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thewife
11-12-09, 01:57 AM
My husband was in the Corps for almost 10 years before we got married. Anyway, to make a long story short, we have been married for 5 years, have two kids and he is planning to reenlist after the first of the year (assuming he makes weight). I am one of those people the NEEDS information. Tell me everything you know! Answer questions I cannot even think to ask. Assume I know nothing. Please and thank you.

What should I expect when/if he gets back in?
Will we be older than his peers (he is 32, I am 30)?
He plans on changing his MOS from infantry and MP to intell. What are the chances that he will get his wishes?
How long will it be before he has to go to school from the time that he talks to the recruiter?
How can I make the move easier for my family?
What are the chances he doesn't get back in?
What is the easiest way to make friends with other wives when we get to where we are going?
Are there a lot of kids living on base?
What do you recommend for housing?

DobbinsBlythe
11-12-09, 10:24 AM
The age of his peers will depend greatly on his rank and his job. Do you know which Intel MOS he's going for?
The time between recruiter and MOS school varies greatly upon the number of job openings the Corps has for that particular MOS.
Your hubby won't be given PCS Orders until he graduates from the new MOS school. There are TONS of resources online that can help you prepare. I would strongly suggest making a catalog of all of your posessions.. take pictures, record serial numbers, and keep it SAFE. Too many times your contracted movers will screw you over.

No idea about the chances he'll get back in....

BEST way to make friends with other wives, is to get to know the other married couples in the unit. Be open and inviting and have a BBQ at your house! That's what I always do... There are Enlisted Wives Clubs on the bases... but you more than likely won't see a whole lot from your hubby's unit. It's great to get to know the ones from his shop because you guys will be dealing with some of the same things at the same time.

Kids are EVERYWHERE on base. Military families like to reproduce ... a lot lol! If you choose to live on base, know that there are constraints on the number of pets you can have, and storing firearms (if you're into hunting and shooting) and there are going to be rules for your children. It's really safe to live on base (I used to love it when I was a brat) and a lot of fun, because there are ALWAYS other kids to play with.

If you prefer not to live on base.. then you can find a house within your budget anywhere in the surrounding area. Its really a personal preference.

I hope you guys have awesome luck!!!! :D

thewife
11-12-09, 02:08 PM
DobbinsBlythe,
Thank you for your help. I have one question. You said that on base there would be rules for my kids... What does that mean? What kind of rules?

DobbinsBlythe
11-13-09, 09:14 AM
Well, when I grew up on base, we had a curfew... there's always rules when it comes to the military :D

You'll have rules too: for your lawn, how clean your house is... etc. Depending on where you are, and how his command is.. you may or may not have inspections of your house. Really though, it's nothing. Most of the families I know on Camp Pendleton haven't had issues with inspections or anything like that. The rules that are on base are like any HOA and for the safety and cleanliness of the community. :D

alphasquirrel
11-21-09, 11:47 PM
What should I expect when/if he gets back in?
Madness. ;)

My husband reenlisted after being out for a few years and it was quite a shock. While I knew him and we were dating while he was in service there was a lot more paperwork now that we were married.

Has he talked to a prior service recruiter yet? They are different than regular recruiters and you may have to do some traveling to get to one. They will do a physical exam on him but he won't have to go through Recruit Training again or anything like that. Being fit would really help because if not than he may have some trouble first starting out.

I'm not sure what will happen with him wanting to change MOSs. My husband liked and stayed in his MOS. Obviously your husband will have to go to a new MOS school and depending on its length you may or may not be able to go with him (provided the Marine Corps approves his new MOS).

You and your children will need to be entered into DEERS (Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System) and I would STRONGLY recommend you put EVERYTHING (birth certificates, marriage license, passport.. absolutely ANY pertinent information for you and your children) into one folder for him to take with him for the first couple of visits to the recruiter's office and other meetings. I can't tell you how much of a fiasco it was to have to drive an hour only to find out that they lost our marriage license information so I couldn't be entered into DEERS or get my ID card and having to drive an hour back home to get it and then another hour ... it was nuts. Just expect to have to take all of that stuff with you for at least a couple of weeks to be safe.



Will we be older than his peers (he is 32, I am 30)? This really has become a moot point. There are a lot of older individuals joining or coming back to the Marine Corps after a time out of service. It's not as unusual as you would think.



He plans on changing his MOS from infantry and MP to intell. What are the chances that he will get his wishes?My guess is that this will all depend on his ASVAB scores when he first enlisted, his service record, security clearance, etc. His recruiter will be the best source of info on that.



