Interested in joining the United States Marine Corps (tricky country situation) [Archive] - Marine Corps

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Malv

08-06-06, 10:35 AM

Hey all, my name is Ron and I am very intersted in enlisting into the United States Marine Corps :) I have completed two years of college, and taken the last year off which resulted in months of thinking that has led me to this decision.

Unfortunately, I am in bit of a predicament. I currently live in Seoul, Korea on the Yongsan military base. Specifically, I live on South Post, and my father works for the United States Embassy; our family moves around alot, and it makes things a bit troublesome for opportunities for me, especially regarding this case and enlisting into the Marine Corps.

I apologize ahead of time if this is the wrong place for it, but if someone could point me in the right (or general, any help is good right now!) direction with a few answers to these questions I would most appreciate it.

1. How does one enlist into the Marine Corps overseas? I am an American citizen, and I understand that speaking to a recruiter is mandatory and I am very interested in doing so, but is there any way to arrange a meeting with a recruiter over the internet? I've tried www.marines.com but unfortunately they don't ship information out to APO addresses (mine sadly enough).

2. I have heard that where you attend boot camp (Parris Island or San Diego respectively) depends primarily on your state of residency (East or West of the Mississippi I'm told). I have state residency in New Jersey, and I would mostly prefer attending boot camp on Parris Island, as most of my friends and family is located on the East Coast, and I'd like for them to be able to attend my graduation (if I make it!), and in general it would just make the logistics of my situation alot easier to bear (I have friends to stay with in Washington DC if I am forced to move to the states to see a recruiter).

3. A bit of a silly one, but do you need to be extremely large to be a Marine? It is a bit silly... I am 5'7 weighing 156 pounds, and aside from a very small looking frame I am in good physical shape. I've extensively looked up the physical requirements for enlistment into the Marine Corps and I am capable of making the top grades in all categories. Still, I was wondering if it would be in my best interest to bulk up before basic training? Or is any body shape generally okay as long as you're capable of beating out the physical tests?

4. I'm very interested in MOS 8541, Scout Sniper. I have heard the best chance of being eligible for this MOS is by enlisting as an Infantrymen and performing outstandingly on all physical/mental/ASVAB tests possible, but is there any guarantee to attend the Scout Sniper school or anyway to increase my likelihood of being accepted? I understand that this isn't Counter-Strike or some silly game, and I make my desire for this training after months of careful (at least I think!) thought :)

I have a few more but I think that is MORE then enough for now, heh ;) Anyways sorry for the length of this post, and thanks for taking the time to read it. Hope to get some answers real soon! Thanks again ladies and gentlemen, and wish me luck for this! Sorry again if this is in the wrong forum, blah.

Covey_Rider

08-06-06, 11:01 AM

You wrote this post in the correct area so you can be proud of that haha.

1. I'll talk to my recruiter for you and see what the options are for enlisting while overseas because I'm not sure. I'll be with him tomorrow so I'll bring it up.

2. Whoever told you about where you go to boot is absolutely right. Where you attend boot camp does primarily depend on what state you reside in. East of the mississippi goes to PI, west goes to SD. You'll have no problem going to the island.

3. No you do not have to be big to join the Marine Corps. I've seen Marines that are like 5'3" and are fiesty as hell and can fight like nobody else. You'll be fine. That shouldn't be a concern of yours at all.

4. You must enlist as an infantryman and then once you get done with all of that training, if you desire to do so, you'll go to school to become a scout sniper. If there WAS a way to increase your chances of being accepted then everyone would exploit it and then it would become the standard, so to answer that question, no there isn't. The best thing you can do is to work out regularly, practice shooting and snapping into shooting positions, take practice ASVABS and work on the achedemics. Just go onto google and research everything there is to know about skills that Scout/Snipers must use and learn them on your own so that when you go to school for it you'll be knowledgable on the subject already. It'll make things easier for you.

Good Luck and I'll get back to you with info about overseas enlistment.

