Marine corp Reserve and need help dealing w/ Recruiter

[pooleeMOFO]

I am signed up as a reservist an 0300 ship out jan 4 2010. I signed up as a reservist at the time because of family issues and now its fine. My recruiter told me i can switch to active but only after i complete ITB. I currently have no reason to be a reservist and i sure as hell dont want to be stuck as one because i want to be an active full time devil dog. How do i go about telling my recruiter i want the switch now and if i were to wait till after SOI how do i switch ? And what are the chances of keeping my infantry MOS if i were to make the switch ? Is it true i can switch when i go back to MEPS for another swear in ?. PLEASE HELP ME OUT ASAP i ship in 3 weeks.

[Vandrel]

Tell your recruiter you are not going to ship until you get your contract changed. If you have to tell him you want to speak to the SNCOIC of the RS and if that doesn't fix the problem then ask to speak to district. Nothing is set in stone until you arrive at boot camp.

If you broke your leg today they'd have to change your stuff, no different then you wanting it changed now other then they don't want to do the paper work. Poolee ship dates mean 1 thing to a recruiter... a number. Each month the RS has a quota to make in order to make mission, they will try anything to ensure they make their mission by shipping poolees out.

Until you've arrived at boot camp the ball is still in your court, you just have to put your foot down and try to approach it with a professional manner so they know you are not going to give in.

You can still go active, that's true but you are still going to be a reservist and starting out like that will create some issues for you down the road. Promotions will generally always revolve around AFADBD (armed forces active duty base date), once that date gets jacked up then so does your promotions. Your recruiter isn't interested in your career, they are interested in making their mission for the month so their name doesn't end up on the SgtMaj's ugly list.

[StoneTheWeak]

Tell your recruiter you are not going to ship until you get your contract changed. If you have to tell him you want to speak to the SNCOIC of the RS and if that doesn't fix the problem then ask to speak to district. Nothing is set in stone until you arrive at boot camp.

If you broke your leg today they'd have to change your stuff, no different then you wanting it changed now other then they don't want to do the paper work. Poolee ship dates mean 1 thing to a recruiter... a number. Each month the RS has a quota to make in order to make mission, they will try anything to ensure they make their mission by shipping poolees out.

Until you've arrived at boot camp the ball is still in your court, you just have to put your foot down and try to approach it with a professional manner so they know you are not going to give in.

You can still go active, that's true but you are still going to be a reservist and starting out like that will create some issues for you down the road. Promotions will generally always revolve around AFADBD (armed forces active duty base date), once that date gets jacked up then so does your promotions. Your recruiter isn't interested in your career, they are interested in making their mission for the month so their name doesn't end up on the SgtMaj's ugly list.

In short, there is one thing you should remember about Recruiter's...


Semper I.

[pooleeMOFO]

Thanks so much vandrel, i have one problem where i live is isolated and my recruiter is only here for a week every couple months. I am going to try and talk to him asap. I am thinking i might wait until after SOI i am glad that it is possible to switch after bootcamp and SOI but i will do whatever i have to do. Any information i need to know if i wait to make the switch and what are the possibilities of keeping my MOS ?

[polizei]

Uh, don't wait...you mis well bend over and grab your ankles!

[Vandrel]

Ok here is a common thing that doesn't get covered often with reserves,

Fleet Marine Force (Active Duty) and Reserve Marines are completely different. While reservists can get activated and serve on active duty they are still reservists. If a reservist decides to completely move to active duty then a lot of things have to get converted over and factored in. Reservists do not get promoted the same as active duty Marines, because of this the promotions do not generally transfer over completely, so a reservists may be a Sgt and have 8 years of service in the reserves but when that Sgt decides he wants to be a 100% active duty Marine then he may cross deck over as a Cpl or even less depending but it's usually 1 less. Now on that same note the promotion factors will have to be covered, so while that Sgt may have had 8 years in the reserves they may only credit half of that at most as actual active duty time, mostly they will start them off at a very junior AFADBD which will be the date that they left the reserves and went active duty, that will put the individual near the bottom of the list for promotion and will effect that Marine for the rest of their career regardless of rank. While LCpl-Sgt promotions run off of composite scores that factor in time in service and time in grade for points, SSgt and above promotions are bracketed on time in grade and AFADBD, if a Marine does not meet BOTH the minimum time in grade and AFADBD for the promotion bracket for that year then they will not be in the zone for promotion that year.

Now most of that will not be a huge factor to you since you are just coming in to the Corps but it's things you need to keep in mind and bring up to your recruiter when you demand to have your contract changed from reserves. Do not procrastinate and wait even 1 more day to do this if you do not want to be a reservist. Get it done NOW and stand your ground until they change your contract.

[Vandrel]

In 2006 I missed the promotion zone by 1 week on my AFADBD, because of that 1 week difference I wasn't going to be in zone until 2007. Basically that 1 week meant 1 more year of time in grade. Now if I had been a reservist and missed it by 1 week then that would mean if I had went active duty 1 week prior then I would have made the promotion zone. Make sense? Every day spent on a reserve contract will continue to put you behind the power curve of your peers.

