I always heard from most people that it goes as follows: Air Force Navy Army Marines Why do they have commercials that say the few the proud the marines?
The Marines has the fewest members of all the services, hence "the few" in the slogan. And of course, they are proud of what they do, hence "the proud" .
I've never heard these rankings before. These rankings will take the US to the powerhouse state it was at in the 1800s
As a musician, those are also how I'd rank the quality of their bands (not counting the DC bands). What are these supposed to rank exactly? You talk about different things and you'll get different results.
ya I really have no idea how you came up with those rankings. And that is besidies the point. You don't rank US military branches. They all have their own specific role and they are each best in their role. And its common sense... Air Force - air superiority Navy - naval superiority The only two branches that seem to overlap in their roles recently is Army and Marines but they still have their own role. Army - ground superiority Marines - quick reaction force(quickest mobilization of ground infantry)
Coast guard serves more as a law enforcement branch then a naval group. Also, the marines are no longer the sole amphibous group, and we have special forces for intense missions. My friend's dad (an ex marine) says they have no real use, but no politican wants to be remembered as the one who cut the USMMC.
What type of combat? ground? I think the poster referred to ground infantry combat. Which that list would accurately convey. Yes both the air force and navy have their few ground special forces but majority of air force and navy personnel will never see ground combat. Heck in today's modern wars even branches like the Army and Marines majority of personnel will never see ground combat since rear support has evolved so much. However Marine infantry and Army infantry is a much larger section than any of Navy's or Air Force's ground combat troops.
and another note that I don't know if the OP understands. The Marines is a department under the U.S. Navy.
As a Marine who has finished his enlistment I can honestly say that every branch has their tough and "bad ass" units. And every branch has their paper pusher units. Even in the Marine Corps about 3/4 of the branch is support. They are no different than your non combat Army personnel. However Marine Infantry is the best basic infantry in the Armed Forces.
You have an odd definition of support. Sorry but the USCG is freaking awesome and much more than law enforcement.
any unit that isn't a Marine Infantry battalion? The entire Marine Corps revolves around a line company of grunts.
The air force is mostly hot chicks and really nerdy smart kids. The navy is usually guys very comfortable with their sexuality. The army is usually cannon fodder. A lot are out of shape and don't get trusted with simple things. The marines are badass. I was in Afghanistan for 9 months as an mp, served as a turret gunner, and used a mk19, .50 cal, and 240G to destroy ****. It was awesome. Every other branch sucks.