Family members in the same unit.

[s.rwitt]

Here's a (pretty corny) video on the 5 sets of brothers in my battalion. The corporal in the video is my team leader. It's a weird situation to have so many sets of siblings in the same battalion like we do and it raises a lot of questions about the wisdom of setting families up for such a disaster. When I got to Alpha company, where three of the sets of siblings are, I figured it would lead to problems with favoritism. It hasn't, but I still think it puts their families in a very dangerous position, especially considering our destination. Should they be split apart?

[Phier]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sullivan_brothers

As a parent I can't even fathom what that must have been like.

[Logios]

The english pals divisions (WWI) were popular to begin with, but the idea was disbanded when too many young men from the same local area died at once.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pals_battalion
I first read about those in "Johnny and the Dead" by Terry Pratchett

[Azog 150]

I can see the complications. As pointed out the Pals Battalions turned into a disaster with workmates and family members all joining up in these battalions which were subsequently wiped out leaving entire towns without men of working age (The Accrington Pals are one example- 700 Accrington locals went over the top on the first day of the Somme. Within half an hour 235 lay dead and another 350 wounded. Only 115 men survived the first 30 minutes of Day 1 unscathed. And that wasn't even the worst hit Pals Battalion of the war).

I also remember reading that one of the youngest British infantry casualties of the First World War was 14 years old (The youngst was a 13 year old called John Condon). Lying dead nearby was one of the oldest (I think he was 47). It turned out he was the 14 year olds father who had joined up to protect his son, both of whom had lied about their ages to serve. I am not sure how much truth there is in this though.

Obviously that is this issue taken to the extremes and this is on a much smaller scale. As long as it doesn't effect combat effectiveness I don't see why it shouldn't be allowed. If it was any more then 2 or 3 siblings though I am not sure I would feel the same if only for the families sake.

[Pickle_mole]

My brother is a seargent in my unit, me being the lowly private (our parents only children). Also have four other friends i grew up with since elementary in it. Disasters can happen but i think its a good thing for moral and personnel retention.

[Rolling Thunder]

In fairness, such mass slaughter as we saw in the two world wars is (I pray) unlikely to happen again (at least on anywhere near the scale).

[Mikelus Trento]

Here's a link of one of the youngest casualties in the American Civil War....a 12 1/2 year old drummer boy at the Battle of Antietam, also referred to as the "bloodiest day".....

http://isc.temple.edu/awaskie/youngest_casualty.htm

[s.rwitt]

In fairness, such mass slaughter as we saw in the two world wars is (I pray) unlikely to happen again (at least on anywhere near the scale).

No, but the area we are going to be patrolling is currently the deadliest district in the deadliest province of Afghanistan. 3/5 has taken so many casualties that they had to pull Marines out of Delaram just so they could have enough men to continue patrolling.

[Rolling Thunder]

No, but the area we are going to be patrolling is currently the deadliest district in the deadliest province of Afghanistan. 3/5 has taken so many casualties that they had to pull Marines out of Delaram just so they could have enough men to continue patrolling.

Nasty, but I think it's unlikely that this family loses both sons. The odds of both of them being killed are astronomical.

[Poach]

s.rwitt, can you be more specific as to their location within the Battalion? Same section? Platoon? Company? To be honest, having siblings in the same battalion doesn't seem too bad to me, it's a large enough unit. In the same company seems a bit iffy, since Companies do a lot of stuff together, and in the same Platoon is taking a risk. Same section would just be insanity.

So, details?

Edit: After some sifting, it seems in the British Army, brothers can be deployed in the same Platoon. The RN does not allow siblings to serve on the same vessel, for the same reason as the USN. Platoon seems a bit too close in my opinion, to be honest, but that might be a lot to do with the Regimental system.

[s.rwitt]

Nasty, but I think it's unlikely that this family loses both sons. The odds of both of them being killed are astronomical.

I wouldn't say so considering our AO. We will be a split company meaning that we'll be operating in a unit of at the most +/-50 Marines (but won't be the only unit in the AO). Considering the casualties that 3/5 has taken in Sangin, it wouldn't be that hard to imagine both of them getting taken out during the 7 months there.

s.rwitt, can you be more specific as to their location within the Battalion? Same section? Platoon? Company? To be honest, having siblings in the same battalion doesn't seem too bad to me, it's a large enough unit. In the same company seems a bit iffy, since Companies do a lot of stuff together, and in the same Platoon is taking a risk. Same section would just be insanity.

The three sets of brothers in Alpha are all in the same platoon as one another. I believe one of the pairs is in the same squad.

[Rolling Thunder]

I wouldn't say so considering our AO. We will be a split company meaning that we'll be operating in a unit of at the most +/-50 Marines. Considering the casualties that 3/5 has taken in Sangin, it wouldn't be that hard to imagine both of them getting taken out during the 7 months there.

If you don't mind me asking this bluntly, but what's the % of wounded and the % of fatalities for US troops in that region?

[Poach]

That's pretty risky imo for an infantry battalion. Fair enough if you're not a combat arm but these guys are.

[s.rwitt]

I'm really not sure to be honest. But last I checked 3/5 was getting wrecked. I do know they've had 5 Marines at a time taken out by IED's. When you're talking about a unit that consists of 4 13-man squads, that's huge.

The last numbers I saw were something like 30 killed and over twice that wounded. I think that was back in December.

[Rolling Thunder]

Jeez, that's messy. Then again, you'd probably have to transfer him out of the infantry altogether if you wanted to not risk this family losing both their sons.

[s.rwitt]

Yeah, or to headquarters platoon. Or even Headquarters and Support company. God knows they won't be getting blown up.

[Rolling Thunder]

Yeah, or to headquarters platoon. Or even Headquarters and Support company. God knows they won't be getting blown up.

I'm guessing he probably wouldn't thank you for this.

And they would be blowing them up if they (the insurgents) had any sense.

[s.rwitt]

They'd be pretty pissed. It's all up to the company commander, which I guess is really a better set up than an official policy would be.

It'd be really hard for the insurgents to blow them up. They'll be in the middle of a major base.

[Rolling Thunder]

They'd be pretty pissed. It's all up to the company commander, which I guess is really a better set up than an official policy would be.

It'd be really hard for the insurgents to blow them up. They'll be in the middle of a major base.

Which would make it all the more glorious a victory!

Sorry, just had an "Achmed the Dead terrorist moment" there.

[danzig]

The brothers' parents were notified of their deaths on January 12, 1943. That morning, the boys' father, Thomas, was preparing to go to work when three men in uniform, a lieutenant commander, a doctor and a chief petty officer, approached his front door. "I have some news for you about your boys," the naval officer said. "Which one?" asked Thomas. "I'm sorry," the officer replied. "All five."[2]

I couldnt even IMAGINE having to deal with that as a family.