# How do the branches of the (US) military differ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2019, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050 "2019-07-14T02:20:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/21 "2019-07-14T17:54:06Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > I don’t think the Coast Guard was ever part of Commerce. It was part of the Department of Transportation from 1967 to 2003 and part of the Treasury before that. And technically part of the Navy during World War 2. Aaah… I got Treasury and Commerce mixed up. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/22 "2019-07-14T18:05:48Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > You’r describing them as if they’re supposed to fight three separate wars. In fact, the branches are designed to work together: the Navy and Air Force gets the Army where it needs to go and supports it when it’s there, while the Army does stuff like take and hold ports and airfields to support the Navy and Air Force. Their job isn’t to fight the enemy in different places - it’s to fight the enemy wherever the enemy is, with whatever means they have at their disposal. Here are the actual mission statements: “The mission of the United States Air Force is to fly, fight and win in air, space and cyberspace”" “To deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars by providing ready, prompt and sustained land dominance by Army forces across the full spectrum of conflict as part of the joint force.” “The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas.” “The mission of the United States Coast Guard is to ensure our Nation’s maritime safety, security and stewardship.” And the USMC’s somewhat more murky mission statement: “As America’s expeditionary force in readiness since 1775, the U.S. Marines are forward deployed to win our Nation’s battles swiftly and aggressively in times of crisis. We fight on land, sea and air, as well as provide forces and detachments to naval ships and ground operations.” That’s why we have joint commands. Above a certain level, the services have to interact with and rely on each other to get the overall job done, both logistically and combat-wise. An Air Force bomber can’t really go do its job of bombing the enemy if the logistical troops of the Army and Navy aren’t doing their job to supply munitions and fuel, and if say… a Navy Construction Battalion (Seabees) didn’t build the airfield. But at their core, each service has its own particular sphere of operations- air, sea and land for the Air Force, Navy and Army. That’s because the nature of operations in each sphere is pretty different for each- mounting an effective strategic bombing campaign is much different than blockading an enemy’s ports, both of which are very different from invading an enemy’s homeland on the ground. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/23 "2019-07-14T18:15:06Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Legally? How so? In 1947, the USAF broke off the US Army officially. Prior to that, they’d been semi-independent through most of WWII- the USAAF officers sat as equals with the Army and Navy officers in planning meetings, and was effectively a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, equal to the Navy and Army. With the official split in 1947, the Key West agreement defined the split- the Air Force got control of all fixed-wing aircraft, while the Army got to keep rotary-wing helicopters as direct ground support. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/24 "2019-07-14T18:27:26Z")
Do the Marines even get involved in anything amphibious these days? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/25 "2019-07-14T18:35:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth one of **Flyer** ’s cites: > > The Northland was the first American unit to make contact with the enemy in World War II… Surely the Arizona had it beat? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/26 "2019-07-14T20:20:31Z")
> [@bump](#): > > With the official split in 1947, the Key West agreement defined the split- the Air Force got control of all fixed-wing aircraft, while the Army got to keep rotary-wing helicopters as direct ground support. Definitely not all fixed wing. A friend of mine was an Army fixed wing pilot. There are limited numbers but they have them. The Air Force wasn’t interested in the ground reconnaissance role so they had no problem with the OV-1 Mohawk in Vietnam. I heard the AF wasn’t too happy when they found out the Army was arming them. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/27 "2019-07-14T21:33:55Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > As the saying goes, there are only two branches of the military the Army and the Navy. The Air Force is a corporation and the Marine Corps is a cult. > [@Loach](#): > > The Marines were the principle force during several well known operations in the Pacific but there were more soldiers than Marines in theater and the Army had more killed and wounded. The Marines have better PR and many think they conducted the war in the Pacific by themselves. Harry Truman, is that you? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/28 "2019-07-14T23:27:10Z")
