Questions about meps

[Rbatteate]

This Wensday, September the 5th im going to Salt Lake City for meps.

Now heres where it gets a little hectic, so far through my recruitment process I've been talking to Army recruiters the majority of the time. They set me up for meps, took me to take the asvab and to get my GED.

Now when im at meps if im not being offered what I want by the Army, can I just walk in the Marine councilers office and talk with them?

Then enlist with the Marines instead of Army?

Or will I have to come back, and go again after talking to the Marine recruiter.

[HurricaneRJ]

Still having second thoughts huh???

When you head to MEPS. Each branch will have a Liason. In Atlanta we have two Gunnery Sergeants and the Army had two SFC and bunch of fat civilian recruiters wearing the ACU's with blue, orange, and red undershirts. All they do is process paperwork for everyone coming through. They don't have time to sit down and talk to anyone. Their job as Career Recruiters is stressful enough. I spent three days at MEPS because they were ****ing up. Now in the Army at MEPS you actually pick what you want up there. If you want to do Infantry like you said then you tell them what you want and they will give it to you.

Now if you REALLY want to join the Marines, just come back home and go talk to them.

[Integrity57]

I believe you'll have to talk with a Marine recruiter before you go to MEPs if you want to enlist in the Corps. There is alot of preliminary BS paperwork that they have to do that you should have done with your Army recruiter, then I believe they have to schedule you to go to MEPs. So, yeah, I think you'll be making two trips to SLC if you want to join the Marine Corps. But then again, you could tell the Army that you changed your mind and decided to join the Corps and save yourself a trip. Technically recruiters aren't allowed to talk to applicants outside of the respective service's liaison office and I really doubt that a recruiter from another branch would talk to an applicant at MEPs with an Army sticker on his shirt.

[HurricaneRJ]

Yeah save yourself the trip but if the Marines won't take you to take a GED test. So get the GED first and then switch, but on the ASVAB you have to make over a 50. Thats the minimum from what my recruiters told me. We have a bunch of guys with GEDs joining.

[Rbatteate]

Well if all I can get out of the Army is just regular infantry, without airborne or anything else. I mean to hell with that 20k quick ship bonus, Im not doing some peice of **** handjob mos. Ill just walk out and come home.
I already took the asvab, got a 73.
I have a GED.
Theres 3 recruiting offices here in Vegas, Ill go to every one of them and try for a ged slot.

[HurricaneRJ]

I just searched up on the internet I know you were interested in the
Option 40 contract, but here are the qualifiers/tips.


1) Anyone wanting to have Option 40 added to the contract must be a TEIR 1 high school graduate OR possess the following:

a. trade/vocational school GED with letter from the school stating that 675 clock hours of course instruction have been completed.

b. GED and additional 15 semester hours (or quarter hour equivalent) of college level 100 classes on offical (sealed) transcript.

c. non high school graduate who has 15 hours of college credit as listed above.

d. foreign high school comploetion certificate with NACES certificate of evaluation and credit to count in the United States. (citizens of US territories exempt as they ARE US citizens)

e. assiocate or higher level degree by a nationally accredited university.

f. HOME SCHOOL DIPLOMAS ARE CONSIDERED GED'S.

2) Must be a US citizen by either birth or naturalization.

3) Must score a minimum of 50 of the asvab with a GT score of 110. THE HIGHER THE BETTER. the GT score may be waived by 2 points (108). the ASVAB score may not.

4) Be physical qualified for both Military service and Airborne duty.


5) Be legally qualified to enter the service without needing to be interviewed for a moral waiver.

6) Be firm but polite when dealing with guidance counselors.

7) Remain physically and morally qualified to ship. .

[Rbatteate]

HurricaneRJ I feel like a little school girl with all these choices I have to tell you the truth. I'd really rather be a Marine then a Soldier. Being that im 17, I have plenty of time to become a Marine. So if I join the Army now its not the end of the world, but like I said if I cant get at least airborne the hell with that. I'm not joining up just to be considered a average joe, And being a Marine already takes you out of that category.

[Haffner]

I'm not entirely sure I want you to attempt to earn my title.

Do you realise that serving in the military is NOT some sort of prize raffle?

"If the army won't give me what I want, can I just talk to the Marine liason?"

That's horse ****. People join the Corps to be a Marine. Period. Hell, back in the day, choosing your MOS field was a privelage not necessarilly guaranteed.

