60Days
03-03-09, 10:52 AM
This is a bit of an introduction, but also a word to anyone who is interested in joining the Marines but is faced with some sort of difficulty in joining.
Some background info. I am prior service active Army. I liked it. Why did I get out? Well... I'm not entirely sure. For one thing I joined at 17 and straight out of high school and by the time my enlistment was up I was feeling antsy to try something "new". I hadnt really seen the world outside of school or the military and I wanted the opportunity to see it. I've saw it and it sucks. In more ways than one. Family is wonderful, I have a steady relationship, and a job that pays the bills. I am not overly stressed by any particular thing, but over time civilian life can take its toll just as much as the military life will.
I missed the military and because I picked the Army before over the Marine Corps because a friend was going Army too, I finally did what I really wanted to do. I had a few obstacles to overcome. First, I am prior service. That required a waiver. I also had a recent minor conviction that placed me on 2 years unsupervised probation. I did not need a morality waiver, however dealing with the unsupervised probation was going to be a big hurdle. Lastly, I have a few tattoos, one which comes up from my back to my neck just enough to require a tattoo waiver.
So last August I walked into the recruiting station and just laid it all out on the table. I was pretty nervous because I was expecting them to just stare at me and say "No.". They were very helpful though, and basically gave me enough encouragement that I left that day, drove 45 minutes and saw a lawyer. It cost money but I looked at it like an investment.
If anyone out there has probation right now and they are doubting their chances to get it "lifted" so they can enlist I will tell you what my lawyer told me (this is not first hand professional advice, so consult someone who actually knows). First, it better be for a damn good reason. Joining the Marine Corps is an excellent reason. BUT if the judge signs off on anything that says Marines and it goes into official record, YOU ARE SCREWED. You WILL be DQ'ed. The way around this is to take responsibility for your actions, and admit, in court, in front of the judge, that you were being a dumbass. By all means tell your lawyer you want to join the Marines, but also tell him the importance of leaving the mentioning of the military out of paperwork. They will come up with something, and word the documents to what you need. Second, you have to have served approx. half your probation before they will consider it. And last, the original offense must not be a weapons offense, domestic battery. If drug related, it must be minor and a first offense.
But if you're willing to do the work and have enough guts to go in front of the judge, he will probably see things your way if you are professional about it. For me, it took 7 months to get to court. It took so long because the court system moves slow, and because I hadn't served enough of my probation to go. That was on my own advice, I wanted to serve more of it out to increase my chances. And yes, I know that people who have committed crimes have gone against the Marine Corps ethos, but mistakes are sometimes made and I assume that there are very good Marines out there who have had troubled past lives.
Anyways, I did see the judge, he sent a court order abolishing my UP, and I was a free man. I went back to the recruiters office and they sent me to MEPs four days later to physical and take my ASVAB. I passed both, made a 96 on my test and went back and filled out all my paperwork for my waivers. They submitted them, and just a little over a week later they were approved... but they also gave my recruiters some news I guess they had overlooked. There is a 90 day waiting period from the day you get off probation to the day you can ship out to Boot Camp. So it sucks for me in a way, because I still have 60 days and some change to ship out, but I'm also fortunate to be this close to joining the Marines. All in all, from the first day I talked to the recruiters to the day I might ship out, we are talking around 10 months.
But my shot at Marine Corps Boot Camp is close to being a reality, so if anyone feels like it's hopeless or they'll never join because of some issue they are scared to talk with their recruiter about... just do it and start working on whatever it is you need to do.
Oh and if anyone has any ideas on how to keep myself from going crazy (I'm so ready to go...) while waiting, feel free.
Some background info. I am prior service active Army. I liked it. Why did I get out? Well... I'm not entirely sure. For one thing I joined at 17 and straight out of high school and by the time my enlistment was up I was feeling antsy to try something "new". I hadnt really seen the world outside of school or the military and I wanted the opportunity to see it. I've saw it and it sucks. In more ways than one. Family is wonderful, I have a steady relationship, and a job that pays the bills. I am not overly stressed by any particular thing, but over time civilian life can take its toll just as much as the military life will.
I missed the military and because I picked the Army before over the Marine Corps because a friend was going Army too, I finally did what I really wanted to do. I had a few obstacles to overcome. First, I am prior service. That required a waiver. I also had a recent minor conviction that placed me on 2 years unsupervised probation. I did not need a morality waiver, however dealing with the unsupervised probation was going to be a big hurdle. Lastly, I have a few tattoos, one which comes up from my back to my neck just enough to require a tattoo waiver.
So last August I walked into the recruiting station and just laid it all out on the table. I was pretty nervous because I was expecting them to just stare at me and say "No.". They were very helpful though, and basically gave me enough encouragement that I left that day, drove 45 minutes and saw a lawyer. It cost money but I looked at it like an investment.
If anyone out there has probation right now and they are doubting their chances to get it "lifted" so they can enlist I will tell you what my lawyer told me (this is not first hand professional advice, so consult someone who actually knows). First, it better be for a damn good reason. Joining the Marine Corps is an excellent reason. BUT if the judge signs off on anything that says Marines and it goes into official record, YOU ARE SCREWED. You WILL be DQ'ed. The way around this is to take responsibility for your actions, and admit, in court, in front of the judge, that you were being a dumbass. By all means tell your lawyer you want to join the Marines, but also tell him the importance of leaving the mentioning of the military out of paperwork. They will come up with something, and word the documents to what you need. Second, you have to have served approx. half your probation before they will consider it. And last, the original offense must not be a weapons offense, domestic battery. If drug related, it must be minor and a first offense.
But if you're willing to do the work and have enough guts to go in front of the judge, he will probably see things your way if you are professional about it. For me, it took 7 months to get to court. It took so long because the court system moves slow, and because I hadn't served enough of my probation to go. That was on my own advice, I wanted to serve more of it out to increase my chances. And yes, I know that people who have committed crimes have gone against the Marine Corps ethos, but mistakes are sometimes made and I assume that there are very good Marines out there who have had troubled past lives.
Anyways, I did see the judge, he sent a court order abolishing my UP, and I was a free man. I went back to the recruiters office and they sent me to MEPs four days later to physical and take my ASVAB. I passed both, made a 96 on my test and went back and filled out all my paperwork for my waivers. They submitted them, and just a little over a week later they were approved... but they also gave my recruiters some news I guess they had overlooked. There is a 90 day waiting period from the day you get off probation to the day you can ship out to Boot Camp. So it sucks for me in a way, because I still have 60 days and some change to ship out, but I'm also fortunate to be this close to joining the Marines. All in all, from the first day I talked to the recruiters to the day I might ship out, we are talking around 10 months.
But my shot at Marine Corps Boot Camp is close to being a reality, so if anyone feels like it's hopeless or they'll never join because of some issue they are scared to talk with their recruiter about... just do it and start working on whatever it is you need to do.
Oh and if anyone has any ideas on how to keep myself from going crazy (I'm so ready to go...) while waiting, feel free.