Army or Marine Corps?

Question

Joining next month after I leave my job. Always wanted to. Im 20 and in decent shape. I know getting a straight answer about whats better for me out of a recruiter could be hard. Im finding ammo terribly expensive these days and I think Itd be nice for Uncle Samuel to foot the bill and pay me to shoot it. I want my MOS to be infantry. Carrying a rifle sounds fine with me. Ive spent most of my life tromping through the woods shooting things anyways. Id like to be deployed to Afghanistan and see combat and hopefully live through it.

Whats my best bet to get into the ****? Army or Marines?

Who's going to pay me more?

I know Marine Corps training is harder, that is not a problem for me. I want to know what will get me where I want to be, not the path of least resistance. Also I dont want smoke blown up my *** about which branch is better or worse.

Answer 1

If pay is your priority, go Army. While the pay is the same, the Army does promote faster. They do spend more on training, but that does not seem to make them any better. The most important training infantrymen do is rehearsing attacks and practicing standard operating procedures. This does not cost a dime, and you will get plenty of that in the Marines. All the fancy toys in the world mean nothing compared to an infantry squad that can shoot, move, and communicate. With a limited budget, Marines tend to fill time with less expensive ways of making better infantrymen. More physical training, more Martial arts, more squad maneuvers.



You might wonder how the Marine Corps still exists considering that the army will spend more money on you and promote you faster. People who join the Marine Corps tend to be a little different. Cockier, tougher, more willing to push themselves to the edge. They tend to be loud, and they are able to back up their big talk. People who join the Marines have something to prove to themselves. This could be seen as a character flaw, but it works out quite well when you need people who are willing to go to war.



One example of this is when I was in Somalia about 15 years ago. We had been issued desert boots, but we were not allowed to wear them. We had to wear our old black leather or green jungle boots. The reason for this was simply that the Somalis noticed that it was easier to harass and steal from the Americans who wore desert boots (US Army). They knew that if they messed with the black boots, their term for Marines, they would likely catch an axe handle to the face. Just a different way of dealing with things compared to the Army.



There is nothing wrong with joining the Army. You will be well taken care of, and you will complete your missions. When your time is done you can just as proud of yourself as any Marine. You will be good enough.



So it really just comes down to you and the kind of person that you are.

Answer 2

Some of these people with their answer = complete idiots. The army is not that great and certainly not for infantry. They don't give a **** about the soldiers E-1 to E-3 pretty much bullet sponges. There training is not better. They send people with minimal training and expect them to do good. Ya don't think so. Every Marine is trained extremely well, and then infantry Marines are trained even longer and better. I would rather take 20 Marines having my back then 100 Soldiers running around trying to figure out how to shoot their gun. Plus Marine gives you a huge since of pride. And a lot more respect. Pay is equally the same.

Answer 3

Well if you want to see combat sorry but there not that much over there now its mostly IED's but honestly if you want to see action I would join the Army (not saying the marines don't say action) but in the Army I would then go to either ranger school or SF. They will both pay you the same but the Army will usually give a a good bonus and also if you sign other people up they give you 2 G's. Yeah I just got back from Iraq last week and we really didn't see much action. But yeah the Army has a lot of good opportunities like next month Im going to path finder school and ill get paid more for that and im already air assault so I make pretty good money.

Answer 4

The Marines try to avoid bonuses. They don't want mercenaries, they want Marines.



The Marine Infantry is getting deployed all the time. If you want to see action, that's where to go. The problem is the Marines have a massive pool of people already enlisted and waiting to go to boot camp. Army is the same way. Don't leave your job until you ship; it's been 7 months since I enlisted and I'm still waiting to go (USMC). It's even worse for guys joining right now. If you enlist next month, you might not even go to boot camp for almost a year. Your training will take almost 6 months for Infantry (leave included), and they try not to throw you directly into a unit with a deployment imminent. My point is, regardless of which service you join, you probably won't get deployed for 1.5-2 years from the day you sign. It sucks, I know.



Best of luck to you bud.



Future Marine

Answer 5

Who's going to pay you more?

Both branches will pay you the same it's based off rank and timed served not branch of service. Although the Army will offer you a decent enlistment bonus. But for the love of God don't walk into a recruiters office saying you want to walk around shooting things they'll think your nuts. Although you do sound like your only half way there.

Neither branch is any better or worse than the other so drop that attitude fast.



For you I'd recommend the Marines. Good luck.

Answer 6

I would not recommend the Army at the moment, they have been having serious issues taking care of disabled Soldiers.

The Army is kind of notorious for making it difficult for people to get help even when they have both Army and Civil doctors diagnosis.

It took them 4 years to help out my friend who served in the initial invasion of Iraq, and he was diagnosed by Army, Civil, and VA doctors.

President Bush actually freaked out at the Army and VA for letting things get so bad, apparently the Army values their budget more than their own people.

I would say either go Marines, or Navy SeaBees. Plain infantry is not really that great, lots of cleaning and other stuff that sucks, you have plenty of time and nothing else to do.

If you go for something like Combat engineer or SeaBee, youll spend much of your time constructing things, but you also may get the chance to fight. They are often out on the front lines, and often escort infantry.

