Marine Reserve...PLC...Deployable?

[CynthiaRH]

My son is currently in the DEP program.
He plans on joining the Marine Reserves, attending college while taking the PCL program. Will he be deployable? Can you enter the PLC program right after basic and MOS training? Is there an age to enter the PLC program?

[Achped]

If he is in enlisted in the reserves, I will bet he is deployable, however...

Being in college while attending the PLC course, I believe, makes it an "Okay, if China is invading the West Coast and Iran is nuking eastern seaboard cities daily, we MAY deploy him." type of deal.

[iamcloudlander]

I have a close friend that has a son in the reserves and was attending college. In jan 2003 he was activated on a 24 hour activactivation order and had to report to CamPen
within that time frame. Thirty days later he was in Kuwait
on the Iraqi border. The day the war started he was 20 miles into Iraq on his way to Baghdad. When he was released from active duty he had to retake all the courses he had not taken the finals for. Reservists today seem to be on call constantly as they are taking them from here in what seems like a daily call up. If your son does join the reserves his chances of being called up are probably the same as any other reserve unit. Hope it doesn't happen as I believe in education more so than combat in Iraq

[Barret]

I have seen many, many folks ask if Reservists are deployable while in college, or in between the 2 PLC classes.

The answer is always yes. The only way that a reservist is not as "deployable" is if they sign their Officer contract when they graduate Seniors, I think, and then their Enlisted Reservist contract is cancelled.

[The Sandman]

I called an OSO. The answer is a resounding yes you are always deployable as a reservist. He did say, however, that you might be able to find a reserve unit that rarely deploys. There are some that havn't deployed in 40 years or more.

[Marine0313]

Yes he is deployable

Yes he can apply right after training

No age restrictions

[CynthiaRH]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! For all the answers.

My sons recruiter and Staff Sargent have both told him he was NOT deployable if he were in the PLC in college. I just knew it sounded too good to be true.
Why would the USMC spend money on training a guy, and then let him sit in college for 4 years and never call upon him to fulfill his duty.
I'm glad there is a place like this to ask questions from actual Marines. I don't know why it is so hard to get the FACTS from the recruiters!! Maybe too much pressure to meet their quotas...but then they are signing up our sons and daughters under false pretense?!!

[iamcloudlander]

CynthiaRH

I don't know why it is so hard to get the FACTS from the recruiters!!

First rule to remember when dealing with a recruiter
NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER believe anything he tells you.
Their job is to produce bodies and they will promise anything to get you to sign on the dotted line. Even the small print won't give you the truth. My grandson was promised he would be promoted to Officer after completing boot when I asked him to confirm this he said all he could promise was that he would be considered. The Marine recruiters told him so many lies that he said to H*ll with them and joined the army. They lied to but at least he got a $12,000 join bonus. They did tell him that he would not make an officer as he had no college degree and that was the first prerequisit.
Remember they have a hard job to do and if they told the exact truth no one would join any military branch. There are many instances of recruiters being disciplined for the exact reason you stated "signing up applicants under false pretensions.
And yes Marines I am still proud of him and support him.

[Mike McIntyre]

Cynthia,

I am told that the Reservists are being called up at a faster rate than the Active military. I know in my state both the Reservists and the Guard are called up quite often (College or not).

As for the “Recruiters”, they are like any other business, some are fair, some are questionable, and many are OUTSTANDING.

My son is waiting on a “Waiver”. The sergeant who recruited him, Sgt. Barrett is / was awesome. He is now at MEPS and I know for a fact that he always tried to have the poolee’s best interest at heart. He went above and beyond for my son as well as other poolees

Gunny Thompson also works VERY hard with all of his poolees. The physical improvements that he has made with some of his kids BEFORE Boot Camp are worth noting. One young man went from running times of 14 minutes down to 10 minutes.

Gunny Rowley of Kansas was another recruiter that was very helpful. Note, he is stationed Kansas while my son is New Orleans and he took the time and effort to work with us.

Now there were a few, who are no longer recruiting, who fell under the questionable category. Though it has been my experience that MOST of the recruiters, though they may be misinformed on some issues, are looking out for your best interest.

When in doubt, ask.

[Marine0313]

OUTSTANDING POST SIR AND THANKS
there have been young men that would not have graduated high school or ever became the Navy Cross/ Medal of Honor/ Drill Instructor/ or just a dang good Marines if it wasnt for a "RECRUITER" I notice we have some who like to run down our recruiting force on the site i take it very personal considering you are judging 3000 Marines based on the actions of very few here is my advice if you think your recruiter has done something wrong there is something you can do like call the office and ask to speak to his NCOIC. I hear alot about the bad things recruiters do but never the good like the fact that half of you and to include myself would not be here and i know we all walked into the office and did not get the sells pitch bull**** its your story tell it how you wont to but we all know the truth so with that said i have 3 "RECRUITERS" myself none have ever been in trouble or been accused of any wrong doing and have all had and are still having success on recruiting duty i am a GRUNT on recruiting duty i will leave and go carry my rifle again and would gladly serve with any Marine i have enlisted carry on

WE ARE NOT RECRUITERS WE ARE MARINES ON RECRUITING DUTY OOHRAH

1 way to solve all enlistment problems join to just be a MARINE i think thats good enough dont you

[ChiefUSMC]

Marine Reserve...PLC...Deployable? Was the question?

