Are You Smart Enough To Be A US Marine?

By: Mark Lichtenstein
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
Are You Smart Enough To Be A US Marine?
Image: Shutterstock

About This Quiz

The United States Marine Corps is the tip of the spear. It is one of the most elite fighting units in the world, and it doesn't just require mental discipline, it requires smarts. Are you clever enough to be a leatherneck?
What is the check done before entering an automobile?
7 Point Check
Before going on any long road journey, you should first check under the car for leaking fluids, check tire pressure, check the rear turn signals (you'll need help for that), check the back seat, check your windows, check the dash gauges, check the heating and AC.
Adjusting the mirrors
Checking the seatbelt
Checking fuel levels

Advertisement

How do you fix a screw that keeps coming out?
Apply some threadlocker
Threadlocker is a type of product that can be used to keep a screw put when the threading is torn up.
Krazy Glue
Light tapping with a hammer
Screw the opposite way

Advertisement

If Archimedes had a long enough lever, he could move what, exactly?
An island
The sun
An anvil
The Earth
Indeed, to explain the power of mechanics, Archimedes said that the lever was so useful, that it could be used to move any object if it were long enough.

Advertisement

What is the fulcrum in an arm bar?
The elbow
An armbar is a move intended to lock the arm of an opponent by pushing the fulcrum of the elbow, making it impossible to move without snapping one's own elbow.
The wrist
The shoulder
The neck

Advertisement

What is the strongest muscle in the hand?
Flexor Pollicis Brevis
Abductor Pollicis Brevis
The Abductor Pollicis Brevis allows the thumb to move. Most muscles that operate the hand and allow grip are actually located in the forearm, which is why the outer forearm is usually the place to attack a hand when using a knife.
Flexor Digi Minimi Brevis
Dorsal Interossei

Advertisement

Which finger can you not fire a rifle without?
The thumb
Without a thumb, holding a gun is impossible.
The index finger
The middle finger
The pinky

Advertisement

Which finger can you not swing a sword correctly without?
The pinky
To make an effective cut with a sword, the pinky is actually the finger making the cut, pulling the sword as one would pull a knife across a loaf of bread.
The index finger
The middle finger
The ring finger

Advertisement

How many moons does the planet Earth have?
Thousands
Indeed, by the current definition which includes TCOs, there are thousands of moons in orbit around the Earth, however, some come and go as they will.
Five
Two
One

Advertisement

How many flags are there on The Moon?
None
Possibly one, and it's Chinese
Given conditions on the moon, the New Jersey manufacturer of the flag placed there on the first mission, would have been breached white and turned to ash by now. It is unknown if the Chinese placed flags there when they visited the moon.
Fourteen
One

Advertisement

What is the British Army's Special Forces called?
The SAS
SAS stands for Special Air Service.
The SOS
Royal Special Forces
Her Majesty's Special Forces

Advertisement

What is China's Special Forces called?
Special Operations Forces
China's Special Operations Forces are China's elite special forces division.
The People's Green Berets
The Revolutionary Marines
China Special Forces

Advertisement

Who is at the top of the military chain of command?
The President
The President of The United States is the Commander in Chief.
The Vice President
A soldier's CO
The Secretary of The Navy

Advertisement

Who is second in the military chain of command?
Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is second only to the President in the chain of command.
The Vice President
The Speaker of The House
The Head of The National Guard

Advertisement

Who is third in the military chain of command?
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the third in command in the military chain of command.
The Vice President
The Prime Minister
The Director of the FBI

Advertisement

Who is the "special relationship" between?
America and Britain
The two world wars cemented a cultural bond that had existed between America and Britain since 1776.
Israel and The USA
Canada and America
America and Russia

Advertisement

What government agency did Vladimir V. Putin work for?
The KGB
Vladimir Putin worked for the KGB, where he mastered the art of subverting foreigners using their existing desires and weaknesses.
The GRU
The Russian Navy
The Soviet Navy

Advertisement

What is the name of the haircut issued to Marines in boot camp?
Parris Island haircut
The type of shaved head haircut newly minted Marines get are known as the Parris Island haircut.
A crop top
A number 7
A rat's nest

Advertisement

What is the first thing one should do when handed a firearm?
Keeping it aimed skyward or into the ground and check to see if it is loaded.
Any time a weapon is handed to you, you must always consider it loaded and do this safety check.
Check that the safety is on.
Look down the barrel for obstructions.
Check the magazine.

