The United States Marine Corps (also known as USMC ) is one of the six branches of the military of the United States in the United States Department of Defense . It was created in 1775 as a special maritime service .

Although it is part of the U.S. Naval Service , it is a separate military branch with its own special ranking structure. It also has its own Naval Aviation .

The Marines have been involved in many conflicts , and had important roles in key battles such as Tripoli , Iwo Jima , Guadalcanal , and Inchon Bay. Every Marine receives infantry training to be ready for battle at all times. Marine Corps training is also known for being especially challenging; at 13 weeks long, Marine Recruit Training is the longest basic training of the six military branches. United States Marines place a large emphasis on morale . This is reflected in their motto , semper fidelis (meaning "always faithful"), often shortened to semper fi .

History [ change | change source ]

Samuel Nicholas founded it. He was the first commissioned officer in the Corps. The birthplace of the Marines is in Philadelphia at the Tun Tavern.

Related pages [ change | change source ]

• A ship named after a Marine killed at Guadalcanal

Other websites [ change | change source ]

Listen to this article · (info)

This audio file was created from an article revision dated {{{2}}}, and does not play the most recent changes to the article. ( Audio help )

More spoken articles

• United States Marine Corps -Citizendium

This short article about the  United States can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it .

This short article about the  military can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it .