In terms of physical and mental toughness, how much harder is USMC boot camp than Army boot camp? What makes it harder? Thanks.

oh boy....this is a can of worms

for starters USMC bootcamp is twice as long as Army basic. parris island will cost you 13 weeks

i am the only Marine in an army family so i have discerned many differences based upon 2nd hand accounts of army basic from brothers, cousins. most of the differences in training stem from the cultural differences in the services. USMC is more structured. there will be no phone calls, no junk food, no free time to chill. but the pay off is earning your place as one of the finest basically trained rifleman on the planet. unlike the army you will get a rifle about 2 hours after you get off the bus and it will become your 3rd arm. you will spend 2 weeks on the range compared to 4 days in the army and you will shoot and hit man size targets at 500m with iron sights.

i think the USMC places more emphasis on combat training and discipline. however the Army has a higher standard of living, more amenities and better job training. its all in what youre looking to get out of it but regardless of what you choose youre serving your country....and thats what its all about.

Marine Corps Basic Training is about as long as ARMY Infantry OSUT (One Station Unit Training).  Infantry OSUT essentially combines Army Basic with Infantry AIT (Advanced Individual Training).  You get more trigger time in Army Infantry OSUT than you do in Army Basic, but still not to the standards of the Corps.  The longest ranged target you will engage in Army Infantry OSUT is 300 meters.

Marine Corps Basic will turn out a superb combat rifleman.  Army Infantry OSUT will turn out a well trained basic infantryman.

Marine Corps Basic will instill in the recruit an ethos of eliteness and will build an esprit de corps unseen in the Army until a soldier has passed into an elite organization like an Airborne or Air Assault Unit.

Even then, it is possible to be an ex-paratrooper, but it is not possible, unless you fuck up by the numbers, to become an ex-Marine.

These last differences are primarily ones of attitude.  Marines tend to develop an ethos similar to Rangers in the Ranger Regiment, even though they are arguably, not as well trained, or at least not as well trained in the same things.   The intensity of troop life is probably similar in a Marine Rifle Company as in a Ranger Rifle Company, though not having been in either, I cannot state that definitively.  I saw a lot of the Ranger life as a broke-leg pulling staff duties at Ft. Benning though.  What passes for sloth in the Ranger organization would seem like mad industry in most regular infantry organizations. From what I have heard life in the Corps is pretty much the same.

The Army has a lot more training available ranging from the Hooah stuff like Airborne School (staff S-1 clerks can get an Airborne slot on re-enlistment and sometimes on initial enlistment.) As a combat arms soldier, getting an Airborne contract is easy.

PT scores are not comparable between the Corps and Army, the testing events are different.  The Corps run is longer, the Corp does crunches rather than sit-ups and they do pull-ups instead of push ups.  But from what I have seen, the Corps seems to have higher general fitness standards.   The Corps also spends more time on personal combat skills including close combat.  The Army glosses over it in Infantry OSUT, a couple of days without much in the way of competitive sparring.

If I knew I would have to send my son off to war and could choose the training he went through, I would send him to the Marines. If my son wanted college money and a marketable skill, I would send him to the Air Force.

I am probably one of the only qualified people on this board to answer this question. I attended 19E (M-60 Armour Crewman) OSUT (One Station Unit Training) at Fort Know, KY in 1987, B Co 3/81. I later attended MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) San Diego in 1989, Platoon 3006, I Co, 3rd Bn. I am currently enrolled in the National Guard traditional OCS (Officer Candidate School) and will recieve my commission in August. So that is why I am uniquely qualified to answer your question.

Physically they are differant I have noticed. The Army seemed to concentrate on pushups while the Marines took a more aerobic/muscle failure approach to incentive training. I was in much better shape after Marine boot camp.

The other differance is that the Marines pull you out of who you were and make you a part of the group. Some call this brain washing. They are good at it. They instill a pride and desire to be a part of the group and you are not called a Marine until you graduate, or finish the Cruciable these days. You talk in the 3rd person, anyone gets out of line everyone pays, you are supervised 24-7, etc. They teach you to be highly aggressive and instill a mental toughness. I remember the day we recieved a class on field hygeine. It was about 50 degrees out and they had us strip (we were in the field) and pour our canteens over our bodies. I didnt see my balls for a week. The Army taught me how to technically be a soldier, but failed to instill any pride over becoming one. Follow on units with a high esprit de corps did that, like the Rangers, 101st and 82nd to name a few.

Marine Corps bootcamp wins hands down. They produce a higher quality and disciplined warrior out of boot camp. The Army seems to train to that level at later stages.

As I recall in 87 it was a week before I got my 16. There after it was handled, drilled with and cleaned, if not shot, every day there after.

[for starters USMC bootcamp is twice as long as Army basic. parris island will cost you 13 weeks]"DVLDOG"

All right Marine, I'm no math whiz, but if my basic lasted 8 weeks, yours was 13, and half of 13 is...? [:D] At ease. Just jokin wicha. I love marines. Carry on!