spouses in the Corps

Hi everyone! I don't think I've ever posted in here.. I spend most of my time over in the POOL-ee hall... but I've got a question most poolees are too young to answer and I thought it might be more appropriate to ask here.....

My fiance is in the Marine Corps reserve and I am getting ready to go to Parris Island, too. As of right now, I am going reserve also-- but we are talking about me going active duty-- the decision factor is whether or not we could be stationed together. Our recruiter said that I would not have a problem getting stationed near him (we live right by the back gate of Camp Pendleton), especially since we'll be married.

It is one thing to hear that from a recruiter, but I am wondering if there is anyone in here whose husband is also a Marine.. if so, can you share any experience you've had being married to another Marine? I would really appreciate any information/stories anyone is willing to share... I've heard a lot of people from other services talk about being in the service with their husband, but they were usually complaining... and, of course, Marines don't complain, so I don't have much more than some Army whining and the recruiter's word to go on...

thank you in advance for your time! :)

-Jennifer

jennifer,

As an outsider, looking in, I believe your chances are zip point zero. I will stand by that, UNLESS USMC has set up a special department to deal with keeping married couples together.

That said. I was recruiting in 1968 (Vietnam Era). A potential enlistee asked me about his chances of being stationed in the San Francisco Bay Area. I told him to forget it. His chances were 90% going to Vietnam and 10% being stationed someplace else in the world.

He enlisited. Several months later, he came back to my office, with a Disbursing MOS, stationed at Treasure Island, San Francisco. That's where he spent the four yeqrs of his enlistment, commuting home every night to his mother's house in San Mateo.

(He spent more time at home at night than I did. I was still recruiting, but couldn't, in honesty, point to him as having a typical enlistment experience.)

He was an exception that broke ALL rules. Prepare for that, and hope that I am wrong.

Thank you, First Sergeant.
I know that we won't have much trouble if I go reserve like he did... I can just wait until an MOS near here opens up, since I value being a Marine more than I value the type of job I do. The true gamble is going active duty....
again, thank you for your input! :)

Married in the Marines

PARRIS ISLAND: Husband and wife ditch civilian jobs, enlist in corps together.

By Bruce Smith
The Associated Press

They stood in a drizzle amid rows of green-clad Marine recruits about to take their places among the few and the proud, but Nicole and Robert Kyger had the right to be even a bit prouder.

The married couple in their 30s decided to ditch their jobs at a motorcycle shop in Denver and enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps, undergoing the grueling, 13-week training at Parris Island with recruits nearly half their age.

They trained separately, not allowed to see each other for weeks until graduation ceremonies this past week when they received the coveted eagle, globe and anchor pin signifying they were, at last, Marines.

"I knew it was going to be hard for me and it was going to be hard for Nicole," said Kyger, who sought out his wife on the parade grounds after receiving his pin. "I got a little bit of comfort knowing Nicole was just across the island on the rough days."

Their decision to enlist now, with war in Iraq looming and thousands of troops shipping out daily, was driven by the opportunity to take on new challenges and take part in the war on terrorism.

"That did play a role for me," said Kyger, a 30-year-old Albuquerque, N.M., native and graduate of Fort Lewis College. "Terrorism is a horrible thing. Not being able to go out in the morning with a cup of coffee and a newspaper and being comfortable on my front porch - it would be a whole lot different if you weren't able to do that."

Nicole Kyger, a 32-year-old graduate of the University of Colorado, said she was attracted to the Marines for the job security, the chance to travel, and the mystique of the corps.

"I knew they were pretty tough with the training and I wasn't too sure about it at first," she said. "But then there was the thinking: They are the elite of the military forces."

The Marine Corps Recruit Depot on the island trains all female Marine recruits and male recruits from east of the Mississippi River - more than 17,000 a year - and it's not often a married couple goes through training at the same time.

"Are they the first? No. But it's definitely not a common, everyday occurrence," said Lt. Tammy Megow, spokeswoman for the depot. She said the Marines do not track numbers of married couples taking basic training at the same time.

The Kygers, married three years, enlisted last spring and worked together for months before reporting to Parris Island in December.

"Once I got it in my head that I had a chance, it was stand up and go," Kyger said.

His wife said the other recruits looked to her "like a mother" and one of the youngest sought her out as a bunk mate because she was older. "Physically," she said, "age was not a problem."

"She was a pretty good recruit," agreed Staff Sgt. Lecia Tienda, who was Nicole Kyger's drill instructor. "She was one of our better runners. She was a little slow in the squad bay, I'm not going to deny that. She doesn't move fast."

And she said the older recruit got no special consideration because of her age.

"It doesn't matter to me. I train them all the same. I could care less if they are 18 or 50," Tienda said.

For Robert Kyger, advanced infantry training is next, while his wife plans to get advanced training in meteorology.

He said there's a good chance he could be sent overseas with the infantry to war, but that didn't discourage him.

"Marines are always going someplace all the time," he said. "That's what happens."

For the future, he's thinking perhaps of work at an embassy or a teaching position in the corps. A drill instructor at Parris Island, perhaps?

"Quite possibly. I'm not going to rule that out," he said. "They are strong, hard men and women, and hopefully I would have that as an option."

To which his wife, fresh out of basic, grimaced.

"I just couldn't do it," she said.



Copyright 2002 Carolina Morning News

http://www.lowcountrynow.com/images/031003/marines.jpg

Marine recruits Robert Kyger, right, and his wife Nicole, left, kiss Thursday for the first time since coming to Parris Island for boot camp. The Kyger¹s decided to ditch their ordinary jobs and enlist together for an uncertain future in the U.S. Marine Corps. The couple, in their 30s, underwent basic training separately at Parris Island with recruits nearly half their age.


Sempers,

Roger

kissing in uniform??!! hehe

thank you for posting the article. :)

Quote:

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Originally posted by jenrmurray
kissing in uniform??!! hehe

thank you for posting the article. :)

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and I thought PDA

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SheWolf
[B]

and I thought PDA (LET ME TRY AGAIN) ,
I thought PDA (public displays of affection) was against the rules?????????????/


:bunny:

When I went to see my fiance at family day and again at graduation, I was the only one in the group of people who did not attempt to hug him because I knew the rule... I felt so deprived.. but, hours later, when we finally did get to hug, it was worth the wait. :)