Shadow Spy

Chapter 441 My troops, my soldiers

The current Marine Corps has a total strength of more than 25, of which 3.5 are from the troops before 1942 - 2.4 are stationed at overseas bases and embassies and consulates. More than half of the 1.1 in the country are officers, and the other half are also All are combat-ready personnel - because a large amount of civilian work is handled by the Navy Department, the navy and land itself do not have civilian structures, and they are all combat personnel from top to bottom.

The 22 troops that have been recruited in the past year and a half and the 15 troops that have been trained for half a year have been organized into four divisions and 20 professional battalions, respectively organized into the Third and Fifth Amphibious Corps, assigned to the Pacific and Atlantic fleet operations. .

Another 7 people are undergoing training and are expected to complete the training at the end of November and the end of the year respectively.

According to Holcomb's original plan when he was in office, after the training of these 7 people, they would form two new divisions and 2 professional battalions, which would be strengthened into two amphibious corps respectively.

After Li Junhao took over, he immediately stopped this plan. He wanted to keep these two divisions and command them personally; moreover, he also wanted to recall the two amphibious corps.

In addition, he has received approval from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to incorporate the 101st Group Army in the India-Burma Theater into the land and sea sequence - of course, the two British brigades among them are not counted.

Not long ago, the 255th and 256th Divisions dispatched by the Army Department have arrived in Myanmar to replace the 102nd Special Forces Regiment, the 104th Gurkha Division, and the 82nd Airborne Division. These troops are being shipped to the United States by sea. According to the decision of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Army is deploying the 275th and 276th Divisions and then sending them to Myanmar to replace most of the 101st Army.

After these troops arrive in the United States, except for the 102nd Special Operations Regiment, which was renamed the New England Regiment and remains a New England National Guard sequence, the 104th Division and the 101st Army will be organized into a sea and land sequence.

In fact, Li Junhao really wanted the 82nd Airborne Division, but the Ministry of War firmly disagreed and would rather pay more to buy the new equipment he equipped for the 82nd Division!
  At a Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting, Marshall told him that after the 82nd Airborne Division returned to China, it would be split in half to form a new Airborne Division, so it really couldn't be given to him.
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  According to the regulations of the US military, soldiers are divided into two categories: conscripts and conscripts:

Recruited soldiers refer to soldiers who voluntarily sign up to join the army. After joining the army, they enjoy the treatment of professional soldiers, and their welfare benefits and promotion opportunities are implemented according to high standards.

Military conscription is a process in which the country, in accordance with the Military Service Law, issues a conscription order to persons of appropriate age and requires them to compulsorily serve in the military. The period of military service is generally limited to two to three years - it can be extended during wartime.

Conscripts are assigned by the National Mobilization Bureau, enjoy ordinary treatment, and have very few opportunities for promotion. Those who have not become professional non-commissioned officers at the end of their service period are basically impossible to stay in the army.

Therefore, no matter which branch of the military it is, of course it likes to recruit soldiers.

In order to expand the Marine Corps and recruit more and better conscripts, Li Junhao used a new trick - recruitment advertisements... Oh, no, it's a documentary! ——
  As early as October 10, just the third day after taking office as the commander of the Marine Corps, Li Junhao successfully bid for the Blue Broadcasting Network from NBC for US$3 million through his KING investment fund. Subsequently, he entrusted Lester Rockefeller to select a team of professional managers to take over the Blue Broadcasting Network and its 820 affiliated radio stations, and renamed it the "American Broadcasting Company", or ABC for short, according to his wishes. , becoming the third largest radio and television network after CBS (CBS) and NBC (National Broadcasting Company).

On October 10, Li Junhao came to ABC headquarters (New York), visited his own radio and television station, and then personally reviewed the land and sea documentary edited according to his opinions...

On October 10, ABC broadcast a documentary called "Forever Loyal Marines" to a national audience, introducing the history and achievements of the sea and land, responsibilities and beliefs, bravery and responsibility, war and the future. The entire film promotes the sea and land The team members’ supreme belief of “always loyal”!

In this era, Li Junhao used future thinking to guide the editing of this documentary - or a super-long recruitment advertisement. Once it was broadcast, it caused a huge sensation in society and inspired countless young people!

Early the next morning, the land and sea recruitment points set up in advance in one hundred big cities across the country were surrounded by crowds!

Countless Americans exclaimed: There were more people applying to join the Marine Corps than there were rush-buyers on Black Friday!
  This documentary was broadcast on the ABC Radio and Television Network for seven consecutive days and was replayed five times at different times every day. It not only greatly promoted military recruitment at sea and land, but also significantly increased ABC's ratings. This was something that no one in the television industry expected. .
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  On November 11, Li Junhao signed a special order: allowing the Marine Corps to recruit female combatants. This is the first time for the sea, land and even the entire US military!
  When this order was announced, although some male citizens believed that "war makes women go away," a large number of female citizen groups expressed their support. Teams of young women immediately appeared at major registration points. If it were not for strict Age limit (20-30 years old), the number of applicants is several times higher!
  His move has also yielded an unexpected reward - the few dozen female congressmen currently in both houses of Congress have become extremely friendly towards him. Although he was now agnostic and close to Democratic President Roosevelt, several Republican congresswomen were equally friendly to him.

Speaking of which, although Congress approved the expansion of the navy and land forces to 100 million, it is dwarfed by the navy and army. The navy needs to be expanded to 300 million, the army ground force to 600 million, and the army aviation force to 290 million.

It is said that this order of magnitude was calculated by Congress after measuring the number of troops of the Axis powers!

Li Junhao even wondered whether the 535 members of both houses of Congress had reached a consensus that even if all other countries in the world surrendered to the Axis powers, the United States would challenge the whole world alone?

This also explains a question for later generations - at the beginning of the year, Mrs. Chiang of the Kuomintang came to the United States and was warmly welcomed by the members when she gave a speech in Congress. Later, the Kuomintang blew this up into the 21st century!

Think about it, if the United States has 1200 million troops, and if it joins China, it can easily arm it with tens of millions or even more troops. If the two countries join forces, they are really not afraid of the other countries in the world combined!

Therefore, in his previous life, Britain lost Burma and the Burma Road, a land channel for transporting military aid to China, was cut off. In order to ensure continuous supply and prevent China from losing confidence in the war of resistance, the United States took huge risks and opened a dangerous flight from India. On the hump route in the Himalayas, 1500 planes crashed in three years, and nearly 3000 outstanding pilots were sacrificed, even if military aid had to be sent there.

(End of this chapter)