View Full Version : How to serve while not a Marine
SethBroadbent
10-27-12, 03:38 PM
Since I was a little kid I have wanted to become a Marine. My mom though wanted me to go to college and finish before I enlisted. To make a long story short I am now a freshman in college. It's a good experience and I am having fun, but I feel like a fraud.
All of my friends that I went to highschool with are now Marines, soldiers, airmen and sailors. Even my girlfriend attends college at the Naval Academy. I just feel like I have let so many people down.
Is there any way that I can still serve my country while finishing college besides being a law abiding citizen and a voter?
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Tennessee Top
10-28-12, 12:01 PM
Yes...you can join the reserves and still be a fulltime college student.
The majority of the Reserve Marines serving wih the combat engineer company here in Knoxville are fulltime students at the University of Tennessee or East Tennessee State University (I served on the Inspector-Instructor Staff there). In fact, the drill schedule is set up so that there are never any drills on weekends when the Volunteer football team is playing at home. We also always tried to schedule the two weeks summer active duty training during the summer break. Check with your nearest reserve unit to see what they do to accommodate their full-time students.
If you are serious about wanting to serve, go talk to your local recruiter about the reserves (you can earn money to help with tuition too).
Omegaham
10-28-12, 12:23 PM
My suggestion - finish your schooling and then make your decision. You'll have a lot more options, (for example, becoming an officer) and it'll help you down the road.
You're not a fraud for not enlisting. It's not anyone's duty to be in the military; it's something that you choose to do, and you shouldn't feel obligated just because your friends chose to enlist. Figure out what YOU want to do with your life. Don't let other people influence it.
I've met a lot more Marines who wish they'd finished school than college students who wish they'd enlisted.