Married Life?

[PMKelley]

OK, I am engaged and about to go to boot camp. I wanted to get married after boot camp is done with and a few months have gone by.
My questions is, as a Lance Corporal would my wife be able to travel with me to where I am stationed? How does all that work? How long after I am in before she would be able to meet back up with me and go where I go. Obviously in a combat zone I understand that is not possible but just regular over sea delpoyments, how would that work. Any advise would greatly be appreciated. She is a LVN nurse working on her RN degree. Would she be able to get a job on base as well as a civilian or what advise do you all have to offer. I know married life and Marines might not be the best partnership but I know many Marines that have made it work. Thanks for any help.
~Paul~

[Lisa 23]

How about filling out all of your profile so the Marines who are going to answer your questions, know who they are talking to. :thumbup: And read the rules in the poolee forum too.

[Wyoming]

You are a college grad, a double major?

Ever thought about the officer ranks?

Your fiance, nurse, let her get her RN.

THEN, apply for the traveling nurse program.

[PMKelley]

I graduate this May yes. My recruiter talked to me about that. My MOS will be MPs.
What I really want to do is MSG Duty then after my service get on with the State Department under their Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) doing embassy protection and working with foreign diplomates when they come to the US. I am 28 years old so Im pushing a lot of limits for a lot of things so thats why I decided to ask here. I am sorry if I did not read all the rules at first. I was just excited to ask my question as I had just returned back home to South Texas from Oklahoma (crazy winter weather there this past week) where she is living and finishing up her schooling as well. We had talk about future plans and so on and the excitement got the better of me. I apologize for any lack of info on my part and carelessness.
Thank you for the traveling nurse info. I will mention that to her so we could look into that more.

[josephd]

I don't know you or anything but you seem like a squared away and intelligent guy with some leadership potential. And based on what you would like to with the State Dept. I would go the officer route if you could. Not to say the enlisted side doesn't offer what you want but being an officer in the military is going to open a lot more doors for you when it comes to working within the government.

[brian0351]

Actually for DS being in the military helps but it doesn't really matter if it's officer or enlisted. I've seen people with Bachelors degrees picked over those with Master's degrees. It's highly competitive. PLUS, they aren't always hiring...you have to wait until positions open before you can even put in your application.

As for your wife...Boot Camp, MCT and MP training (However long that is) the Marines will not pay for your wife to follow. Only once you check into your first permanent duty station will you be able to process to get her there. I don't know the costs or the procedure though (Happy Bachelor here!). And when it comes to deployments (Do MPs Deploy?), she will not be able to follow, unless your being reassigned overseas, however even then you have accompanied and unaccompanied tours. It all depends on where you end up.

OH...I can't believe I forgot about this...IF YOU ARE MARRIED YOU CANNOT BE AN MSG!!! Only SNCOs are allowed to be married because they are Det Commanders, not watchstanders. So you may need to rethink your future plans.

[PMKelley]

Thank you for all that info Brian0351, I see you have an MSG ribbon, if I am correct. Wow, that really opened my eyes with that statement about being married and not being able to be an MSG. Hum.... so many things to think about now.

[SGT7477]

Get your thinking done before you step on the yellow footprints, Good Luck.

[brian0351]

Thank you for all that info Brian0351, I see you have an MSG ribbon, if I am correct. Wow, that really opened my eyes with that statement about being married and not being able to be an MSG. Hum.... so many things to think about now.

That's right. I was on the program from 98-00. Back then we did 2 15month tours. Nowadays I believe they are doing 3 One Year tours.

MSG duty is one of the best duties that the Marine Corps has to offer. Its eye opening and career changing (Not to mention the TS clearance opens SO many doors if you get out). I tell ever Marine I come across to do it.

I'm sure you love your woman and all that, but even keeping it just "engaged" while your overseas would KILL your relationship. Almost EVERY MSG gets engaged to someone from their assignment.

Example out of the 6 Marines I had with me in Harare:

Me: Engaged...Broke up
Marine 1: Engaged at BOTH posts...broke up
Marine 2: Engaged....10yrs still Married
Marine 3: Engaged....10yrs still married
Marine 4: Engaged, Married Her...Divorced
Marine 5: Engaged First Post, Engaged and Married Second Post

Its a rough life out there!