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  1. #1

    Question Another USMC question.

    Hello Marines,

    When I turn 18, I want to join the Marines. I know that you have to comit to an eight year contract if you enlist. A read online that you can sereve 4 years active, and 4 years non active. What I dont understand is what is non active duty like? Do you still get paid, and can you go to college while on non active duty? And also, can you get deployed on non active duty? Any info would greatly be appreciated.




    Thank you for all you do,

    FutureUSMCgirl


  2. #2
    Phantom Blooper
    Guest Free Member
    What I dont understand is what is non active duty like? Do you still get paid, and can you go to college while on non active duty? And also, can you get deployed on non active duty? Any info would greatly be appreciated.
    You do your active duty time....

    Then unless things have changed dramatically since my timeframe....if you leave the Marine Corps you are on in-active reserves....meaning you do not get paid from the US Government.

    You need to keep HQMC advised of your current address...so they can send you your paperwork....

    Again if things have not changed...active duty naturally is called to duty first...then reserve units are activated....and if necessary or a critical MOS in-active and retirees can be activated.

    You can go to college...go to a civilian job....but again you need to inform HQMC of your current address if it changed from initial enlistment...

    If you fulfill your entire contract or reenlist and get out without retirement you still need to let them know where to send any paperwork but...you are not subject to recall.retirees are subject.

    Again things could have changed....since the early 70's and late 80's.


  3. #3
    A standard 8 year contract is divided into 2 parts. The first 4 are active duty and the last 4 are IRR, Individual Ready Reserve. Here is the wiki page about the IRR.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_Ready_Reserve

    Basically you show up to yearly roll calls and have to keep your contact info up to day, that is about it. Towards the end of your active duty obligation, if you re-enlist then your IRR obligation is removed in favor of your new contract. IRR Marines are the last to be called up if **** happens but they can volunteer to do deployments or drills if they want to.


  4. #4
    I never really understood how IRR worked. You're a civilian now, but you're expected to just hop back into battle?


  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Dragonscript View Post
    IRR Marines are the last to be called up if **** happens

    Hardly, I was recalled just before the Iraq invasion. There were active duty Marines with the same MOS just sitting around at their duty stations preparing to EAS and other BS.


    Quote Originally Posted by xbh View Post
    I never really understood how IRR worked. You're a civilian now, but you're expected to just hop back into battle?
    Yup, you get a certified letter, show up at a processing center a fews weeks later and go from there. I had to report to Quantico, then on to Lejeune before getting sent to Iraq.


  6. #6
    Phantom Blooper
    Guest Free Member
    1stRad2671 ,

    Just out of curiosity...is/was your MOS considered critical by the Marine Corps?


  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Phantom Blooper View Post
    1stRad2671 ,

    Just out of curiosity...is/was your MOS considered critical by the Marine Corps?

    Apparently, so they thought. I certainly wasn't used for what I was trained to do. What skills I could use were under utilized. I really didn't mind doing patrols with grunts and such, just more of the unusual experiences I had throughout my enlistment.

    Commanders claimed they needed 'translators' i.e. interpreters, which I and other 267Xs are not, yet the majority of my old unit and all the linguists were on there way home in June '03 all the while I MEF wanted to send the IRR linguists like me that had made to back to Kuwait, back into Iraq.


  8. #8
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    Depending on MOS, the active portion may be longer, but the total will still be 8 years. Five years active is common for some technical MOS because school could be 9 months or more.

    The time you spend in DEP also counts towards IRR for some reason. For example: if you spend 6 months in DEP, 4 years active, you will have 3 yrs 6 mo of IRR.


  9. #9
    More or less, when in IRR, you will still have to keep up to tabs, just like starting out in the actual Reserves instead of Active. And I heard the DEP does too, but have yet to actually have anyone who EASed tell me if its true or not. I know a sergeant who just got out has to do the full four years of Reserve and he was in dep for a little under a year. I'm about hit my one year marker, so there is still a lot for me to learn, but I know some stuff. I don't know if the DEP still interacts though. normally though, they would only really deploy you during your reserve time if they really need your MOS in theater. You never know, something may happen.


  10. #10
    just my experience....don't think to many people really get called back in once you do your 4 years. But!!!!! what happened to me was, I had an 8 year contract 4 years active, 4 years inactive. I did my 4 years and was in theater of operations and the Corps didn't want to let me go just yet. So, They held me another 6 months to fulfill their needs. which I would have volunteered for it but, they don't ask they tell you.


  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by 1stRad2671 View Post
    Hardly, I was recalled just before the Iraq invasion. There were active duty Marines with the same MOS just sitting around at their duty stations preparing to EAS and other BS.

    It's the Corps, it does stupid **** all the time. Take my father for example. When he finished MOS school there were only three guys in his class, him included. My father asked for east coast, another guy asked for west coast and the last asked for overseas. My father got overseas, west coast guy got east coast and overseas guy got east coast. During my IRR time i never got called up, the only thing i ever got was recruitment cards from the Army asking me to join them.


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