Personal opinions desperately welcomed!

[saoirsefreedom]

Hello all. So I've wanted to join the Marines for years now, my whole closet is filled with books and DVD's all Marine-oriented, I feel it's actually my calling. The values, the uniform, the attitude, the training - I want to earn the right to be a part of that! My Dad was in the Air Force and he used to tell me stories about the Marines and how different they were to other branches in the way that they held themselves and that they were the best at drill. However, whilst I am an American citizen I was born and have grown up in the UK and the plan was to stay with family in North Carolina to enlist once I had finished school here and turned 18. I finally have turned 18 and I finish college NEXT WEEK! But the situation with my family has gotten dire - both my grandparents' health is quickly deteriorating and my aunt and uncle's financial situation is pretty terrible at the moment. My parents aren't trying to help me find a solution because they don't want me to join. But I don't know what to do, as I understand I'm required to have a driver's licence to enlist? Which I would need a permanent address to even apply for, correct? I have my UK license. The number 1 goal was always the Marines but of course the underlying, primary goal is to serve the United States, so I have been thinking if nothing gets figured out then the Army have a recruiting station in Germany. But then I realize how much I can't stand to not be a Marine. My fitness is pretty good, it has room to be much better though but I work hard on it. Anyway, is there ANYONE out there who has any pointers that might help me or just any advice. Thank you and sorry about the essay. God bless.

[saoirsefreedom]

Also, by October, which is when I planned to move originally, I would have over 4000 pounds saved up to help me out. The plan had been that, as the new fiscal year would have opened up all the MOS's in October, that I wouldn't need to stay with my family for very long and hopefully could ship out relatively quickly. I don't believe I'd have any medical waivers or tattoo waivers. And that I could just give my grandmother's address when I applied for a driver's license. I have no idea how safe that plan actually was anyhow.

[USNAviator]

" I finally have turned 18 and I finish college NEXT WEEK!"

You're graduating from college at 18??? That's remarkable

A birth certificate would come in handy to prove you are a US citizen

[saoirsefreedom]

Oh, my apologies, here 'college' doesn't mean university as it does in the U.S. The education system here is vastly different. We start school earlier so graudate high school earlier and you can either continue education until university or go on to work, vocational studies etc. I chose to continue education but not for the purposes of going to university. They're called 'sixth form colleges' over here. I don't have a birth cert because I was born here? I'm the dependant of a USAF retiree, so technically it's not my fault I was born here, my father was stationed here. All I have is an American passport.

[USNAviator]

Oh, my apologies, here 'college' doesn't mean university as it does in the U.S. The education system here is vastly different. We start school earlier so graudate high school earlier and you can either continue education until university or go on to work, vocational studies etc. I chose to continue education but not for the purposes of going to university. They're called 'sixth form colleges' over here. I don't have a birth cert because I was born here? I'm the dependant of a USAF retiree, so technically it's not my fault I was born here, my father was stationed here. All I have is an American passport.

No problems I figured it was something like that. You'll still probably need your birth certificate, after 9/11 things have gotten a whole lot tighter here. Best to get as many documents as you can including your "college " transcripts etc

Have you contacted a recruiter here in the States?

[saoirsefreedom]

Oh okay, yes Sir I do have my birth cert handy, do you mean for the purposes of proving identity as opposed to place of birth? And I have paid for and requested my hospital notes, I have my driver's license, my high school certificates and I have a social security number as it's on my military (dependant) I.D and I'm in the process of ordering my social security card. I can't think of other documentation currently. And no, I know contacting a recruiter is the basic thing to do, I'm just worried about wasting their time. I mean I currently don't even have a permanent place to live so I don't know what use I would be to them, except that I'm desperate to join lol. I don't know if maybe staying in some sort of hostel or something in NC might work I don't know. I think I shall definitely call a recruiter next week, thank you According to my dad, I am an NC resident because that's where he's from. However, he's not being at all helfpul with regards to proving that. Feels good to at least talk about it so thank you for responding! Truthfully, I feel trapped!

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Outstanding. Sounds like you are making good progress in this. Please keep us updated as you go along. I'll leave the thread open for that purpose.

[saoirsefreedom]

Thank you Sir! To tell the truth, on the contrary, I'm making very little progress; losing my place to stay was a bit of a tough blow. However, I will stay dedicated to my fitness, studying Marine Corps values and history etc. and pray I get out of here!! I will definitely ring a USMC recruiter and see what they think.

[DanM]

Oh okay, yes Sir I do have my birth cert handy, do you mean for the purposes of proving identity as opposed to place of birth? And I have paid for and requested my hospital notes, I have my driver's license, my high school certificates and I have a social security number as it's on my military (dependant) I.D and I'm in the process of ordering my social security card. I can't think of other documentation currently. And no, I know contacting a recruiter is the basic thing to do, I'm just worried about wasting their time. I mean I currently don't even have a permanent place to live so I don't know what use I would be to them, except that I'm desperate to join lol. I don't know if maybe staying in some sort of hostel or something in NC might work I don't know. I think I shall definitely call a recruiter next week, thank you According to my dad, I am an NC resident because that's where he's from. However, he's not being at all helfpul with regards to proving that. Feels good to at least talk about it so thank you for responding! Truthfully, I feel trapped!

I believe the SSN on your dependant's Military ID card is your father's SSN.

[Big Jim]

Definitely keep the information coming as you make progress on this. I am trying to sponsor a young lad from Italy who also dreams of becoming a Marine. The red tape is unbelievable...!! But we're still searching for records.......

[saoirsefreedom]

DanM, I can definitely be sure the SSN on my I.D is mine as I've had to use it for renewing my passport and getting the new dependant I.D which now blocks out the SSN, so luckily I do have one. Big Jim, please if possible, could you tell me what you mean by sponsor, Sir? Are you basically working on enlisting him by him sending documentation to you/regular communication? It sounds like a situation that could apply to me! Thank you very much

[saoirsefreedom]

Hello Marines. Just an update for those that were interested; I talked to a recruiter a couple of weeks ago. The first one I spoke to asked me what was wrong with the British Army lol, a response I was completely prepared for after being on this website! I assured him, however, that I had always wanted to join the Marines. Anyway, he had to pass me on to a Gunner Sergeant as he had no idea what to tell me. The Gunny didn't deliver the best news in that the bottom line is I would have to be able to attend those weekly meetings and monthly functions. I'd need to be able to show them committment, which is completely fair. I have to have some sort of permanent residence in NC to enlist out of NC anyway. So, I have the option of begging my family to let me stay with them or renting a room from someone. Either way I have a long road ahead of me, but I won't let it deter me. However, there is another glitch in that I thought I knew the Marine Corps' stance on tattoos pretty well until I came across this regulation stating that 'Feet or leg tattoos must not be apparent when wearing the Service A, Blue Dress A/B, Blue-White Dress A/B, or the Evening Dress Uniform.' I never knew about this one and it just so happens that when I was 16 I got 'Freedom' and a vine inked on my foot and ankle. I'm presuming, given females have skirts as part of their service attire, that I have already screwed up my prospects of joining. I had stupidly assumed my foot was the safest place to get a tattoo, the answer really is, if you want to join, DON'T GET A TATTOO.

[saoirsefreedom]

*Gunnery

[fiber111]

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