Shared Experience: Organizational Culture and Ethos at the U.S. Marine Corps Basic School, 1924–1941

by Jennifer Mazzara

The history of the Marine Corps has been written from a variety of perspectives many times over. Before the American Civil War, Marine Corps history was so closely tied to that of the Navy that a unified maritime history tradition was sufficient for both institutions. Since 1875, every generation of Marines has produced their own history of the Corps, distinguishing its identity from that of the Navy. To date, none of those works attempted to explain the influence that education had on the unit cohesion or individual camaraderie evident during the Second World War. Single-mindedness in both tactical and operational environments were a hallmark of Marine Corps operations in the Pacific theater, yet no analysis has been made of the one educational experience the vast majority of those combat commanders had in common. No previous project has attempted to place the instruction of Marine officers within the broader political, social, and demographic environment of the United States in the interwar period. This book is intended to fill that gap.

420 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2023