How old were you when you enlisted ?

[SureShot12]

If the Corps grants me the previledge to enslit, again..I'd be going in at 25/26years old.

18, I was 18 when I did this the first time. I feel like I'd be the "old guy".

How old were you ?

[ecfree]

I was 18 when I enlisted,but I quit school to do it.
If I were 18 today,I would finish school,go to college and enlist.....:cool:

[SureShot12]

You'd wait until you finished college ?

I left school to enlist, and gave up a "nice life" working for my fathers firm.

All good, though. I'll possibly be giving up a job in Law Enforcement if I go again:).

I guess some men are just born with the Corps in their blood..Others may call it crazy.

[ecfree]

Correct....:thumbup:

[SureShot12]

How long have you been in, ec ?

[ecfree]

How long have you been in, ec ?
I'm out 41 years now,I was in for 6...
I wish I could have done it better,like I said,the schooling....:thumbup:

[SureShot12]

Nice.

I think a lot of young, soon to be Marines get caught up in the "gung ho" aspect of becoming a Marine and fail to think about their future aside from or after the Corps.

I know I certainly did.

Thats one thing that I told every one of my friends that enlisted after I.."Make sure that you obtain some education and create a fall back plan. 4years will go quickly, and then you'll be 22-24yo, starting what everyone else did when tehy were 18.

[Enigmatic]

Nice.

I think a lot of young, soon to be Marines get caught up in the "gung ho" aspect of becoming a Marine and fail to think about their future aside from or after the Corps.

I know I certainly did.

Thats one thing that I told every one of my friends that enlisted after I.."Make sure that you obtain some education and create a fall back plan. 4years will go quickly, and then you'll be 22-24yo, starting what everyone else did when tehy were 18.

So what? That's what happened to me, and I got no regrets. Ain't like I'm the oldest guy in my classes at 24 years old. And I know if I had gone straight to college out of high school there's no way I would've had the discipline to actually finish. You make it seem like being a college freshman in their 20's is a negative. Not going to school at all is a negative. Carry on.

[Petz]

old enough.

[SGT7477]

18 and completed school.

[WKranz]

I was 18, a year out of high school though. When i graduated High School I had no idea I would be in Boot a year later. Weird now that I look back on it...

[SureShot12]

So what? That's what happened to me, and I got no regrets. Ain't like I'm the oldest guy in my classes at 24 years old. And I know if I had gone straight to college out of high school there's no way I would've had the discipline to actually finish. You make it seem like being a college freshman in their 20's is a negative. Not going to school at all is a negative. Carry on.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that, Enigmatic. I'm 25 and just started a new course of study. I did the same thing when I enlisted, Enigmatic. I left school and was focused on only the phase of challenges I would be confronted with by the Corps.

The topic of this thread was enlistment age, though, we kind of got off topic. When I went to boot we had one recruit/now Marine, that was 31.

I just wanted to know everyones age at enlistment time, because I went to boot 7 years ago....Thats like over 1/3 of my life ago :)

[THAT AINT IT]

I was 17 when i DEP'd in on 2006NOV07, shipped to The Island on 2007JUNE18, still 17. Graduated boot camp on 2007SEPT14...still 17. I didnt turn 18 until I was 4 days into MCT.

[sscjoe]

Enlisted May 1975 after getting my Associates Degree. Arrived MCRDPI Dec 1975 at 19.

[UsmcMotorT]

17. but when to bootcamp at 18.

[awbrown1462]

17 in Boot camp turned 18 the next year with first unit F2/12 on Oki 17 was so fun back then

[Enigmatic]

Absolutely nothing wrong with that, Enigmatic. I'm 25 and just started a new course of study. I did the same thing when I enlisted, Enigmatic. I left school and was focused on only the phase of challenges I would be confronted with by the Corps.

The topic of this thread was enlistment age, though, we kind of got off topic. When I went to boot we had one recruit/now Marine, that was 31.

