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 w