Interservice rivalry Interservice rivalry is rivalry between different branches of a country ' s armed forces , such as between a nation ' s land forces ( army ) , naval and air force s . The term also applies to the rivalries between a country ’ s intelligence services ( e . g . CIA and in the United States ) , or between the police and fire services of a city , such as the NYPD and FDNY . Overview . Interservice rivalries occur at all levels of the military , from the vying for key posts such as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the United States , Chief of the Defence Staff in the United Kingdom , or Jefe del Estado Mayor de la Defensa in Spain . Interservice rivalry can occur over such topics as the appropriation of the military budget , prestige or the possession of certain types of weapons . The latter case can arise , for example , when the navy operates an aircraft carrier , which may be viewed by the air force as an infringement of its traditional responsibilities . Another case was the dispute between the Indian Army and Indian Air Force erupted when these two branches fought over the ownership of AH - 64D Apache Longbow helicopters in 2012 . Such rivalries are often seen as negative influences on the effectiveness of a country ' s armed forces . Cases . United States . The U . S . Department of Defense was originally created to provide overall coordination for the various branches of the U . S . armed services , whose infighting was seen as detrimental to military effectiveness during World War II . The rivalries are also based on services ' individual philosophies for rules and behavior . An author wrote in 2012 about the differing cultures of the United States Navy and United States Air Force ' s pilots : In some ways rivalries can encourage positive outcomes , such as improving the " esprit de corps " of a given branch of the military . Various mechanisms are used to manage or curb interservice rivalries . In the United States military , for example , an officer must complete at least one joint tour in another service to reach the level of Flag or General Officer . Such officers may be described as " wearing purple , " a reference to the Army ' s green , the Marines ' navy blue , the Air Force ' s blue , the Navy ' s white , and the Coast Guard ' s blue uniforms . One well - known encounter was during the first few decades of the 1900s when the United States Marine Corps sparked a controversy between the United States Navy and Army when it first started to explore the permanence of expeditionary and landing force role , known as the advanced base force concept . The concept was responsible for the removal of the Marines ' duties as colonial ship guard , into a combined maritime landing force that is known today . Many Navy officers became confused over the matters of duties that Marines were supposed to conduct , arguing that they either serve aboard the ships as guards or act as a shore assault force . Even the United States Army feared that the Marine Corps were overlapping the duties of its more ' land - based ' component , which caused a disturbance for fifty more years . The case of the USMC is unique to the United States since it has always been a fully independent military service , although it is part of the Department of the Navy , compared to other marines of the world . Marines of European countries tend to have a dedicated commando role , such as the Indonesian Marine Corps , British or Dutch Royal Marines and all are subordinate to their respective Navies being commanded by a two - star general . Japan . The long - term discord between Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy was one of the most notorious examples of interservice rivalry . The situation , with its origin traced back to Meiji period , came with geo - political consequences leading to Japan ' s involvement in World War II . The IJA / IJN rivalry expressed itself in the early 1930s as the “ strike north ” and “ strike south ” factions . The strike north faction advocated the conquest of China a scenario in which the prime role would be taken by the Army , the strike south faction advocated the taking of Indonesia a scenario in which the Navy would predominate . In order to further their own faction relatively junior officers resorted to the assassinations of members of the rival faction and their supporters in government . Initially the strike north plan was deemed the more prudent course leading first to the occupation of Manchuria and then the fullscale invasion of China , however , a number of the powerful industrial Zaibatsu s were convinced that their interests would be best served fulfilling the needs of the Navy and with their the support the Pacific War was initiated . The IJA and IJN rivalry also saw both services developing air arms , the Army creating its own amphibious infantry units and running ships and submarines including submarine chaser s , the Navy meanwhile would create its own paratroop force . Other examples of this rivalry include , it is said , the Japanese Navy taking several weeks to inform the Army of the disastrous results of the Battle of Midway . In his 1991 statement " Shōwa Tennō dokuhakuroku " ( ) , Emperor Shōwa ( Hirohito ) made a connection between the Army - Navy rivalry and the defeat of Japan . Germany . In Nazi Germany there was constant rivalry between the Wehrmacht ( the combined services of the Third Reich ) and the Waffen - SS since they were often in parallel order of battle situations , particularly with regard to armored divisions . In part fueled by his own political differences with the Heer , Hermann Göring created the Luftwaffe Field Division a third parallel ground - fighting force under the command of the Luftwaffe . The German Fallschirmjaeger ( parachutists ) were also part of the Luftwaffe ( Air Force ) for most of the Second World War until they were finally subordinated to the Heer at the end of 1944 . The " Luftwaffe " and " Kriegsmarine " were also at odds over various issues throughout the war years , with such issues as the format for the " Bordfliegergruppe " air units that were to be based aboard the embryonic force of German aircraft carrier s , with the never - finished twin carriers whose hulls had been laid down before the start of World War II . United Kingdom . A case in point is the rivalry between the Parachute Regiment and the Royal Marines , which are part of the Army and the Royal Navy , respectively , in the U . K . Since some of their capabilities overlap , pressure can be put on the political or civilian decision makers to choose one or the other . India . The infighting between Indian Army and Indian Air Force ( IAF ) over armed helicopter s has been exist for a decade , which came to light during the Kargil War in 1999 . In response to the request for Army - owned attack helicopters from General Bikram Singh , Chief of Army Staff , the Indian government made an agreement about the transfer of IAF AH - 64D Apache Longbow s to the Army in 2012 . The IAF , however , acted stiff resistance against the decision , and insisted that all attack and medium - lift helicopters be under its control . In 2013 , Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne , who faced against the Army for the helicopter issue , said that the AH - 4Ds would be kept in the Air Force . Special forces . Interservice rivalries are often played out at divisional or regimental level or between special forces that are part of different services . The rivalry between special - forces units led to the creation of United Kingdom Special Forces in the United Kingdom ( and SOCOM in the United States ) to put them all under a unified command , putting an end to the " rice - bowl " doctrine which created absurd situations in Iran , Grenada and Panama in the 1980s . In the United Kingdom it has put an end to members of the Special Boat Service being recruited solely from the Royal Marines and it is now a tri - service branch .