1. “Whatever It Takes.”
The motto of the 1st battalion, 4th Marines is “Whatever it Takes.” This military unit is an infantry battalion stationed at Camp Pendleton, California. It has been fighting battles since its first combat operation in 1916 which took place in the Dominican Republic.
2. “Peace Through Strength.”
The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), commissioned in 2003, is a nuclear-powered supercarrier in Coronado, Calif. It takes its motto “Peace Through Strength” from a mantra Reagan adopted while countering the Soviet Union.
3. “We Quell the Storm, and Ride the Thunder.”
The 3rd battalion, 2nd Marines, also known as “The Betio Bastards” is based in Camp Lejeune. This battalion has the “We Quell the Storm, and Ride the Thunder” as its motto. The battalion is well-known for its fight on Tarawa in 1943 and has involvements in Iraq and Afghanistan combats.
4. “Retreat Hell.”
The 2nd battalion, 5th Marines got its motto “Retreat Hell” in the trenches of the First World War. Capt Lloyd Williams, who was informed by a French Officer that his unit should retreat, replied, “Retreat? Hell, we just got here!” In Marine history, this battalion is the more decorated with combat service as far back as 1914.
5. “Molon Labe” (Greek for “Come and take them”)
TheI-Army Corps (Greece), which disbanded in 2013, had the motto “Come and take them.” Spartans’ King Leonidas, at the Battle of Thermopylae, responded with the phrase to the Persians who told them to lay down their weapons.
6. “Better to die than to be a coward.”
The Royal Gurkha Rifles (United Kingdom), known as the “bravest of the brave,” has the motto “Better to die than to be a coward.” This military unit is an individual regiment of the British Army and made international headlines in 2010.
7. “Facta Non-Verba” (Latin for “Deeds, Not Words”)
The Joint Task Force 2 (Canada) is an elite special operations force based out of Ottawa, Canada. This unit is Canada’s version of Navy SEAL Team 6. The department has the slogan “Deeds, Not Words” and mostly keeps its operations secret.
8. “Ready for All, Yielding to None.”
The 2nd battalion, 7th Marines has the motto “Ready for All, Yielding to None.” Only slightly different from its Vietnam-era one: “Ready for Anything, Counting on Nothing.” This battalion is stationed at Twentynine Palms, California.
9. “Si vis pacem, para bellum” (Latin for “If you wish for peace, prepare for war.”)
The motto of the Royal Navy (United Kingdom) is similar USS Ronald Reagan’s “peace through strength,” but a little more aggressive. The Latin phrase comes from Roman author Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus, who wrote the Iron Age version of a military technical manual.
10. “De Oppresso Liber” (Latin for “To liberate the oppressed”)
The U.S. Army Special Forces motto is “to liberate the oppressed.” This military unit was created in 1952 and is known for producing elite warriors. Many of her soldiers have lived up to the motto, training and supporting soldiers and rebel groups in other nations.
