The Army.
Short answer, contractors.
All Army pilots train to be helicopter pilots. Later they can opt to try for a fixed wing slot. The most prevalent Army airplane is the C-12. They do that transition at Dothan Airport with a civilian contractor.
My own experience in Germany from '86-'88 pretty much backs this up. Our DFAC (2nd Squadron, 2nd ACR, Bamberg, Germany) was, literally, Award-Winning. Other DFACs in our area…not so much, even though they drew from the same warehouses/support.
The difference was our Command gave a damn, and it reflected in the choice of personnel assigned to manage/run the DFAC.
I guess time marches on – this activity was down in Scotia when I was there in the early '90s – apparently it moved to Saratoga Springs in 1999.
In any event, as your link states: “The primary mission of Naval Support Activity, Saratoga Springs is to support the Naval Nuclear Power Training Unit (NPTU) Ballston Spa, NY.” (Which despite the name, is actually in West Milton.) I was assigned to the NPTU for my nuclear prototype training.
Anyway, NSA Saratoga Springs is there because of the NPTU, and I explained in my previous post why the NPTU is located where it is (i.e. “in the mountains near riverless Saratoga Springs, NY”).
The Army does. Who trains the Air Force helicopter pilots? The Army does. We had 10 USAF students in my flight school class in 1980. At least that is how it was back then, things may have changed. Didn’t see Loachs post.
And the same recipe book, according to the guy in charge of the mess hall of my former Air Guard unit. We were a tactical field unit, i.e. expected to go out and set up a radar site somewhere other than an air base. We usually trained that way (living in tents, etc.) in annual field training. We sometimes got favorable comments from visiting superior officers about the high quality of the field kitchen.
They were just getting back to their roots. The USN was founded in nearby Whitehall, NY (according to some interpretations of history).
The actual address is too good not to cite: 360 Atomic Project Road, Ballston Spa, NY.
Guadalcanal was the first major land offensive of the Pacific theater.
Interestingly, the Marines like to say that the Navy abandoned them there, but actually, the Navy lost more men in the various sea battles around the island than the Marines lost during the campaign.
Perusing the many responses to the initial question regarding differences, I didn’t see something unique to the Marine Corps. Every Marine, regardless of what schools he may eventually attend is first a foremost a rifleman.
So every Marine (including cooks, drivers, mechanics, clerks) carries a rifle at all times and leaps to defend their camp when attacked?
They don’t carry a rifle while doing their other jobs, but all Marines are required to qualify with a rifle on an annual test. And that means all Marines, from those in combat arms to members of the band to the Commandant of the Marine Corps. The ethos is that yes, each one of them would be able defend their camp when attacked, though of course the Marines who are riflemen as their military occupational specialty would surely be much more proficient in battle.
I’m sorry, but firing a rifle once per year does not make you a rifleman. And how are they supposed to be able to fight if they don’t carry weapons? Are they supposed to tell the enemy to take a time out why they swing by the armory and the firing range?
Well, now you’re just being silly. Essentially the Marine Corps is saying that every single member should know how to fire a rifle decently, not that every single member is qualified to be part of MARSOC (if it is still called that, I can’t keep up).
It’s roughly equivalent to saying that people should all learn how to swim – that doesn’t mean you need to carry flippers and goggles everywhere. I mean, is the plan for these people to tell mother nature to take a time out why [sic] they swing by the gym to get their swimsuits and floaties?
But don’t all Army, Navy and Air Force servicemembers also learn how to use rifles in Basic Training? How is that any different?
No, all of the other Service members don’t learn to fire rifles in basic training. And they don’t have an annual qualification.
Wow, seriously? Then I stand corrected.
Since when? The Air Force has had basic rifle training since at least the 1960s, and I suspect the Navy does too.
Come to think of it, another one of my uncle’s anecdotes might be even more relevant (though I don’t know how typical it was). One time he was on KP duty, and he and another private had to crack a whole bunch of eggs (IIRC, for making pancakes for a large number of men). He was proud of the fact that he got it done without dropping any pieces of eggshell into the batter… whereupon the sergeant in charge of them grabbed a big handful of the discarded shells and crumbled them in, because Army food is supposed to be bad.
But not every airman and sailor are required to qualify annually with a rifle. Every Marine is, regardless of job. Every Marine is responsible with having basic rifle and marksmanship skills.