Should Army and Marines (or components of) consolidate?

Seems to me that there's still a lot of emotional comparison versus objective. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Stupid thread

I hate these questions…practically when people say an E-3 in one branch is equal to an O-10 in another. That comment is just plain stupid. All branches have their shitbags…all. I been to plenty of joint commands, deployed in Ar Ramadi in ’03 as an infantrymen and worked with the Marines. I worked with great Marines, and I worked with shitty ones. I have seen Marine Infantry Squad leaders make stupid decisions on the ground with me with them, and I also seen the same with the Army. All branches have their aptitude. Stop having small penis syndrome, and love each other for our differences and cultures.

Oh, and one more thing, if you are not a Marine Infantrymen…you have no place to criticize an Army’s Infantry units equivalent to yours. A POG is a POG and being in the Marines does not exempt you from that status. Just saying…

OUT

PS: I do not think the Army and Marines should consolidate.

Hi all-well sine I am the one person so far that has served with the Army-3 deployements, Navy-6 west pac with Marines and SeaBees, and Marines -14th and 214 Marines. I see some merit of the question. So they want to put Army on ships-good luck on that-its hard enough being at sea-but having a bunch of undisiplined -yes army- troops at sea. Just asking for trouble. This is a matter of honor among marines-and the Army has none.
Each service has its own job-so we need to get a handle how to deploy them-Army goes in and stays in for years and years-you know-pseudo nation building. Marines goes in with small force to take an objective-and should be used when its a problem that needs to go away.
There needs to be consolidation-yes, maybe put army SF in the Marines, concentrate the army to long term -nation building-we really suck at that-so we need a specialized force that can do that-aka-Army. they are the only orginazation big enough to handle that job.
As far as aviation-Roll the army aviation to Navy-AF or Marines-most expense isnt the buying the machines-its the training and maintenance of the birds, so consolidating and standardizing may help

But thats just my opinion after 27 years. but I think everone needs to roll into the Coast Guard

Haha PO1 (Join to see) ... the one guy in the navy who would love to see this happen. Then we'll be at each other's throats riding second class on your boat (j/k). A good question though that I have no answer to. I think the merger would take many years and just wonder how PT would work out?

Not to keep adding more fuel to the fire but there continue to be references to Marine superior fighting capability but besides the Army conducting more and larger amphibious assaults during WWII the Army also sustained the heaviest banzai attack during WWII on Saipan after the Marines landed.

The Army's 27th Infantry Division bore the brunt of Japan's largest mass suicide attack of WWII, launched before dawn on July 7, 1944, on the island of Saipan. The division's 105th Regiment saw more than 400 killed and 500 wounded during the attack by more than 3,000 Japanese soldiers and sailors. Heroically that unit survived and repulsed the assault despite the heavy losses.

The 27th was a former New York National Guard unit. It landed on Saipan after the U.S. Marines made the initial beach assault on June 15, 1944.

Food for thought.

They both are rich in tradition. And both serve a purpose for this great nation of ours.
Being a Marine who reenlisted into the Army I have seen both sides of the spectrum.
The way I see it IF the two branches combined(IF). The Marine Corps (and it would still be known as such) would basically replace the Rangers. Any select individuals (Rangers that is)wishing to join our beloved Corps would have to go through 3 months of training. Then and only then you would be allowed into the Corps.
Furthermore, the other offspring..Special Forces, Delta and Recon..Those would be in a company all of their own. Split however they want...Their elite...I'm not going to tell them what to do.
In conclusion...IF(God help me) IF they combined given the scenario I just presented. Both branches could still carry on with their heritage and honor of history

Absolutely! But why stop there? I say combine everyone Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Make one combined U.S. Military or Armed Forces, start all over. Leave the history and traditions of each branch in a museum someplace and create a new legacy. Just imagine the savings in uniforms alone.

The USAF should come back home to the Army.

Having the Marines as an Special Ops Force like Delta Force, Rangers, etc., could work. However, there are a few other questions I have to wonder if they've been considered:

1. Marines provide their own CAP and possibly Recon, from a carrier. Via the Navy's "ability" to fly fixed wing aircraft with X miles of a shore. Since "Army" is not allowed to fly fixed wing aircraft at all, how would the Army-Marines receive their CAP? Air Force (like regular Army gets)? Be interesting when the fight's on a hostile shore, no nearby air bases, and the AF can't land on carriers. Navy? Would the Navy pilot(s) come from the Corps before or after the transfer, and would they be dedicated to the CAP role or would they be mixed role?

2. How much redundancy is being eliminated in such a shift, anyway? Whatever Marine paperwork that has been shunted to regular Navy Administrators has to be picked up by Marines or Army. And would such a shift actually introduce more redundancy, since most "Marine" Bases (Co-located on many Naval bases) would then need an Army Administration unit?

3. Same with the ranks. Are we really going to see the number of Generals and other flag officers decrease? In a way, this could be detrimental to the Corps, as it would suddenly be possible to take a "regular" Army Colonel or General and promote / rotate into the commands - while right now it's been lifelong Marines only, due to the difficulties of cross-promoting a Commander to Colonel, for example...

4. How would shipboard logistics work? As of right now, the Marines are cared for by the Navy - do they get to charge the Army all of a sudden? Does Army send supplies? Mixed billets? On this note, who charges who for what, and how many extra accountants are necessary to pull this off? (at greater cost than the current system of Naval Administration handling all the bills and budgets)

5. Aren't there already significant amounts of "tech sloshing" around? Marine M16, XM8, SAW, M1 Abrams, etc. are all Army designs, Marine CAP tends to use Naval F18s, etc. Outside of maybe some medium-sized pieces (artillery) and the actual amphibious craft, the Marines don't really do much R&D. Can't use this as too much justification for a transfer from Navy to Army...