AaronIG

No, they're an independent government agency. Federal agencies that survive on non-appropriated funds aren't uncommon, for example, The Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, U.S. Mint and several DoD NAFIs (e.g. the different exchanges and various MWR programs).

Interesting. I'm currently stationed at MCRD San Diego (Navy, though), so I get to see some of how their recruitment and boot process works. Lax in what ways (assuming you're talking about the U.S., not the Royal Marines)?

I think Kiro meant 500, as in the HTTP status code, due to PHP running out of memory, not 500MB.

I can't recall the last time I used Siri on my iPhone, or anyone else I know, for that matter; however, I've used Google Now on an almost daily basis on my Nexus 7. Execution is key.

There's a difference between calling a hotline and lodging a complaint, and generally being a dick for giggles.

It's not just any military background, though. Most of them are former pilots. Astronaut Candidates must have 1,000 hours of "pilot-in-command" time in a jet aircraft, or 3 years of professional related experience. The former is usually obtained through the military.

A civilian would have to complete training equivalent to that of a military pilot before actually being cleared for a mission. One-third of military pilots don't, though it's entirely possible the civilian could. However, it probably makes more sense to train those individuals who have already shown they can perform under similar conditions.