in essence, is the marine corps like a combination of all the other armed services?

Question

with its air, land, and sea capabilities

Answer 1

in a way yes but the basic purpose why the marine corps came into existence is entirely different.

the reason why the marine corps was established was

in the event the US has to strike at an away location the first force to go into the theater of war will be Marine Corps. they will be responsible for securing the points of ingress. basically they are a force which strike fast and secure locations so that other forces can take it from there.

for eg. once the marine corps has established control over a certain area the navy can come and patrol the sea around, the army can take care of the land and the air force can maintain no fly zones and such.

however with time the reputation(efficiency) of marine corps has increased to such an extent that they are often employed for other purposes as well like guarding US embassies around the world

Answer 2

That would be an over simplification. The air, land, sea, description could be applied to the army. The army has tons of helicopters and has fully implemented the air assault/air mobile concept. They are also capable of amphibious landings, the prime example being the Normandy invasion.

The United States Marine Corps was established to serve a threefold purpose within naval operations.
1. They were sharpshooters who manned positions in the rigging of ships to engage the crews of enemy ships with small arms.
2. They were skilled with the saber and hand to hand combat and therefore employed as boarding parties against enemy ships.
3. They were shore parties...making landings as needed to continue engagements usually begun at sea.

With time do to their proficiency at the latter they evolved into an amphibious strike force. As the size and strength of enemy positions grew, the operations marines engaged in became ever more protracted until we have what today is a highly mobile, air, land, sea force, capable of both strike force and sustained ground operations supported from the sea and air.

There are some today that suggest that the Marine Corps as a separate entity has outlived it's usefulness. They couldn't be more wrong. The Corps combat history has guaranteed it a place in the U.S. military family for years to come. Through it's traditions, esprit de corps, and unique training methods the Marine Corps produces a fighting force second to none. Others try to implement the marines training methods and tactics and they have benefitted from it, but there is only one original...and there always will be.

Answer 3

No, the Marines in the modern era are a quick reaction force. Able to strike from land and sea. They do have a modest amount of pilots for fix and rotar winf but no where near as many as the other services.
That is where any similarity ends. Prolonged and sustained operations are not it's strong suit. Their own inherent ability to self sustain over a long protracted engagement makes them rely on the other services for support. They are however good at what they are capable of doing.

Answer 4

well as a future marine i will say that the marines are trained for land,sea,and air that the marine corps is a combinatation of the other armed foreces since they are the first to combat they need to know how to work under those conditions. thats why they are trained for land,sea,and air for land combat they usually work in 4 man groups though there is an initial leader they can operate without constant orders from the leader

Answer 5

The Marine Corps is a unique branch of the military, in that they cover all aspects of combat. Every Marine is first a basic rifleman, wether your job is admin or mechanic, you are first a rifleman. Every Marine is swim qualified, this is done because the Navy is our ride into combat and if the ship sinks we have to ensure all Marines can basically swim. To answer your question yes the Marine Corps is in a sense a combination of all the other branches combat capability rolled into one elite fighting force.

Answer 6

Interesting observation. However, I suggest you do not pose this question to a Marine!

The Marines are a extremely capable light infantry combat organization who happen to have some air (fixed wing and rotary aircraft), sea (amphip and helo/jet carriers) and land (armor and light artillery) to support their primary mission as infantry rifle men (and women). At least this is how my close friend a former USMC NCO explains it to me.

Me....former US Army. I take his word for it!

Answer 7

That's one way to look at it. The Marines are the President's Police Force. They have to be ready to go into any situation at a moments notice. The President does not need Congressional approval to deploy Marines. That goes for any President down through history.

Answer 8

The Marines are a Department of the Navy - The Mens' Department.

Answer 9

No
Their air capabilities are just flying
Land is just running from the enemy(well known fact)
Sea capabilities are just getting sunk and this is a true story,the enemy(cant remember who it was were trying to attack a British ship but the Brits were on high alert so they just attacked and sunk a US ship which was a piece of cake.

Answer 10

No.

The Marines are the Marines. They used to be the guardians of US Naval shipping until they become their own branch.

you will find a Marine detachment on every US Navy vessel in service. Besides running their own ops