Financial Assistance for Recruit with Family, Student Loans, etc.

[dfstl]

Good morning, sir. I'm interested in learning more about the USMC, as I believe I would like to become a reservist. I believe I may be hindered by my financial situation, as I have a wife and child, plus student loans from college. As far as I can tell, if I were to become a recruit, I would need to be able to support my family financially without working for roughly 6 months (until all training is complete).
Do you have any recommendations on how I could acquire financial assistance for my family in order to further assist my desire to become a Marine recruit? I do not expect the military to assist with this, but I thought local VFW's or other organizations might be willing to assist me.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and for any recommendations you may have.

[thewookie]

Welcome. You must fill out your profile before we can help you.

Until then the thread is closed.

Contact any mod or squad leader to reopen this.

The first thread/sticky in the "Ask a Marine" section explains the profile requirements. http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/sh...NG-MARINES-TOO!

[ChuckH]

Profile filled out
THREAD REOPENED

[ChuckH]

You for real?? According to your profile , you will be 29 years old in October.... The cut off age is 28 I believe.

[dfstl]

ChuckH, if I am still eligible and able, I would like to learn more. I'm simply asking for assistance to see if becoming a recruit is even possible for me knowing my circumstances. Giving up would be easy, but I'm not ready to do that just yet.

[ChuckH]

This from our senior moderator awhile back:

Maximum Enlistment Age of USMC is 28..29 for Reservists

I mistakenly deleted a thread where this topic was first posted in 2007, then resurrected several times since then, the most recent being yesterday.

Here is the scoop for those who want to know:

The MAXIMUM enlistment age for those wanting to join the active Marine Corps is 28. It is 29 for the Reserves.

According to www.marines.com (the official Marine Corps website):

"Q: I am older than 29. Can I enlist in the Marine Corps?
A: Waivers may be available on a case-by-case basis for those over the eligible enlisted age of 29. Contact your local recruiter to discuss your personal qualifications."



WHAT does this mean "in practice"??

Well, truth be told, the Marine Corps wants to keep it's options open. However, based on experience here, and in speaking with recruiters...the Marine Corps is very, VERY reluctant to enlist those over the age of 28. CAN a waiver be obtained? Yes, it can happen...it happened to one our our members. BUT...he had darned good and valid reasons why he could NOT enlist prior to age 29. His waiver was approved, but he is the EXCEPTION, rather than the 'norm'..because he was exceptional!

For the rest of you 'old farvts' who think you are 'in shape' at age 35,44, whatever....it's likely NOT going to happen.
At least for the Marine Corps, anyway. You CAN still enlist into the National Guard branches, up to age 42.
After 42, you are basically out of luck.

Here is a 'sample' question that was asked not long ago...my responses below that are not specific to just this question, but through the years I've seen many questions directly along this line:

***
"I just turned 44 and if the Core would have me I'd join in a heartbeat, and I'm in pretty good shape, probably better then most of those young men, I work out five days a week and my job keeps me in shape. So the question remains why is there a cap on the age should it not be determined by the individual, heath, shape, stamina, and so forth... Great men come in all ages..."

***
Of course, to begin with, it's "Corps". We are kinda picky that way....

Moving on...Now, there may be some of you who can outrun the 19 year olds at the 3 mile, and do 100 crunches, 20 pullups, etc. Great. Good on ya. Can you also out 'hump' them? Meaning, carrying 120 pounds of equipment while slogging through a 10 mile road march...or better yet, sustained days of combat in the Helmand province with little food, little water, all the while being shot at, running, jumping out of vehicles, hitting the ground and getting up over and over again? CAN you??? CAN you survive without all those vitamins, supplements, energy water, growth powder, viagra, propecia, extenz, or whatever ELSE it is America has told you, at 35/44 or whatever you just HAVE to take?


"But...I GO TO THE GYM 9 times a week!" Great. I'm sure your doctor is proud and you are a chick magnet. Being a gym guy does NOT equate to being a MARINE.

It's a young mans game. Just that simple. Quite simply, your mid-life crisis about wanting to 'prove' yourself now (instead of at 19 when you realistically SHOULD have been doing it..yeah yeah I know I'm harsh..tough luck...) and were partying/in college/parents would let you/time wasn't right/now I'm patriotic/etc etc just doesn't interest the Marine Corps. Yes, yes, it's not fair and I'm sure you are a badazz in your own right, etc etc. Don't care, doesn't matter.

Studies have shown that the Marine Corps is the most physically demanding of ALL the services in the long term...and has many, many, medical discharges and long term physical injuries (guess who pays for those...the VA). Thus, the age restrictions are not ONLY to prevent you from becoming a liability, but to save the gummint money.


So, that's the way it is. If you have some sort of special skill that the Marine Corps needs that is more 'geekery' related, you may stand a chance. But it better be darned special and something the Marine Corps cannot 'grow' itself. Martial arts/fighting skills? No. Got plenty o' them. I'm talking "There are exactly 4 people in the world who can do this" type skills...and the Marine Corps has decided it needs someone who does them.

[ChuckH]

The bottom line here is go to a Marine Recruiter and ask.
Asking us on here doesn't mean a thing.

[dfstl]

Thanks, ChuckH. I understand the need to talk to a recruiter. But going back to my original post, I'm trying to understand if there are organizations, etc. that might be able to assist me financially so that I can support my family if I were to attend boot camp, MCT and MOS school. I know I'm a late comer to all of this. If I could go back in time, I would have joined earlier. Life being what it is, sometimes I know we have go accept things as the are (i.e. that I just may not be able to join the Corps). But I'm trying to see if such could still be a reality for me, that's all. Thanks again for your comments.

[thewookie]

Thanks, ChuckH. I understand the need to talk to a recruiter. But going back to my original post, I'm trying to understand if there are organizations, etc. that might be able to assist me financially so that I can support my family if I were to attend boot camp, MCT and MOS school. I know I'm a late comer to all of this. If I could go back in time, I would have joined earlier. Life being what it is, sometimes I know we have go accept things as the are (i.e. that I just may not be able to join the Corps). But I'm trying to see if such could still be a reality for me, that's all. Thanks again for your comments.

While it is admirable that you want to join, it's not very likely that it will happen based on the above information. More importantly, if you think a Veterans organization is going to help you financially or otherwise -- you are mistaken.

There are countless numbers of Veterans that need assistance from those organizations. They are the priority, not a person looking to join. No offense, but it is what it is.

Good luck in your pursuit, but I think you need to first take care of finances at home, then seek out a branch with more lenient entrance standards.

[Tookie22]

Im not sure of which programs can help you prior to enlisting. Now if you recieved the waiver AFTER proving stability and something happened to the point where you were unable to pay the bills then the Marine Navy Relief Society could help you out. To show financial stability save over 5,000 in the bank. Or however much the bills are. From there all you have to worry about it making it through bootcamp without breaking your hip. Once you are out of boot your 5Gs should have supported your family for 3 months and at MCT and MOS School you have more freedoms so you can take care of finances. Just don't go to a yr long school. Also I'm not pushing you away from the Corps, but have you considered another branch in which the prereqs are more lenient? It might save you a lot of hassle.