[GunGod2111]

Let's not generalize about recruiters, since I happen to be one at the time, and I sure don't go around screwing around with my poolees.

That being said, here's the advice that I can give you:
Simply put, your recruiter and/or SNCOIC are being lazy and just want to keep you reserves OR the RS as a whole is hurting for reserves and will most likely discharge you if you refuse to go into the reserves. It could be either of those things.

Switching from one component to another (in this case Reserve to Active Duty), requieres you to go down to the MEPS again and do a physical inspect and a component change. Maybe the recruiter is just too lazy to do the basic paperwork to send you down there again, or again, it might be because they really need people to fill reserve slots.

You have to consider that because of today's economic regression, 95% of everyone that enlists in the Marine Corps today is going Active Duty. Take the advice given you and stand your ground that you absolutely want to be an Active Duty Marine, but keep in mind that they might not need Active Duty acessions currently, and a LOT of things can happen if that is the case, worst case scenario being discharged from the pool if you push too hard.

[slimmy07]

Tell your recruiter you are not going to ship until you get your contract changed. If you have to tell him you want to speak to the SNCOIC of the RS and if that doesn't fix the problem then ask to speak to district. Nothing is set in stone until you arrive at boot camp.

If you broke your leg today they'd have to change your stuff, no different then you wanting it changed now other then they don't want to do the paper work. Poolee ship dates mean 1 thing to a recruiter... a number. Each month the RS has a quota to make in order to make mission, they will try anything to ensure they make their mission by shipping poolees out.

Until you've arrived at boot camp the ball is still in your court, you just have to put your foot down and try to approach it with a professional manner so they know you are not going to give in.

You can still go active, that's true but you are still going to be a reservist and starting out like that will create some issues for you down the road. Promotions will generally always revolve around AFADBD (armed forces active duty base date), once that date gets jacked up then so does your promotions. Your recruiter isn't interested in your career, they are interested in making their mission for the month so their name doesn't end up on the SgtMaj's ugly list.

I see you have a recruiting ribbon, NOT. I do, I was a recruiter from 2005-2007. It is by FAR they toughest non-combat MOS in the Corps period. You are only touching the surface. You have some MINOR points, but do you know what slots are open? No, you don't. Only the recruiters do. The kid wants the UH program (you seem to know it all, so I'm sure you can figure out what UH is) I can bet that UH is closed for the FY. You failed to mention that he must go to boot camp within 1 year of enlisting in the DEP. ALso, in regards to shipping, recruiters don't have a ship mission (I'm surprised you didn't know this considering your an 8411 expert) the RSS (recruiting sub-station) and the NCOIC have a ship mission. Bottom line kid, if you want active duty go for it. I would talk to the NCOIC and see what he can do for you. You probably won't get the UH (infantry) program because it's more than likely closed, but you could still go active duty in another MOS. The good thing is there are young men and woman who want to go reserves and slots for reservists not only close fast, but are few. Be prepared though to pick a different MOS. If talking to your NCOIC doesn't work, let me know and I will guide you from there. Good luck.

[Vandrel]

(I'm surprised you didn't know this considering your an 8411 expert)

There is no need to start a ****ing match here, because someone doesn't sport a ribbon doesn't mean a thing. I'm sure you know many people that have fell into those situations.

[slimmy07]

One more thing, not all recruiters out there are the same. You might have some lazy ones, but in my 3 years on the duty all 7 of the recruiters I worked with tried hard to get the young man/woman what they wanted. Yes, we care about our mission, but the way we looked at it was if we took care of you then maybe you would get the word out and your friends/brothers/sisters/ etc. would be referred to us. I still keep in touch with a lot of the Marines I put in through email and facebook. All recruiters are not the same, and its very unfortunate that Marines (who I look at to be my fellow brothers/sisters) like Vandrel and stone the weak have such negative things to say about their fellow brothers and sisters on recruiting duty.

[slimmy07]

There is no need to start a ****ing match here, because someone doesn't sport a ribbon doesn't mean a thing. I'm sure you know many people that have fell into those situations.

Actually I have. If you were on recruiting duty and didn't earn a ribbon it's because you either didn't complete your tour successfully or you got into some kind of trouble on recruiting duty and got sent back to the fleet.

[Vandrel]

Devil, this Poolee's thread is regarding his contract and a request for help, not about recruiting duty and the character and caliber of individual recruiters. If you wish to continue a off topic conversation regarding my personal awards feel free to PM me and I will entertain.

Let's not generalize about recruiters, since I happen to be one at the time, and I sure don't go around screwing around with my poolees.

My intent was not to slander or generalize recruiters, it was to drive home the point that this poolee needs to get on the ball and take action if he wants something changed before ship date, even if it means driving to the RS and camping at their desk.