Echo_Four_Bravo

08-06-06, 12:08 PM

I am pretty sure we covered the basis in how you enlist from overseas in either this forum, or the Ask a Marine forum. Do a search and your question about that will be answered.

There are height/weight requirements to be a Marine. You can google search that and find the table. I would assume you are well within the regulation though.

If you'll notice, there are a bunch of wannabes on this site that want to be snipers or recon guys. It is the nature of the beast. I would bet that the Army has tons of people wanting to go SF or Delta as well. Not everyone can make it, they are there to support the infantry, not to be in place of the infantry. All you can do is be the best Marine you can be. You'll have to score very high on every PFT and at the rifle range, as well as perform every part of your job perfectly if you hope to be chosen to be a sniper... then you'll have to pass one of the most difficult schools in the US military. Keep your goal in sight, but remember you enlist to be a Marine, not a sniper (or any other job).

The Sandman

08-06-06, 04:16 PM

I know that you have to establish a permenant residency in the U.S. to be able to enlist. Try and contact immigration lawyers in the area that you are interested in moving to.

Malv

08-06-06, 05:36 PM

Covey_Rider: Thanks alot for the information :) I can definitely complete the physical portions of boot camp right now, so its good to hear about the size thing; I still have a little reservations about carrying so much weight with my height, but its just something I'll have to get good with again I guess. And the Parris Island thing comes as a huge relief. Thanks again. Anytime you get the information regarding overseas recruiting I'd love it if you either PMed me about it or posted it in this thread. Or just point my lazy ass in the general direction and I'll search myself! Just can't seem to find reliable information about this anywhere short of packing up and moving to the states (again).

Echo_Four_Bravo: Yeah I've been looking around the site for a long time now, but I couldn't find information regarding an overseas recruiter, especially since I am an American citizen... I just won't be able to "live" stateside for another year or two I believe. And I've noticed the plethora of SF/Seals/Recon/anything glittery and cool in movies threads on a variety of military forums... I have no illusion about the difficulty of the schools, or their washout rates for highschoolers just going in and acting gungho. My first priority is to be a Marine, and pursue the training at a later date when I've had a taste of what Marine life is really like first. I was just curious if there were any options to go in as one, or how to be eligible as one during a tour of duty. Thanks for the information though, and I'll try to be a bit less childlike when asking about it in the future, heh.

The Sandman: The real problem I have regarding a recruiter is if there isn't any nearby (military base on Seoul, Korea that is). While I could just move stateside with a friend, I don't have an real idea of when I'll actually ship for bootcamp when I talk to a recruiter over there, and I can't really spend several weeks without working or exercising while waiting for my papers to process of whatever. And it would be a hell of alot worse if I didn't make it into bootcamp... that would be a couple thousand dollar trip, and it takes time off my job. Our family recently sold our house in the states, so thats a no go, and we don't head back for another year... bit too long for me to wait.

teddyn

08-07-06, 08:14 PM

Hey there, I am also international; I grew up in Paris and went to high school in the U.K.
Do you have any relatives in the US? If you do, I'm pretty sure you can use their address.

Covey_Rider

08-09-06, 05:10 AM

Ok I talked to my recruiter today and he said if you flew to Des Moines Iowa he'd have no problem puting you in hahaha. Other then that he said to call 1-800-Marines and to find a recruiter that way. From his knowledge there are recruiters overseas whos' specific job is to go around from countries and islands in Southeast Asia and the Phillipines just to get new recruits. Just give that number a call and if that doesn't work out let me know and I'll talk with him again.

Malv

08-10-06, 07:14 AM

Thanks alot Covey, it was very helpful :) I've found a couple of Marines on base to talk to and ask about recruitment, and as there isn't currently a recruiter in Seoul (I think he's on leave or something, just my luck), and hopefully I'll be ready to ship off sometime in October... but we'll see how it works out.

Thanks alot everyone for the assistance, and wish me luck!

JWG

08-10-06, 07:19 AM