The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection, using the mobility of the United States Navy to, by Congressional mandate, rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces on land, at sea, and in the air. The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the four armed service branches in the U.S. Department of Defense and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking military officer in the U.S. armed forces, is a Marine Corps general.
The Marine Corps has been a component of the U.S. Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834, working closely with naval forces for training, transportation, and logistics. The USMC operates posts on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world, and several of the Marines' tactical aviation squadrons, primarily Marine Fighter Attack squadrons, are also embedded in Navy carrier air wings and operate from the Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.[9]
Two battalions of Continental Marines were formed on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as a service branch of infantry troops capable of fighting for independence both at sea and on shore. The role of the Corps has since grown and evolved, expanding to aerial warfare and earning popular titles such as, "America's third air force", and, "second land army". The United States Marine Corps has distinguished itself as it has served in the majority of American wars and armed conflicts, from its inception to the modern era, and attained prominence in the 20th century when its theories and practices of amphibious warfare proved prescient and ultimately formed the cornerstone of the Pacific theater of World War II.
By the mid-20th century, the U.S. Marine Corps had become a major theorist of and the world's dominant practitioner of amphibious warfare. Its ability to rapidly respond on short notice to expeditionary crises gives it a strong role in the implementation and execution of American foreign policy. As of 2016, the USMC has around 182,000 active duty members and some 38,900 reserve Marines. It is the smallest of the U.S. armed forces within the U.S. DoD.
"Grand old man of the Marine Corps," longest-serving Commandant -
BGen Archibald Henderson
"Grand old man of the Marine Corps," longest-serving Commandant of the Marine Corps (1820–1859) (5th Commandant of the Marine Corps)
first woman to join the United States Marine Corps -
Sgt Opha Mae Jacob Johnson
In 1918, as World War I was coming to an end, the number of male Marines deployed overseas led to the Marine Corps allowing women to enlist for the first time, filling the vacancies (primarily administrative) left by the deployed Marines. On August 13, 1918, approximately 300 women enlisted in the Marine Corps reserves, with Opha Mae Johnson being the first. Her first duties were as a clerk at the Headquarters of the Marine Corps (HQMC) in Arlington, Virginia, managing the records of other female reservists, eventually becoming the Duty Quartermaster Clerk, Quartermaster Division.
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Leading up to the American Revolution, a committee of the Continental Congress met to draft a resolution calling for two battalions of Marines able to fight for independence at sea and on shore. The resolution was approved on November 10, 1775, officially forming the Continental Marines.
As the first order of business, Samuel Nicholas became captain and commanding officer of the newly formed Marines and visited numerous public inns and taverns throughout the city of Philadelphia to begin recruiting. One of his first recruits was popular patriot and tavern owner Robert Mullan. Capt Mullan owned Tun Tavern, which subsequently became part of military lore as the birthplace of the Marine Corps.