> [@bump](#): > > With the official split in 1947, the Key West agreement defined the split- the Air Force got control of all fixed-wing aircraft, while the Army got to keep rotary-wing helicopters as direct ground support. The Key West Agreement was a policy paper, not a law. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2019, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/29 "2019-07-14T23:46:53Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Any of the battles we won in the PTO 1942-45? 😛 Even the amphibious operations in the Pacific were dominantly a US Army affair. IIRC the army outnumbered the Marines Corps by about 5 to one in combat operations in the Pacific. The Marines were simply too small to carry the load. That’s even when accounting for their wartime expansion and that they didn’t have to participate in the major European/African amphibious landings. In the Pacific there were large USMC amphibious operations like seizing Iwo Jima where the US Army saw no involvement or only provided minimal support forces. Then there’s fights like Guadalcanal that the Marines are famous for. The USMC conducted the initial landings with the 1st Marine Division. They were the troops on the ground during the desperate period where the US Navy was still clawing for control of the sea lanes to resupply them. They then got replaced by a US Army Corps composed of two Army infantry divisions and one USMC division. The Marines earned their reputation for some of the hardest fighting. The reality was the total ground fight was a mixed component affair. Then there’s Okinawa. We all know the iconic picture. We might think of that as a USMC fight as a result. Command for the [operation](https://www.6thinfantry.com/the-battle-of-luzon-compared-with-other-battles-of-world-war-ii/) fell to a US Army headquarters, 10th Army. 10th Army was composed of 7 divisions - 4 US Army and 3 USMC. The USMC fielded 6 divisions total during World War II. That’s it. The USMC in it’s entirety wasn’t big enough for Okinawa. The first troops to land weren’t even USMC. The 77th Infantry Division hit the beaches first. It was an Army led fight with significant USMC involvement. Some Marines got their picture in the paper…in **every** paper. MacArthur first returned to the Phillipines through Leyte. That was a very large US Army operation, including the amphibious landings. IIRC the biggest USMC participation was something on the lines of lone artillery battalion. The order of battle for the US 6th Army at Leyte was 1 cavalry division, 1 airborne division, and 4 infantry divisions. There was also an additional parachute infantry regiment. The 20th Armored group wouldn’t have had command and control of the independent tank battalions but that would have been armor forces in near divisional strength. Putting 20th Armored together with the extra parachute infantry regiment means we’re looking at a division plus of combat power reinforcing the other divisions. That puts total US Army troop commitments of 7+ divisions. The entire USMC couldn’t have provided that much combat power. They also couldn’t provide the mechanized capabilities the US Army brought to that fight with just their internal armor. Then there was the even bigger Battle of Luzon. It was for the largest island of the Phillipines and included Manila. The battle iinvolved ten divisions and 5 independent regiments ([Cite](https://olive-drab.com/od_history_ww2_ops_battles_1944philippines.php)). If were going with divisional equivalents it’s between 11 and 12. Again compare to the entire USMC ground force structure of six divisions. Luzon saw three separate landings. One landing was supported by combat jumps of the 11th Airborne. The USMC didn’t even possess airborne capability. No USMC divisions were involved in the Battle of Luzon. The USMC gave excellent service in PTO. There’s a giant “but” that needs to be appended,though. …but they were way to small to win the war against Japan. Ground operations, especially the largest ground operations in the Pacific were dominated by the US Army. We couldn’t (and overwhelmingly didn’t) recapture the Philippines with the USMC. Without the US Army, there’s no iconic flag raising on Mt Suribachi by Marines. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/30 "2019-07-15T00:22:30Z")
The Marine Corps is part of the Navy., It falls under the administration of the Department of the Navy. > **[Why Are Marines Part of the Navy?](https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/1763150/why-are-marines-part-of-the-navy/)** > > Did you ever wonder why the Marine Corps is part of the Department of the Navy?  The Air Force was created in 1947 from the Army Air Corps. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/31 "2019-07-15T02:59:55Z")
I get the USMC is a cult bit, but why the comparison of the USAF to a corporation? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/32 "2019-07-15T03:03:04Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > The A-10 is being phased out by the Air Force and the Army & Marines don’t like it. The A-10 better known as the Warthog is not a primary bombing plane at all. It is an attack and especially a ground support jet. OK yes, its main method of attack isn’t bombs, it’s a huge gatling gun. (It does have the ability to drop bombs.) It’s a close-air-support plane to help direct combat operations involving infantry and cavalry. It’s a key component of modern combat. The Wikipedia entry about this plane does not indicate that it’s actually being phased out of service. That has been proposed, but apparently delayed indefinitely. It says they can keep on going until 2040. I’m by no means an expert on this, someone who was in the Air Force or another branch of the military that had direct experience with the A-10 may have a more definitive comment. