Questions about enlisting...

[nrml1]

Good Morning Marines,

I was talking to my recruiter recently and it seems that the USMC is sitting pretty with its recruiting goals. What I mean is the Corps has pretty much met and exceeded its recruitment goals (not surprisingly, Marines get it done) and that makes it even more difficult for people to enlist.

One of the things he mentioned was the fact that when he first got there less than a year ago, his monthly 'need' was of 3 bodies, now it has been lowered to one which they have inevitably surpassed (since they were using the 3 body rule). Because of this now it seems a lot of the Poolees are getting their ship date pushed back as much as a year... and this is for 03xx. Because of my age, I want to go ASAP.

Me being an older wannabe he's suggesting I go reserves because he can guarantee me a ship date in the fall which is great because I want to leave as soon as possible. So I'll get to the question:

If I go reserve, I understand that a few things go into play when requesting to go Active from the Reserve forces some of which are rank, TIG, your command and its administrative professionalism among other things. But realistically speaking, am I looking at YEARS to go from Reserves to Active or more like months?

And what about going from Reserves to Active Reserves? And if I get into AR, how long is that (billet?) for and how difficult is it to go full Active from AR?

Thank you for your time and Patience Marines, I appreciate your help in jump starting my military career.

Cheers,

nrml1 :flag:

[nrml1]

I really should stop writing a novel, I realize now people don't have time to read that bible. :s

As always, any help is appreciated.

[thewookie]

Years.

[Supersquishy]

Not just the Marines but all branches are exceeding thier quotas, the question though is whether or not all jobs slots are at full capacity (doubtful). So they are going to be very selective and you better be sh1t hot. This will continue until the economy gets better or there is a mass exodus due to retirement (unlikely), or another WW( god help us). Forgot to mention that if you cant wait and still want to do grunt work, the Army will take you...LOL

[nrml1]

Not just the Marines but all branches are exceeding thier quotas, the question though is whether or not all jobs slots are at full capacity (doubtful). So they are going to be very selective and you better be sh1t hot. This will continue until the economy gets better or there is a mass exodus due to retirement (unlikely), or another WW( god help us). Forgot to mention that if you cant wait and still want to do grunt work, the Army will take you...LOL

Cpl, thanks for taking the time.

You're the 3rd person to say that, a Sergeant and Gunnery Sergeant friends of mine said the same thing since I would prefer doing grunt work, but there are just so many things about the Army that are not appealing to me. I love what the Corps stands for but I guess if push comes to shove I have to go with what I want. Then again, every Marine a rifleman so we'll see.

I'd be willing to forgo my MOS choice if it meant I could be active. The main problem now is the fact that to ship someone with an active contract it's going to take at least a year, time I just dont have, which brings me back to my question.

[Sergeant M]

What are your ASVAB scores? If you can qualify for a critical MOS, then your launch date will be much sooner. Don't worry, just because you won't be a grunt doesn't mean you don't make an impact on the world. Also, you can find a critical MOS that works directly with grunts.