It’s not bonus money, educational benefits or the chance to leave one’s hometown
Joseph R. Fernandez - Special to the Times
Posted : August 27, 2007

In my civilian job, I am a career counselor with a community-based nonprofit organization. Daily, I assist diverse groups of people in finding work, going to college or learning new skills to change careers.

As part of my initial interview with almost everyone, I bring up the possibility of military service as a career option. I am fairly knowledgeable about all the services and their enlistment standards. However, I do not purposely steer people toward one service or another, and I do not summarily dismiss someone from consideration.

I am not a recruiter. I have business cards for recruiters from each of the services, both active-duty and reserve components. I even have the Coast Guard recruiter’s number. I let them make the determination whether someone is ineligible for service.

The majority of the people I interview are not interested in enlisting — some because they have other interests and goals, others because they are afraid of going to Iraq. Occasionally, I have someone who has been to a recruiter and been disqualified from service. But there are those who do want to sign up.

I think it is admirable that any of these young people (and sometimes not so young) are interested in service. However, I have seen very different motivations and reasons behind each person’s desire to enlist.

The vast majority of people who have expressed interest have done so for the bonus money that is being passed out, the educational benefits and the opportunity to leave their hometown. Occasionally, I have someone who sees the military as a viable option for supporting his family with a regular paycheck, medical benefits and retirement.

But there is one group that does not fit into any of these categories: the young men and women who ask about the Marine Corps.

A desire for a particular military occupational specialty is not the reason young people join the Corps. If it were, the recruits would find that Army Rangers are reasonable facsimiles of Marine infantrymen. Aviation and support jobs are more inclusive in the other services, and some are not found in the Corps at all.

Money and benefits are not the reason. Cash, promotion and other aspects of monetary gain are greater in the other services. GI Bill benefits, family life and the general standard of living are better in the other branches.

The only real reason to be a Marine is because you want to be a Marine.

Recruiters have benefit tags with which they get the prospective recruit to prioritize what is important to him and why he would like to enlist. Most recruits are interested in money, benefits, MOS and other factors.

However, I am sure every Marine recruiter will tell you there are three basic, overriding reasons why people choose the Corps: a lifelong desire to be a Marine; to prove themselves; and finally, the heredity factor.

First are the men who have always wanted to be a Marine. Maybe they watched too many John Wayne movies or too many commercials. Or maybe it’s just the mystique and magic of the Corps and its reputation that have drawn them, but it is a definite feeling that most Marines know.

Then, there’s the guy who wants to prove his worth by joining the Corps. You remember the kid in boot camp who came in with a chip on his shoulder and insisted he was “badder” than anyone else. But deep down, the majority of recruits want to know whether they are physically strong enough, whether they have the mental fortitude and the spiritual stamina to become a Marine. Some may feel the need to prove to their father that they are men, others need to prove it to themselves.

And then there are the hereditary Marines. Most of us know the sergeant major’s son who is a lance corporal. But you also probably know many, many Marines whose father served in the Corps for two years during Vietnam, or whose grandfather served during World War II. Or maybe it was a cousin or uncle who did a single peacetime tour. The hereditary nature of the Marine Corps is evident. In part, people are driven to join the Corps because of their familiarity with the Corps through family stories. In greater part, this is probably a result of wanting to emulate a man they love and respect, carrying on a family tradition of service.

I personally believe all Marines have these three interconnected reasons for joining the Corps. If you’re honest, you probably fall into one of these categories, too.


The writer, a drilling reservist, is a sergeant with the Anti-Terrorism Battalion, 4th Marine Division.

Ellie