Morale: The Marines Have Left

Archives

January 24, 2010:  The U.S. Marine Corps has left Iraq. The U.S. Army will remain behind to wrap things up. This is another old custom, going back to World War II. During the first American offensive in the Pacific, the 1942 invasion of Guadalcanal, the marines led the way. But once the heavy fighting was over, the marines departed, and the army finished up.

During the 2003 invasion, some 40,000 marines participated, and there were over 80,000 marines in the region at the time. A marine and army division advanced on Baghdad, fighting their way through the Iraqi army. After 2003, the number of marines in Iraq shrank, usually no more than 25,000. But the marines were always there, and lost 522 dead and 5,049 wounded in the process. Most of the navy casualties in Iraq (26 dead, 320 wounded) were sailors serving in support of the marines. There are 203,000 active duty marines, about seven percent more than there were in 2003. Marine recruiters had no problem getting all the recruits they needed throughout the war, using the prospect of going into combat as a marine as a main attraction.

 

 


Article Archive

Morale: Current 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 


X

ad
0
20

Help Keep Us Soaring

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling. We need your help in reversing that trend. We would like to add 20 new subscribers this month.

Each month we count on your subscriptions or contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage. A contribution is not a donation that you can deduct at tax time, but a form of crowdfunding. We store none of your information when you contribute..
Subscribe   Contribute   Close