As a former Marine infantryman, myself, I'd like to add some to this, if I may.

Please bear in mind that my service time was long ago so some or all may not actually apply anymore but I will attempt to lay it out as it was then.

In the USMC infantry you will be more akin to a true light infantry "shock force" than other militaries or branches of the US military possess.

USMC infantry will, more often than not, walk to the fight, rather than ride and if we ride, it will usually be in the back of vehicles primarily designed to bring Marines from ship to shore and not primarily designed to fight land battles with.

USMC tactics and doctrine were developed and the unique USMC mindset was created around the necessities of amphibious assault. There are some rather extreme differences in requirements for amphib assault vs overland assault.
1. For as long as the assault in ongoing, the ships off shore are at risk, therefore the assault must be prosecuted as aggressively as is humanly possible. This means that USMC doctrine tends to be more accepting of casualties than other branches or militaries.
2. You only have available what you brought for the fight. USMC doctrine tends to depend less on gear, equipment or items and more on stubbornness and creative adaptation.

Another issue to have in mind when considering, the USMC tends to be largely underfunded. The gear will be older and recycling is more often a necessity.

Something that is often overlooked in picking branches or service slots is travel. As a basic truism, Army will usually base in Europe or Korea when outside CONUS. USMC will tend to base in Japan and "float" or travel as units to training all over the far east and parts of Africa. Service isn't always about war fighting, even during a war.

Last issue that might be worthy of your consideration that I can think of is:

As an officer, you will most likely have more opportunity for advancement within your specialty in the US Army, due to the Army being a larger organization.

As a Marine officer, you might have more opportunity to serve in more varied command environments due to the unique make up and structure of the USMC.

Either way you go, simply signing up wont make you a guarantee, you'll have to earn it. Neither the US Army nor the USMC give away officer appointments. So, which ever you pick, be sure to keep your eye on the prize and dont let the idjits get you down along the way.

Originally Posted by Bitmapman

And, not to be rude or presumptuous, are the Marines really all they're played up to be? I know their whole thing on the commercials and information on their website is that they are the best; The Few, The Proud, The Marines. But are they really that much better?

Please don't see this in any way as belittlement of the Corps, I am honestly curious. Do keep in mind that my perspective is totally civilian, and I am asking these questions hoping for an affirmation of the Marines' reputation.

You expect these army guys to give you a fair and balanced answer to this?
Everyone thinks they're the biggest, baddest mo fos on the block. But on average, you'll find the quality of a Marine higher than the average quality of an Army soldier simply because the selection process is harder. Then if you say Army Rangers, I'd say their average is better than your average Marine because their selection is harder. The harder the selection, the higher the quality of the people in that particular arm or unit. It's really a no brainer. Then again, even here sometimes you get this guy who is a complete unfit idiot that you wonder if the drill instructors let him in as some kind of sick joke.

And excellent points from Grimmy.

Now mind you, things I say are limited to how it's like in South Korea but I think many things are universal regardless of what country you serve in.
Our training in the RoK Marines is much harder and far more frequent than training in equivilent Army units. Yes, there are some specialized Army units who can whip us in their own specialized environments but overall, regular army vs regular marine? We're better hands down.
Some things that the Army haul by the 2 1/2 ton truck, we're carrying that crap over mountain after mountain. Haul the 250lb rubber boat by truck? Hell no. We're carrying that stuff on our heads and we will march for miles. Uphill, downhill... you name it.

Originally Posted by 13R

You expect these army guys to give you a fair and balanced answer to this?

Well that's just because we're the best at everything. Is that incomming I hear? It was a joke, I swear!

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

You expect these army guys to give you a fair and balanced answer to this?
Everyone thinks they're the biggest, baddest mo fos on the block. But on average, you'll find the quality of a Marine higher than the average quality of an Army soldier simply because the selection process is harder. Then if you say Army Rangers, I'd say their average is better than your average Marine because their selection is harder. The harder the selection, the higher the quality of the people in that particular arm or unit. It's really a no brainer. Then again, even here sometimes you get this guy who is a complete unfit idiot that you wonder if the drill instructors let him in as some kind of sick joke.

And excellent points from Grimmy.

Now mind you, things I say are limited to how it's like in South Korea but I think many things are universal regardless of what country you serve in.
Our training in the RoK Marines is much harder and far more frequent than training in equivilent Army units. Yes, there are some specialized Army units who can whip us in their own specialized environments but overall, regular army vs regular marine? We're better hands down.
Some things that the Army haul by the 2 1/2 ton truck, we're carrying that crap over mountain after mountain. Haul the 250lb rubber boat by truck? Hell no. We're carrying that stuff on our heads and we will march for miles. Uphill, downhill... you name it.

lol, does your ego feel better now?


To the young guy that was asking questions, guys like this will always exist. They usually feel the need to brag, boast and put other services down because they've never actually had to earn their way into anything difficult. In order to make themselves feel bigger than they actually are, these types of posts are born. Ignore the hot air and keep with the good advice a lot of the guys took the time to give you.

Hate to burst the bubble here but the Infantry training for Marines and Army are pretty much the same thing. It might be different in your country but it isnt here. Thats coming from the 3 Drills I had at basic who initially joined the Marines as Infantry. They said the only difference were the Marines went more into the history if their branch. We learn the same weapon systems and the same tactics.

We are at war and have no room for inferior combat troops.

If the_13_redneck is in an actual ROK Marine unit, then I dont think it's about ego.

Those guys are well and truly hard. I trained with some RoK Marines in the '80s. I was afraid for my life from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep lol.

Sometimes you can read a thread and hear the train coming down the tracks.

Yeah I'm with an actual RoK Marine unit.
6th Marine Brigade, 63rd Amphibious Raider Battallion, 10th Amphibious Raider Company if you really really really want to know. (the other companies in our primarily amphibious raid battallion have other specialties)
The Avatar is a crappy photo of my stripes.
And like I said, it's limited to South Korea. I don't know how you guys handle it in the U.S. But over here, that's the case. That's why when army guys go on leave no one really gives a crap but when we go on leave, people sometimes actually stop to look.
But what I'm saying is that it's not in the name, it's in the selection process and training. And for the upset army guys, I said there are various specialized army units that can whip us. Obviously our Navy UDT/SEALs are a cut above us as well. Why? Their selection and training is harder than ours.
Then again in the past year, things have gone WAY south for us RoK Marines.

I mean guys... I'm kinda getting tired to the amount of aggression and violence we're supposed to exhibit. I've been asked to go officer but I'm really REALLY having second thoughts about this. My high school friends would be crapping their pants if they read this paragraph. I thought I was a pretty violent and aggressive person but man.. enough is enough. I love it here but sometimes I just don't know.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

Yeah I'm an actual unit.

Hmmm I can't find I typed that anywhere.
And I only added the last paragraph in the edit.
Geez. Did I really write that?
I gotta get out of Korea man...