Posted on Dec 30, 2013
MSgt Visual Information Chief
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Should former marines who join another service give up the title
I first joined the Army and after my enlistment, I joined the Marine Corps.  I no longer call myself a Soldier, but a Marine.  Should former Marines give up the title of Marine once they join another branch of service?  It's analogous to a woman taking the name of her husband, then once the marriage has ended, she re-marries and takes her new husband's name. Me, I'm married to the Corps!
Posted in these groups: B04bb539 Marines
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Responses: 358
CWO4 Gene A.
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What ever motivates you. Acknowledge that which you become/are and carry it with pride. We all have a role to play. I am proud to call myself a retired Sailor and feel that was my calling. Training and traditions mold one into believing/living that which has been instilled in one's thought process. So be it. We are all brothers in arms. Call us what you will. Just be true to the cause. Standing for America with pride and conviction.
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Sgt Wayne Wood
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Soldier is given... Marine is earned... in my case Paratrooper was also earned. When asked, i say i was a Paratrooper and a Marine.
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SPC John Parmenter
SPC John Parmenter
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Soldier is given??? Good luck with that.
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Sgt Wayne Wood
Sgt Wayne Wood
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Compared to the instances i provided... yeah, given...
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Cpl Christopher Bishop
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If you are a bit older than the usual 18 year olds who went to Boot Camp right out of high school, and you appear in a seemingly new uniform, you were likely accept because of your prior service time and experience. Thus nobody should have to hide or apologize for that experience.
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Capt Bob Soldner
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Once a Marine you are always a Marine regardless of weather or not you chose another branch for whatever reason.
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SGT Joseph Gunderson
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No. That title is earned and not given lightly. The example for a woman taking the husbands name is not close to the same. She doesn't earn the name, she takes it, it is freely given. To call yourself a Marine is to have passed a rigorous test and the title should never be relinquished if ever earned.
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SFC Oddie Brown
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Look, if it gives you the warm and fuzzies to say you're a marine, well God Bless, here's your cookie.
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SSgt Lloyd Cole
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No. If you crossed the grinder and finished boot, you EARNED the right to the title be called a Marine. It doesn't matter what other service you may have joined, once a Marine, ALWAYS a MARINE.
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Sgt Eldridge Allen
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No
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1stLt Adjutant
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Being a Marine, no matter what you do after you leave the Marine Corps, is something that stays with you the rest of your life. You could say that about any branch, whether you are a former Sailor, Soldier, Coast Guardsman, or Airman. However, we take it probably the most seriously with the Corps. We have the phrase, "Once a Marine, Always a Marine," and we etch it into our hearts. That's just the way we are in the Corps. I have a friend who was a former Marine and later joined the Army. He served proudly and honorably in both branches. I still consider him a Marine, but maybe it's because I'm biased!
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LT Assistant Operations Officer (S3)
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If a Marine gets out and does nothing more with his life than pumps gas he is still a Marine. No difference in joining another service as long as he served the USMC honorably.
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