Although "marine" means "of the sea," members of the U. S. Marine Corps (USMC) do most of their fighting on land. They are skilled combat soldiers who are trained to deploy into battle from the air, the land, and the sea. This branch of the US Armed Forces was formed on American soil for the first time during the Revolutionary War in 1775, when Congress assigned Captain Samuel Nicholas the task of forming two naval battalions in Philadelphia. Since that time, the USMC has grown to become the largest Marine force in the world, with more than 250,000 active-duty and reserve members. The motto of the Marines is "Semper Fideles" in Latin ("Semper Fi" is the abbreviated version) and it means "Always Faithful."
