Shouldn't the real military take over?

[Tom-1]

Hey guys,

 

I've always thought about this topic, and it's one of the main things that always irked me about the GI Joe series...

 

Let's assume Cobra is real, for a minute. They're a global terrorist organization with the purpose of world domination. Their primary target is normally the United States of America. Their forces are not that of typical terrorists, and they are not afraid to invade territories, establish bases and deliberately attack US personnel. Most of of all, they are well staffed and number in the hundreds if not thousands.

 

So when the hell would a special forces unit like GI Joe be pushed aside and the responcibility shifted to the Navy, the Air Force, the Army, and so forth?

 

I mean GI Joe taking on Cobra when they hid in middle America and kidnapped scientists was A-OK, but Cobra has ballooned over the years into more than just a terrorist organization - they're big enough to be attacked with bigger guns, so to speak.

 

To me, this has always been the biggest problem GI Joe has... If the team were to fail to stop Cobra, the Army or Marines would just step in and kill the enemy to death. Sorta takes away from their importance.

 

Just 'wanted peoples insight.

 

Tom

[Three Storms]

The Joes are supposed to be a specialized task force made up of people from different branches of the military with different skills.

[Tom-1]

I realise this.

But realistically, GI Joe is a special team created to stop a single terrorist organization. Despite their efforts, Cobra has become a deadlier force over the years, with their own country(or countries, depending...)!

 

Once their roster got over seventy and they got an aircraft carrier I think it's time for broader action.

 

Tom

[KamenDreda]

Hence the need for green shirts in G.I.Joe.

[Chazz]

Hence the need for green shirts in G.I.Joe.

 

exactly what i was going to say :lol: yeah, it's kind of unrealistic to just have a special team go against such a massive force without any type of back up from the real military.i might sound like such a "kid" for saying this, but as i recall on the cartoon they did work with the u.s navy before and with the army on a couple of episodes. i don't know about the comic though.......

[Blackmada]

I always thought that the US military and government wanted to keep the threat of Cobra a secret so poeple would not panic.

 

Then G.I. Joe was created to battle Cobra in secret and nobody really knew that the Joes exhisted.

 

Each individual Joe should be good enough to handle alot of Cobras at once, even when outnumbered. Thats why the Joes are the best.

 

Cobra has to keep getting larger to be a threat or else it would get to easy to defeat them.

[Tom-1]

Each individual Joe should be good enough to handle alot of Cobras at once, even when outnumbered. Thats why the Joes are the best.

 

I agree with this - I remember someone compared GI Joe to the Army Rangers in "Black Hawk Down" how even if they lose soldiers, they still inflict a large amount of casulties on the enemies side.

However, take in the fact that Cobras aren't Somalians and are more properly trained... AND they have dozens of tank, boats and planes... It's not as simple as one Joe for every ten Vipers.

 

Cobra has to keep getting larger to be a threat or else it would get to easy to defeat them.  

 

Yes, and that's what I mean. What size does Cobra have to grow into before the US Govt says "Okay GI Joe, you've been relieved. The whole armed forces of the US will take over now."?

 

Tom

[Sgt. Stalker]

You are right.. On a realistic point of view. But, GI Joe is not reality, and we have to keep that in the back of our minds. Though DD has done a great job in bringing The Armed Forces ( green shirts ) in. GI joe is comprised of all aspects of the Military. Rangers, Airborne, Marines, Airforce, SEALS, Navy Sailors.. Every branch you can think of is represented by a GI Joe, and that is what makes GI Joe unforgettable. That if you took the best men from each branch of the Military, and grouped them up to stop a Terrorist Organization, and the Job wasn't getting done, then add the greenshirts. And if you remember, the Greenshirts are not just army. Shipwreck says " Now which one of you is Navy? " and one of them replies by stating his name and rank within the Navy. So the Navy, Marines, and Airforce are not just within GI Joe themselves, but in the greenshirts as well.

[revsears]

g.i.joe should have the other branches at there dispol when the need arise. They should be in command in terriorst situations. GREENSHIRTS: NOOOOO!!! i don't like them.

[Beach Head]

Each individual Joe should be good enough to handle alot of Cobras at once, even when outnumbered. Thats why the Joes are the best.

 

I agree with this - I remember someone compared GI Joe to the Army Rangers in "Black Hawk Down" how even if they lose soldiers, they still inflict a large amount of casulties on the enemies side.

