Why do we need the ARMY, NAVY, AIR FORCE and MARINES?

Factual Questions
1

I am glad we have all of our armed forces… but this is what I don’t understand, they all seem to overlap each other with the exception of the Coast Guard that is the Highway Patrol of the sea I’m told.

The Army has ground troops, airplanes and boats

The Navy has ground troops, airplanes and boats

The Air Force has Airplanes and I think boats too

The Marines has groundtroops, airplanes and boats

correct me if I am mistaken on any of these but my point is if they all have the same things then why aren’t they all one giant force that we could give a new name.

Right now 3 of the 4 mentioned above are trying to get me to join with promises of money for my education, free trips around the world and skills that will get me a kick ass job, so if I do join the military which one would be the least difficult as far as getting my ass chewed out every day.

2

It’s historical. These divisions are longstanding and entrenched, and nobody with the ability to do so has anything to gain from changing it.

They all report to the same Secretary of Defense, though.

3

The navy does not have any real ground troops that I am aware of.

The army does use airplanes for cargo and transport and whatnot, but they do not have any fighter, attack or bomber aircraft. Again, the army has some boats used for cargo and transport, but does not have battleships, aircraft carriers, submarines, and so on.

The air force, which used to be part of the army, operates aircraft from land bases. They also do most surveillance aircraft operation. (Back in the day, the CIA also had its own collection of U-2’s, but I believe they are no longer allowed to have their own aircraft.)

The navy has ships, boats and subs and operates aircraft from aircraft carriers.

The Marines are essentially the navy’s infantry. (They are no longer part of The Navy, but are part of the Department of the Navy.) They serve as guards on ships and naval installations, and they are the best at amphibian invasions. They also have lots of helicopters. They are generally a much lighter infantry than the army (for example, the Army relies a lot on big artillery, tanks, missle systems and so forth. The Marines rely more on infantry and light artillery.)

It’s good to have overlap (and there certainly is a lot).

4

The Army are designed to fight as a large force with heavy equipment and use combat(plus other) helicopters. They have boats, but they are pretty small or are transport oriented.

The Marines tend to fight more as a shock force with smaller numbers of more highly trained numbers.

The Navy is pretty much about ships and the occasional boat. Nobody else compares in this area. They have planes and helicopters which operate from carriers and are oriented around protecting the fleet among other missions. They don’t have ground troops per se. The marines pretty much fulfill that role(the Marines are considered to fall under the department of the navy in certain circumstances), but the Navy now uses their own people to provide security on board ship(so I’m told).

The Air Force is pretty much about planes, which they use to establish air superioty and perform airstrikes(often in support of the army, who aren’t allowed to have their own combat airplanes). THey have base security, but that’s as far as ground troops go.

Only the Army and Marines use tanks and heavy ground equipment, plus have significant number of ground troops. Only the Navy has combat vessals of any significance(if you want to be on a submarine, joining the Army is not a good move on your part). Only the Air force has heavy bombers.

If I’m wrong, somebody let me know. However, I think I’ve shown that the 4 branches are not the same.

5

I’ve often wodered if there would be any fiscal efficiencies to be gained by combining the various forces. Anyone have any data that would prove or disprove that concept?

JOhn.

6

No, they are very different.

The Army has combat helicopters & transports, but no bombers or fighters. They own a few transport vessels, but no seagoing warships. But mostly land based combat units that emphasis firepower.

The Navy has carrier-based aircraft, anti-warship speciality land-based aircraft, transport planes. It has specialty land troops, like SEALS (commandos) and Naval Security Specialists. Most combat watercraft, though.

The Marines are technically a part of the Navy, but are in fact the original Rapid Deployment Force. They specialize in doing much with little. They emphasise mobility & extreme training over the kind of massed firepower the Army prefers. Launching their attack from Navy ships at sea, they can deploy almost anywhere, and have been America’s strong right arm in sudden military crisises throughout our nation’s history. Amphibious Warfare, the art of getting a fighting force ashore in enemy territory is a difficult & challenging one, & the Marines excell at it. Their ships are chiefly small landing craft (excepting the Amphibious Warfare Motherships), and are properly called boats. Their aircraft are used for close air support of ground troops ( the Marines are better at this than any other branch of service), and to ward off attacking planes. Most of their aircraft are STOL/VTOL (Short Take-Off and Landing/Vertical Take-Off and Landing).