You need to reevaluate your thought process on joining the military, regardless of branch.

Getting in the corps with a GED is not as easy as the army, obviously, but it can be done. It's not that hard. Patience is a virtue.

Take what I'm saying to heart. Think long term, not short term. Look more into the branches you intend on joining.

[Rbatteate]

Haffner I realize it makes me look like a peice of ****.
Im still a lazy, worthless, unappreciative civilian at the moment. I'm just trying to do what I consider the smart thing, even though it may be the easy way out. I probally need to be ***** slapped across my face multiple times, for almost making your beloved Corps seem like a plan B. But I gotta do what I gotta do.

[Haffner]

I didn't say it makes you look like a piece of ****. I just want you to really find out what you truly want. That's why I said I'm not sure I want you earning my title. You have to really, really want it to become a Marine. More so, to stay a good motivated Marine after you get the title.

I didn't mean for that to come off as disrespectfully as it sounded, I just think you really need to take a step back and evaluate your plans before you end up doing something you regret.

Good luck.

[Fubar5812]

listen to me.

I went through the same thing you are minus the whole "army" thing...

I have a GED,I got accepted into the Marine Corps.I got a 44 raw score on the asvab,the Marine Corps only takes about 5% GED graduates a YEAR! I look at it as "the select few among the few and the proud" :P

I am slated to ship in january,I took 4 classes in the spring,failed 2..each class being worth 3 credits so i have 6 college credits right now,I am signed up for the fall semester at college,I MUST COMPLETE 3/4 of those classes and pass to get the required 15 college credits,BEFORE leaving for boot camp.

The Marines will NOT take you unless you have those 15 credits,or at least passed your sophmore year in highschool.

[Fubar5812]

I'm not joining up just to be considered a average joe, And being a Marine already takes you out of that category.

If you realize this then why go for the army at all?

alot of civilians don't respect the army as much as Marines...mostly because of that whole "gangbanger" thing in the news,and the way army walk around in there ACU,s all baggy and acting tough,Marines don't do that.

[HurricaneRJ]

RB. Joining the military will affect you for the rest of your life. You need to sit down and access your situation. Joining the Army is not bad at all, but if your main goal is to be a Marine. Than joining the Army should be your plan be. If the Marines don't work, I'm heading straight for the Army. integrity wanted to be a Marine, but some issues arose, so he is joining the Navy as his back-up plan.

I can tell you definetly want to be in the Army, you want to be a Ranger.

In trying to achieve a goal, you want to do it the fastest and most effective way. By joining the Army, your not getting in the Marines any faster. Plus you want to do Airborne, your going straight to training, and it will be all you do. We are at war, and the Army is already over strectched enough.

[Integrity57]

Rb you're only 17 man, you have plenty of time to join whatever branch you so desire so don't get in a hurry. But like the others said, if you want to join the Corps, you need those 15 college credits, otherwise, there's no way your going to be able to enlist. And I swear I mentioned this in another thread somewhere, but the last time I was at MEPs I met a guy who was in a similar situation to yours.

He only had his GED and wanted to join the Corps but they told him he had to get 15 college credits, he said it would have taken him 2 years and cost $3,000 to get the credits so he decided to join the Army instead. He barely got the MOS he wanted, which was Artillery, because the Army had just opened that and a few other MOSs like it to GED applicants, he said he was very lucky to even get Arty because there is a very small percent of Combat Arms MOSs the Army offers to GED applicants. But why would you want to put yourself through all the trouble of going through MEPs, Boot Camp, MOS school, a possible deployment, switching services, then MC Boot, and MC MOS school when you could just get your credits, go to MEPs and go to Boot? It seems like your putting yourself through more than you really should when you know that the Corps is what you really want.

[crazymjb]

If you either took the college credit courses or completed highschool you could be at MCRD not too much later than you would be graduating ranger school under this army plan.

In my mind the rangers are elite, possibly paralleling the Marines in some aspects of training. However, what attracts me to the Marines is the whole romanticized fraternity of it on top of them being elite. The rich culture and unbreakable brotherhood and so fourth. If that is what attracts you as well (more than just the elite training), I am thinking you will be miserable as a soldier, or even a ranger, throughout your contract.

If for some reason I was never able to be a Marine, I would join the Navy and become a Corpsman, have you considered that?

Again, good luck with whatever you choose.

Mike