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/33 "2019-07-15T03:16:17Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I get the USMC is a cult bit, but why the comparison of the USAF to a corporation? 😕 The Air Force is often ridiculed as the “Chair Force;” also known for comfy amenities like air conditioning, nice comfy quarters while abroad, getting good food, etc. Also is known for being a stickler to the book and stifling creativity. Everything must be tidy and neat. Home for military nerds wearing glasses and having engineering degrees (the other such place might be navy squid officers). All kinds of overpriced high tech and gadgets. There is a joke that if ordered to destroy an enemy target, the Army would blow it up, whereas the Air Force would take out a 10-year lease on the enemy building with an option to buy. (something like that) (disclaimer: I am nothing but a civilian going by the rumors I’ve heard - no first hand experience) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/34 "2019-07-15T11:27:57Z")
As I recall, The Air Force was the Country Club service. Marines looked down on the Navy as out of shape non-combatants. Navy thought the Marines were a bunch of crazy self-propelled sandbags. Navy & Marines could generally agree that the Army was _Fill in the blank insult_. But all 3 services agreed the Air Force had it very cushy and thus the Country Club label. Most Air Force jokes consisted about their complaining about some lack of a luxury that the other 3 services would consider a rare treat. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/35 "2019-07-15T12:56:57Z")
When my uncle was stationed in Germany in the Army, he loved getting sent on errands over to the Air Force part of the base. They got the same rations that the Army did, but unlike the Army, they actually made an effort to do something with them, with the result that the food was much better. In other words, the Air Force is more comfortable, because they choose to be more comfortable, because why wouldn’t they? The Army’s suffering is self-inflicted. ---
**Author:** ![txjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@txjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txjim)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/36 "2019-07-15T13:15:21Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The Marine Corps is part of the Navy., It falls under the administration of the Department of the Navy. > [Why Are Marines Part of the Navy? \> U.S. Department of Defense \> Story](https://www.defense.gov/explore/story/Article/1763150/why-are-marines-part-of-the-navy/) > … The Marines I know tell me that’s only true until they learn to walk on water. The Coast Guard also has a role equivalent to EPA Superfund for waterways and coastlines. My wife, former Superfund division, often coordinated with her CG counterparts and issued task orders when EPA activities extended into CG territory ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/37 "2019-07-15T13:21:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The Army’s suffering is self-inflicted. Army personnel have a harder life in relation to the Air Force because their core mission is fundamentally harder and in harsher conditions. Life in the field is just harder than life on a non-moving, military base, largely removed from the field. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/38 "2019-07-15T13:30:45Z")
Except that this was life on a non-moving permanent base. The soldiers there weren’t “in the field” any more than the flyboys were, and yet the Army still chose to suffer. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/39 "2019-07-15T13:46:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > When my uncle was stationed in Germany in the Army, he loved getting sent on errands over to the Air Force part of the base. They got the same rations that the Army did, but unlike the Army, they actually made an effort to do something with them, with the result that the food was much better. In other words, the Air Force is more comfortable, because they choose to be more comfortable, because why wouldn’t they? The Army’s suffering is self-inflicted. This was my experience throughout my career. The AF had better living facilities, better recreation facilities, and most definitely better chow halls. I was shocked to see an ice cream station in one of them. On deployment to an AFB in Japan, I had my own room in a barracks. Compare that to the main deployment site, where it was open bay living with partition walls. The chow hall actually had choices for meals and would open in the evening for burgers and the like. Worst food ever: the Marines. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2019, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050/40 "2019-07-15T14:10:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > When my uncle was stationed in Germany in the Army, he loved getting sent on errands over to the Air Force part of the base. They got the same rations that the Army did, but unlike the Army, they actually made an effort to do something with them, with the result that the food was much better. In other words, the Air Force is more comfortable, because they choose to be more comfortable, because why wouldn’t they? The Army’s suffering is self-inflicted. The Army’s garrison suffering is often budget-inflicted. The Air Force throws more money at quality of life issues. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-the-branches-of-the-us-military-differ/837050.md?page=3)