I just wanted to know everyones age at enlistment time, because I went to boot 7 years ago....Thats like over 1/3 of my life ago :)

Fair enough. I was 19 myself. Fresh outta high school. Of course, I enjoyed high school so much I had been there for 5 years :D

[Enigmatic]

Absolutely nothing wrong with that, Enigmatic. I'm 25 and just started a new course of study. I did the same thing when I enlisted, Enigmatic. I left school and was focused on only the phase of challenges I would be confronted with by the Corps.

The topic of this thread was enlistment age, though, we kind of got off topic. When I went to boot we had one recruit/now Marine, that was 31.

I just wanted to know everyones age at enlistment time, because I went to boot 7 years ago....Thats like over 1/3 of my life ago :)


Fair enough. I was 19 myself. Right outta high school. Course, I loved high school so much I spent five years there :D

[biesseb]

Enlisted at 22, almost went straight out of highschool but put it off. Was glad I did for a number of reasons.

[Petz]

it was the chicks in college wasn't it? that's one of your reasons.

[3522]

Enlisted May 1975 after getting my Associates Degree. Arrived MCRDPI Dec 1975 at 19.

I also enlisted in May 1975, specifically May 8, 1 day after Congress declared the VietNam era over, and 2 days after my 18th birthday (didn't want mommy or daddy's sigs,). Got off 'his' bus at MCRDSD at 18 yrs, 1 mo, 20 days.

[DarrinC]

I was 22 when I left in 07Nov05. I'm 23 now. I wish I would have went in when I was 18. I always wanted too, however when I graduated high school my brother was a Sgt over in Iraq. He always said he did enough fighting for the both of us. I joined up as soon as he got out.

The perk to joining this old though is that you can drink, and not get worried about getting njp haha.

[ForeverMarine]

The perk to joining this old though is that you can drink, and not get worried about getting njp haha.


Aint that the truth haha. I joined when I was 18 as well and if you drank you got a hotel off base like the legendary motel 6 in 29 palms where all the boots would get stupid and and pass out. I remember being a Cpl at 20 and I quit drinking! No way was I going to lose my rank over a beer while I was in a grunt unit, I held on to my Cpl Rank like I held on to my M16A2 service rifle Devil! OH-RAH! haha..

But the advantage of joining early is the experience of being a young dumb single Marine and then rank when it comes time your ready. I knew a Marine I joined at 29 and had to listen to a 25 year old Sgt, and thats just the way it goes. I always told my Marines you dont see people age on their collars, you see their rank, or in some case the trail of salt wherever you walked lol jk...

:yes::marine::yes:

[Zulu 36]

Enlisted in DEP at 17, went to boot camp at 18, saw the elephant at 19.

[Sgt Jim]

Joined at 17.turned 18 at ITR

[biesseb]

it was the chicks in college wasn't it? that's one of your reasons.

Lol, I actually put off college until I got into the Corps. I did however have a full time girlfriend and I had to help my family build they're new house. This time also gave me the chance to bond more with my now adopted father and also my grandfather who became ill while I was at boot. He's now passed away. Had I been away during that time, I don't believe it would of been good for our family..also I don't think I was in the right stage mentality to tackle boot camp.

[AL49BGN]

I was 16yrs old when I joined the DEP my junior year and then shipped off to Parris Island upon my graduation when I was 17.I remember spending my 18th birthday up on SDI SSGT.Clancy's Quarter Deck.

[SgtThrasher]

Enlisted the following Monday after my Seventeenth birthday and arrived @Parris Island 9/29/65.One of the best decisions I could have made!:evilgrin:

[GSEMarine94]

Enlisted at 21, I'm an Army brat, and my dad had always tried to push me into the military. When he passed away I decided to join in rememberance of him, that's when I chose to prove that I could be the best of the best. In hind sight I wished I had listened to him and joined sooner.

[Petz]

you starting to feel extra crusty now instead of later??

[Blackhailfire]

17. Turned 18 in boot.

[rfbruce]

17 years 1 month 2 days old