Transferring units once in the reserves

[oracoin]

Hi everyone,
This is my first post on this website and I have a quick question about how difficult it is to transfer from one reserve unit to another. I have been talking to my recruiter about joining (enlisting in) the Marines for months now and was planning on going active duty until just recently when I decided to switch to the reserves and go to school in FL and be closer to my family.I am planning on moving all of my belongings down to FL from VA once I'm on recruit leave. My recruiter says that I have to get signed in with a local unit prior to going to recruit training, and once I get out of that and move my belongings they will have no choice but to transfer me to a local unit near the new FL address. I trust my recruiter more than most but I have read so many conflicting things online. I have two main questions, one, is the process really this easy, and if possible could you please expand on it, and two, my recruiter said that if my request was denied that the Marines would pay my travel expenses to go from FL to VA for the monthly drill, how accurate is that. I am just looking to clear these two things up so I can feel all warm and fuzzy inside before I commit to anything, and I do understand that transferring units also depends on availability in that particular unit, but theoretically lets just say there is an opening.

Thank you and I look forward to reading your responses.

[josephd]

Yes you can transfer to another unit but the unit you get contracted to is NOT obligated to let you go and the unit you want to transfer to is NOT obligated to take you either. And as far as I am aware the VA unit does not want to let you go for whatever reason and you are living in Florida, the Corps DOES NOT pay your travel expenses to go back for drill. This only happens if you are a SNCO/Officer and fill a vital billet at that unit.

[Tennessee Top]

Yes you can transfer to another unit but the unit you get contracted to is NOT obligated to let you go and the unit you want to transfer to is NOT obligated to take you either. And as far as I am aware the VA unit does not want to let you go for whatever reason and you are living in Florida, the Corps DOES NOT pay your travel expenses to go back for drill. This only happens if you are a SNCO/Officer and fill a vital billet at that unit.

Don't see the Government paying travel expenses either. If that were the case, there would be a lot of reservists flying to Southern California or Hawaii for a weekend every month.

[josephd]

Don't see the Government paying travel expenses either. If that were the case, there would be a lot of reservists flying to Southern California or Hawaii for a weekend every month.

you must've missed it Top, I did say they would NOT be paying for travel expenses

[Tennessee Top]

No, didn't miss it. I agreed with you (as usual). Sorry if I didn't make myself clear.

[josephd]

No, didn't miss it. I agreed with you (as usual). Sorry if I didn't make myself clear.

hahaha Sorry, I just re-read your original. I mis-read it, I apologize

[oracoin]

Thank you both for the very timely response. I spoke with my recruiter very briefly and he told me that you were wrong but did not go into much explanation about it. As soon as I hear something back from him that is a little more specific I will let you know. In the meantime, if there is any way that either of you gentlemen could guide me to a source that goes into this topic a little more in depth that way I have something that is black and white to go to my recruiter with. I am having the hardest time finding any specifics about the subject out there anywhere. Again, thank you both for the response, I greatly appreciate it.

[josephd]

Thank you both for the very timely response. I spoke with my recruiter very briefly and he told me that you were wrong but did not go into much explanation about it. As soon as I hear something back from him that is a little more specific I will let you know. In the meantime, if there is any way that either of you gentlemen could guide me to a source that goes into this topic a little more in depth that way I have something that is black and white to go to my recruiter with. I am having the hardest time finding any specifics about the subject out there anywhere. Again, thank you both for the response, I greatly appreciate it.

we were wrong about what?...you need to be a bit more specific.

I nor will any other Marines on here get in a ****ing match back and forth about who is right or who is wrong. Just understand that recruiters are salesman, they will tell you just about anything(within reason) to get you contracted to fill whatever quota/empty seats they have available. Ultimately the decision is up to you and what you believe not what your recruiter tells you or what we tell you on here. If you wanna roll the dice and gamble your career be my guest.

[Tennessee Top]

Thank you both for the very timely response. I spoke with my recruiter very briefly and he told me that you were wrong but did not go into much explanation about it. As soon as I hear something back from him that is a little more specific I will let you know. In the meantime, if there is any way that either of you gentlemen could guide me to a source that goes into this topic a little more in depth that way I have something that is black and white to go to my recruiter with. I am having the hardest time finding any specifics about the subject out there anywhere. Again, thank you both for the response, I greatly appreciate it.

Sorry, I can't give you anymore information than your recruiter can (they're supposed to be the duty experts). As a rule, I tell wannabes to trust what their recruiter is telling them. I hate to believe recruiters today need to out-and-out lie to applicants just to fill a quota but I could be wrong (doesn't fraudulant enlistment if it can be proved work both ways?). When my niece was a poolee I had confidence in what her recruiter was telling her. Eventhough she utltimately decided not to ship to Parris Island, I can find no evidence it was through any fault of his. It's true recruiters are selling a product but they're also Marines and one of our 14 leadership traits is integrity which means doing the right thing - in this case telling the truth. If you can't trust your recruiter then what's the point of dealing with them in the first place.

[usmcrro]

You have to figure out what units are in Florida and see if they have Marines fitting your billet/MOS. The other answers are right in terms of the unit in VA (since you're an obligated reservists) has to approve for you to let you go. If they don't approve, you are out of luck. However, most units are willing to work with the Marines who have to relocate due to jobs or school needs.

Wait unit you are at the unit and talk to your chain of command, your company gunny and 1st Sgt. In my experience, most reserve Marines at my unit were able to do a unit transfer due to job or school (they were both obligated and non-obligated reservists). All of these units rated their MOS and billet. If they didn't, it would be more difficult to transfer.

Most recruiters have not serve as reservists themselves or served with reserve Marines so they aren't too familiar with how it works.

See http://www.sdmcp.org/Regs/marcorpsepman/Chapter3.pdf
Scroll to paragraph 3004.