The Master Chief and the Master Gunnery Sergeant
Two old friends, one a Marine and one a Sailor meet in a bar one day. They began to discuss which of them had had the more difficult and dangerous 30 year career.
The retired Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant begins: I graduated from High School and the next morning I was on the train for Parris Island, South Carolina. Following Boot Camp I found myself in a Regiment assigned to the Iwo Jima assault. With my fellow Marines we fought our way to the top of Mount Suribachi.
In Korea I was with Chesty Puller at Inchon, then we fought our way toward the Yalu River. In the cold Korean winter we fought at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, I ended my career after Viet Nam where I spent 3 months in the Battle of Khe Sanh after stomping through endless rice paddies.
The Navy Master Chief looked him in the eye and took a long draw on his bottle of beer and said simply:
Well, it figures, all shore duty.