ARMY VS. MARINES CORPS?

Kia: You have made the right decision. Recruits who want to become Marines are more decisive and willing to take that extra step. It is obvious from your question that indecision is higher on your preference scale than going to bootcamp to become a US Marine who has to work hard to make it through bootcamp and receive the eagle, globe, anchor.

As far as the "scuttlebutt" you heard about about rapes, slow promotions, raggedy equipment, money not worth it - is all BS. Marines respect other Marines, male/female. There are the same ratio of bad apples in each of the four Services. The same problems occur in the Army, Navy, Air Force as well as the Marine Corps. The primary way to avoid being victim of a crime is never to present yourself as a potential victim. The rules for this are the same in the military as well as outside in the civilian community. You are old enough to know what I mean.

Promotions - Marines promote based on MOS and time in service. Some MOSs promote faster due to people leaving the Corps and the MOS having a larger population base. Some MOSs that are smaller in number promote slower. Go into computers, aviation, aviation or ground supply, communications - promotions are good. This is also true for the Army, Navy, and Air Force. They each have MOSs/Ratings that promote quickly and many that promote more slowly. In the end, the promotion rate across each of the four Services is about the same.

Raggity Equipment - doesn't exist in the Marine Corps. Our troops are exceptionally will trained to take care of each and every piece of equipment that the Marine Corps owns. It all works and works well plus the Marines using it know how to repair it if it breaks down. Because there is a Pentagon requirement that all military equipment used by the each of the four Services be jointly interoperable, we are on the same upgrade schedule as the other Services. Our Command and Control/Comm gear is updated at the same time as the Army, Navy, and Air Force. It is a mandatory requirement. Our unique Marine Corps equipment such as artillery, LAVs, tanks, etc are state of the art and maintained daily. We depend on our combat gear to accomplish the mission and to save lives. That is why we have a reputation for getting things done on the battlefield when the Army runs into mission problems. The Army is good, but the Marine Corps has earned our reputation by our actions on the battlefield. That is why so many young men and women want to be Marines.

Not worth the money - the money is the same for each member of the military Services. A E-1 under two years in the Army gets the same amount of money as an E-1 under two years in the Corps, Navy, Air Force (google: Military pay tables for more details). If the comment means - the Marine Corps bootcamp is too hard and not worth the money paid - that's OK with us. We don't want someone who expects the training to be easy. Easy training means more people die on the battlefield or someone doesn't do their job as well as they should results in someone on the battlefield dying when they shouldn't have. We don't want those people and will do everything possible to weed them out early.

We want Marines who want to be Marines. You said you always wanted to be a Marine. Just how bad do you want it??? If you want it bad enough, get in physical shape now and enlist. If you want the easy way, please go Army, Navy, or Air Force, or stay civilian. PS: Being in Army JROTC definitely does not provide much information about what being an enlisted soldier is about. So please don't use that as an excuse not to pursue your dream. Doesn't hold water. Basic training, as is bootcamp, will teach you things that JROTC never taught you.

Marine after Army - not a good idea since you will be required to go to bootcamp anyway and you will lose whatever rank that you earned in the Army. Going the other way (MC to Army), no basic training will be requried and you keep your rank. That alone should give you an idea of the unique differences between the two Services. Now you decide.

Lieutenant Colonel, US Marine Corps-Retired (prior enlisted Sgt during wartime, GI Bill, officer's commission)

recruits who want to be marines arent different than recruits from any other branch. its just a bunch of kids who want to join the military, they havent proven or done anything above and beyond. there is no "extra step" to becoming a marine, they are all 1 time volunteers just like most soldiers, squids, and blue berries.

hardest-working depends on MOS, not branch. an airforce PJ has much harder work than a marine cook.

rape in the military is less common than rape in the civilian world

the army promotes the fastest to e-4. after that (and e-3 for the other branches), promotions are based off of whats available. some MOSs in the marines promote faster than some MOSs in the army.

the marines are known for shopping at the army's garage sale.

money is the same for all branches, it really depends on what type of living conditions you have. if you have pretty much an apartment to yourself its pretty good, if you're sharing a crappy 12x12 room with 3 other guys it sucks.

my advice: figure out what job you want to do and go from there. there are no medics in the marines, there are no f-18 mechanics in the army. what MOS you have dictates more of what you'll do than what branch you're in.

again, lazyness depends on MOS. you wont find a "lazy" atmosphere with infantry no matter where you are, you wont find any genuinely hard core truck drivers.

"marines corps" are you sure your a senior?

go to the army.