Fleet Marine Force Qualifications

"On November 10, 1775, in Tunn Tavern, Philadelphia, Samuel Nicholas was commissioned to raise two battalions of Marines. As the Marine Corps. first commandant, Samual Nicholas was tasked with raising a Continental Marine fighting force for the protection of combatant naval vessels as a young nation sat on the cusp of a full British invasion (not The Beatles; the other invasion) mere weeks before the signing of the Declaration of Independence by our forefathers.


Not only were the Marines charged with protection of the ship at all costs, they were also responsible for protecting the officers from mutiny. Hence, Marine berthing was smartly placed between officer and crew berthing spaces in those early days."
Desert Flier