Portal:United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps Portal

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the U.S. military responsible for providing power projection from the sea, utilizing the mobility of the U.S. Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces to global crises. Alongside the U.S. Navy, the Marine Corps operates under the United States Department of the Navy.

Originally organized as the Continental Marines on November 10, 1775 as naval infantry, the Marine Corps would evolve its mission with changing military doctrine and American foreign policy. Owing to the availability of Marines at sea, the Marine Corps has served in every American armed conflict going back to the Revolutionary War. It attained prominence in the 20th century when its theories and practice of amphibious warfare proved prescient, and ultimately formed a cornerstone of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Its ability to rapidly respond to regional crises continues to make it an important body in the implementation and execution of American foreign policy.

The Marine Corps, with 193,000 active duty and 40,000 reserve Marines as of April 2008, is the smallest of the United States' armed forces in the Department of Defense (the United States Coast Guard, about one fifth the size of the Marine Corps, is under the Department of Homeland Security). The Corps is nonetheless larger than the entire armed forces of many significant military powers; for example, it is larger than the Israeli Defense Forces.

Selected article

Photo credit: LCpl Antonio J. Vega, 10 April, 2002.

Urban warfare, better known as Military Operations in Urban Terrain in the United States, is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the operational and tactical level, complicated by factors such asthe presence of civilians and the complexity of the urban terrain.

Tactics are complicated by a three-dimensional environment, limited fields of view and fire because of buildings, enhanced concealment and cover for defenders, below ground infrastructure, and the ease of placement of booby traps and snipers. Distinguishing civillians and other non-belligerant parties from combatants, such as armed militias, gangs, insurgents, and other potential hostile forces, can be quite difficult. The art of Close quarters combat is practiced to help overcome these.

Selected picture

Three MV-22 Ospreys with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162, detached to 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, land at an airport in Amman, Jordan on July 22, 2008. Aircraft from the squadron transported Senators Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) from Iraq's al-Anbar Province to Jordan on July 22.

Quotes

"Some people work an entire lifetime and wonder if they ever made a difference to the world. But the Marines don't have that problem."

— Ronald Reagan, September 23, 1983, in a letter to LCpl Joe Hickey

New articles relating to the United States Marine Corps

• Gordon D. Gayle—07 June 2010
• Lewis G. Merritt—07 June 2010
• Combat Logistics Battalion 46—09 Feb 2010
• United States Marine Corps History Division—2 February 2010
• 3rd Intelligence Battalion—23 January 2010
• James M. Masters, Sr.—11 January 2010
• MALS-40—17 Jan 2010
• Noncommissioned officer's creed—21 Oct 2009
• Blood stripe—11 Oct 2009

Categories

• Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipients
• United States Marine Corps aviation
• United States Marine Corps facilities
• United States Marine Corps history
• United States Marine Corps images
• United States Marine Corps ranks
• United States Marine Corps awards

United States Marine Corps lists

• List of active United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons
• List of United States Marine Corps battalions
• List of Marine Expeditionary Units
• List of weapons of the U.S. Marine Corps
• List of vehicles of the United States Marine Corps
• List of United States Marine Corps installations
• List of U.S. Marines

Web resources

• Official United States Marine Corps website
  • News, media, messages, orders, directives, and publications
  • Website of the United States Marine Corps History Division
    • Who's Who in Marine Corps History
  • Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipients
  • Online Library of the Marine Corps University
• Photographs and Art from the United States Naval Institute
• Website for the Marine Corps Association
• Website for the Marine Corps League
• Marine Corps Community at leatherneck.com
• Website for the Marine Corps Times

Selected biography

Sergeant Kristopher Battles is the sole war artist on active duty with the Marine Corps. He originally enlisted as a reservist computer operator in 1986. An artist in his private life, he voluntarily reenlisted for active duty to serve as a combat artist. In 2010, he began authoring a graphic novel series called Sharing the Courage, depicting the heroic actions of notable Marines in modern warfare, inaugurating the first issue with Sergeant Major Bradley Kasal.

Marines in the news

• James Conway's tenure as Commandant will end Nov. 13, 2010. The sitting Assistant Commandant, James F. Amos, was nominated by President Barack Obama on July 20th to succeed Conway.^[1][2][3] If confirmed by the Senate Armed Services Committee, his appointment would break the tradition of the Commandant being held by an infantry officer.^[4][5]
• The first MV-22 Osprey to be permanently stationed on the west coast was delivered to VMM-161 at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The squadron will be the first of 10 within 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing to transfer to the Osprey, with 8 at Miramar, the remaining two at Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton. The five east coast squadrons from 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing included VMMs -162, -261, -263, -264, -266, and -365.^[6]
• Marine special operators at MARSOC may receive a unique Military Occupational Specialty to reflect their status.(Marine Corps Times, Dec 7 2009 issue, p. 18^[7])

More USMC-related news can be found at usmc.mil or Marine Corps Times.

Did you know...

• ...that Cpl Matt Bradford was the first blind double amputee to reenlist in the Corps?^[8]
• ...that reservist LtCol Rob Riggle's only deployment to Iraq has been as a correspondant for The Daily Show?^[9][10][11]
• ...that Marine aviation began on May 22, 1912, when Lt Alfred Cunningham reported to Naval Aviation Camp at Annapolis, Maryland to become the first Marine Naval Aviator?
  
• ...that LtCol. John F. Bolt (pictured), Korean War Navy Cross recipient, remains the only U.S. Marine Corps jet aircraft flying ace?

This month in Marine history

• On August 24, 1814, the British spared the Marine Barracks during the Burning of Washington as a gesture of their respect for the brave conduct of the Marines at the Battle of Bladensburg.
• Enlisting on August 13, 1918, Opha Mae Johnson became the first female Marine.
• On August 2, 1942, Marines made the first landings in the Guadalcanal Campaign at Tulagi.
• On August 2, 1950, the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade reinforced the Pusan Perimiter to prevent the United Nations force from being swept out of Korea.
• On August 5, 1990, the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit evacuated the American Embassy in Monrovia due to the First Liberian Civil War.

Things you can do

Here are some things you can do to help expand our USMC content:

• Requested articles: Battle of Talasea, 15th Marine Regiment  • Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 (currently redirects to TECOM)   • Rathvon M. Tompkins   • Marine Security Force Bermuda

• Expand: Battle of Cape Gloucester, Chemical Biological Incident Response Force • 28th Marine Regiment • China Marines • Logistics Vehicle System Replacement

• Citations: Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company • Edson Range •Task Force Leatherneck

• Revert vandalism on this portal and on articles to do with the U.S. Marines.

Templates

{{portal|United States Marine Corps}} – to add portal link
{{USMC-stub}} – for USMC articles that need expansion
{{USMC-bio-stub}} – for biographies of Marines that need expansion
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{{PD-USGov-Military-Marines}} – to mark an image as USMC-created

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