I will admit that there is mythology surrounding Marines, but is there not mythology surrounding Banking? If you say to an average person you’re working at Goldman Sachs they’ll paint a picture of you (and it may be very different than what you in fact are). If you say you’re a Marine people paint a different picture of you than if you say you’re in the national guard. Isn’t this a part of what makes something elite? People attribute qualities to you because of your affiliation to XYZ. Marines command a very disproportionate amount of respect from people in the service and outside. Most myths are based on truths.
There probably used to be some truth about the Marines being the baddest MF’s in town, but I don’t think there’s much truth to it anymore. Of course, the Marines would never admit that. They still claim to be the “elite” group of the military. But in reality, they’re just the stupidest and stubbornest of the military.
If the Army does 2 inspections per week, the Marines will do 3. (for absolutely no reason other than to claim to be “tougher” than the Army)
If the Army runs 2 miles, the Marines will run 3.
If the Army qualifies at 300 yards (on the rifle range), then the Marines will qualify at 500.
If the Army boot camp is 10 weeks long, then the Marines will make theirs 13 weeks.
Absolutely none of these make the Marines more “elite” or “legendary” or “mythological”. It just makes them stupider. More rules, more regulations, more bullshit, more stupidity, more ego, more mouthy, more arrogant, more in-your-face about it, but no more elite.
I’m not too impressed when someone tells me they were/are a Marine or Army. Now if they say they are a Navy Seal…I would think they are tougher and better in combat. Is this also just a perception?
No, that’s not just perception. If somebody was a Navy Seal (Army Delta or Green Beret, AF Parajumper, Marine Force Recon, or Army/Marine Sniper), then they’re pretty much a genuinely bad MF.
I would NOT put the Army Rangers or paratroopers in this category. The Rangers are more like an advanced version of the infantry, but not elite. The paratroopers are Rangers who jump out of airplanes. A little more advanced, but certainly doesn’t rise to elite status.
I disagree, Rangers are an elite unit on par with Seals or SF and are the Army’s main direct action unit. Some units have done very well with marketing themselves to the public, Rangers and SF tend not to do that apparently.
Another thing is that due to that perception, Marines also carry a lot of political clout when it comes to things like budgeting etc.
An uncle who was a Marine Corps Colonel told me that the Marines are badder-ass3d because their principle unit o organization is the infantryman with a rifle, wheras the army is organized around armored divisions, navy around ships, and the air force around planes. This leads to the sense that the Marines are the most “expendable” and therefore have to fight harder and more furiously. I guess that’s part of the mythology, but it does sound like a good story.