[Your Nightmare]

First, this "journalist", Carolyn Marshall should know that M is capitalized in Marine.

Just a point of fact (or style, really), the generic marine would be lowercased, the specific Marine Corps would be capitalized. So, "you are a marine in the Marine Corps."

[kellynla]

When referring to a United States Marine which this "journalist" in the NYT is referring, Marine is capitalized. PERIOD!