It's Marine, with an "M"

[0231Marine]

NY Times alters policy on ‘Marines’

By Andrew deGrandpré - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 25, 2009 10:11:16 EST

Leathernecks have long found it irksome — heck, they’ve downright hated the fact — that The New York Times has refused to capitalize the “m” in Marine. It’s a point of pride, Marines always argue, to which the Times has routinely replied, “Yeah, but we don’t capitalize the ‘s’ in soldier.”
Well, the Old Gray Lady has finally come to her senses. In a Feb. 18 blog post titled “When every letter counts,” Deputy News Editor Philip B. Corbett, point man for the newspaper’s style manual, announced that The New York Times has at last decided to join the ranks of Marine Corps Times and countless other publications that adhere to The Associated Press’ longstanding guidance on this matter: A Marine is a Marine — capital “M,” case closed.

“We heard repeatedly from readers and sources who found our usage puzzling or ill-informed — even … disrespectful,” Corbett wrote. “We’ve assured current and former members of the Marine Corps that the old rule reflected not a lack of respect but rather a desire for consistency.”
Indeed, just as Marines pride themselves on being squared away, The New York Times is a stickler when it comes to syntax. Within its pages, even scoundrels are afforded the courtesy of being referred to as “Mr.” Hitler, McVeigh or bin Laden. So there’s no doubt this decision was made with a lot of hand-wringing.

In the end, Corbett said, it all came back to consistency. “If the term for an individual member is the same as the proper name of the organization, why not capitalize ‘Marine’ just as we capitalize ‘Democrat,’ ‘Catholic’ or ‘Rotarian’?” he reasoned. “Consistency is a virtue. But stubbornness isn’t, and we’re willing to consider revisions when a good case can be made.”

[temarti]

Good Post!

[giveen]

soldier is a profession just like we dont capitalize doctor

Marine is a title, just like Mr. or Dr. or Mrs.

[thewookie]

soldier is a profession

And being a Marine is a lifetime commitment.

[DocGreek]

WELL.....They had better capitalize Hospital Corpsman, and The Naval Hospital Corps. Those of us who served with The Fleet Marine Force, since before WWII, have been awarded more medals for Valor, and personal sacrifice, than ANY OTHER Military service....PERIOD!!!!.....DOC

[outlaw3179]

Outstanding !

[GSEMarine94]

Only person I regretted screwing with was my squadron Doc, it seems that they can decide that you are missing multiple shots when you do this.

Thanks for the service you have provided Doc, we are all in awe of you guys.

[redman1]

Yes the "M" should always be in Caps but we know who we are!!!!!!
The "BEST"
What do you expect from the "ny times" these days?
Semper Fi Redman1

[JWDevilDog]

Good post. About damn time, too. I hate it when someone doesn't capitalize the M. What the **** are we, aquatic marine life?

[sparkie]

The word marine need not be in caps, But in speaking of the man, or the organization, it is demanded by respect, grammar, or logic.