Posted on Mar 23, 2016
During Iraq/Afghan war did the Marines distinguish themselves as better infantry than the Army? Can you really tell the difference?
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On these forums the Marines (myself included) and members of other branches talk about the ethos of the USMC. I want to know is all talk.
11B: Infantryman
Infantry
0311: Rifleman
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
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Okay, here's the deal. No matter who you ask, theyre going to respond with whatever their branch of service was unless they have some experience that sticks out in their mind as to why the other service ran things better. But the truth is it depends.
I've never personally operated with Army Infantry units, but I've met a lot of guys who have and they all say the same thing. You have certain units that are very good, and you have certain units that are horrible. Whereas the general consensus about the Marine Corps is that Marines in general are consistently good. And as far as this stereotype about Marines not getting good equipment so they cant do their job? That's BS. We get the same crap everyone else does. This isn't 1957, and the Marine corps as a whole is just as well equipped as the Army. Id even say better in some areas when you get into specific weapon to weapon comparisons.
Yes we have our own CAS. No the Apache is no the only capable air platform for close air support. We have our own Arty and Mortars and everything else under the sun, not that it matters anyway because in theater everyone is supposed to work together anyway.
The other thing you have to take into account is the leadership. You can have the best guys in the world and put them under bad leadership and the whole machine grinds to a halt.
I've never personally operated with Army Infantry units, but I've met a lot of guys who have and they all say the same thing. You have certain units that are very good, and you have certain units that are horrible. Whereas the general consensus about the Marine Corps is that Marines in general are consistently good. And as far as this stereotype about Marines not getting good equipment so they cant do their job? That's BS. We get the same crap everyone else does. This isn't 1957, and the Marine corps as a whole is just as well equipped as the Army. Id even say better in some areas when you get into specific weapon to weapon comparisons.
Yes we have our own CAS. No the Apache is no the only capable air platform for close air support. We have our own Arty and Mortars and everything else under the sun, not that it matters anyway because in theater everyone is supposed to work together anyway.
The other thing you have to take into account is the leadership. You can have the best guys in the world and put them under bad leadership and the whole machine grinds to a halt.
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Sgt Stephen Kluz
Same equipment? My son was in the 2nd Tank Battalion in the Marine Corp and was sent to Alabama to buy used M1A1 tanks from the Army as the Army was being supplied with M1A2s. A lot of Marine equipment was hand me downs from the Army so they weren’t as well equipped.
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SFC Charles Kauffman
In Iraq and Afghanistan, my unit operated in small teams that sometimes required Infantry support. I always loved it when we got a platoon of Marines to be our security, because the Corps kept them so pissed off because of Bullshit that they always wanted to kill something! Semper Fi.
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Being in theater during this little fray, If I remember right, every branch of service successfully completed their missions. When the chips are down it doesn't matter, what matters is each will always support the other.
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SGT John Punchard
When I was in the 82nd. I remember going into a city where Marines were overwhelmed by insurgents and went in to assist them in fighting back Al-Qaeda. They were very grateful for the assistance. We always worked well together. We do give each other grief, but when the chips are down, we fight for one another!
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AA Charles Hadden
Finally we see some ADULTS in this group. I am so tired of 40 or 50 something little boys who just happen to be Vets, talking their boot camp trash.
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The biggest difference is in the ability to conduct night operations, which the Army has the clear lead on. As far as tactics are concerned, with 4 deployments to Helmand at Camp Leatherneck, I've learned that the Marines solution is to just throw more Marines at a problem. My vote is clearly Army.
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SGM (Join to see)
Sgt Steven Smith - All good, no disrespect taken, that's part of having an opinion. I have a ton of experience in Afghanistan, hell I'm here now, and that opinion hasn't changed. Every response on here is exactly that, an opinion, and some people get pretty riled up about it. Bottom line is, the question lends credence to one fact, BOTH of these fine services are here in a declared theatre of armed conflict getting after it the best way they know how, and that's nothing to be ashamed of. For participating in the first generational war, ALL of the Marines and Soldiers have my gratitude.
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1SG David Freed
The US Army Signal Corps also included the US Army Pictoral Services (photographers, picture taking, combat photographers and moving making). Not sure if the Signal Corps still performs these functions today. The Signal Corps, begining in the early 1900s was also the birth place of the (far into the future) US Air Force. Army (no air force back then) was given over to the Signal Corps. Around WW I, the Signal Corps created the US Army Air Service. Most US Army Air Service pilots in WW I were trained by the French. After WW I, the Army Air Service was formally established as a separate branch of the US Army for a time. This lasted until around the time GEN Billy Mitchell started advocating for a separate Air Force, maybe around 1925. He got the US Army Air Corps in 1939 which became somewhat of an autonomous branch within the US Army. In 1942, the US Army Air Corps became the US Army Air Force (or Air Forces). Finally, as part of the post WW II downsizing of the Army, and the Army's desire to make the Air Force a separate service, the US Air Force was established in 1947. The rest is now history.....but it all started with the US Army Signal Corps, which was my basic branch for 25 years in the US Army....
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