Answer 7

The Marines are the first ones in to places and being such they get harder training. All of the branches are a little backed up right now so the actual ship date can be a while from when you swear in, but all the Marines need is a diploma NOT A GED. I don't know about the Army. All in all it's up to your personal preference:

Marines=Tip of the spear

Army=The rest of the spear



I had to make the same decision and I chose the Marines because they have all sorts of options in the way of infantry but also if you get bored with one MOS, you can switch it if you want. The Army seemed too general and bland for my taste.

Answer 8

Well, I think both are very good ways to get into the sh*t. I am in the Air Force, and currently deployed to Afghanistan working with the Army. Both branches are often out on missions getting into firefights. I'm not sure, but I think the pay is pretty standard across the board. If I had to choose one that I thought would be more likely to get you in it quicker, i'd guess Marines, but can't be certain.

Answer 9

You may walk through the woods shooting things, but have you ever walked through the desert with at pack, getting shot at?



Just end the question and go into the Marines.

Answer 10

Lol@ the Marine recruitement answers... lets look at history and see just who was first in Americas wars...





ww1:Army

ww2:Army(25th ID was the first ground forces to engage the Japanese)

Guess which branch performed the largest amphibious assault in History? Not the Marine Corps.



Korean War:Army

Kosovo:Army(1st Armored Division, "Old Ironsides")

Balkan Wars: Army

Somalia:Army(10th Mountain Division, Green Berets, and Delta)

Gulf:101st and 3rd ID(ARMY)

Afghanistan: 82nd(Army)

Iraq: 3rd ID(Army)





If you want to learn how to swim, and do facial movements prettily(left face, right face), then join the Marine Corps.



If you want to get paid more, learn infantry tactics, and have more opportunities, join the Army. The Army generally deploys TWICE as long. Now-a-days deployments(tax free) is where you make your money. With longer deployments, you'll make more in the Army.



I don't know where you get that "Marines training is the hardest" stuff from. The usual response is "Their bootcamp is longer" Army Infantry OSUT is longer than the Marines bootcamp. Their Crucible in 54 hrs. Infantry ftx is about 168 hrs. Pretty much 3x as long.



Marines go to the ARMY for most of their training to... Artillerys trained on an Army base, all their airborne qualified students are trained on an Army base.



The Army holds the most Marksmanship records in the WORLD.



The Army also has the ONLY Special Forces in AMERICA.

The Army contains Americas best warriors(Delta Force)

And the Army houses ELITE Infantryman(Rangers)



The Marine Corps has basic infantrymen

Force Recon isn't even part of Socom...hell, 10th Mountain AND 82nd Airborne Division are part of Socom.



I really dont see where this usmc>Army stuff comes from...



USMC Pt Requirements: 3 pullups, 28min 3 mile, and 50 crunches in 2 minutes... and the amount you have to do DECREASES the older you get



Army Requirements: 42 pushups, 1554 2 mile run, 53 situps(harder than crunches)



so the marines have 12 minutes to run ONE MILE and their standards are harder? You guys need to start doing research and stop believing the bull that usmc dep poolees and cherries fresh out of bootcamp are telling you.

Answer 11

Okay.. My father is in the Air Force, My husband is in the Army, and my cousin in the Marines.



Go Air Force. Seriously. The Air Force is the only branch that actually cares about its airmen. The Army doesn't 'value' it's soldiers. They are a commodity. The marines are more difficult to get into. But they also, lack in the care for their troops. You could be an MP in the Air Force and still see combat like you want to, only you'll be in better care.



Sorry if this wasn't a very big help. I'm an Army wife and I'm very proud of my husband and his unit in afghanistan right now, I just wish they were treated better.

Answer 12

BEFORE you write me off as being just another paranoid nutcase. Read this, straight from "Zeitgeist" made in 2004.



The 9/11 Truth:

Criminal Elements within the US government staged a "false flag" Terror attack on its own citizens, in order to manipulate public perception into supporting its agenda.

They have been doing these for years.

9/11 was an Inside Job.

"I am absolutely appalled of how much people in this country do not think. We are given to understand that an Arabic guy, out there out in the mountains, financed the most elaborate attack on this country."

"Do you think some people in a cave, some people in a cave were able to have NORAD stand down? Do you think some people in a cave were able to have all of this happen!?"

"When I think about how many Americans were killed in NYC and believing as I do, that this thing was a set up job. This is a textbook operation that the Nazis used, over and over again. America has been suckered in one more time."



For the last thing the men behind the curtain want is a conscience, informed public capable of critical thinking. Which is why a continually fraudulent zeitgeist is output via religion, the mass media and the educational system. They seek to keep you in a distracted, naive bubble. And they are doing a damn good job of it.



Wake Up!! 9/11 was staged by our government to get us pissed off and ready from some revenge. All for the war economy just so some bankers can fill their pockets with blood money. And "you" are just a pone in their sick game of chess.

Answer 13

army is better equiped, has longer deployments, has faster promotions, their infantry is jack of all trades infantry, and has a larger training budget (means more and better training). plus you have the chance to do something extra like airborne, etc.



marines have shorter deployments, better press coverage (not always a good thing), has infantry that is more trained in one specific area (rifleman, machine gunner, etc)



pay is based off rank and time in service.

Answer 14

Sign up to be an Army Ranger. More fighting, more pay, heavier rucksacks, jump from airplanes. Start studying the Ranger Creed now. Just don't show up expecting a cakewalk. How well do you swim? Look into the SEALS or PJ/CCT