Medical Discharge and enlistment in Marines

[MJB84]

I have reviewed almost all of the threads in this forum and have seen similar questions however I am still not sure of the answer for my situation. I was in the Army from August 2004 until December 2005 when I received a medical discharge for "bilateral knee pain". Since I have been out I have been more physically active than when I was in the service, and have not had any problems with my knees. I haven't had to have any surgery or anything and I really want to give the service another shot, but I don't want to do the Army again. I really want to be a Marine. I have several friends in the Marines and have seen how much better the fleet is than the freakin' "fellowship" that the Army has!

I guess the only way to say this is, am I eligible to get into the Marine Corps? my DD214 has an RE code 3. At the time of my discharge I was a 0% disability rating. How long do I have to wait? I attempted to talk to a recruiter here in Valdosta about enlisting and they wouldn't even talk to me they looked at my DD214 and said, "Yeah we can't do anything until 2 years passed your initial discharge date." I asked them to stay around and talk with me about my options and they just looked at me and said, "Come back in December." and walked out. I just want to know my options.

I'm sorry for the lengthy post, I just want to get all of the facts that I think will be necessary to get a proper response. Thanks in advance, Marines!

Matthew

[hump_drop]

If you're wanting to go active duty, contact your local recruiting office. Bring all your paperwork in with you, sit down and explain yourself. You can get that RE-3 changed, you just have to basically prove that you no longer have that condition that caused the RE-3 code.

[MJB84]

when you say all my paperwork, you mean DD214 and medical records and such, or would I have to have a statement from a doctor concerning my past knee problem?

Also I was advised by my parents to go through the motions of receiving compensation from the VA, in case I was barred from re-enlistment. My paperwork has been done and I am waiting on whether or not the claim was approved or not. Is that an issue as well?

Another thing is I'm not sure if I want to do active duty or reserves. I am going to school right now for Computer Programming and would absolutely LOVE to do that for the Marine Corps, however you have to have 2 years of active duty on your contract upon completion of training, AND it's only offered as an additional MOS. My ideal situation would be to join the Reserves in a general computer specialist MOS and finish college and then pursue the programming MOS for the Marine Corps in Active Duty.

I just know that I REALLY would like to earn the title "Marine". I would like to go to Boot sometime soon, like the end of March or beginning of April. Is that even possible or would paperwork take too long for me to get in that soon?

...and thanks for responding so quickly!! I'm absolutely amazed ^^.

[davblay]

If your claim with the VA is approved and you are awarded compensation, then it will be next to impossible to get a waiver, but not impossible! If you are granted a waiver then you will have the amount of compensation the VA pays you deducted from your military pay, that is if you are in the National Guard or Reserves. I used to be a recruiter and I have dealt with this situation, but that was 20 years ago. Good luck and remember to be persistant and don't give up the ship, we'd always love another Marine! Semper fi

[hump_drop]

Bring all your paperwork DD214, medical records, and if you can get a doc to provide documentation saying that the condition that is listed on the medical records from your discharge is no longer present, bring that too.

Sorry it took so long to reply. If you're wanting to enlist in the Reserves as a computer support type then you have to have that kind of unit around you. If all you have is infantry companies close to you then then you better invest in some moleskin :)

Why join the Corps and NOT be an 03 anyway?? :)

Above all talk to a recruiter!!

[MJB84]

Thanks a lot, Marines, for your quick responses! It is MOST appreciated. So, it looks like I got a little bit of legwork cut out for me, but I will GLADLY do the work!!! I am very relieved to hear that I am not DQed to join the Marines. Also, by a stroke of luck I have been able to get into contact with a Marine Corps recruiter in North Carolina that is willing to help me do what I need to do to get in!!! GOD I LOVE MARINES!!! ^^ You're all so willing to help when someone needs it! (or at least the majority of you are, lol). Thanks for the information davblay, it's great to know, and while it may be 20 years old I'm sure it still will hold a bit of truth today. Oh and Hump Drop, about the 03, I do absolutely love the infantry and the M16, everything about it. I love cleaning it taking it apart and peicing it back together again, firing it, zeroing it,....EVERYTHING! Also a secret dream of mine has always been to become a Marine Corps Sniper, but, unfortunately my passion for computers and programming is just a little bit stronger than my passion for weapons and kicking a$$, lol. But, hell, we'll see if there's any reserve units like that around, and if there isn't and only Infantry, then I guess I WILL be an 03 ^^.