...would you have taken Ripley's Pulse Rifle when you recovered consciousness?

You're damned right I would... Ripley doesn't even manage to keep it on her losing it in the ducts... Probably leaving valuable ammo in the mag when she used it to stop the fan turning...

Tsk!

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A02/TQ2.0.52141E1

"Errr... Roger that's a 2-1-6..."

Erm that was Hicks' wasn't it?

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AKA: Simon

Interesting question, but Gorman prooved he was of questionable judgment anyway by not finding an alternative to sending in his squad with their weapons slung though.

Personally, I would have ordered an immediate withdrawal to re-assess the situation with my squad leader. Just sayin... But then again, Gorman was doomed to do exactly what Jim Cameron told him to, being it was in the script, so hey...what can ya do? lol

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"Tyranny will know our name, for we will carve it into his forehead."

No ground to give...not 1 inch... Major T. Gunn

Well, he got there in the end...

"I want you to lay down surpressing fire with the incinerators and fall back by squads..."

It was a bit too late is all.

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"The other Gareth"

Say again?!

All after incinerators!

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Steve
Corporal in 69th Regt. 1st Batt. Homer’s Heroes.

"I'd like to die at the age of 80 in my own bed, with a belly full of wine and a girl's mouth around my c**k."

Although Gorman lost control and his cool and Ripley saved what was left of his marines, it was as much the surprise of the Alien attack that did for the majority... The confusion, smoke from the use of the incinerator as well as the lack of clarity from transmissions and camera footage...

I suppose once they saw all the secretions in the APS, they should have backed off... There was already a big hint that the colony had been completely overrun... And it was looking fairly obvious how it had all gone with the colony. Of course, they still had a duty to explore and clarify if there were survivors... But they were pushing their luck and yes, before anyone says it, we wouldn't have a movie if they were sensibly cautious about the atmosphere processor..

Of course if the cut scenes from Alien hasn't been cut, Ripley would have known what they were going to find and told Gorman to back out... Albeit that the life cycle for the first film wouldn't be duplicated in the second (I feel there's still an explanation for this... I.e. with the lack of a queen a warrior can entomb and genetically alter a victim, using its body mass and tissue for raw material to turn them into eggs)...

The fact Frost had all the PR ammo did for Wierzbowski and Crowe... But oddly enough, even with Pulse Rifle ammo, I still reckon most of the squad would have been killed or captured in the APS...

But if I had been Gorman, is have taken one of the last four Pulse Rifles... Or at least have used the surviving incinerator...

But Jim Cameron would have said "no... This is my film... Now b*gger off!"

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A02/TQ2.0.52141E1

"Errr... Roger that's a 2-1-6..."

Gorman was incapacitated and thus Hicks had taken command.
Gorman was a 'by the book' LT so he would have just retaken command once able to but as he was still suffering a concussion he was not fit to lead and thus followed the orders laid out by Hicks which was 'fortify and defend'.

Ripley being armed was part of that order and thus Gorman had no say really.
Just my $0.02

Alternatively....

Because James Cameron said so :p

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For anyone who has ever heard the immortal call on the net "contact, wait out", you have absolutely no control over what happens next, because its the guys on the ground that make the decisions until they respond with their contact report. From Gormans point of view once it kicks off he can no longer control the situation, and in some respects Apone should have ignored the radio (he spends too long dithering) and took control of his squads. For The purposes of the film, Gorman is made to look weak, but in reality, no one in his position would have been able to control it, because it now becomes the job of the platoon/ squad leaders to fight their way through the ambush.

Some have said the marines should have withdrawn and thought of a new strategy but the reality is very different. Playing devils advocate here but we can guess already what's coming but they don't really know, that's why they're there, to find out what's going on. From my own experience, you can have combat indicators all over the place but sometimes there is just no other way except carry on. Besides which the purpose of the marines in the film is the comparison between a high tec arrogant force against a very primitive force (deliberate Vietnam comparison), and kicking their arse.

