What are you first and foremost?

I'm a navy seabee. Not the typical sailor

That's just a state of mind. Everyone is trained to be combat personnel first and then the specialties. I personally know Marines that know that their specialty comes first despite of the common criterion.

All Marines are riflemen... as for the other branches, yes they are specialists first

What do you think?

LTC (Join to see)
As a former Marine (A title I have earned), (Former, as there are very few ex-Marines-some have had that title stripped because of lack of honor), I take great pride in that service. A title which I will never allow to be taken away. From day one, it was ingrained in us the history of the Corps, the inclusiveness of the service, the fact that everyone was trained to do the job of a "basic" infantryman. I say basic, because clearly, some went on to receive significantly greater training, and my training as an infantryman would pale compared to that of a true infantryman... However, the basic skills were taught and continued to be taught and emphasized, and that importance cannot be diminished. The concept was/is that everyone could pick up a rifle and assimilate. That is what makes the Corps different. They are smaller, leaner and have thrived on the ability to anything, forever, with nothing.

Now, as an Airman, specifically, an Air Guardsman, I take great pride in my service as Air Guardsman, however, as an Airman, I do tend to primarily identify with Security Forces, my specialty, as that is my unit, our mission and personnel. I gladly sacrifice so they can excel. I am proud of that service, proud of the Air Force, and proud of what my specialty and my branch of service brings to the fight. I relate the core values of the Air Force into my everyday life: Integrity First; Service Before Self; and Excellence in All I Do, both militarily and in my civilian occupation. It sounds simple, but it really is not. My Air Force is full of professionals, they are outstanding at what they do, they do the right thing when nobody is looking, they put the mission first, and because Big Air Force demands it, they regularly perform at extremely high standards. We may not be quite as lean, or quite as mean as Marines (although some of my personnel might argue it), and fitness is truly stressed in the Air Force now, but we strive everyday to bring relevance to the fight, and in my opinion, we do. Does that mean that every Airman can perform as Infantryman, no, but neither can every Infantryman perform as an Airman, in any capacity.

I personally think that each of our services has value, and brings specific things to the fight. And, each service needs the assets and abilities of the other. I would like to see what is known as Esprit De Corps ingrained in all of our services. I do feel that you should be extremely proud of your service, your unit and your mission, and if you are not, you should seek that, somewhere else. I have found home in the Air Force, specifically the Air National Guard, and I would not trade my experience for anything else. So, in a huge diatribe answer to the question while the Corps may be the only service that all members claim title before specialty, that does not in any way diminish the value brought by any other service member, nor devalue the benefits of the other services.

So from where I sit, Semper Fi, and Aim High!