What do the Marines have that the Navy doesn't have?

Answer 1

It depends entirely on what you wish to achieve as far as a military career. Both branches have their own unique ups and downs, so what you want to do is the deciding factor.

Few people realize that the Navy and Marines are separate branches under the Department of the Navy. The Marines are essentially the Department of the Navy's land-based attack and security force, as well as sea-based security force for some larger Navy vessels. Though they are an independent force, both work very closely with each other.

The Marines are trained as some of the best killers on the planet - anyone who tells you different is BS'ing you. All Marines are trained as riflemen first, anything else second. It is why their training is more unique than the other branches, and why they are often tasked with leading difficult missions. As an example, it was the Marine 1st Recon Division that spearheaded the invasion of Iraq, not an Army division. If you're looking for a career down the road in government security, police, etc., then the Marines is the way to go.

2 things that are vastly different between the 2 branches - the Marines typically have to do with less (money, supplies, etc.) than the Navy does, or the other branches for that matter. Marines are taught to deal with less so that they can learn to survive in situations where they might not have much available.

The second is family - the Marines are typically harder on families than the other branches, both in attitude and due to the type of assignments they get. Not that they're any different than most sailors who are on long deployments, but the Marines have never really embraced anything that isn't issued to you as being of particular importance. Not all Marine commands are like that, but it's still prevalent.

For technical careers, the Navy is top dog for all the branches. There is no career in the Navy that doesn't have a civilian equivalent, from nuclear engineering to being a cook. The Navy also has its own brand of badasses, as you well know.

One thing that few people who enter the military realize, and something you should consider if you're thinking about joining - to get any real experience that will do you any good after you leave, you really need to put in at least 6-8 years. Anything less is a waste. Most will leave between 8-12 years - after 12, it's not worth leaving since you're close enough to retirement.

You can check my bio page if you want to see where the Navy took me. I have friends and family who were also Marines - in general, most of the people I know who were sailors wound up better off after they left.

If you haven't seen it, you should get the DVD set of "Generation Kill" - it's one of the best modern series on current Marine life (and military life in general) that's been released in recent years.