The United States Marines Corps is an elite group of Americans who are all part of a system. The goal or mission of the Marines is to protect America from enemies both foreign and domestic. A system is a set of parts or objects that are structured and interrelated, forming a unique whole in an environment. The Marine Corps as a system is open rather than closed. Meaning it exchanges and interacts directly with the environment.
The first characteristic of a system is wholeness (1). The whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts. In the Marines each Marine is taught that the team comes first. Every individual has his or her duty to accomplish and in order for the mission to get accomplished everyone must work together. There must be someone there to watch your back when you are in the trenches because your life lies in the hands of everyone you work with.
The second characteristic of a system is interdependence (2). Each part affects the other parts of the system. When I was a Cpl. we were in Mt. Fuji,Japan doing some mountain training. The elevation was about twelve thousand feet and we were all weighted down heavily with our packs and full gear. On our journey up the active volcano we were faced with the sun steadily heating the treacherous pathway of sand and molten rocks and the oxygen was steadily becoming more scarce the higher we went. This was putting a heavy strain on the platoon and our water supply. Naturally these conditions were worsening as the altitude increased and this caused one of my men to suffer from altitude sickness; pressure was consuming his brain. The only thing we could do was run down the mountain so we did. This effected the entire mission because we had to leave the peak of the mountain. .
The third characteristic of a system is equilibrium (3). Systems adapt and adjust to achieve homeostasis. Women were not always allowed to serve in the military especially in the Marines.