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.

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An ANGLICO team on a rooftop in Iraq
credit: USMC Concepts and Programs manual

Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Companies are specialized units that coordinate artillery, naval gunfire support and close air support for the Marine Corps, other American force, and allies militaries. ANGLICOs provide artillery observers, forward air controllers, and joint terminal attack controllers to ground combat element units, and allow a Marine Expeditionary Force to organically control indirect fire and aviation assets. ANGLICO teams can also be provided to non-Marine units for the coordination of indirect fires and air support.

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Quotes

"...the Marine Corps is committed to protecting your liberties and your freedoms.... If you take nothing away from this talk, I’d hope you understand and appreciate what a remarkable group of young people currently serve in your Armed Forces today. Want to know what Marine Generals talk about when we are together? We talk about what a remarkable privilege it is to lead these extraordinary Americans."

— Major General Michael R. Lehnert, USMC (2006)

Commanding General, Marine Corps Installations West

New articles relating to the United States Marine Corps

• VMO-4 — 16 Apr 2009
• MAG-40 — 10 Apr 2009
• John F. Bolt — 10 Apr 2009
• VMA-543 — 19 Mar 2009
• Ross E. Rowell — 19 Mar 2009
• Wilburt S. Brown — 15 Mar 2009
• VMB-433 — 11 Mar 2009
• Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara — 8 Mar 2009
• VMSB-236 — 7 Mar 2009
• 2nd Dental Battalion — 4 Mar 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
• Marine Corps History Division
• Who's Who in Marine Corps History
• Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipients
• Marine Corps Community
• Marine Corps Times

Selected biography

Douglas G. Hurley is a distinguished Marine Naval Aviator and NASA astronaut. After distinguishing himself as a F/A-18 Hornet pilot at VMFA(AW)-225, and was selected to attend the United States Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in 1997. As a test pilot, he became the first Marine to pilot the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. He is currently scheduled to fly the Space Shuttle during STS-127 on July 11, 2009, to install components onto the International Space Station.

Marines in the news

• Marine Lt. Col. Doug Hurley, the first Marine to fly the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, was delayed from piloting his first Space Shuttle mission, when the June 13, 2009 launch was delayed due to a hydrogen leak.(Marine Corps Times, June 13, 2009.)
• Marine Week, held from 11 to 17 May 2009, allowed the citizens of Chicago and the nearby areas the chance to see the Marine Corps close up. Events included visits from various units as well as the Drum & Bugle Corps & Silent Drill Platoon, static displays of equipment, sports clinics, law enforcement clinics, and community service events. (Marine website, Marine Corps Times, Reuters)
• LCpl Brady Gustafson, a machine gunner with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion 7th Marines, recieved the Navy Cross and a meritorious promotion on March 27th for actions in Afghanistan on July 21, 2008. Despite his right leg being amputated below the knee, he refused medical evacuation and continued fighting to good effect until his fellow Marines were safe from the enemy. (Marine Corps News, April 6, 2009; Marine Corps Times, Mar 30, 2009)
• The New York Times will now call Marines Marines in print.(Marine Corps Times, Feb 26, 2009; New York Times, Feb 18, 2009)

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

Did you know...

• ...that reservist LtCol Rob Riggle's only deployment to Iraq has been as a correspondant for The Daily Show?^[1][2][3]
• ...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?
• ...that Marine Corps Major Peter Ortiz, the most decorated person in the U.S. military to have served in the OSS, previously served in the French Foreign Legion?[1]
  
• ... that the World War II Marine Corps Air Station in Santa Barbara (pictured) is now home to the University of California, Santa Barbara and the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport?

This month in Marine history

• On July 11, 1798, President John Adams re-established the Marine Corps after the Continental Marines were disbanded in 1783.
• In July 1861, a company of Marines joined the Union Army in retreat after losing the First Battle of Bull Run.
• On July 1, 1920, Major General John A. Lejeune became the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps.
• On July 15, 1958, the 2nd Battalion 2nd Marines landed in Beirut, Lebanon for Operation Blue Bat.
• In July 1966, Marines attacked the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone as part of Operation Hastings.

Things you can do

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

• Collaboration — Robert McFarlane

• Requested articles: 15th Marine Regiment  • I Marine Amphibious Corps  • Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 (currently redirects)   • Rathvon M. Tompkins   • Marine Security Force Bermuda

• Requested images: Marine Corps Ball images

• Expand: Fort Riviere • Chemical Biological Incident Response Force • 28th Marine Regiment • China Marines • V Amphibious Corps

• Citations: challenge coin • Battle of Abu Ghraib • Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company

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

Templates

{{USMCportallink}} - to add portal link
{{USMC-stub}} - for USMC articles that need expansion
{{USMC-bio-stub}} - for biographies of Marines that need expansion
{{US Marine Corps navbox}} - to include the navigational box
{{PD-USGov-Military-Marines}} - to mark an image as USMC-created

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