Should Army and Marines (or components of) consolidate?

Definitely not! If my memory serves me correctly they tried to make the Marine Corps. part of the Army and it was a short lived disaster.

I think that there might be some elements of the Marine Corps that could be absorbed into the Army, but not the whole service. You'll never get the Army up to speed with interoperability with the Navy, Coast Guard, and allied naval forces: certainly not without spending far more money.

I agree with the Staff Sargent we go through some serious conditioning to become what we are! I have been a Marine since 1985 and I would NOT want to see these 2 combined!!

Right now we have one service that is always 'hungry' to prove itself; the Marines. We always operate with the assumption that we have to do more with less. This has benefited the country and numerous politicians. We always go that extra mile in peacetime and in war because we operate with a knowledge that just maybe we are redundant. If the services were combined the US would no longer have a 'hungery service'. With as many worldwide commitments currently and more probably in the future; can the nation afford to have a single service to do all land operations? While we live under the umbrella of 'First to fight' could a national Army politically do what the Marines can do? Hearing that the Marines were sent in is totally different than hearing the Army was sent in. Merging the ground combat forces of the US could actually limited our country's ability to respond without escalating. Just food for thought from a long retired 0369 Funny. S/F.

WHile I was serving I got into the habit of thinking of the Marines as two general mission paths, First were the garrison marines, those stationed shoreside and fulfilling roles similar to their Army counterparts but at the same time set aside specifically for them.
Then there were Marines I encountered the most often, the Fleet Marines. These are the troops stationed aboard a ship that fulfills the original function of the Marines, an armed response force both for the physical defense of the ships they are stationed but also capable of taking the battle from the ship to the enemy wherever they are encountered, a function that the Army is not trained to perform.
Back in basic, we sat a lecture that still sticks with me, an explanation of the functions that each branch fills in the defense of our nation. To the Navy falls the security of our sea lanes and our passage there upon.
To the Army goes the job of the prosecution of our armed might upon the enemy and the main burden of combat.
The Air Force is tasked with air superiority.
And then there are the Marines, and in addition to the shipboard tasks already described they get one more dirty job that they train for from day one. To create the beach heads so the Army can be brought in safely to do their jobs. And with notable exceptions like D-Day that is how it has been done.

So aside from my fondness for our misbegotten stepchildren, (we used to say the best way to tick off a marine was to ask them what Department was listed on their ID card) I do think that consolidating the Marines with the Army would both be a disservice to both branches but also would not create the smoothing out of logistics the proponents of this plan seem to think would result since the mission of the Marines is so intertwined with that of the Navy.

Whomever has put this idea forth as a valid question misunderstands the dynamic difference of each of these branches' primary mission. The Marines are the tip of the spear. First in. The Army is the spear. Stays in. Once the spear has embedded itself, Marines, the territory must remain occupied, Army, to sustain advancement, the Army continues to thrust itself against more and more territorial occupation until the goal has been achieved.

The negatives are to numerous to list here. Its not a good idea.
Each service has it's mission. When you try to do an one size fits all, that will our capability.
Don't try to reinvent the wheel.

Semper Fi

No, the two branches have, among other reasons, 1 very large basic difference. The Army comes in and becomes an occupying force, where the Marine Corps is designed to be more mobile. All tenets of the two branches are based on those philosophies.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Sure. Why not? Would Marines like a greater access to training, promotion, and equipment? Why is it that so many Marines end up joining the Army? Because they're tired of seeing Army soldiers walking around with better equipment. They're tired of seeing the same guy they went to high school with that joined the Army getting promoted faster then they are. After joining they realize how much SF, Ranger Bat., Delta, ect. would have been something they would have liked to been a part of. Soldiers serve on ships, and get paid extra for doing it too.