Differences and benefits Of the United States Marines and United States Army?

Rob G

Big Boss,
You have just asked the supreme loaded question. It is much like the question "which is better, cars or trucks" Car owners will tell you cars and truck owners, well ...trucks. I am going to remain as unbiased as possible (been in the Marines 24 years, but have served with 6 Joint special operations commands).

The first question is what type of person are you? The reason this is important is it will help match you up against either the Army or the Marines. I am going to give you a very brief synopsis of each and you match yourself to the one you like best. Most important is almost everyone I have talked to about the military wants to be "A special operator" whether recon, ranger, seal, or whatever the tag, I never hear anyone say they are looking forward to being a combat camera person, or bulk fuel specialist. However more people are in those jobs than special ops.
Army First.
The army is an occupation force. There are almost a million people in the army. There are several types of special operations which you can read about on-line. They have more boats than the navy and if you want to fly as a warrant officer this is the only branch with pilots other than college grads. The army has the largest budget of all the branches and has the newest equipment. As has been said in another post, the pay is the same in all the branches based on rank (lookup military pay chart to get an idea) and the army is the quickest promoting of the two branches (depending on which job 'mos' you get into) so your chances for higher pay could be better.
Marines
The Marine Corps is a force in readiness. The smallest of all the armed services the Marine mission is to quell distubances and put a prepositioned force on the ground and hold terrain for up to 30 days. The mission of the Marines make the entire force a "special operations unit." The Marines have the smallest budget (but according to congress offer the biggest bang for the buck of any service) and promotions (depending on your MOS) can be slow. If money is your thing definately join the Army, if leadership and responsibility is what you are after both services have it in large quantities, just the Marines will develop you as a small unit leader at an earlier stage. For an example I was an E4 in charge of the same size team that an Army E7 was managing.

Well that is my short, almost unbiased opinion. Either branch you join will do wonders for you. Rotc will definately help as does any exposure to the changes you will experience when you join. The benefits are dependant on the first question I asked you. "What type of person are you?" Both branches have their success stories and their failures. You can be either. You will get out of the military the effort you put in to it. Maturity, education, travel, pay, leadership and job experience are some of the biggest benefits that people choose the military for. Me...I just wanted to get away from my KMart job at christmas 24 years ago. Now I am a MGySgt with a Bachelors degree and a family. Who knows what it will do for you?

Good luck

Good luck with

smtfs2113

Marines benefits-respect, honor, bragging rights, combat experience.
Army-safety, health benefits, bigger MOS selection.

DO ROTC. Being a normal grunt gets old real quick. Doing ROTC and becoming an officer means more money, responsibility, and completing Marine OCS makes you feel invincible.

UPDATE

Marines do have special forces, they are called the Scout Snipers.

pvt.tuggle

army has better benefits, newer equipment, and AIRBORNE whoooo!!!!!! thats the only reason i joined the army

Motofireeater

Coming for th Marines into the Army has been a pretty huge culture shock. Devil Dogs simply carry themselves differently. I think it comes from anyone can go army but the Corps is pretty selective so you have to wanna be there. as for Spec Ops, the Army has a far wider Selection therefore in theory it should be easier to get into them. Force Recon was the cream of the crop, but I have seen some real goobers go ranger, SF, and psyops, as for ranking up.. In the Corps PT and Rifle Score are the biggies in the army education is the money maker. good luck in your decision. PS unless tehre is an MOS that the Army offers and the Corps doesnet i.e. medical or chaplain go Corps. its waaaay better

Pay is the same across all branches of military service based on time in service and your rank.

Jake C

Honestly the only difference is one uniform says U.S. Army and one says U.S. Marines...

death

90% Special Forces remain Army ~ Marines have no Special Force~

Force Recon doesn't exist anymore, their operators were merged to form the new MARSOC. While there is still Force recon in the reserves, 1st Force, 2nd Force, and 5th Force are all de-activated at this time. Battalion DRP (Deep Reconnaissance Platoons) do the Force mission at this time. U.S Rangers make ~marines look like girl scouts. U.S Rangers are some of the most elite soldiers in the world, and the training is some of the toughest in the world. Rangers lead the way!

~Marsoc has been modeled after 75th. NO UNIT IN THE MILITARY is harder to stay in than 75th. You always have to earn your spot at the table. Job security is never guarunteed there. You are always outstanding or your gone. The Rangers are a Tier 2 asset. Marsoc isn't even a tier aset at all. Rangers are special operations. Marsoc is not. Ranger recon detachment for the Army is the highest rated recon det in the WORLD. ~Good Luck

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