3 ms·

Does anybody remember (for example) Reagan's cabinet? George Schultz, captain of Marines in WW II, secretary of labor then of treasury for Nixon, secretary of s

Does anybody remember (for example) Reagan's cabinet? George Schultz, captain of Marines in WW II, secretary of labor then of treasury for Nixon, secretary of state for Reagan. Donald Reagan, lieutenant colonel of Marines in WW II, CEO of Merrill Lynch, secretary of the treasury, later chief of staff for Reagan, James Baker, USMC service in Korea, switched jobs with Regan. And isn't the current governor of Oregon a Marine veteran? As for Stanford & MIT I couldn't tell you.

barry-cotter 16y ago
Officers, NCOs, and grunts.
khafra 16y ago
There are certainly Marines who've been tremendously successful after their military career--but that's not what the training and culture optimizes for. Look at Marine heroes--Chesty Puller[1] was such a "candid speaker" that the thought of a political career is laughable. Smedley Butler[2] retired, then wrote a booklet called "War is a Racket." These are the men that are the subjects of Marine running cadences, not George Schultz and James Baker. Full disclosure: I did a tour in the Marines, found I couldn't get a civilian job, joined the Army for one more tour, and am now employed by a Fortune 500 company. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesty_Puller http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesty_Puller [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler
- balding_n_tired 16y ago
  I agree that I cherry-picked reservists (and could have gone on to Chaffee, long-time senator from Rhode Island, Paul Moore, long-time Anglican bishop of New York, etc. etc,) But frankly, the regular Army types who have gone on to distinguished political careers have been relatively few and not always distinguished as politicians: among presidents, Taylor, Grant, Eisenhower. To the extent that Army veterans, regular, reserve, or Guard, are more conspicuous, the disproportion in numbers must count for something.

barry-cotter 16y ago

Officers, NCOs, and grunts.

khafra 16y ago

There are certainly Marines who've been tremendously successful after their military career--but that's not what the training and culture optimizes for. Look at Marine heroes--Chesty Puller[1] was such a "candid speaker" that the thought of a political career is laughable. Smedley Butler[2] retired, then wrote a booklet called "War is a Racket." These are the men that are the subjects of Marine running cadences, not George Schultz and James Baker. Full disclosure: I did a tour in the Marines, found I couldn't get a civilian job, joined the Army for one more tour, and am now employed by a Fortune 500 company. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesty_Puller http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesty_Puller [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler

balding_n_tired 16y ago
I agree that I cherry-picked reservists (and could have gone on to Chaffee, long-time senator from Rhode Island, Paul Moore, long-time Anglican bishop of New York, etc. etc,) But frankly, the regular Army types who have gone on to distinguished political careers have been relatively few and not always distinguished as politicians: among presidents, Taylor, Grant, Eisenhower. To the extent that Army veterans, regular, reserve, or Guard, are more conspicuous, the disproportion in numbers must count for something.