How long will it be before he has to go to school from the time that he talks to the recruiter?No impact, No idea. Your recruiter is going to have to be your info source on that one.



How can I make the move easier for my family?Be supportive. The last thing your kids need to see is you falling apart over this. Make this an adventure and hide your fears for your girlfriends or the mirror after your kids have gone to bed. One of my favorite sayings is: Behind every good Marine is a great wife. Being his cheerleader and his strength and support will go a LONG way to prepare your whole family for this new transition. Be positive and roll with the punches. There ARE going to be things that go wrong. There are going to be unanswered questions and sometimes you are going to feel like you don't even exist. Paperwork will be lost, it will be maddening, frustrating, scary and irritating, but nothing is beyond repair. Be tough, hold your head up, take deep breaths and go forward because there's no use complaining about what was or wasn't done when there are things remaining to be done.



What are the chances he doesn't get back in?Without knowing him and his service record I can't say. If he's in good health and served honorably having not had any trouble since his EAS then I don't see why there would be a problem.

However, if he is overweight with shoddy hearing and bad knees, has four NJPs to his record and a few page 11s and is awaiting a trial date for assault then he probably doesn't have a great chance.

His chances are all up to him and his prior service.



What is the easiest way to make friends with other wives when we get to where we are going?Go to the spouse meetings. Talk to your Key Volunteer (if they still call them that). Almost every base has a Yahoo or Facebook or MySpace group for the wives and some units even have specific groups. Marine wives can be some of the nicest women in the world. There are several instances where they will find you!



Are there a lot of kids living on base?I haven't been to a base that wasn't overflowing with kids. I especially enjoy seeing all of the post deployment kids all growing up together, the best of friends.


What do you recommend for housing? This is up to you and your wants/needs. I know a lot of people who are perfectly fine with raking the sand in front of their house at 29 Palms but others who think that it is the most ridiculous thing in the entire universe. I know some who really don't like being so ingrained into the military and enjoy having some personal space and they find that by living off base. Some like the convenience of living on base. Depending on housing availability and with your kids you may be on a waiting list and have to start out living off base anyway. It's all up to availability and the housing office.



Let's see...... anything else? Can't think of anything right now.

Hope this helps.

thewife
04-04-10, 09:28 PM
Just an update... I know it has been over 4 months but I thought I would let you guys know that my husband is getting super close. He has about 15 lbs to go (he had to lose close to 100... I know it sounds bad but civilian life did not suit him well). He is hoping to be at weight within a month. Hopfully the next time I post, I will be letting you know what his next MOS will be!

Quinbo
04-05-10, 07:13 AM
That is awesome! Tell him to stick with it.

thewife
04-28-10, 10:46 PM
9 lbs to go!

Komenko
04-28-10, 10:56 PM
Awsome, tell him to keep it up!

thewife
05-30-10, 10:25 PM
Going to the recruiter on Tuesday.

Rocky C
05-31-10, 07:31 AM
Going to the recruiter on Tuesday.


:usmc::thumbup::usmc:

William Hardy
05-31-10, 07:46 AM
Outstanding! Weight was the number 1 problem I had to face during my 40 years of military life (13 Active and the rest in reserve duty). Training for deployment to Iraq wasn't easy for a guy in his late 50s, but I survived both the training and the year deployment. Best of luck to him. I know exactly what he is feeling. If I hadn't been forced out because of my age, I would have stayed till I died.

As far as going into intel - I retrained back in the late 80s into the intel field and became an analyst. The number one obstacle is the ASVAB score. It must be really high. The school is tough, but the work is really good afterwords. I hope he is qualified for all sorts of clearances and accesses.

Best of luck to him.

thewife
06-04-10, 01:54 PM
Alphasquirrel,


Madness. ;)


You and your children will need to be entered into DEERS (Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System) and I would STRONGLY recommend you put EVERYTHING (birth certificates, marriage license, passport.. absolutely ANY pertinent information for you and your children) into one folder for him to take with him for the first couple of visits to the recruiter's office and other meetings.

I cannot tell you how helpful this piece of advice was. You are a lifesaver!!!! Thank you!!!

thewife
06-08-10, 11:34 PM
ASVAB and PT next week!!!

bluestang311
06-09-10, 04:02 AM
I am playing catch up here, but first off, let me thank your husband for his dedication to the corp! Outstanding!!
Second, if I may, Thank you. I started in the reserves (before I was married) and I have traveled and have been deployed. My wife has always said, "It is what you do, what you are." So to her, You, and all of the spouses....
Thank you. :flag:

William Hardy
06-09-10, 02:38 PM
ASVAB and PT next week!!!


Best of luck to him!:thumbup::D:flag: