You’re welcome. Applying ‘Lance’ to a rank indicates ‘Lowest possible form of that rank’. The Marines have it (bias warning) because it is not unknown for an E-3 to be put in charge of leadership tasks that are nominally above their billet but due to personnel shortages you reach down and get the next guy in order of seniority or who looks like he’s ready to take charge. The Army would promote the guy or commission him. The Marines give you the job and a medal if you do well. It’s cheaper that way.

It’s a relatively new rank – it was brought into being (more bias ahead) after WW II when the services were adjusting to the whole Cold War thing. The Army in a fit of the dumbs tried hard to forget their mission of killing people the old fashioned way and become more like the Air Force and created a whole raft of Specialist ranks (and did away with the rank ‘Corporal’) – the idea being that most soldiers were going to be Atomic-era technicians and not have to be so grubby as to dig fox holes.

Meanwhile the Marines (Semper Fi) prepared for the WW III missions no-body else wanted (Turkey, Norway) and brush-fire wars by preparing junior enlisted to step up and become leaders – creating the E-3 rank of ‘Lance Corporal’ or ‘junior NCO in training’.

Which is probably more than you ever wanted to know – but I will run on.

Incidentally I had the ‘honor’ of spending the majority of my eight years service as a Marine at that rank. A stellar Mr. Marine kinda guy I was not.

Thanks for pointing that out. I admit I didn’t have the slightest idea what a Lance Corporal was, I just took it from the NewsMax article and shoulda figured it was a different rank than a Corporal. I’ve fixed the error now.

I agree with you, David. Sure enough there is a lot of blame to go around – both parties, legislative and executive.

You give a pol an inch of power and they’ll take a yard. You can trust the government in at least that much.

Nitpick – Justin Sharratt is a Lance Corporal which is not the same thing as being a Corporal. The former is E3 the latter is an E4 and NCO. It makes a diff .. if only to Marines (grin).

And he certainly won’t listen if they choose to defund the war.

We live in interesting times. I wish they’d at least try. You can’t claim to be elected on a mandate to end the war and then speechify and pass (for the sweet thorny headed love of God) non-binding resolutions.

Remember that back in the 70′s, nobody seriously considered impeachment procedings against Nixon until after VP Spiro Agnew had resigned and been replaced by Gerald Ford.