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Cpl Ade Philpott
A08/TQ1.0.62145E1
UKCM XO 501st Regt. 1st Batt. The Bucketheads

"Game over man!"

ok we cant use rifles in there, so lets go in with flame throwers instead and burn it all down, that's a safer option cos no one is gonna screw up with that hot random napalm type stuff spewing out!! if an alien attacks I can spray it with it and cause zero collateral damage!............................................................... god bless hollywood

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Pt. Graham "gunny" Green
A07/TQ2.0.12129E1
UKCM 501st Regt. 1st Batt. The Bucketheads

Gorman was making bad calls as soon as they hit the deck. Every chance his Marines tried to tactfully correct/advise him on his decisions, i.e. when Apone tried to cut in as Gorman finished his order to condition four the weapons, he responds with "just do it". Any good officer would have been open to a response to an order as confusing as that, but he didn't go as far as to see that in his Marine's minds, that order was completely unreasonable. So, we deduce that he has a "war hero" mentality and tries to lead although every bad call he makes destroys his confidence and effectiveness as an officer of Marines, as well as getting the majority of his detachment killed. Technically speaking, that concussion renders him unfit for duty until evaluated by a Naval corpsman/ medical advisor (Dietrich was taken by xeno's), or, analyzed by a qualified ICC medical personnel/physician from the company. Without a qual for his vitals, he is rendered unfit for command, and surrenders use of weaponry and operation of heavy machinery. But given the circumstances, "You're a civie, I'm a Marine. Give me that serialized M41a, property of the USMC." comes into play, and that'll spark a whole 'nother argument between the Cpl. the Lt. and the civilians who want to defend themselves.

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Cpl Damon "Bombs Away" LeMay
-"Feelin' good's good enough"

I think he simply realised that he was useless.

Maybe the officer training is an elitist deal, mummy and daddy have to foot the bill and at the end you get a shiney cap badge and a bunch of monkeys to order around.
After managing to get most of the monkeys killed, he stands down and realises he is in way over his head.

Regarding the question about taking Ripley's PR: You honestly think Ripley would give it up???
I wouldn't argue with her!

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AKA: Simon

James Cameron is the creator of this movie I mean historical document.
If he would have other endings in mind what could have happend? Who knows.

Bakc to what should Gorman do?
a) Go to the planet with more Marines and back up in Orbit (he should consider that he is up against >100 Aliens in a difficult topography)
b) Send in Drones in the APS instead of Marines (he had to know that the civis have been turned into hosts already)
c) When it's clear that that situation can't be controlled on ground well Nuke it from Orbit it's the only way to be sure.

But Burke saying to Ripley "BTW you are right. Drones found Aliens on the planet and we nuked them case closed" would be a short movie.

Interesting would be a movie in which they aimed for destroying the Aliens on ground and keeping the colony undamaged, mostly undamaged. Not impossible, but quite a challenge to avoid damage to the APS, etc.

Frank

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Sgt. Frank Peters 'reload' Smartgun Operator
A03/TQ3.0.12136E1 "It will be no picknick!"
AL Colonial Admin. - Sergeant at Arms (SgtA) -- 2020-2022
GERCM - Executive Officer (XO)
UKCM Foreign Legion: The Deviant Dragoons

Gorman is set up to portay the classic Vietnam period REMF from the get go, and that's how it pans out....I've said it before but look at the difference in uniform: Gorman is wearing the classic Vietnam War 'Saigon Commando' in the rear with the gear get-up.

Now contrast that with news footage from WW2, Korea, GW1 and the current conflicts with USMC- you will invariably see combat officers up to general wearing camoflague uniforms in theatre, not the pressed-and-dried base uniform.

He wasn't capable to start with.
He made the wrong decisions from the get go and throughout.
He wasn't capable when his troops started getting turned into Happy Meals
He certainly wasn't capable after getting a bang on the noggin.

My abiding theory is that Burke certainly picked Gorman as being the flakey charachter he was with a certainty the ball would get dropped in whatever exposure to the xenos occoured, allowing Burke to be the 'voice of reason' and steer things to his (and Wey-Yu's) advantage.

And Gorman doesn't dissapoint- what Burke didn't count on (maybe due to taking Ripley's testimony with a pinch of salt) is how rapidly it'd spin out of control and that he'd personally end up on the menu. Bully for him.

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2nd Lt Jon "Jaylo" Lopez
A11/TQ1.0.72144E1
USCM Quality Assurance Division- Aerospace and Space Products- Earth
"Checklists Save Lives- No Service Stations at 30,000ft"

Gorman played the true case and point Boot Camp LT. I bet most Military personal here will agree most new officers or even Officers in training like Midshipmen for us in the Navy are not the brightest crayon in the box when it comes to what to do. I have found alot think everything they say is true and will work. But Gorman did turn around at the end tho which was good, just way to late. With the fast of slinging weapons and using small arms was not the worest idea but not the best also.But it has been said many times already Burke had his hand in the whole thing. He says that its just a recon mission there should be no issues but just in case we do find something "but dont worry we wont" is why their was just two squads sent in. If the USCM High Brass knew really what was up they would have sent a full ship in like they did for the distress call later. but that is just my $.02.

