Why are the US Marines depicted as more badass than the army,navy,air force?

Answer 1

My only answer as to why the Marines get the toughest jobs is because the average Leatherneck is a much better fighter. He has far more guts, courage, and better officers... These boys out here have a pride in the Marine Corps and will fight to the end no matter what the cost.
2nd Lt. Richard C. Kennard, Peleliu, World War II

Why in hell can't the Army do it if the Marines can. They are the same kind of men; why can't they be like Marines.
Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, USA; 12 February 1918

Don't you forget that you're First Marines! Not all the communists in Hell can overrun you!
Col. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC
rallying his First Marine Regiment near Chosin Reservoir, Korea, December 1950



"I can't say enough about the two Marine divisions. If I use words like brilliant, it would really be an under-description of the absolutely superb job they did in breaching the so-called impenetrable barrier. . .Absolutely superb operation, a textbook, and I think it'll be studied for many, many years to come as the way to do it." (General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, USA, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 27 February 1991.)

"I have just returned from visiting the Marines at the front, and there is not a finer fighting organization in the world." (General Douglas MacArthur, USA, outskirts of Seoul, 21 September 1950.)

"Casualties many; Percentage of dead not known; Combat efficiency; we are winning." (Colonel David M. Shoup, USMC, Tarawa, 21 November 1943.)

"The deadliest weapon in the world is a MARINE and his rifle!"
GEN. PERSHING, US.ARMY

"We're surrounded. That simplifies the problem!"
CHESTY PULLER, USMC

"The more MARINES I have around the better I like it!"
GEN. MARK CLARK, U.S. ARMY

"I want you boys to hurry up and whip these Germans so we can get out to the Pacific to kick the s**t out of the purple-pissing Japanese, before the Godda**ed MARINES get all the credit!" Lt General George Patton, US Army 1945

""The MARINES have landed and have the situation well in hand!"
RICHARD HARDING DAVIS

"Casualties many; Percentage of dead not known; Combat efficiency: we are winning!"
COL. DAVID M. SHOUP, USMC

"I can never again see a UNITED STATES MARINE without experiencing a feeling of reverence."
GEN. JOHNSON, U.S. ARMY

"The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a MARINE CORPS for the next 500 years."
JAMES FORRESTAL, SECRETARY OF THE NAVY

"Come on, you sons of b*****! Do you want to live forever?"
GySgt. DANIEL DALY, USMC

"We're not retreating, Hell! We're just attacking in a different direction!"
GEN. OLIVER SMITH, USMC

"I have just returned from visiting the MARINES at the front, and there is not a finer fighting organization in the world!"
GEN. DOUGLAS MACARTHUR, U.S. ARMY

"Teufelhunde! (Devil Dogs)"
GERMAN SOLDIERS, WW1 at BELLEAU WOOD

"So they've got us surrounded, good! Now we can fire in any direction, those b*****ds won't get away this time!"
CHESTY PULLER, USMC

"We have two companies of MARINES running all over this island and thousands of ARMY troops doing nothing!"
GEN. JOHN VESSEY, CHAIRMAN OF JOINT CHIEFS

"Retreat hell! We just got here!"
CAPT. LLOYD WILLIAMS, USMC

"The safest place in Korea was right behind a platoon of MARINES. LORD, how they could fight!"
MAJ. GEN. FRANK LOWE, U.S. ARMY

"Panic sweeps my men when they are facing the AMERICAN MARINES."
CAPTURED NORTH KOREAN MAJOR

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem."
PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN, 1985

"There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and those who have met them in battle. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion." Unknown

Answer 2

Well my assumption is Marines are considered to be more bad-*** because of the 13 weeks of boot camp, 21 of Marine combat training, all Marines are required to be able to shoot targets at 200,300,and 500 feet as part of the boot camp training. Plus Marines treat each other like older brothers, they pic on each other for the most part. ^_^ and they get the job done no matter what. Also it could have something to do with being the first deployed and the last to come home. Or because they are the only branch that can be deployed when the president tells them to.

Answer 3

"This was the first time that the Marines of the two nations had fought side by side since the defence of the Peking Legations in 1900. Let it be said that the admiration of all ranks of 41 Commando for their brothers in arms was and is unbounded. They fought like tigers and their morale and esprit de corps is second to none." Lt Col. D.B. Drysdale, Commanding 41 Commando, Chosen Reservoir, on the 1st Marine Division US Marines have patterned a lot of tradition from the Royal Marines. Tenacity being one of them. Edit: US Marines are constantly training, when they are not in combat. The length of initial training is irrelevant when compared to professional training all the time after initial training. Marines are always training to get better at everything they do.

Answer 4

the marines are the best infantry soldiers you can get. Even better than the American army. The army boot camp is easier and takes much less time. On top of that each marine is a rifleman fist! Making every marine regardless of job a rifle man.

