Our Marines

A Heart-pumping Glimpse into the Marines’ World

Our Marines Editor — 2008-04-04T14:48:19-05:00

There's no way to show everything that the Marine Corps does and stands for in just 30 seconds. But that's no reason not to try. We give you No Compromises, the newest Marine Corps recruiting commercial. You'll see it on TV/online during the NCAA Tournament Final Four.

No Compromises follows in the footsteps of Applications, a commercial that debuted during last year's Final Four weekend. That spot points out the fundamental difference between applying for a school, job or other position and committing yourself to becoming a Marine. (We've posted Applications with this blog.)

Like Applications, you'll want to catch this spot on the DVR. There's a lot to catch, and repeated viewings are the order of the day. Many of the scenes are less than a second long. But here's just a bit of what we've managed to pack in.

You'll see scenes from the Recruit Training Depot at Parris Island, the Silent Drill Platoon in Tennessee and Philadelphia, the 8th & I Barracks, live fire exercises in Twentynine Palms, California, and footage from the desert in Iraq. We'll understand if you're too busy to take note of the locations.

Also vying for your attention are M1-Abrams tanks, Harrier jets, an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter and the MV-22 Osprey. Then there are the Marines fast-roping from helicopters, directing fire through night vision devices, taking on obstacle courses and training on the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon.

But the Marines are so much more than equipment and tactics. So watch the commercial again for the total effect, and understand what it means to be the nation’s elite combat-ready force.

Enjoy the commercial. Share it with your friends. We're not done telling the story, so look for more in the future.

Always Shooting High

Our Marines Editor — 2008-03-14T14:30:19-05:00

"They're the finest fighting force in the world. They're the ones that I will count on to defend our freedom."

The Learning Never Stops

Our Marines Editor — 2008-03-14T08:46:18-05:00

LCpl. Crouch describes his experiences as a member of the USMC Silent Drill Platoon.

Always a Marine

Our Marines Editor — 2008-04-08T11:10:19-05:00

About 3 weeks after finishing my enlistment in the Corps, I went with my friend; who was an Army Ranger Reservist; to his Unit Armory in Brooklyn, NY. I spotted two Army Staff Sergeants trying to orientate a map with a compass. I noticed that they were doing it wrong. My MOS in the Corps was that of an Artillery Scout Observer. I informed the Staff Sergeants of their error and proceeded to show them how it was supposed to be done. One of them asked me how I knew this. I informed him that I was a Sergeant and Marine veteran and what my MOS in the Corps was. The Staff Sergeant immediately asked me if I'd like to re-enlist in the Army Reserve with a guaranteed promotion to Staff Sergeant. I proudly told him that I couldn't do that since I couldn't be anything but a Marine. Today my son is a United States Marine and I'm extremely proud of him. Semper Fi.

In Fathers' Footsteps & Beyond

Our Marines Editor — 2008-04-08T11:02:37-05:00

I served in the Marines from 1975-1979. I was always proud of what I had accomplished, and of always being known as a Marine. But my pride jumped leaps and bounds when I went back to Parris Island after 32 years to see my son graduate from Marine Corps boot camp. But it wasn't that he graduated, but that he outdid his father with his accomplishments. My son Marques graduated as the Platoon 3013 Honor Man and also the India Company Honor Man. He earned the Dress Blues Uniform by being the Platoon Guide, he shot Expert at the Rifle Range and he scored 287 out of 300 in Physical Fitness Test. My wife told me that I was strutting like a proud old lion. After Graduation my wife and I and his friends took our son Marques to eat at the Outback in Beaufort, SC. As we turned the corner from the parking lot, I noticed a group of people standing in front of the establishment. When they saw my son in his dress blues walking toward them, I immediately noticed the look of admiration in their eyes. Believe me when I tell you that the proud old lion was strutting again.

Flexible Organization

Our Marines Editor — 2008-02-20T10:11:52-06:00

We’re available wherever a hotspot might erupt in the world.

Semper Fi

Our Marines Editor — 2008-04-08T11:08:44-05:00

I was a young 17 year old in 1971. For many different reasons I decided to leave high school in my senior year and join the Marines. I remember coming out of class at the end of the day in the late sixties and watching the hippies protest in front of the Marine Corps Recruit "cubicle" at the corner of town hall and the High school. A couple of friends and I were disgusted with the abuse that the recruiter was taking and we decided to do something about it. We went to the local deli and tried to buy all of the eggs that they had. The owner was an Italian immigrant who came to the US after WW2. He was a no nonsense kind of guy, and he did not want to sell us the eggs. He said, WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ALL THESE EGGS? GO BACK TO SCHOOL!!! We told him that we were going to throw them at the hippies who were harassing the Marine recruiter across the street from his store. He looked at us and tears started running down his face and he said to us...you take all my eggs for free! God bless America! Soon after that day I joined the Marine Corps with my two buddies. None of us saw combat, but we each had the Corps instilled deep inside of us. I left the Corps and a couple of years later joined USAF Pararescue. I was the first Marine to ever make it through the Pararescue pipeline. Everything I do, every thought I have, every decision I make, I make as a Marine first. There have been times where this has caused problems for me, because the vast majority of the population doesn't understand what it's like to be a Marine. But 99.9% of the time, being a Marine has served me extremely well. Semper Fi Lcpl Skolnik USMC AIC Skolnik USAF Pararescue

My extended family

Our Marines Editor — 2008-02-14T13:25:33-06:00

You cry together, you laugh together, you share stories that other people can’t understand.

Band of Brothers

Our Marines Editor — 2008-02-13T12:25:50-06:00

The band of brothers that you have with the Marine Corps is something that you just can’t replicate.

