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Choosing service
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MasterBates
Well-Known Member
DISCLAIMER: I am a Navy guy.
I am assuming you are asking from an aviation standpoint.
Army:
Commissioned and Warrant officers fly, warrants doing the bulk of the flying. Commisioned guys do the jobs that O-4/O-5s do in a Navy/Marine squadron.
Marines:
Commissioned officers are the Pilots and NFO's. They do all the flying.
I am assuming you are asking from an aviation standpoint.
Army:
Commissioned and Warrant officers fly, warrants doing the bulk of the flying. Commisioned guys do the jobs that O-4/O-5s do in a Navy/Marine squadron.
Marines:
Commissioned officers are the Pilots and NFO's. They do all the flying.
samadma
OCC-169 Grad
Military Service
Acutally that's a good question. For the most part, if you have no interaction with the military most people don't see one uniform from another being anything different. Believe it or not. The reason people can't tell the one service from another because we now have a couple of generations of Americans that haven't had to deal with a draft or had a reason to want to serve in any branch. All those WWII vets and so on are dispearing at the cyclic rate. Therefore, asking the question of what's the difference between one or the other is totally understandable these days.
The Marine Corps and Army are similiar in some aspects, but remotely different in many others. However, the three things that come to mind that make the Marine Corps and Army so much more different are 1) Size 2) Mission and 3) Espirit de Corps. These are the things that you can definately identify as characteristics that make these services so very different. However, the biggest difference is you are in the Army. You are in the Navy. You are in the Air Force. However, YOU ARE A MARINE.
1) Size: Marine Corps is only about 174,000 Marines strong with a look of expansion in the next 5-10 years to a little over 180,000. The Army has over 500,000 soliders. The bigger the force, the slower they move.
2) Mission: The Marines have a unique mission statement, and, alone among the branches of the U.S. armed forces, "shall, at any time, be liable to do duty in the forts and garrisons of the United States, on the seacoast, or any other duty on shore, as the President, at his discretion, shall direct." Because of this, the Marine Corps is referred to as "The President's Own." Marine Corps can be sent anywhere at anytime if the President of the United States says so without needing congress approval for a period of 90 days. If the Army is sent anywhere, there's a little more red tape. The Marine Corps is the "kick down the door" or "911 Force" for America that can be anywhere in the world in a moments notice. The Army (due to mission and size) are not able to do that. The Army’s mission is "to fight and win our Nation’s wars by providing prompt, sustained land dominance across the full range of military operations and spectrum of conflict in support of combatant commanders." In other words, secure land more so than kick down doors. They are a sustaining force that is called in to hold land (Usually for a very long time).
3) Esprit de Corps: The Marine Corps has a level of Esprit de Corps that cannot be matched by any service. With sayings like "Once a Marine. Always a Marine" you would be hard pressed to find a military organization where a guy that went to boot camp in 1970 still will be involved in there military organization in the same number as Marines. Think about it whenever you look at someones bumper sticker, you will see more Marine Corps bumper stickers on cars than any other military organization. The Marine Corps is an experience that transcends the actual being on active duty/reserves, to always holding the pride of the Marine Corps after you have gotten off active duty/reserves. Whether you go to Officer Candidates School (OCS), Parris Island, or San Diego... The Marine Corps experience is something that you will never forget, and most members are proud to say that they are Marines well after they have checked out.
In closing, chosing a service is something totally based on your individual needs/wants. However, if you're looking to be part of a military service that truly prides itself on being best. Then you have to be a Marine. However, that's just my opinion. I would write more, but there's simply not enough time. I hope this helps.
Acutally that's a good question. For the most part, if you have no interaction with the military most people don't see one uniform from another being anything different. Believe it or not. The reason people can't tell the one service from another because we now have a couple of generations of Americans that haven't had to deal with a draft or had a reason to want to serve in any branch. All those WWII vets and so on are dispearing at the cyclic rate. Therefore, asking the question of what's the difference between one or the other is totally understandable these days.
The Marine Corps and Army are similiar in some aspects, but remotely different in many others. However, the three things that come to mind that make the Marine Corps and Army so much more different are 1) Size 2) Mission and 3) Espirit de Corps. These are the things that you can definately identify as characteristics that make these services so very different. However, the biggest difference is you are in the Army. You are in the Navy. You are in the Air Force. However, YOU ARE A MARINE.
1) Size: Marine Corps is only about 174,000 Marines strong with a look of expansion in the next 5-10 years to a little over 180,000. The Army has over 500,000 soliders. The bigger the force, the slower they move.