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SGT Chris Kraemer "BIRD"
S/N: A07/TQ0.0.82154G1 Sgt Kraemer

FALSE. Cameron is Canadian. He would've said, "Take off, eh?"

Sorry, no. A young LT can never pass off as a REMF. Gorman was more like a greenie, straight out of Annapolis.

I do actually feel sorry for Gorman. This was probably his first solo field command, he was working with troops he'd never worked with before and encountered a previously unknown xenomorph that would probably have proven a challenge for even a seasoned commander. From the dismissive attitude of the Marines up to the ambush, I think the Colonial Marines are used to being able to handle any xenos they've come across with little or no difficulty.

A few more missions under his belt, and he'd have probably eased up a bit in his command style.

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Weyland Yutani Corp. Bio-Weapons Division - "Superior Weapons through Superior Genetics"

"Sorry, no. A young LT can never pass off as a REMF. Gorman was more like a greenie, straight out of Annapolis."

That is a fact!!!

OK, so I will admit, I am not totally on the ups of the atmospheric processor and how exactly it works, but, that being said, is it possible that a tactical and temporary withdrawal and moving to take the processor offline would have avoided any issues with small arms fire rupturing anything and eventually going nuclear? Secondly, Pulse Rifles and Smart guns obviously are not the only weapons taken down range here. Surely they would have had an alternative ammunition that would not damage the processor should one hit, not sure, but one would think. And finally, assuming the incinerator and hand guns would have been their only option to carry, well, let's throw in shotguns to the mix here as well, then a tactical withdrawal would have given an opportunity to re group and rearm with more appropriate weapons for the situation. I.E. everyone is armed with an incinerator, hand gun and combat shotgun.

But at the end of the day, the movie would not lasted very long had our guys and gals been totally ready for what they where walking into, this is clear. However, for the sake of this conversation, we should probably assume it was an actual failed operation and what went wrong, which would be something the USCM would have explored once they had all the facts anyway, so as to attempt to prevent it from occurring again.

Either way though, great conversation everyone.

In my view, the USCM and any military element who had this sort of situation to face would eventually likely adapt and get to the situation where the Xenos are not the horrific threat they represented in this film. We humans are great at adapting like that. And I hope I am not alone in saying, it is high time for us to see the USCM back on the big creen, not in any re-release of Aliens, but a brand new movie. Why has this never happened? The USCM is in and of itself a viable franchise worthy on its own. Surely there are plenty of other threats to face outside of our lovable Xenos here.

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"Tyranny will know our name, for we will carve it into his forehead."

No ground to give...not 1 inch... Major T. Gunn

It's like Jaws - the short edit.

Brody - "We need to close the beaches!"

Mayor - "Okay"

Roll end credits...

Some people have assumed that Gorman was a stooge for Weyland Yutani, but I think the truth is much simpler than that.

I think the USCM Command thought that Ripley's report was still bogus, that the threat she described was wildly exaggerated by a traumatized civilian. So, they sent an inexperienced officer on what they perceived to be a milk-run.

If we want to see the USCM attitude at work, just look at Vasquez's "where they are" comment in the briefing, or even later, when despite the fact they'd already decimated most of his colleagues in a well-coordinated ambush, Hudson could not believe that they had cut the power on purpose as part of a design.

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Weyland Yutani Corp. Bio-Weapons Division - "Superior Weapons through Superior Genetics"

This whole slice of the franchise focused on the belief that technology can beat an (underestimated) enemy and I believe Cameron was very direct about links to Vietnam... A conflict that the US had only left just over a decade before...

'Peace Through Superior Firepower' and 'Bugstomper - We endanger species' and 'I just need to know one thing...' And Hudson's monologue in the APC mid drop boasting of weapons... All bear testimony to that...

One thing is for certain... The military learn lessons... But they also forget lessons learned and have to re-learn them... The British Army is testimony to that...

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A02/TQ2.0.52141E1

"Errr... Roger that's a 2-1-6..."