No day is the same

Our Marines Editor — 2008-02-13T12:26:02-06:00

When we were in Iraq we switched from combat operations to humanitarian operations over night.

Always been a dream to serve my country

Our Marines Editor — 2008-02-06T14:43:50-06:00

After 9-11 I felt like this was a duty that I needed to do.

From Air Force to Marine

Our Marines Editor — 2008-02-06T14:43:38-06:00

I serve this country because I firmly believe that my first obligation as a citizen is to serve this great nation and to help preserve its freedom.

Always wanted to join the Armed Forces

Our Marines Editor — 2008-02-06T14:26:27-06:00

I always wanted to fix jets. It’s a great job. I love it. I love going to work everyday.

Playing for others

Our Marines Editor — 2008-02-06T14:26:38-06:00

When I’m sitting on stage and I look out into the audience and I see that one elderly man who’s smiling the whole time…that gets me motivated.

New Recruit

Our Marines Editor — 2008-04-08T10:52:58-05:00

I am a new recruit into the United States Marine Corps. This is a huge step in life for me. I recently made Eagle in the Boy Scouts, so this will get me a promotion, and be PFC when I go to boot camp in August. I am proud to have enlisted, and am proud to be one of the many men and women serving this country.

The Brotherhood

Our Marines Editor — 2008-02-20T12:47:36-06:00

A couple of years ago I was working for a "big box" retailer. I was walking from one aisle to another when I bumped into an older gentlemen with a hat that said "Iwo Jima". I stopped and asked him if he had been there and he said "Yes". I said "Semper Fi, Marine!" and asked him if I could shake his hand. As we shook hands I told him I'd served ('66 - '70) and simply couldn't imagine what it had been like for them and told him he and the men he'd served with had set the bar pretty high in terms of courage and commitment and that I hoped my generation hadn't let them down. A small smile crept across his face as if old memories came back and he told me he'd gone ashore in the first wave in a squad of thirteen--and he was the ONLY one who had survived! His wife was right there and I heard her take a sharp breath and watched as tears formed in her eyes. They married when he was released from active duty in 1946 and she told me he'd NEVER told her that story! She hugged me and whispered "Thank you" and said "You really ARE a brotherhood, aren't you?" One of the proudest moments of my life, being considered that man's brother, right up there with boot graduation and the birth of my kids! SEMPER FI!

We Serve Because We Care

Our Marines Editor — 2008-01-30T14:24:55-06:00

There are so many things to say about why Marines matter. We matter because we care. We care about this country. We care about our families. We care about the world.

A Band Of Brothers...Forever

Our Marines Editor — 2008-02-20T12:50:30-06:00

The Marine Corps was the really the only 'family' I had ever known. My mother died when I was five, and my father was a mean drunk, who drank every day of his life. I left home at 15, put myself through high school by working at night. Played football and baseball and was not quite good enough to earn a college scholarship. I watched the Vietnam war on the evening news for a long time, before I walked into the Marine Recruiter's office and volunteered. Three months later I left San Diego with a stripe and something that would stay with me for the rest of my life...a feeling of belonging, a feeling of uncompromising trust of my brother Marines. I had found the family that I never had experienced in my life. To this day, my greatest sorrow is that I was wounded just enough that I had no choice but to leave my beloved Marine Corps. But, also, to this day (I'm 63) when I see a young Marine I never miss the opportunity to thank him and tell him how proud I am to be his 'brother'. I'm almost completely deaf now, but I can still turn the stereo up loud enough in my car and home (much to the chagrin of my wife and neighbors) to still hear the Marine Corps Hymn, and have difficulty singing the words because of the lump in my throat. I have had the rare and distinct pleasure and exceptional privilege to have earned 'The Title', and stood with men who were nothing less than genuine heros... and they were all my brothers. When my time comes (as it will soon) my last request is that I be buried with Marines, so that I can be with the men I love for all eternity. God Bless America, and God Bless & protect my United States Marine Corps brothers & sisters. In closing, I shall forever remain... "Semper Fi"

My Marine

Our Marines Editor — 2008-04-08T11:05:14-05:00

I am a Marine Wife. My husband and I are based in Beaufort S.C, MCAS. I don't think people realize what a sacrifice Marines and their families make just so America can be free. My husband and I have been married for a little over a year now, and out of one year we were together for six months. It's hard at times, even when he isn't deployed. It's hard on those nights when he's supposed to be home at a certain time so that you can do something special, but he doesn't get home til late and can't stay up because he has to be at work early the next day. But I get through it, and couldn't be more proud to be a Marine Wife...Semper Fi.

The Shrine

Our Marines Editor — 2008-02-20T13:13:26-06:00

My entire family has served w/the USMC. Both parents served in WWII, my father in the Pacific Theater, my mother in Quantico & Pearl Harbor. Both parents were/are very proud, my dad was in particular. In our kitchen we had recruiting posters, photos, a clock my dad made w/enlisted ranks as the hours; numerous things. He would go on and on about the Marine Corps, never letting up. He couldn't have been prouder when my oldest brother signed up during the height of Vietnam. During his time, my dad decided that he should receive a DI sword. When my brother came home on leave, my dad had this ceremony in our kitchen, in front of the shrine. No parent has ever been prouder than my dad that day. My youngest brother also joined up when he graduated HS. Sadly, I went my own way thinking my dad was crazy. Many years have passed since dad passed away, the one thing I think of most was his shrine to our family's service. He believed, "Once a Marine, always a Marine". And while I did not join up, I remain true to the Marine Corps and my family's effort.