2) Mission: The Marines have a unique mission statement, and, alone among the branches of the U.S. armed forces, "shall, at any time, be liable to do duty in the forts and garrisons of the United States, on the seacoast, or any other duty on shore, as the President, at his discretion, shall direct." Because of this, the Marine Corps is referred to as "The President's Own." Marine Corps can be sent anywhere at anytime if the President of the United States says so without needing congress approval for a period of 90 days. If the Army is sent anywhere, there's a little more red tape. The Marine Corps is the "kick down the door" or "911 Force" for America that can be anywhere in the world in a moments notice. The Army (due to mission and size) are not able to do that. The Army’s mission is "to fight and win our Nation’s wars by providing prompt, sustained land dominance across the full range of military operations and spectrum of conflict in support of combatant commanders." In other words, secure land more so than kick down doors. They are a sustaining force that is called in to hold land (Usually for a very long time).
3) Esprit de Corps: The Marine Corps has a level of Esprit de Corps that cannot be matched by any service. With sayings like "Once a Marine. Always a Marine" you would be hard pressed to find a military organization where a guy that went to boot camp in 1970 still will be involved in there military organization in the same number as Marines. Think about it whenever you look at someones bumper sticker, you will see more Marine Corps bumper stickers on cars than any other military organization. The Marine Corps is an experience that transcends the actual being on active duty/reserves, to always holding the pride of the Marine Corps after you have gotten off active duty/reserves. Whether you go to Officer Candidates School (OCS), Parris Island, or San Diego... The Marine Corps experience is something that you will never forget, and most members are proud to say that they are Marines well after they have checked out.
In closing, chosing a service is something totally based on your individual needs/wants. However, if you're looking to be part of a military service that truly prides itself on being best. Then you have to be a Marine. However, that's just my opinion. I would write more, but there's simply not enough time. I hope this helps.
LoneSailor
Registered User
Good post samadma, just got a couple of things that I (and I'm sure others) don't agree with.
Is that so?
Lets see.. 182nd Airborne, 75th Ranger Regiment.. ah just to name a few. The Army can hold it's own in being "anywhere in the world in a moments notice."
I'm sure if someone here in the Army could chime in, they'd sell it pretty well. Then again I'm a Navy guy and if I had to choose from the two, I'd go Marine. :icon_tong
Is that so?
Lets see.. 182nd Airborne, 75th Ranger Regiment.. ah just to name a few. The Army can hold it's own in being "anywhere in the world in a moments notice."
I'm sure if someone here in the Army could chime in, they'd sell it pretty well. Then again I'm a Navy guy and if I had to choose from the two, I'd go Marine. :icon_tong
pdx
HSM Pilot
yep.
Others have brought up the issue of the Army's size and resultant ability to make rapid deployments around the world so I am not going to touch on that. The only things I will clarify are the following;
"The President's Own" refers to the Marine Corps band stationed in Washington, DC and not to the Marine Corps as a whole. The Marine Corps does however have the ability and the reputation of being able to deploy anywhere with very short notice and be ready to fight when they get there.
The President has the authority to send ANY military organization anywhere in the world for a period of 60 days (90 days if it becomes militarily necessary to effect a withdrawl) under the War Powers Resolution (WPR). This is not an authority special to the Marine Corps but is available for ALL US Armed Forces.
I just wanted to clerify those points.
Additional notes: As for the size of force being a determining factor on the speed of movement. As a general rule of thumb large units do take longer to move than smaller units, however the Army does have units that are smaller that have a better response time than the Army as a whole. Creepto commented on a few, mainly airborne and Ranger units but also to include special operations.
I am glad that you clarified those points. I was getting ready to myself.
Although I am not a Marine, I would agree with the rest of samadma's post.
Thull,
Please refrain from dispensing career advice...or associating yourself with any branch of the armed services. When you complete boot camp and can (intelligently) articulate the different roles and mission of Rangers, Force Recon, then feel free to provide helpful input to perspective Sailors/Marines. Until then, listen, and learn for yourself from the vast amount of knowledge available on this board.
Please refrain from dispensing career advice...or associating yourself with any branch of the armed services. When you complete boot camp and can (intelligently) articulate the different roles and mission of Rangers, Force Recon, then feel free to provide helpful input to perspective Sailors/Marines. Until then, listen, and learn for yourself from the vast amount of knowledge available on this board.
Spekkio
He bowls overhand.
DISCLAIMER: I'm not in the military, but I know and have talked to about a dozen people who have served in each branch. I can't speak about their mission too intelligently, but I can tell you what each person is generally like:
Samadma mostly hit the nail on the head, but here's what I've gathered from talking to both people in the Army and the USMC:
As Samadma emphasized, if you are in the USMC, YOU ARE A MARINE. Other than Spec-Ops (Ranger, Seal, etc.), Marines are the people who have a hard-on for getting in the middle of the fight. They are motivated by one thing: they want to kill bad guys. This can be a good thing and a bad thing.
It's a good thing because these guys are true warriors. If you talk to someone and they tell you they've served, you can tell rather easily whether or not they were a marine. I guess that's the "espirit de marine" or whatever. That distinction just isn't there for the other branches. According to those in other branches, they will hold a line better than most any other unit out there. There is no mission too dangerous for a marine.
