Marines who went to the darkside

[al Shabazz]

Has anyone gotten out and joined another branch? I've been out for about 2 weeks now and I was thinking about going into the Army Reserve as a Medic until I get my degree and commission as a medical officer (nursing).
Would I lose my mind going from Active Duty Marine to Reserve Army?

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[USMC 2571]

Yes, but TWELVE year break in service.

For more recent folks, check with Sgt Leprechaun (not active on this site but may have old posts about it) and also William Hardy.

I think Zulu36 also but not positive.

[William Hardy]

I got out of the Corps in 1978 as a Gunny after 11 1/2 years. Went to college, got a job and then after getting tenured in my school, joined the Army National Guard so that my active duty time would not be wasted. I had to start over as an SGT E5, but that didn't matter much since the regulations state you retire with the highest rank you held honorably. He's some of the catches...

1. Your leadership schools do not count. You will have to repeat them in the Army. I had completed the Staff NCO Academy course in Cherry Point. When I joined the Army NG, I had to go back to PLDC and BNOC which are both basic NCO schools. I was getting ready to go to ANOC (Advance course) when I retired the first time back in the mid 90s. I did get E6 after a bit, but due to changes in units and reorganization, I could never get set for E7 before I gave it up and retired.
2. You may have to give up rank. As an E-5 you might get in with that rank if they need you in a specific MOS. Otherwise, you may be dropped a rank. Keep in mind that there are many soldiers who have waited for years for a slot to open and if they filled it with you and not one of their own, it can cause problems in the ranks.
3. In today's reserves/NG you are subject to being called up for deployments numerous times. It can interfere with you going to school. My grandson missed nearly a year and a half of college. Coming back and seeing all his friends were almost finished wasn't the best thing but he is back and trying to finish up now. I say that to give you the option of not joining until after you graduate as opposed to joining now. You may be behind by a few years, but it might be worth it. You might also consider joining ROTC and being exempt from deployments for a while. Plus you will get a commission on the day you graduate.
4. Don't think you will be sticking out like a sore thumb. There are all kinds of sailors, airmen, and Marines in the National Guard and reserves. You won't be alone. Plus, it is kind of neat to be able to wear a Marine patch on your right shoulder for your last combat unit. For about 10 years I had a 1st Marine Air Wing patch on my uniform and that was when very few even had combat patches. Now everyone seems to have one.
5. No boot camp and I had to learn all the Army uniform regulations on my own. There was no classes. Some units do have classes for the new guys waiting to go to boot camp and they will sometimes stick a prior service guy in their with them for certain classes.

After 9/11 I was able to reenlist when I was in my 50s. The recruiter said if I could pass the physical he would get me in...and I did with flying colors. I got my tour to Iraq in 2006 and retired for the last time in 2008. Once again, I took a reduction to E5 to get back in. I was promoted back to E7 (SFC) on the day of my discharge.

If you have any specific questions, I will be happy to answer what I can. I have been out for about 5 years or so and things do change.

PS - I ended up with 13 years active duty and after all the points were added up I qualified for a retirement check that was about one-third of E7 pay which is not a small amount. It was well worth it.

[Phantom Blooper]

Good luck! Once A Marine, Always A Marine! Just listen to Yoda...don't stay on the darkside too long and turn into a vader

[doc h fmf]

Hey Al you should have joined the navy and became a Doc alot of my buddies in the 80s 81,82 were marines and switch over to become corpsmen and nurses,alotof our nurses were navy corpsmen from the Vietnam war.Anyhow good luck AL.

Stephen Doc HansenHM3 FMF

[mexbearlll]

Did 10 years Nevada Air National Guard, just trying to get use to calling everyone by first Names was weird. And it seems You get a ribbon for just about anything. But when it came to Military stuff they looked for a Marine to help them get locked on. It's not bad, You just have to relax when You get into another branch ...At lest that's what the airmen would keep telling Me !!!

[mexbearlll]

Did 10 years Nevada Air National Guard, just trying to get use to calling everyone by first Names was weird. And it seems You get a ribbon for just about anything. But when it came to Military stuff they looked for a Marine to help them get locked on. It's not bad, You just have to relax when You get into another branch ...At lest that's what the airmen would keep telling Me !!!

[mexbearlll]

Oh, it's a Dining Facility,not a Chow Hall ...

[USMC 2571]

It takes a long time to adjust to being in another branch of the service....you almost literally have to keep telling yourself This is NOT the Marine Corps...because at first you will compare the new branch with the Corps, and the fact that there IS no comparison will irritate you unless you decide to stop comparing.

[advanced]

Yes, Dave above is one of our best examples of a turncoat Marine, I mean prior service Marine going into the air force, of all places. In Dave's defense I do not believe the air force is just for slackers and sissies.

[USMC 2571]

hahahahahaha-----who needs enemies with good friends like these???? LOL

I can give the OP one piece of advice----never, ever, under any circumstances tell your Marine buddies that you went into another branch. My friends from the mid-1960s still bust my blls over this.

[USMC 2571]

The fact that TWELVE years elapsed between branches----to them, it might as well have been 12 minutes. No slack cut at all.

[Baker1971]

Why aren't you going Marine Corps reserves until school is finished ?

[William Hardy]

He may be like me Top. The nearest center was over 130 miles from the house and I could have drilled in the NG just a few blocks down the street. Gas and wear and tear on the car out weighed the desire to remain in the Corps. In addition, with so few Marine Reserve centers, it also limits what MOSs are accepted there. You might have to retrain or drive even further. When I visited the Marine Reserve unit at NAS Millington (Memphis) years ago, one guy came down from St. Louis just fill the billet of 1st Sgt in order to get promoted. There are lots of catches to it.

That is something I failed to mentioned al Shabazz. You may have to accept assignments to NG Armories not in your area for either your MOS or for promotions. This is especially true if you are an officer. You either go to the new assignment or you do not get promoted. Failure to advance can mean you are out. As far as enlisted, it can mean a failure to get promoted. Yes there are slots, but because people try to stay local, those slots stay filled. If you, for example, wanted a 1st Sgt slot, you might have to travel over a hundred miles. You can keep a request for transfer in closer to your home, but then you might be able to qualify for early promotion if you accepted a SgtMaj slot on the other side of the state....lots of things to consider.

[29palms]

Not to mention, probaby a lot less anal on haircuts and discipline for a weekend of training. No overly gun-ho first Sgts with high and tights with sadistic bearings on their reserve counterparts? There could be many more reasons to go NG. and many have.