Why does the Army not have as much pride as the Marines?

I think all the comments so far are spot on. When I was in Special Operations, in the Army, the profesional expectations were high, like the Marines. When I was in regular army units I noticed a difference.

I often admired the Marine Corps for how well they instilled esprit de corps into their Marines. They not only consider each Marine to be special, as compared to other service members, but their culture compels each Marine to live up to a higher standard.

If you expect more from someone, and show them how to meet a higher standard, they will meet the expectation. In my observations, over 22 years of service, the Marines embody this.

Certain organizations in the Army do as well, specifically Special Forces, Special Operations, and Paratrooper units; but I find it impressive that the Marines do it for their entire Corps.

Back in my Basic Days (mid 50s) our unit were active Divisions. Mine was the 69th Inf Div at Ft Dix. My BCT unit was Battery B, 696 AAA Bm. Every Sat AM, the CO would give us a short history of the unit and Division during Commanders Time. When I got to my AIT unit in Ft Benning (Co A, 69th Engr Bn), again each Sat AM, Commanders Time we got a bit of the Units history. This carried onto my regular assigned unit for several years, until the Army started becoming just a "job." Pride in the Unit was installed from day one in the Army and went on for years. Now, everyone wants to get out of town on Friday Nights until Mon AM. Don't bother me with this mundane stuff. It's just a job. I dare say, the USMC doesn't have this attitude. Now, i've been out since 79 and attitudes have changed, so, this is my opinion.

Who and why

I for one have just as much pride in the Army as any Marine has in the Corps. I serve in a joint unit. You can’t say that a service has more pride than another; they just have different cultures.

I do, more than any jarhead could ever have

Apparently you never visited The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington. Americas best soldiers protect it not Marines.

Who says that the Army does not have as much pride as the Marine Corps. I proudly served for 24 years and would not have it any other way. I worked with quite a few "former" Marines during my career so I always ask myself, " If there is so much pride in being a Marine, why do so many of them leave? Seems to me that the Marine Corps tries to brainwash a lot of them. My 2 cents worth. Army Strong.

I’ve actually pondered over this myself on occasion since I truly love the Army myself as you do. I did notice that it had a lot to do with were the complaining ones were located; what commands they fell under and then I remembered one of my earlier duty stations where even I nearly left the Army because of the way we were treated. I loved being a soldier and never expected to be babied but at the unit that had me so feeling down I felt like I wasn’t worth anything and that we all were only numbers/robots and we were made to feel that having families was the greatest burden. While I was assigned to that unit I had 2 days off in my 3 years I spent there beside of the few days leave I took and once I had a week off on Quarters for having a walking pneumonia. This almost caused me my marriage at the time since I left the house before anyone was ever awake and usually didn’t make it home until it was dark out and my kids were already in bed again and we worked 7 days a week because mail has to keep moving; which is understandable. There would have been ways to occasionally give a few people a weekend off but the command didn’t see it that way. For me personally this was the only unit where things were this severe but have heard from others that had comparable stories. For the majority of the soldiers in the Army though I don’t think that they lack in pride of the Army; it often is brought on by exposure to bad leadership for the ones that feel that way. Those Commands that stand behind their soldiers and show that they truly care about their soldiers usually get the same in return. I also understand the craziness of the current Optempo with having more missions than personnel to cover them safely at times it’s easy to forget that inside those uniforms are human beings not robots.

Without reading all the comments, I believe it comes down to discipline. The individual discipline is lacking in the Army.

Yes; if the Army quits trying to side-step issues and puts soldiers above the rest, pride in the Army will breach the brim CSM Carl Cunningham. There is a lot of pride for the Army in soldiers, but only if the Army can exploit it by cleaning the old barren wood from its decks to allow soldiers their dues and to cure past errors.