The bad side is just that: the marines are often sent on the most dangerous missions, and they are the first to go in. A friend of our fam was an officer of a Ranger unit for around 15 years, and anytime he got a mission that expected high casualties he would defer it to the marines (or at least the initial attack).
There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and sometimes the USMC crosses it...and they do it with pride. Sometimes too much pride (The marines I've spoken to usually don't think too highly of people in other branches. I got all but laughed at when I walked into the recruiter office and a marine came out to ask if he could help me, and I said I was here to speak to Chief so-and-so.). But, they do their job extremely well and our military needs people like this. If you're the type of guy who craves a fight, by all means join the marines.
Because of this, the USMC has some of the highest physical standards next to Spec Ops. But, unlike Spec Ops units, the USMC must often deal with using outdated weaponry (although a few marines I've talked to would prefer an M14 to an M16...haven't heard a soldier make such a complaint, yet). The USMC also has to be able to take care of itself in battle -- it does not use the AF/Navy for air support, for example. So in that regard, there's more versatility. On the other hand, the USMC specializes in, as one Marine pilot told me, "shooting people and blowing **** up," so all of the support staff -- doctors, engineers, nurses, priests, and some transport duties are borrowed from the Navy.
The army is more specialized to ground forces. Yes, there are airborne units; yes, there are chopper units, but not as many. However, the support staff that the marines use the navy for are all handled by the army. So this goes back to the "what job are you looking for" thing. The army guys I've talked to seem much more level-headed than the marines I've talked to. Now, do they get that from the environment, or were they like that before they went in? I couldn't tell you. The motivation of soldiers is different from the motivation of a marine.
Now, others can speak about the mission, what each branch does, etc. much better than I could. But, to me, it's the people that truly set apart these organizations. So the real question is, what type of person are you?
Samadma mostly hit the nail on the head, but here's what I've gathered from talking to both people in the Army and the USMC:
As Samadma emphasized, if you are in the USMC, YOU ARE A MARINE. Other than Spec-Ops (Ranger, Seal, etc.), Marines are the people who have a hard-on for getting in the middle of the fight. They are motivated by one thing: they want to kill bad guys. This can be a good thing and a bad thing.
It's a good thing because these guys are true warriors. If you talk to someone and they tell you they've served, you can tell rather easily whether or not they were a marine. I guess that's the "espirit de marine" or whatever. That distinction just isn't there for the other branches. According to those in other branches, they will hold a line better than most any other unit out there. There is no mission too dangerous for a marine.
The bad side is just that: the marines are often sent on the most dangerous missions, and they are the first to go in. A friend of our fam was an officer of a Ranger unit for around 15 years, and anytime he got a mission that expected high casualties he would defer it to the marines (or at least the initial attack).
There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and sometimes the USMC crosses it...and they do it with pride. Sometimes too much pride (The marines I've spoken to usually don't think too highly of people in other branches. I got all but laughed at when I walked into the recruiter office and a marine came out to ask if he could help me, and I said I was here to speak to Chief so-and-so.). But, they do their job extremely well and our military needs people like this. If you're the type of guy who craves a fight, by all means join the marines.
Because of this, the USMC has some of the highest physical standards next to Spec Ops. But, unlike Spec Ops units, the USMC must often deal with using outdated weaponry (although a few marines I've talked to would prefer an M14 to an M16...haven't heard a soldier make such a complaint, yet). The USMC also has to be able to take care of itself in battle -- it does not use the AF/Navy for air support, for example. So in that regard, there's more versatility. On the other hand, the USMC specializes in, as one Marine pilot told me, "shooting people and blowing **** up," so all of the support staff -- doctors, engineers, nurses, priests, and some transport duties are borrowed from the Navy.
The army is more specialized to ground forces. Yes, there are airborne units; yes, there are chopper units, but not as many. However, the support staff that the marines use the navy for are all handled by the army. So this goes back to the "what job are you looking for" thing. The army guys I've talked to seem much more level-headed than the marines I've talked to. Now, do they get that from the environment, or were they like that before they went in? I couldn't tell you. The motivation of soldiers is different from the motivation of a marine.
Now, others can speak about the mission, what each branch does, etc. much better than I could. But, to me, it's the people that truly set apart these organizations. So the real question is, what type of person are you?
And it's misquoted phrases that separate military from civilians.
pdx
HSM Pilot
Holy Crap! Your disclaimer should have read:
DISCLAIMER: I have no F-ing clue what I am talking about, but I am going to spout some misquoted generalities that I heard a friend of my brother's wife's girlfriend's husband talking about.
Spekkio
He bowls overhand.
I knew someone would chime in with that. You can think what you want, but go ahead. I have two close friends who went into the corps. And the marine officer who I quoted as wanting the M14 is the one who's actually been the most supportive and helpful of my trying for OCS. Take it for what you will.
pdx
HSM Pilot
I have already taken it for BS.
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