No
No American Military man swears any oath of personal loyalty to the President or anybody else.
Oaths are given to the Constitution, only.
That’s not exacly what I meant. In all the examples I brought, the elite military forces believed that they were seperate and better than the rest of the military (and received the according honors), and they believed that it was their duty to preserve the integrity of the nation. Don’t the Marines think they’re America’s finest fighting force? Don’t they see themselves as Democracy’s last line of defense? In past empires, the unifying element was the emperor, an individual; in the U.S., it’s the Constitution
Think of it this way: if the unthinkable happened, and the U.S. Army decided to stage a coup, would their ancient enemy the USMC take part? Or would they stand and fight?
The Marines’ job is to keep an eye on the Army - and vice versa.
(Of course, as I said, YMMV.)
As Marine Keifer Sutherland said in A Few Good Men
“I like all you Navy boys. Anytime we have to go fight, you always give us a ride.”
I’m not sure you really understand us. In America, at least, we don’t think that way. It’s just not a possibility we consider. It certainly was never a deliberate design feature. The marines enjoy no closer access to power than the army, or the navy or the air force.
Exactly.
For example, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff may be an officer from any of the armed services.
Another example: The officer who accompanies the President at all times with the satchel containing the daily nuclear launch codes is one of the rotating Presidential Military Aides (one from each of the five service branches).
And the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reports to the Secretary of Defense who is a civilian appointed by the President and confirmed by Congress. I have never heard of any special coup protections here. The whole system is hopelessly entangled as a system of checks and balances and then chained to the Constitution that I don’t see how a military coup could ever begin in the U.S. at all.
The Marines at the White House are primarily ceremonial. The U.S. Secret Service is responsible for security of the White House, the presideent and his family. That’s not to say that the Marines don’t have a roll in the event of a secuity breach.
Well, we do promise in that oath to follow the lawful orders of the President of the United States and those appointed over us.
Hmm. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Public Health Service. What’s the seventh?
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Like the Publich Health Service, they also have a Commissioned Corps.
Links to each of the seven uniformed services:
Army
Navy *Doesn’t seem to work on this computer, though.
Marine Corps *Doesn’t seem to work on this computer, though.
Air Force
Coast Guard
Public Health Service
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Oh, I don’t think that way either., nor do I believe it was a deliberate design feature (although the Marine motto is interesting, in context). I was just noting a historical parallel.
The Marines are usually used as a first-in and first-out attack service. All in all, they’re probably only a little better trained than the Army, but have a higher morale, and seem to enjoy their reputation as tough-as-nails and smooth-as-sandpaper.
But the Army’s actually getting pretty slick these days, themselves.
I would suggest reading Patrick O’Brien, while he was an old fraud, his books are readable.
Consider the difference between the UK Royal Air Force and the Paratroop Regiment.
One is the postal service, and the other is the letter bomb.
Well, also the President has several Marine helicopters at his disposal for short trips to and from the White House, so one often sees footage of him walking past a dress-uniformed Marine (who gives him a salute, which the Prez may choose to return) when he embarks of disembarks.
The Marines take ground. The Army holds it.
According to my husband, the Marine, the Navy is a taxi service for the Marines. They transport them to troubled areas where they are first strike. They open a hole in the area for the Army to pour through.
TIme for an old joke.
The Marine Corps is part of the Department of the Navy.
It’s the mens department.
of course implying that the Navy is the boys department, or maybe lingerie. You know, like in a store? Hey don’t blame me, I’m not a Marine.
Doesn’t the USMC handle security at US embassies? How did they come to take on this role, other than they seem to be the oldest corps in the US armed forces?
The various Guards regiments are no different than any other, save a more prominent ceremonial role, and a higher social cache for the officers. All British soldiers owe their allegiance to the Crown, so I don’t think that the Guards can be fairly compared to the Praetorians.