The Air Force are flyboys. They own small watercraft, but field no ground troops beyond security personnel, Air Rescue Special Forces Personnel, & and anti-terroriist team culled from these. Bombers, fighters here, and heavy lift transports aplenty. Historically, the AF dislikes Ground Attack specialty planes like the A-10 Warthog, believing that bombing alone cam bring a nation to its knees. As yet, that has never happened. They are the youngest service, & often have poor morale among enlisted men. Their Senior officers have a poor reputation as strategists.

One area that Army, Navy & Marines squabble over is Riverine Warfare–battle on rivers, lakes & marshland. Each has been in charge over the centuries, with varying results. Sometiimes, two branches of service compete at this in the same war, as in the US Civil War, or Vietnam.

7

The Marines are an amphibious force that it attached to the Navy. The invasion of Iraq was the longest invasion that they have ever performed. In the Pacific the Marines would take the beach and then the Army would come in and do the deeper invasion.

Marines do not carry guns, they carry rifles and pistols. There is a rhyme the goes “This is my rifle; this is my gun”, which someone else may enlighten you about. The Navy does not have boats, except in cases in which they would say you are getting nitpicky about.

The Army and the Air Force were the same unit until after the Second World War.

The Coast Guard is not part of the military, it is part of the Treausary Deptment.

There are some drawbacks to all of them being separate units, but one large military unit would be even worse. Maybe the word “bureaucracy” might ring a bell.

8

Actually it was part of the Transportation Department, but is transfered to the Defense Department during an official declaration of war. But now it’s part of Homeland Security.

9

I would think subs are not being nitpicky about adn are called boats

10

No data, but from observation of how things operate, probably minimal relative to the billions in operational expenses. After all we’d still have to field and deploy 3 Amphibious Divisions, 12 Carrier Attack Groups, 10 full Land Battle Divisions + assorted Brigades and ACRs, and howevermany Air Force wings and squadrons, plus all the logistical tail required to keep them fighting. As it is, for decades now the tactical doctrine has been one based on Joint Task Force operations and unified commands, so duplication is not really a problem. General Sanchez in Iraq gets to have under him a Marine Division on top of three Army ones, plus a whole bunch of Air Force units, and he can always call on the ships in the Gulf to launch carrier aircraft or cruise missiles, and some Coast Guard units are watching what ships in and out of Basra. It’s old-fashioned Division of Labor: doing that which you are best at and letting the other guy do what HE is best at, even if you’d both be pretty adequate at trying to do it all.

11

THE NEWTS ARE COMING! THE NEWTS ARE COMING!

aherm…maybe you meant “amphibious”

12

In a roundabout way, this was sort of the intent of the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986. But first, a bit of historical review.

If you go back to FDR’s time, or earlier, you heard a lot about the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy. They were both cabinet positions, but distinct offices.

After the DOD was created under Truman, everything was consolidated under the Secretary of Defense. Aside from the organizational chart, however, the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force, although technically subservient to the Secretary of Defense, had endless battles about budget, roles, missions, and so on.

The Goldwater-Nichols Act was a major effort to strengthen the hand of the Secretary of Defense and get all the military services to work together, so that the military services don’t form overlapping capabilities, but instead are compelled to work together to accomplish missions (in a more cost- and mission-effective manner). It is a difficult task, but things have improved mightily over the years.

As far as bang for the buck, the Marines have the reputation for doing the most with the fewest dollars – a tiny slice of the budget gets the country a whole lot of firepower. But that’s pretty much because they have a very high “tooth” to “tail” ratio: for example, there are no doctors. They rely on the Navy for that kind of support.

13

It’s called “unification of the services.” Originally we had an Army and a Navy with the Air Force being a part of the Army. In fact, the original Air Service was, believe it or not, attached to the Signal Corps. The Marine Corps was part of the Navy.

Then, after WWII there was a push to “unify” the services to avoid duplication. So the Department of Defense was established with the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps being part of DOD. The Navy and the Marine Corps were made separate parts of the Department of the Navy.

As you can easily tell, “unification” of the services has been an unqualified success.