Advertisement

What tool do you need to determine latitude by celestial bodies?
A sextant
By measuring the angle created by sighting the sun and the horizon, and using the time of day as a guide, one can determine latitude using just this simple instrument.
A ladle
A compass
A lodestone

Advertisement

What is an antiquated term for a magnet?
A lodestone
Lodestones were natural magnets. A region in China rich in these minerals produced magnetic spoons that would often be taken home as souvenirs. If dropped on the table, the spoons would always point to magnetic north, and from that came the invention of the compass.
A compass
An octant
A brimstone

Advertisement

What was a major technological innovation brought to the west by the Crusades?
Stirrups
The stirrup was an innovation from the Middle East brought back by crusaders, who found it greatly increased their control over their horses and their ability to fight on horseback.
The whetstone
Gunpowder
The compass

Advertisement

Why was NASA founded?
To master the ability to take the ultimate high ground in war
NASA was founded so the USA would be able to put assets in space, giving the USA the highest of high ground in the same fashion as aircrafts did in WW1. When Russia started launching rockets with the aid of their captured Nazi scientists, the USA followed suit, using our own captured Germans to build rockets that put the V2 to shame, enabling us to launch weapons over huge distances and place spy satellites in orbit over our enemies.
To explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations
To go to The Moon, just 'cuz
To waste billions of dollars on jingoistic machismo

Advertisement

Why is the Marine Corps sword shaped the way it is?
Because it is based on a scimitar
The first battle the USMC fought in its current form (it was disbanded after the Revolutionary War) was in the Middle East, and the commanding officer used a scimitar.
Because sabers were used on horseback
Because the Marines wanted to have a very different sword
Because it's based on a banana

Advertisement

How many Marines died in WW2?
24,511
The Marine Corps lost a lot of men in WW2, but for sheer numbers, the Army lost the most men.
68,207
62,614
318,274

Advertisement

How many marines to a company?
108
A company is one hundred and eight Marines. It works like this: three platoons to a company, three squads to a platoon, three teams to a squad, four marines to a team.
100
157
96

Advertisement

What does "The Halls of Montezuma" refer to?
Battle of Chapultepec
The Halls of Montezuma in the Marine Corps Hymn refers to a battle fought with Mexico in the Mexican-American War.
Battle of Algiers
Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle of The Bulge

Advertisement

What is Tripoli, today?
Iraq
Iran
Egypt
Libya
"The Shores of Tripoli" in the Marine Corps Hymn refers to the battle fought to take the second city of the nation of Tripoli at the beginning of The Barbary Wars in the early 1800s.

Advertisement

What is a company also called?
A battery
While it may sound like "battery" is a reference to the thing you put in your flashlight, it's the other way around. The first battery was a collection of capacitors arranged so that it looked like a bunch of canons all set up to fire. The plural of canon is battery, and thus was named the tiny, frustrating electrical doodad.
A platoon
A fellowship
A corps

Advertisement

Who is the founding father of the USMC?
William Eaton
William Eaton was an ambassador when 300 US sailors were taken hostage by the Dey of Tripoli, and resurrected the Marine Corps to invade the country and liberate the sailors.
George Washington
Samuel Adams
John Kilroy

Advertisement

What is MCMAP?
It's a map put out by McDonald's
Marine Corps Martial Arts Program
MCMAP is the current martial arts system of the USMC, replacing the older system, LINE, which was deemed "too lethal."
Marine Corps Maps and Artillery Program
Marine Corps Machine Action Police

Advertisement

Why are Marines also called leathernecks?
They used to wear a rawhide collar as part of their uniform
It used to be the case that Marines wore leather collars to keep their necks from getting cut in battle, thus giving birth to the nickname.
Their necks were always tan and leathery
They had dogs who wore huge leather collars
Because they can fight even when cut in the neck

Advertisement

How many kills did the deadliest Vietnam era USMC sniper have?
103
Charles Mawahinney had 103 kills in Vietnam.
300
78
439

Advertisement

What is the first line of The Rifleman's Creed?
This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Penned by Major General William H. Rupertus in World War 2, the creed is recited by Marines in basic training.
This is my weapon. There are many like it, but this one belongs to me.
This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one belongs to me.
This is my gun. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

Advertisement

How many items in a baker's dozen?
12
11
13
When Henry III standardized the size of a loaf, bakers would give an extra loaf to ensure they weren't selling a single load that was too small. Breaking the law could result in jail time.
15

Advertisement

What is the responsibility of a Fireteam?
Bounding overwatch
Bounding overwatch is a tactic described as "alternating movement of coordinated units" with the aim of creating opportunities to initiate suppression fire on an enemy to facilitate a tactical advance.
Artillery
Deploying flame throwers
Putting out fires

Advertisement

You Got:
/35
Shutterstock