When it comes down to bad ***, it really falls on the shoulders of the individual. However, you always know what your getting with a marine.

Answer 5

I saw a special about the Marines, they are the first in last out but also have longer training. They also have a 3 day non-stop challenge at the end of boot camp - called the Crucible. After seeing what they go through I knew why they are viewed as the toughest. They also never leave anyone behind.

Answer 6

Because they are generally first in, last out of any situation. The problem being the Marines also have a higher fatality rate then any of the other branches. Marines are tough, but I don't think they are any more tough then any other branch of the military. Each branch thinks they are the best though, so it all depends on who you talk to.

Answer 7

Ten quotations about U.S. Marines:

The safest place in Korea was right behind a platoon of Marines. Lord, how they could fight! [MGen. Frank E. Lowe, USA; Korea, 26 January 1952]


Marines know how to use their bayonets. Army bayonets may as well be paper-weights. [Navy Times; November 1994]


Why in hell can't the Army do it if the Marines can. They are the same kind of men; why can't they be like Marines. [Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, USA; 12 February 1918]


The United States Marine Corps, with it fiercely proud tradition of excellence in combat, its hallowed rituals, and its unbending code of honor, is part of the fabric of American myth. [Thomas E. Ricks; Making the Corps, 1997]


The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years. [James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy; 23 February 1945 (the flag-raising on Iwo Jima had been immortalized in a photograph by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal)]


I have just returned from visiting the Marines at the front, and there is not a finer fighting organization in the world! [Gen. Douglas MacArthur, USA; Korea, 21 September 1950]


We have two companies of Marines running rampant all over the northern half of this island, and three Army regiments pinned down in the southwestern corner, doing nothing. What the hell is going on? [Gen. John W. Vessey Jr., USA, Chairman of the the Joint Chiefs of Staff; during the assault on Grenada, 1983]


Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem. [Ronald Reagan, U.S. President; 1985]


Marines I see as two breeds, Rottweilers or Dobermans, because Marines come in two varieties, big and mean, or skinny and mean. They're aggressive on the attack and tenacious on defense. They've got really short hair and they always go for the throat. [RAdm. "Jay" R. Stark, USN; 10 November 1995]


They told (us) to open up the Embassy, or "we'll blow you away." And then they looked up and saw the Marines on the roof with these really big guns, and they said in Somali, "Igaralli ahow," which means "Excuse me, I didn't mean it, my mistake." [Karen Aquilar, in the U.S. Embassy; Mogadishu, Somalia, 1991]

Ten quotations by U.S. Marines:

For over 221 years our Corps has done two things for this great Nation. We make Marines, and we win battles. [Gen. Charles C. Krulak, USMC (CMC); 5 May 1997]


Come on, you sons of bitches! Do you want to live forever? [GySgt. Daniel J. "Dan" Daly, USMC; near Lucy-`le-Bocage as he led the 5th Marines' attack into Belleau Wood, 6 June 1918]


Gone to Florida to fight the Indians. Will be back when the war is over. [Col. Archibald Henderson, USMC (CMC); in a note pinned to his office door, 1836]


Don't you forget that you're First Marines! Not all the communists in Hell can overrun you! [Col. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC; rallying his First Marine Regiment near Chosin Reservoir, Korea, December 1950]


Marines die, that's what we're here for. But the Marine Corps lives forever. And that means YOU live forever. [the mythical GySgt. Hartman, USMC; portrayed by GySgt. R. Lee Ermey, a Marine Corps Drill Instructor using his own choice of words in Full Metal Jacket, 1987]


You'll never get a Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me! [Capt. Henry P. Crowe, USMC; Guadalcanal, 13 January 1943]


We are United States Marines, and for two and a quarter centuries we have defined the standards of courage, esprit, and military prowess. [Gen. James L. Jones, USMC (CMC); 10 November 2000]


I have only two men out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold. [1stLt. Clifton B. Cates, USMC; in Belleau Wood, 19 July 1918]


I love the Corps for those intangible possessions that cannot be issued: pride, honor, integrity, and being able to carry on the traditions for generations of warriors past. [Cpl. Jeff Sornig, USMC; in Navy Times, November 1994]

Answer 8

Traditionally more dangerous tasks, missions than the other brancehes. All armed forces deserve our respect, especially the national guard now defending Iraqis who couldn't care less about their sacrifice instead of America which they signed up for.

Answer 9

They are considered to be the best and the toughest but that doesnt mean that the other branches are push-overs. All branches have their special forces, all have strengths and weaknesses. To try to compare one as being better than the other is not fair and frankly - should be against the military standards. They all are a team working together regardless of what branch they are.

Answer 10

They are not, it's just a front, we are all brothers and we respect one another. without the Navy, there would be no Marine Corp. without the army, there would be no Air Force. we all need each other in someway or another. bottom line, it's just the uniform that make them look tuff, No the person wearing it!