United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps
Emblem of the United States Marine Corps
Founded	11 July 1798 (226 years, 11 months)[1] (in current form) 10 November 1775 (249 years, 7 months)[2] (as the Continental Marines)
Country	United States
Type	Maritime land force
Role	Amphibious warfare Expeditionary warfare
Size	168,527 active personnel[3] (as of December 2024[update]) 32,967 reserve personnel[4] (as of December 2024[update]) 1,317 manned aircraft[5][a]
Part of	United States Armed Forces Department of the Navy
Headquarters	The Pentagon Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Nickname(s)	"Jarheads", "Devil Dogs" ("Teufel Hunden"), "Leathernecks"
Motto(s)	Semper fidelis ("Always faithful")
Colors	Scarlet and gold[6][7]
March	"Semper Fidelis" Playⓘ
Mascot(s)	English bulldog[8][9]
Anniversaries	10 November
Equipment	List of USMC equipment
Engagements	See list American Revolutionary War Quasi-War First Barbary War War of 1812 Second Barbary War West Indies Anti-Piracy Operations Seminole Wars African Anti-Slavery Operations Aegean Sea Anti-Piracy Operations First Sumatran expedition Second Sumatran expedition United States Exploring Expedition Capture of Monterey Mexican–American War Bombardment of Greytown Battle of Ty-ho Bay First Fiji Expedition Second Opium War Second Fiji Expedition Paraguay expedition Reform War John Brown's raid American Civil War Bombardment of Qui Nhon Shimonoseki Campaign Formosa Expedition United States expedition to Korea Egyptian Expedition (1882) Bering Sea Anti-Poaching Operations Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii Second Samoan Civil War Banana Wars Spanish–American War Second Occupation of Cuba Border War Negro Rebellion Occupation of Nicaragua Occupation of Haiti Occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916) Sugar Intervention Philippine–American War Boxer Rebellion World War I Russian Civil War World War II Korean War Vietnam War 1958 Lebanon Crisis Occupation of the Dominican Republic (1965) Iranian hostage rescue Multinational Force in Lebanon Operation Urgent Fury 1986 bombing of Libya Tanker War Operation Earnest Will Operation Prime Chance Operation Eager Glacier Operation Nimble Archer Operation Praying Mantis Operation Just Cause Persian Gulf War Somali Civil War American military intervention in Somalia (2007–present) Somali Civil War (2009–present) Iraqi no-fly zones Bosnian War Kosovo War 1999 East Timorese crisis Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan Philippines Horn of Africa Pankisi Gorge Trans Sahara Caribbean and Central America Iraq War Pakistan-United States skirmishes Operation Odyssey Dawn 2014 intervention against ISIL Operation Inherent Resolve Resolute Support Mission Battle of Khasham
Decorations	Presidential Unit Citation Joint Meritorious Unit Award Navy Unit Commendation Valorous Unit Award Meritorious Unit Commendation French Croix de guerre 1914–1918 Philippine Presidential Unit Citation Korean Presidential Unit Citation Vietnam Gallantry Cross Vietnam Civil Actions Medal
Website	marines.mil marines.com
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	President Donald Trump
Secretary of Defense	Pete Hegseth
Secretary of the Navy	John Phelan
Commandant	Gen Eric M. Smith
Assistant Commandant	Gen Christopher J. Mahoney
Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps	SMMC Carlos A. Ruiz
Insignia
Flag
Seal
Emblem ("Eagle, Globe, and Anchor" or "EGA")[b]
Wordmark
Song	"The Marine's Hymn" Playⓘ

United States Armed Forces
Executive departments
Department of Defense Department of Homeland Security
Staff
Office of the Secretary of Defense Joint Chiefs of Staff
Military departments
Department of the Army Department of the Navy Department of the Air Force
Military services
United States Army United States Marine Corps United States Navy United States Air Force United States Space Force United States Coast Guard
Command structure
Unified combatant commands Africa Command Central Command European Command Indo-Pacific Command Northern Command Southern Command Cyber Command Space Command Special Operations Command Strategic Command Transportation Command
Combat support agencies Defense Contract Management Agency Defense Health Agency Defense Information Systems Agency Defense Intelligence Agency Defense Logistics Agency Defense Threat Reduction Agency National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency National Security Agency Central Security Service
v t e

The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations^[11] through combined arms, implementing its own infantry, artillery, aerial, and special operations forces. The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the six armed forces of the United States and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States.

The Marine Corps has been part of the United States Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834 with its sister service, the United States Navy.^[12] The USMC operates installations on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world. Additionally, several of the Marines' tactical aviation squadrons, primarily Marine Fighter Attack squadrons, are also embedded in Navy carrier air wings and operate from the aircraft carriers.^[13]

The history of the Marine Corps began when two battalions of Continental Marines were formed on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as a service branch of infantry troops capable of fighting both at sea and on shore.^[14] In the Pacific theater of World War II, the Corps took the lead in a massive campaign of amphibious warfare, advancing from island to island.^[15][16][17] As of December 2024, the USMC has around 169,000 active duty members^[18] and some 33,000 personnel in reserve.^[19]

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