional depiction of how a MEU(SOC) might be employed in a future combat.
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Summary: Excwllent
Review: This book guides you through the workings of a MEU in a concise yet informitive fashion. It highlights all the important topics pertaining to MEUs. The interview with the Marine Commandant is especially good. Over all this is a must have book for any one interested in the US military and its future.
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Summary: GREAT
Review: This book is great for Marines and prospective Marines alike. I had to do a report on the United States Marine Corps and now I want to acually want to be a Marine.
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Summary: Marine Ho!!
Review: This is the best non-fiction, tell it like it is book that Tom Clancy has ever written. I loved every minute of it. You can't learn much more about the MEU (SOC) and the "gator" Navy that gets them there than by reading this book.
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Summary: Back on track (no pun intended!)
Review: This non-fiction series of TCs is back on track. "SUBMARINE" was a good read with the right combination of technical detail and non-technical descriptions. "ARMORED CAV" was not as sure, and "FIGHTER WING" was darned boring. Because these are what you could call semi-reference books an element of entertainment is needed. SUB had that and now "MARINE" puts the series back on track. Loaded with information, observation and speculation this volume hits the formulae squre on the nose. Pay attention to what makes 'em work, Tom and keep 'em coming
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Summary: Would make a good movie
Review: Tom Clancy should stick with playing with his Tec-9 in the basement of his mansion, instead of pretending that he can write.
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Summary: A "must read" for anyone who "thinks purple!"
Review: Tom Clancy's books "Submarine," "Fighter Wing," "Airborne," and "Marine" should be required reading for any junior officer, NCO, cadet, or midshipman in any branch of the military who wants to understand what each service contributes to the national defense. This book is particularly worthwhile in that it describes how the Navy-Marine Corps team supports national policies while we are at peace as well as at war. The description of the Marine Corps' ethos and Corps Values is also of particular interest to anyone who thinks that "Full Metal Jacket" accurately depicts how Marine leaders train and care for their people. The only down-sides are the two or three mis-representations of our officer training as well as his comment that "the most dreaded of all duties for a Staff Sergeant is to be issued a new Second Lieutenant to watch over and hopefully make a decent officer out of him." Come on, Mr. Clancy--give the staff at TBS a little bit of credit!
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Summary: Propaganda for an obsolete 172,000 man/woman bureaucracy
Review: WHERE IS CLANCY'S OBJECTIVITY? 172,000 gyrenes on the public dole and just 3 of these cat's meus afloat---of just a battalion size each in a different part of the world to be an evacuation service for the State Department? Just one U.S. Army Division has 3 times this force on 18-hour readiness---an actual war-winning BRIGADE not a tiny sea-based evac/saber rattler unit. If Clancy wants to sell books by brown-nosing to a different segment of the U.S. military, in this case the navalist/land-locked posturers, FINE. But don't even pretend to be a serious work describing serious defense issues. The FACT is that the Mc is land-locked, couldn't even get to the fight in a timely manner even if we had ships---and Clancy should know all about the mines, diesel-electric submarines and space satellite targeting which would rain on these slow surface ships if we tried. Look what Argentina did to the British with less than a handful of Exocet ASMs! Many today think if they had had a dozen or more they would have sank the british fleet and won the way by anti-access tactics. Our day of reckoning for the obsolete surface ship amphibian is coming! Where will Clancy be when the casualty figures come pouring in? When you have this much time on your hands due to being land-locked posturers you can afford to waltz around in dress blues and set up college sorority initiation rites of passage and masquerade it all as "tough training". The Mc couldn't even land on the beaches of Kuwait defended by the measley Iraqis! America will not tolerate the flag-draped coffins of a frontalist Mc dog 'n pony show for CNN to help in their on-going attempts to waste ever more BILLIONS of tax dollars on gadgets that will never be used in a fight. Semper veritas!
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