Rigid rubber magnet Marines Semper Fidelis US Army logo

The United States Marine Corps, in acronym USMC, also known in Italian as the Marine Corps, is one of the armed forces of the United States. Although in the early years of its foundation he was almost exclusively involved in ship security and amphibious operations, the Marine Corps has evolved to take on multiple roles, which make him a separate case in the United States military apparatus. . With 203,000 troops in service and 40,000 in reserve (2009 data), the Marine Corps is the second smallest armed force in the US and only the Coast Guard, dependent on the Department of Homeland Security, has a numerically smaller staff. However, the Corps exceeds in size the armed forces of almost all major countries: it is larger, for example than the United Kingdom Army.