However, take in the fact that Cobras aren't Somalians and are more properly trained... AND they have dozens of tank, boats and planes... It's not as simple as one Joe for every ten Vipers.

 

Cobra has to keep getting larger to be a threat or else it would get to easy to defeat them.  

 

Yes, and that's what I mean. What size does Cobra have to grow into before the US Govt says "Okay GI Joe, you've been relieved. The whole armed forces of the US will take over now."?

 

Tom

 

Tom I was the one who made that comparison. Do not think that those Somalians were push overs. They were actually trained by Bin Laden's Terror Network in Guerilla Warfare. Also that was an urban battle which are the toughest and most deadliest for any U.S. troops to fight. You can't just bring in any planes and boats in battles like that. Bin Laden always preached that the U.S. could be defeated in an Urban War by just inflicting heavy casualties on them. That's the main reason people feel that the U.S. withdrew form Somalia. It would have been a massacre had they stayed. Cobra troops with bright colors I don't think would have faired better. Alley Vipers would do better because of their armor though, but they'd still not know the turf as well and those colors do give them away..

Although Cobra has more troops the Joes are still the best and have an advantage still I believe. Cobra as many planes and ships as they have can't just fly into U.S. airspace and water space without even being detected. Then you have the CIA, FBI, Secret Service, etc.. who also can assist the Joes. The FBI can freeze Cobra assets just like the U.S. did to some of Bin Laden's network. Joes also have spy satellites like you saw in the movie "Patriot Games." The Joes basically also have NATO helping them with info.

I don't believe Greenshirts should go on missions with the Joes, but I do think they could be used as support personnel like Aircraft Carriers, or conducting big air strikes with their Jets, or even as Medical help.

[Forcehunter]

Some of those green shirts could be nameless Joes. Just think, the best of the best serves as infantry for the ultimate Anti-Terror organization.

 

Greenshirts as well as the other branches of the military do have their place in GI Joe. They always need cannon fodder to get shot at while they go in behind enemy lines heh heh heh!

[1846D7M8]

Maybe the Government doesn't take Cobra seriously? I mean, they have a guy who dresses up like a snake and claims he's related to Ghengis Khan. Would you take them seriously? I know I wouldn't.

 

Besides, the worst thing Cobra has ever done was try to blow up the Statue of Liberty, and they couldn't even do that right.

[Tom-1]

Curse you and your sensical argument, Beachhead! Curse you!!!

 

Tom

[Violentfix]

I think we also have to look at the ties that Cobra has had in International arms dealing. (At least in the original comic version) Even our own government had ties to Cobra. Their Island was constantly occupied by foriegn nationals. And their armies around the world were made up of many different races all existing within cells which were hidden.

 

Think about the IRA. Why hasn't England sent in the army and invaded IRA encampments in Africa. But meanwhile there have been many times in history that the IRA was extremely active and caused many deaths. To many politics and not enough people fighting for the people. Our leaders don't make it into office on a $0 balance checking acount and no special interests to guide their judgements in the future.

 

As was said, we have to keep in mind that Cobra is fantastical. And as was also said, citizens weren't supposed to know they existed.

 

V

[Blackmada]

Also if Cobra were such an international threat you would think the UN would get involved or even some other countries.

 

The Joes also have never really taken it to Cobra to the point of them being outnumbered in a fight where they would need greenshirts (in the comic anyway) except the war where Doc and those guys died.

 

I've always wondered who was using all of the Battle Bunkers and Hammers during the war. Maybe they had greenshirts then for that fight.

[revsears]

True corruption is everywhere in the real world, but not all are corrupt like me, so vote for me in a few years! seriously! anyways,... in the cartoon they did realy have greenshirts, not that i liked them then, and yeah the bottom line is, this isn't real.

[firestongue]

im glad u brought this topic up tom. ive always thot that in "G i joe land", gi joe WAS the army, navy, marines, etc. i never knew they were a special task force, but it makes sense.

 

bascially i agree with the green shirt theory. thats one reason why i started the topic just the other day about why gi joe doesnt have an "army"---they need one tho.

[8speed]

GI JOE is a counter-terrorist unit (not just Cobra) comprised of operatives, the best of the best, from the 5 branches of the US Armed Forces (but also has international members on loan, like Big Ben of the British SAS). But I guess their main focus would have be Cobra. They are a quick response team, ready to go at any given time. I think in the Marvel comic, they fought other terrorists groups or individuals too. This was more prevalent in Special Missions. They are a small group of about what... 300 or so members? So they conduct covert and unconventional warfare against terrorist organizations or individuals. It's just at times, they are connected to Cobra. They could be compared to the US Army's Delta Force, as Battlefiles labels Joe in the Chain-of-Command as "Counter-Terrorist Group - Delta" (or something like that). Delta Force's primary purpose is a special forces counter-terrorist group. They work in small groups, get the job done, and go home. Much like GI JOE.

