--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I spent thirty-three years and four…" description: "\"I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I serv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/smedley-butler-17291_active_i-spent-thirty-three-years-and-four-mont_2428953.png" --- # I spent thirty-three years and four months in active… ![“I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General.” quote by Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/smedley-butler-17291_active_i-spent-thirty-three-years-and-four-mont_2428953.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/smedley-butler-17291_active_i-spent-thirty-three-years-and-four-mont_2428953.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0d/smedley-butler-17291_active_i-spent-thirty-three-years-and-four-mont_2428953.png) > “I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General.” [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reflects on a long military career, highlighting dedication and the varied responsibilities of leadership. **In simple terms:** Military service involves growth and leadership. Key Takeaway Respect the commitment of service members. Themes military leadership service Mood respectful reflective Type historical biographical When to use this quote - career counseling - veteran support - leadership training - historical study Key Concepts hierarchy discipline Questions to Reflect On - What motivates long‑term service? - How does rank affect perspective? A Different Perspective Military actions can be morally complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Active](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active/) [Active Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active-military-256127/) [Army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/army/) [Corps Served](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corps-served-256130/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [Marine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marine/) [Marine Corp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marine-corp/) [Marine corps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marine-corps/) [Members](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/members/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Military force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military-force/) [Military service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military-service/) [Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months/) [Served Commissioned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/served-commissioned-256128/) [Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service/) [Service Member](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service-member-256129/) [Thirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirty/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [“I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/i-spent-thirty-three-years-and-four-months-in-active-military-service/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [After 21 years, six months and 10 days of active military service, I am now a civilian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-vindman/after-21-years-six-months-and-10-days-of-active-military-service-i-am/) [Alexander Vindman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-vindman/) > [I'm not an aspiring rapper, I'm not a gang member, I'm not a dope dealer, I don't have multiple babies momma's. I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dorner/i-m-not-an-aspiring-rapper-i-m-not-a-gang-member-i-m-not-a-dope/) [Christopher Dorner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dorner/) > [I served in all commissioned ranks from second lieutenant to major general. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/i-served-in-all-commissioned-ranks-from-second-lieutenant-to-major/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [I served in all commissioned ranks from a second Lieutenant to a Major General. And during that time, I spent most of my time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/i-served-in-all-commissioned-ranks-from-a-second-lieutenant-to-a/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [We're trying to do everything we can through Good Ride to raise money and awareness for active military, and more so veterans. We're trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carey-hart/we-re-trying-to-do-everything-we-can-through-good-ride-to-raise-money/) [Carey Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carey-hart/) > [“From 2002 to 2008, the United States was fighting bloody wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; among active military personnel, there were an average 1,643…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-levitt/from-2002-to-2008-the-united-states-was-fighting-bloody-wars-in/) [Steven D. Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) > [I will not put the life of an American service member on the line unless that is the option of last resort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beto-o-rourke/i-will-not-put-the-life-of-an-american-service-member-on-the-line/) [Beto O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beto-o-rourke/) > [In military families, the service member is frequently the breadwinner. Constant moves make steady employment a challenge for non-military spouses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brianna-keilar/in-military-families-the-service-member-is-frequently-the-breadwinner/) [Brianna Keilar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brianna-keilar/) > [The day you married a service member is the day you joined the military.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-day-you-married-a-service-member-is-the-day-you-joined-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of the higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/my-mental-faculties-remained-in-suspended-animation-while-i-obeyed/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [War Is A Racket : I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/war-is-a-racket-i-suspected-i-was-just-part-of-a-racket-at-the-time/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [We want to approach this in a multilateral way, talking with our friends, consulting with our security council colleagues in the United Nations, hoping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/we-want-to-approach-this-in-a-multilateral-way-talking-with-our/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [The problem is that Iran has been identified as a dangerous enemy, and the longer the media forwards that proposition - and the media…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hooman-majd/the-problem-is-that-iran-has-been-identified-as-a-dangerous-enemy-and/) [Hooman Majd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hooman-majd/) > [As a soldier and combat veteran, I believe American military forces should only be used in the defense and furtherance of our nation's vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-ernst/as-a-soldier-and-combat-veteran-i-believe-american-military-forces/) [Joni Ernst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-ernst/) ## More by Smedley Butler > [War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/war-is-just-a-racket-a-racket-is-best-described-i-believe-as/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/i-helped-make-mexico-especially-tampico-safe-for-american-oil/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [“I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/i-spent-thirty-three-years-and-four-months-in-active-military-service/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [Only those who would be called upon to risk their lives for their country should have the privilege of voting to determine whether the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/only-those-who-would-be-called-upon-to-risk-their-lives-for-their/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [One hundred and twenty Marines were detailed to officer a force of twenty-six hundred Haitians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/one-hundred-and-twenty-marines-were-detailed-to-officer-a-force-of/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [I served in all commissioned ranks from a second Lieutenant to a Major General. And during that time, I spent most of my time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/i-served-in-all-commissioned-ranks-from-a-second-lieutenant-to-a/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/war-is-a-racket-it-always-has-been-it-is-possibly-the-oldest-easily/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [“WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/war-is-a-racket-it-always-has-been-it-is-possibly-the-oldest-easily-2/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of the higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/my-mental-faculties-remained-in-suspended-animation-while-i-obeyed/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [We must permit the youth of the land who would bear arms to decide whether or not there should be war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/we-must-permit-the-youth-of-the-land-who-would-bear-arms-to-decide/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [Why don't those damn oil companies fly their own flags on their personal property-maybe a flag with a gas pump on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/why-don-t-those-damn-oil-companies-fly-their-own-flags-on-their/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [I served in all commissioned ranks from second lieutenant to major general. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/i-served-in-all-commissioned-ranks-from-second-lieutenant-to-major/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of the higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/my-mental-faculties-remained-in-suspended-animation-while-i-obeyed-2/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/the-trouble-with-america-is-that-when-the-dollar-only-earns-6-percent/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [War Is A Racket : I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/war-is-a-racket-i-suspected-i-was-just-part-of-a-racket-at-the-time/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) [Explore all 37 Smedley Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) ## More Active quotes > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [We in US need active intelligence: people being on the streets, people being able to stop and ask questions of individuals that they suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/we-in-us-need-active-intelligence-people-being-on-the-streets-people/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I eat healthy most of the time. Whole foods are the best for you when you are super active, so I get plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witney-carson/i-eat-healthy-most-of-the-time-whole-foods-are-the-best-for-you-when/) [Witney Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witney-carson/) > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Love, like truth and beauty, is concrete. Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling; not, at heart, a matter of sentiment, attachment, or being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/love-like-truth-and-beauty-is-concrete-love-is-not-fundamentally-a/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [The answer to any challenge you are having has nothing to do with God's willingness to help. It has to do with your acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/the-answer-to-any-challenge-you-are-having-has-nothing-to-do-with-god/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [Pete Townsend for me was a huge influence. Because essentially they were a three-piece band and the way he structured his chords and took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/pete-townsend-for-me-was-a-huge-influence-because-essentially-they/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-is-an-enemy-there-is-an-intelligent-active-malign-force-working/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Few, if any, creatures are equally active all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/few-if-any-creatures-are-equally-active-all-night/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [You need to enjoy yourself and just get into the routine of keeping fit and enjoying being active. That's always easier once you've made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-brownlee/you-need-to-enjoy-yourself-and-just-get-into-the-routine-of-keeping/) [Alistair Brownlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-brownlee/) [Browse all 2,212 Active quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. 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