# Why are Marines (US) not "soldiers"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2025, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254 "2025-09-21T06:31:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/101 "2025-09-22T15:45:00Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Besides, the U.S. military does not own the English language. And the British and the Japanese. But more importantly, nor do you. I get ya. Good luck changing the way that millions of people have done for hundreds of years because you have your own definition. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/102 "2025-09-22T15:49:13Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I mean I get the confusion for Marines, but Navy? And fwiw, if i wanted to talk about the kind of military personal who fight on land, I’d probably go with “infantry”, although i guess “cavalry” has been replaced by people who ride in motorized vehicles (tanks, cars, anything in between) so infantry is not a super word. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/103 "2025-09-22T15:57:49Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Fwiw, i also use “sailors” to refer to people who sail boats. Such as members of the [Merchant Marine.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Merchant_Marine) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/104 "2025-09-22T16:08:52Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Yes, until i read this thread i would have called every one of those “soldiers”. That would be rather like calling everyone who works in a hospital “doctor.” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/105 "2025-09-22T17:08:56Z")
I don’t think so, that’s what the army does, calling chaplains and system analysts “soldier”. I think it’s more like using “doctor” generically to include MDs, osteopaths, veterinarians, nurse practitioners, EMTs, and other people who are in the front line of delivering medical care. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/106 "2025-09-22T17:12:50Z")
Soldier of Fortune Soldier of God Animal doctor These are both generic words as well as specific words ---
**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:** [September 22, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/107 "2025-09-22T17:30:29Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Yes, I’d call any member of any military group a soldier. I mean, after reading this thread, I’ll try not to, because it’s like misgendering people. But i would have. Interesting. I have no military background, but I wouldn’t have thought of “soldiers” as a general term for all military members. Maybe due to my deep historical research into the tomes of Professor Forester. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/108 "2025-09-22T17:31:18Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > That would be rather like calling everyone who works in a hospital “doctor.” The rule at MIT used to be: If he’s wearing a tie, call him “Professor.” If he has a beard, call him “Dean.” When in doubt, call him “Doctor.” ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/109 "2025-09-22T17:37:30Z")
It may very well be that something is getting lost in translation, but [this WELT documentary](https://youtu.be/CcgDyxADsiM?si=XUwbc4M6B0IJiYOK) on YouTube refers to the crew of German submarine as “soldiers”. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/110 "2025-09-22T17:53:21Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > And fwiw, if i wanted to talk about the kind of military personal who fight on land, I’d probably go with “infantry”, although i guess “cavalry” has been replaced by people who ride in motorized vehicles (tanks, cars, anything in between) so infantry is not a super word. And you miss out on the artillery, which is not part of the infantry. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/111 "2025-09-22T17:59:25Z")
And for cavalry there is not just trucks but also the helicopters, the air cavalry. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/112 "2025-09-22T18:03:26Z")
And APCs. And IFVs/CFVs. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/113 "2025-09-22T18:05:33Z")
Marines used to have “cavalry:” horse patrols to guard naval bases and larger embassies. They also had Abrams tanks until 2020. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/114 "2025-09-22T18:45:32Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I don’t think so, that’s what the army does, calling chaplains and system analysts “soldier”. Systems analysts might be soldiers, but chaplains and most medical personnel typically are not. They even get a different version of their military ID card—which also serves as a Geneva Conventions identification card—indicating they are noncombatants. People serving in noncombatant roles typically advertise this with a Red Cross (as with USNS [hospital ships](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospital_ship) or [MASH](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Army_Surgical_Hospital) units). Noncombatants are permitted to defend themselves and their patients, but must not engage in offensive operations. (The situation is a little more blurry with medics and corpsmen on the battlefield. They are non-combatants if they are performing a medical role, but they carry weapons to defend themselves and do not display a Red Cross. And If they join in any offensive operations, they forfeit their noncombatant status.) > [@What\_Exit](#): > > I’m confused, would you call a member of the US Navy a soldier? > > I mean I get the confusion for Marines, but Navy? > [@puzzlegal](#): > > Yes, I’d call any member of any military group a soldier. I find it pretty odd that anyone, even someone not versed in military terminology, would call someone serving in the Navy a “soldier”. I mean, even little kids have heard of Popeye the **Sailor** , who [joined the U.S. Navy](https://popeye.fandom.com/wiki/The_Mighty_Navy) in 1941 and wore a Navy uniform [for decades thereafter](https://www.military.com/off-duty/movies/2020/12/03/he-wasnt-always-sailor-man-heres-surprisingly-complicated-military-career-of-popeye.html). ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/115 "2025-09-22T18:48:42Z")
Well, Popeye was obviously a sailor. And i don’t think it was ever obvious he was a military sailor, at least, i never knew that as a kid watching the show. (See my comment above about my being a mediocre sailor) But even if I’d known he was in the Navy, and thought that he was also a soldier, that’s like saying that an apple is a kind a fruit. IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/116 "2025-09-22T19:07:57Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > But even if I’d known he was in the Navy, and thought that he was also a soldier, that’s like saying that an apple is a kind a fruit. And yet, for some reason, people want to call marines (tangerines) a kind of soldier (apple). Maybe the closest analogue is people who call all carbonate soft drinks (soda) coke. Pepsi might be a kind of “coke” to you, but your use is idiosyncratic. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/117 "2025-09-22T19:58:42Z")
There’s “Soldier” as a proper noun, meaning someone in the US Army, and then small-s soldier, meaning a member of a country’s armed forces. Sailor is even more odd, in that small-s sailors can mean the people on “Below Deck”, not just military sailors. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2025, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/118 "2025-09-22T20:04:41Z")
US Navy personnel are generally not soldiers. Most of don’t touch hand held weapons, a few man really big guns. There are a few exceptions like Seals and sometimes Seabees, but generally, we’re not soldiers and have less training in gun use and hand to hand fighting then most southerners. Onboard carriers, we actually have a small Marine detachment, so not even the Master-at-Arms have firearms, at least most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/119 "2025-09-22T20:09:53Z")
> [@bump](#): > > then small-s soldier, meaning a member of a country’s armed forces. Generally not. Like @What_Exit was saying. Not even for the Air Force. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2025, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254/120 "2025-09-22T20:47:55Z")
> [@bump](#): > > There’s “Soldier” as a proper noun, meaning someone in the US Army, and then small-s soldier, meaning a member of a country’s armed forces. Cite? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-marines-us-not-soldiers/1023254.md?page=7)