My name is GySgt James Rowley I am a Career Recruiter from Wichita Kansas. First I would like to start out with, I very much enjoy my job and what I do for the young people that I do encounter everyday. They are individuals that want to do something different in there life. Something that not many people can say that they have done. That is to be called one of the Few and the Proud. People ask me everyday why do you do what you do, I tell them everytime I influence them to make good choices for there FUTURE. Now I am going to get down to the nuts and bolts of this conversation for those of you that are bashing the recruiters, number 1 is very unprofessional. In every company there are bad apples, but the problem is if you doubt what someone is saying. Do what everyone else does go to the next person in charge. I tell everyone of my parents that if at anytime something is said that sounds fishy, give me a call. I am out here to answer those hard questions, has anyone ever thought that maybe the Marine doesn't even know the answer. As Marines we like to have all the answers that's what were used too. So don't just jump to conclusions.

Ma'am I am sorry that you got bad information from this individual but if at any time you have any questions my numbers are as follows
(316)943-8132 office
(316)655-1183 cell

The answer is yes he can be deployed I can break down the program if you would like but that would be a lot of typing and if there is one thing I don't like its that.

Ma'am I am proud to be called a Marine and I guarantee that anyone of these individuals that are on this web site will say the same. No matter what happened or what is said or not said.

[CynthiaRH]

I spoke with my sons recruiter Monday morning. He was supposed to give me the OSO number. I still have not heard from him.
I ended up getting an email from a Majors wife with the number I needed.
The Gunny I spoke with was excellent. He gave me all the information that I needed, and he is coming to our town next week, and we have agreed to meet him with our son to answer any more questions that have come up.
My sons Recruiter, and Staff Sargent are both very nice men. My sons Recruiter is also new to this postion. I don't hold anything against him. I just think if they don't know the answer to a question they should research it and then inform the recruits and parents. Not just tell them what they think is true based upon what someone else told them.

[ChiefUSMC]

I'm glad your getting the info ma'am once again if you need anything please don't hesitate in giving me a ring.

[Mike McIntyre]

Cynthia,

One thing to keep in mind is that this is their busy season. Read over some of the posts; all of these high school DEPs are chomping at the bit to ship out. The volume of young people that the Corps processes is amazing.


Yes, it is a numbers game in that “We are at war”. Many recruiters are very busy and human nature would dictate that they might focus on the easy ones first i.e. No Medical Issues, No Grade Issues, Good ASVAB Scores, Good PTT, No Legal Issues etc. These men and women have an obligation to the Corps and the Country first but given the time, most (not all) will do all they can to help a young person’s career.

As you can see by this site, Active Recruiters and Former Recruiters will come out of the woodwork in order to help. I, like you, am only a concerned parent but I have had several people on this site even take the time to personally call me with advice. You will not find many as helpful or as dedicated as GySgt Rowley or GySgt Reagle Ret in any other business or branch of service!!! Even MCRC has reached out to me. It is the men and women like these that give me even more confidence that my son WILL BE IN GOOD HANDS. I wish that I could give them a big, OOH RAH!!!! (But I ma not a MARINE).

As for your original question, can a college USMC Reservist get called up during school? See the Drifters , “Open Squad Bay” 2,500 IRR Marines may face involuntary activation.

The Corp WILL take who the NEED!

[AmericanGal]

I have to back you up... my two uncles and my best friend are Marines. And just like you said, there are always a few bad apples in the bunch but I can vouch for several Marines who demonstrate honor, integrity, and morality. Most of them I meet actually carry this sincere sense of value that I have always respected. I have so much pride and respect for the men and women in our country who serve... It is such an honor to say that I know those who are over seas doing what they believe is right. I just want to say THANK YOU to every Marine reading this... you are truly the top most in our country.

HOwever... I have a question. What do you do when a recruiter out of Wichita takes absolutley NO responsibility for his own children? When he runs from obligation, denies his children support, and hides his shame behind an honorable name... he hides behind the honorable name of a Marine. It's a sad story when one of our countries finest comes onto this website and speaks of such honor and integrity, when in fact he has 2 children that are 4 months apart by two different women who had NO CLUE about each other and hasn't seen either of them. Of course... the State and Court Systems are about to catch up with him... and when that happens, he will pay what is owed to his children. It just takes a little bit longer when he moves out of state to run from his responsibility. I am glad to hear you are motivating young men and women to do something great and important with their life... I am happy that your life is used for the good of something... because I know it's not supporting your two kids back in Oklahoma