Should Army and Marines (or components of) consolidate?

In my personal opinion I don't see where the matters. We all take the same oath so as long as we all serve together as brothers/sisters who cares the color of the uniform or the name on it. I have family in each branch and we don't care what unit or branch we are affiliated with as long as the mission is accomplished in the right manner. Why can't we all just accept that we are all part of the United States Military and forget about the branch of service. In combat does it matter who has your back whether Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines? It never bothered me.

This to me is an insult, even to ask the question is insulting. I believe in every branch of our armed forces and they all serve their respected purpose. I think that this should never happen as long as there is this great nation to protect. Marines are different in almost every aspect from that of a solider and are used for different types of conflicts and in different scenarios. This is the very thing that will weaken the most powerful military in the world. Marines train harder too, look at the differences in Boot Camp from that of Basic Training. Semper Fi

The ARMY needs to continue being the ARMY and the Marines the Marines, but the Marines need to be and independent service just like the ARMY. I understand the origins and tradition of Marines with the Navy, but those were in the past, when transportation was by ship. In today's global warfare/guerrilla warfare the Marines are at times restricted by the Navy bureaucracy. In the same way that the Air Force broke off from the ARMY the Marines need to do same breaking away from the Navy.

the marines are already consolidated with the navy. marines by definition are naval landing forces. as far as i'm concerned, the air force should still be the army air corps.

I don't see the consolidation making a military difference except perhaps that the Marines alienating the Army, something like the Berets and Rangers being the best of the Army which always annoyed me. Put in the Marines and you have another designation of superiority in the force. They all have their jobs and I don't see the point in combining them.

USMC is a Corps of Naval just as Airborne Corps to ARMY. My father is both Navajo Code (IWO JIMA) Talker and paratrooper (CHOSIN). Both elements are part of higher unit organization and higher standards to adhere IAW tradition of warfare. It requires a command decision from the commander of forces.

No, while they both have similarities in being combat oriented they are dissimilar in combat role, training and mission to start. Marines are an expeditionary force while the Army is an occupational force. I believe that each branch of our armed services has a specific role and this has evolved over time as a result of combat or police actions to best deal with situational circumstances. If there were no choice and we absolutely had to merge branches of our armed services it is my opinion that a better fit and more practical merge would be Army-Air Force and/or Marines-Navy.

Big picture, given that the nature of conflict and defense will change (in some ways) over time and the resources of the United States will also change, a merger may, at some point, be advisable. I don't see it happening anytime soon, but change is inevitable, so I'd vote a very cautious, "Maybe someday."

My fear is that the decision would be based on number crunching alone without consideration of the overwhelming influence of the intangibles that make service what it is--the spirit of service itself. Any action that does not carefully factor this impact--if it's even possible to do so--will risk unforeseen complications and possible failure.

No, the Branches should be kept separate.

No, the Army has her objectives and so does the Corps. Just for the record a Marine will never put his or her traditions and camaraderie aside. These are the reasons Marines fight the way we do. I believe that Army and Marine joint ops are practical but a joint branch will not happen unless a soldier will earn the title Marine because a Marine will not give that up.