Last night, I was talking to a friend of mine who is from India. He just graduated from nursing school, and in all likelihood is moving to Mesa, Az for a job at a pediatric care unit. Unfortunately, none of the hospitals around here want to do the paperwork to get him a permanent visa, so he has to go where it will happen.

Anyway, he spent two years in the Indian army, in a unit roughly equivalent to our Marine Corps. So, he and I spent a good couple of hours reminiscing about the good old days: boot camp, various manouvers and trainings we were in, the comeraderie, and basically what it means to be a Marine.

Then, this guy entered into the conversation. He’s an Army reservist who is apparently going for officer training. He said that most of his family spent time in the Corps, so I asked him why he didn’t, too. He said the Army offered more money for school. While on one level I can understand that answer, I think he really pussied out. He didn’t want to become a Marine because he didn’t think he could hack it. It’s easier to be an army dog, than to be one of the few, the proud, the Marines.

I lost all respect for that guy.