Should Army and Marines (or components of) consolidate?

I agree with LTC Labrador

One big misconception on the Army and Marine side of the house is a simple fundamental element spelled out in one of many descriptions. That is, the Marines are a FORCE in readiness. Not individuals in readiness, not elites in readiness. We are just that, a FORCE. No matter the creed, color, or religion... enemy plans change and/or are adhered to the notion that "the Marines are going to come". Whether that has any tactical bearing is debatable. However, one cannot deny the inevitable mental game this will play with the enemy. Then take into account, the second they actually see Marines. They must subliminally give up. Can you imagine for a second, the United States Marines come bombarding into the scene and you know it's on! Then you remember...oh no... the United States Army is coming next. By in large, the US Army could topple any other nation brute vs brute, but there's other elements to battle and war (see the Art War by Sun Tzu) (Insert details such as SEALs, Rangers, and MARSOC excluded due to their secrecy and specific missions). Then the enemy has to remember, oh no...i can't escape to the sea, the US Navy is 7 times the size of the rest of the worlds Navys combined. Don't look to the skys either because the 3 largest air forces in the world, in order, are the US Air Force, US Army, and US Marines. Finally I emplore don't change a damn thing! I say this as an American thinking to himself, "don't fix it if it ain't broken!" God bless you, Semper Fidelis, we all play our part... the tip of the spear had to be one of us. Read Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli pirates, Killing the Rising Sun, and finally/most importantly, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Gospel is the good news that supplants the sovereignty of importance invested in these debatable comments. But remember, "if the Army and the Navy ever look on Heaven's scene, they will see the streets are guarded by United States Marines!"

No there is a distinct difference in mission and outlook.

No

ARMY - Because even Marines need a Hero.

I don’t normally chime in on things like this, but I’m going to say this: The Marine Corps is an amphibious force. We go in, capture the territory-then the Army is supposed to come in and hold the territory. That doesn’t always happen, but there’s more quotes about the excellence of The Marine Corps than there is about any other branch. I’m just saying there’s more “I was going to join The Marines, but...”

Analytically there are pros and cons to the idea. The things that could be fixed with a merge could just be comparable to new issues that could arise. I’m also with Ssgt. Luck, I completed my MOS training at an army basic base and the basic training is not the same nor are the standards and as she said, we “Earned” our title. No offense to LTC Labrador but it’s not just a PR thing, it’s a real thing. Marines are extremely proud of the title because from day one we train harder and fight meaner then the other branches. I think having different branches creates friendly competition and it also is good for different branches to have to learn to work with each other. What are we gonna do next to “aliviate” some of those headaches, make government contractors like black water and such join up? Make them go back into the military in order to keep their jobs. Then what, make the CIA join the newly formed Army Marine Corps single service so that they don’t have to try and work together with different functions. That’s just my take. Semper Fi

Consolidation of the USMC and the US ARMY is not a new issue. It was, during my career, being discussed, albeit informally, from my recollection, during the mid-1990s by a least one very influential GO. The politics, the emotional outbursts, the sacrosanct beliefs by military and civilian personnel in the private sector, in our own ranks, and on the hill combined to dissuade further considerations. However, in today’s global commitment and the need to be prepared to conduct MILOPS on several continents at the same time, demands new ways of thinking our global mission and the force structure required to adequately address current and future various requirements. Logistics is a most critical piece of maintaining and deploying successfully. Our military industrial capability is fundamental to our global success. We can’t continue to outsource our war materials and components to foreign governments...mainly those who are potential adversaries. Manpower and sustainment of the force is of the utmost. I see no other way to sustain military superiority than consolidation. Yes, there will be some redundancy in 3 Service branches, but that redundancy can be minimized. There is no reason why Army Aviation can’t take on more of the close air combat support role (e.g. A-10) freeing up the USAF to provide tactical air, strategic air, short-mid-long range misile defensive and offensive operations. I support LTC Labrador’s comments. The savings alone could be used rebuild and modernize our military capability. The biggest deterrent to offensive operations is an unquestionable strong and capable defense!

I do foresee a future similar to why we have seen in most notably the Halo video game. It’s a one force multi fasited war machine. Or something similar to what we see in starship troopers. And I do believe that in the next 20 years we will see this merging of branches.

This situation would be FUBAR no way.