Should the saying "every Marine a rifleman" be changed?

The term was true when it was founded and it's true today.

Non-infantry Marines are still called on regularly to serve as riflemen during combat operations. I know the Marines assigned to the 3rd MAW Band were a bit surprised when they arrived in Iraq and were immediately assigned to perimeter defense and convoy security operations.

They didn’t complain, they did their job, and they did it well. Not as well as you or your compatriots would have, but they did it anyway. By serving as riflemen in ‘rear area’ positions (as if there was a rear area in Al Anbar) they freed up enough infantry Marines to take Fallujah.

Every Marine is a rifleman. Not all riflemen are equal.

Brother, though I understand your pride as an 0311, we as Marines are are set apart from other service branches because all Marines attend the School of Infantry for 28 days of "basic" infantry training at either Marine Combat Training Battalion (MCT) or Infantry Training Battalion (ITB).
As a former 8513/0913 Marine Combat Instructor at School of Infanty (West) who served at all levels of training, I can 100% confirm that every Marine is taught and then practically applies the skills of an 03xx during the initial 28 day period. As a 0311, or 0321, 0331, 0341, 0351, you receive advanced MOS specific infantry training that earns the MOS you choose, just as non-infantry Marines go to MOS specific training to earn their MOS. But the foundational infantry training received all Marines after recruit training allows for better communication and understanding on the battlefields our Marine Corps has and will fight on yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That said, "every Marine a (basic) Rifleman" takes nothing away from you as a "advanced" Rifleman (0311), because in the end you are at the tip of the spear, and every Marines' effort on the battlefield is there to support your outcomes. Semper Fi, Brother!!

No. I was an 03 and I understand your frustration and am very familiar with this line of thought, but the truth is that the Marine Corps is different from the other branches. I remember a story that illustrates my point perfectly about a VMF deployed in Afghanistan that had Taliban break through the wire and literally walk into the TOC and start shooting. The pilots and air wingers grabbed their gear, rallied together and pushed them back and out of the compound before holding security until the QRF arrived.

The point is that the Marine Corps is a very small branch, and is designed to operated independently as an expeditionary fighting force. This philosophy means that Marines are going to be out in the bush, often alone, and still expected to accomplish the mission. And if it comes down to it, the cook is just another gun in the fight. A less refined one albeit, but still at the very least 4 degrees of a 360.

Good question though. Keep asking questions and learning bro. There's a wealth of knowledge on here and it isn't often you get to have private conversations about stuff like this with Colonels and Majors. Semper yut kill.

Not a Marine, so I'd feel a little strange "defending" their traditions...but here's my unapologetic opinion folks-

Everyone whose ever worn a uniform knows that the greatest percentage of the Armed Forces is only minimally trained to confront any type of combat scenario. Kinda like getting the safety briefing on an airliner doesn't mean you can fly the plane. People's feelings get hurt, we run out of "binkies", and next thing we know, the entire Army is wearing berets, Sailors are wearing blue cammo on the flight deck, and everyone's got so much Velcro on, it's a wonder we don't all stick together in formation. That said, everyone ALSO knows that the U.S.M.C. has one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult standards to maintain of any service. If that's at all in dispute, then there's their record: I seem to recall a Marine aviator in Afghanistan who died trying to stop a Taliban attack on his FOB with nothing more than his sidearm. I've had the honor of knowing several very well, and calling them close friends-and been to far too many memorial services for them. I never met a Marine of any "flavor" who wasn't a warrior at heart.

As someone who HAS NOT earned the title, I'd say the term "rifleman" is part of their fighting heritage and culture and just like everything else that sets them "apart"...should be maintained.

Dizzy out

As far as the Army goes, every Marine is a Rifleman.

Here's the deal...I was an 0341 23 years ago. Now I'm a medic and a nurse in the Army Reserve. The Marine Corps definitely takes a different approach to marksmanship than the Army does...going all the way back to boot camp. If I'm in a firefight, and some Marine with a non-03 MOS picked up a rifle next to me, I'd feel a damn bit safer than if a soldier with the same job did the same thing.

LCpl Tad Cunningham I have seen combat as a 2531 Field Radio Operator and used my M16. If you have been in combat where you have seen non 0311's firing their weapons wildly, then fine. Otherwise, you do not know what you are talking about.

This focus on the infantry is matched with the doctrine of "Every Marine [is] a rifleman", a focus of Commandant Alfred M. Gray, Jr., emphasizing the infantry combat abilities of every Marine. All Marines, regardless of military specialization, receive training as a rifleman.

No, it should not. This is what separates us from everyone else. Change that and just make us a separate battalion in the Army.

LCpl Tad Cunningham Every Marine is a Rifleman. That is one of the things that separate us from the different services. Each and everyone of us from admin to motor t is proficient with a rifle and have basic combat training. You are a Infantryman which is the best sort of rifleman. Now as a airwinger, I did not go to infantry training as you have, and I also did not continue to train as an Infantryman. I was trained basically as a rifleman in MCT and continued on to my MOS school and became and an Ordnanceman. No I was not an Infantryman and never became one. Yes I am a POG airwinger, but first I am a Marine and every Marine is a Rifleman.

Spring of 1970, RVN. Americal Division had just taken over Chu Lai air base defense. They had the nerve to come on line and request "help" from 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. I was XO of the Ground Defense Company, known as "Zulu" company. We sent a reinforced rifle platoon (made up entirely of non-03 MOSs that had worked and trained together all along) to "bail out" a "leg" infantry division. Don't even try to tell me that every Marine is not a rifleman. That's no disrespect to the pro 0311 who definitely has the sharper skill set. Most all Marines can drive vehicles too and that doesn't disrespect the 35xx who does it as a profession.