 

Cobra is not an organization that advertises itself to the world. For the most part, their members are well-hidden. They conduct clandestine operations to acquire money, technology and information (sorta like SD-6 from the show "Alias"). They gain power by extortion and blackmail, as well as by force (and sometimes the Brainwave Scanner :roll: ). I'm sure they also have businesses and investments and try to aquire power and wealth through legal means as well. When they do strike or use Cobra personnel or armor... it's usually pretty small, 10-15 HISS tanks or whatever, so it's rarely on the scale to bring in the might of the US Armed Forces, or the UN.

 

 

So to say all the that has to happen is for the combine US armed forces to come in wipe them all would be next to impossible if we couldn't find them. And even if we did, it's not like they would ALL be in the same place at the same time. It's been mentioned that in the Invasion of Cobra Island, US Armed Forces were also there. Whether they were supporting GI JOE or GI JOE was in a supporting role in that particular operation, I wouldn't know, as I don't have those issues. So the collaberation between GI JOE and the rest of the US Forces is not unheard of.

 

I'm sure some of our resident military experts could clarify Delta Force's purpose and role in the counter-terrorist operations.

[revsears]

You go 8speed! and welcome to boards ain't noticed you before.

 

You also have to remeber right now the majority of them or either inactive, or dead in comic. I wish they would be bring the inactive ones rather than greenshirts, but some people seem to like them, eck not me.

[Doc Evil]

 

Greenshirts as well as the other branches of the military do have their place in GI Joe. !

 

No they don't. They're ##$%$#ed. They water down the Joes and take away any chance Cobra has to win. The Viper legions were created specifically so a couple dozen Cobra individuals wouldnt get overrun by three hundred Joes. If the Joes had nameless legions it would weaken their concept of being the "Best of the Best". They dont need numbers, they have skill.

[revsears]

yeah i agree doc. I would prefer to make it look like cobra was gonna kick (and somtimes did) joes butt. but never enough to take over the u.s.of a.

[TroyXavier]

I agree with Doc Evil(wow: ) that greenshirts definitely water down GI Joe. They're entirely unnecessary in my opinion.

[8speed]

You go 8speed! and welcome to boards ain't noticed you before.

Thanks for the welcome. I'm still mostly just reading, and post when I have something to say that hasn't been said. :wink:

 

 

The Greenshirts are actually very skilled. They could be considered the best of the best from the US Armed Forces. They are Airborne Rangers, Navy SEALs, and though it hasn't been mentioned probably, Green Berets, AF Air Controllers, Marine Force Recon and even some governement agencies like FBI. So they're more than qualified to take on Cobra, it's just that they're assigned to be the backup military support for the Joes. When they "prove" themselves, they'll be given a codename. So basically, the Greenshirts are a breeding ground for recruiting and training full-fledged Joe.

 

I don't like the idea of Greenshirts either, but it's not like they do anything important, so far it's guard-duty and being Cobra cannon fodder. It's just once in a while they take a panel or two, or share some space in a few panels with some of the REAL Joes of the DD comic.

[Viper Hunter]

You go 8speed! and welcome to boards ain't noticed you before.

 

Thanks for the welcome. I'm still mostly just reading, and post when I have something to say that hasn't been said. :wink:

 

Well, here's hopin' that there's a lot more yet to be said!

 

Here I was thinking you were an old hand around and about the message boards, since you picked up on my initial posting over at the DD board, and was maybe a (regularly posting) member here also, but under a different name.

 

Nevertheless, glad to see ya posting here as well.

[8speed]

Well, here's hopin' that there's a lot more yet to be said!    

 

Here I was thinking you were an old hand around and about the message boards, since you picked up on my initial posting over at the DD board, and was maybe a (regularly posting) member here also, but under a different name.

 

Nevertheless, glad to see ya posting here as well.

Actually this is the first message board I read regarding Joe starting back in June/July. The very first discussion I read about Joe online was at the google newsgroup.

 

There's really not much to say. Everyone else covers everything pretty thoroughly. No need to have the same things said twice by two different people. :wink: