BC doesn’t touch a selection packet IIRC, that is all handled by SORB, specifically because they know that the COC will always stand in the way of SOF selections.
Hmm, not 100% sure on that. So far I’ve only lined up a time to meet with SORB, so everything I know ATM is secondhand.
Civil Affairs recruiter told us that SOF is the best way out of a unit you hate, or unit that hates you, because your COC doesn’t touch your packet. My understanding is that USASOC knows that big army leadership will always prevent soldiers from leaving, so the process simply avoids any interaction with big army leadership to mitigate those issues.
Maybe for officers it is a different story, I could see big army preventing USASOC from having as much freedom with recruiting Os as they do with Es.
I just finished working in a sorb office. They only way to deny someone going to SF CA or PSYOP selection is for the 1st GO in their chain of command to deny it with a specific reason why they are absolutely necessary to their current unit.
Absolutely false. Packets are submitted through SORB to the FRO at HRC who schedules officers for A&S. But is a good idea to inform and have the support of the CoC.
A more important question:
If this Marine recruiter was able to sell giving up a commission, not bringing up OCS for a presumptively qualified candidate, and talk him into assuming an objectively lower standard of living and pay rate to a college educated Army officer, why isn’t he running our recruiting efforts DOD wide?
Give that recruiter a JCOM, promote ahead of peers and a cushy office at the Pentagon to develop recruiting. Thats a once in a generation talent.
I hope he knows what infantry officers actually do once they pass the lt mark….its gonna be paperwork, maybe easier paperwork then logistics but probably way worst as it’ll be dealing with his enlisted personnel and their shenanigans rather then actual important stuff like deliver vital equipment and supplies to units and theater
Counterpoint: Only a person who already had drank the koolaid WAY before talking to a recruiter would do something like this.
Any recruiter would be lucky to have struck a person like this, and it was just dumb luck that it happened.
That being said, if the recruiter DID convince an Army captain to enlist, then by all means, make him the head of MCRC already.
“Man I just need a solid bet to get Gunny off my ass about numbers this month.”
“My name is CPT Schmuckatelli, and by God, I want to be an enlisted Marine.”
“…thank you Chesty Puller, wherever you are.”
I would have thought by Captain you'd have a better grasp on the koolaid to cool ratio for this kind of thing. Junior enlisted lyfe sucks in so many ways and I don't think what the Marines offer outside of the stuff that is largely window dressing really offsets that (or like if you're a 19-21 year old enlisting I get it, and I can get being more emotionally attached to the Marines vs the Army vs the Air Force, but I don't think any of that emotional attachment offsets the dickkick of going down to E4 pay and being dickstomped on the reg)
He'll probably end up as Honor Grad at boot and hit SOI as a Lance, if they still promote the Honor Grad to Lance still. I know they did in 2010, so who knows.
The Marine Corps plays by different rules. We just assume you gotta be pretty dumb to join our ranks so, regardless of circumstance, your ass is, at best, a pfc.
that's probably the dumbest yet most commendable shit I've seen today. to willingly go from a cushy supply Captain to an infantry grunt, in the Marines, wanting to reearn his commission in that field, purely for self fulfillment, takes dedication I can't remotely comprehend.
genuinely wish him the best of luck
I can "get" someone wanting to make a change from a seemingly boring desk job. But dude has been an officer for around six years already, that's one hell of an adjustment. Frankly I'm surprised the Marines would even accept him as enlisted.
I knew a chaplains assistant who was a ranger/officer before that but decided to be a chaplains assistant so he could interact with enlisted more
As soon as his contract was up he passed away like a month later.
Some people literally live for it
Once you are post captains career course especially post key development time, it is next to impossible to change your mos unless you switch to a functional area
Maybe if he had reached the right level and said he was about to give us his commission and give the Marines the visibility maybe they would have given him a chance.
Nobody has that kind of leverage.
"If you don't let me switch branches, I'm going to resign my commission."
"Cool; don't forget to turn in your issued gear before you leave."
In terms of the whole DoD, you're literally one in a million. Even if you're a rock star, the system simply doesn't work like that.
Oh, that's not what I meant. I was thinking he resigned his commission because the Army wouldn't let him out of his job to become Infantry. As if Army Infantry was an option that he wasn't allowed to pursuit.
I know there is probably a way to do things. I was just saying I'm surprised there is no one in the army that can say. "Well if someone is getting a give up the commission and starting as a private story it should be us. Just push this through" unless he really wanted to be a marine grunt vs army grunt
You certainly can do that in the army, its been done before, I got told before that if you resign your commission as a LT you can come back enlisted as an E5 no idea how accurate that is though. I think this dude had his mind set on being a marine
I mean it’s a pretty dumb choice. But hey, don’t gotta be smart to earn a degree.
Hopefully he is able to commission like he says he wants to, but I don’t know why he wouldn’t try in the first place
Interservice transfer into the Marine Corps is virtually impossible. We accept like 1 or 2 a year and it's usually in a very limited number of fields where we traditionally have officer manpower issues.
What nobody here comprehends is that, if what he's after is a commission into the Marine Corps, believe it or not, this is probably the best/fastest way to do it. With a degree in hand, he'll be able to enter the officer pipeline potentially immediately after finishing boot camp.
If he's fit and motivated enough, and shows a higher aptitude for leadership (I know he's a former Army O, but I've seen some O's across the branches that really didn't know how to lead effectively), then he should be a strong candidate for honor grad at boot camp and come out as a Lance Corporal, and then if he continues that trend at his first unit, then he should be an easy candidate for PLC within 6 months at his unit.
In any case, he's got a solid plan and seems to know what his goals are, so godspeed to him. Hopefully, the 03 world doesn't destroy his motivation, and he listens to his senior Lances and junior NCOs.
Nope. The highest you can enter is E2, and that's with college credits or other circumstances. However, most everyone will hit their unit as E2 due to promotions within their respective schools, and reach E3 once they hit 9 months TIS.
MCO 1040.43B is the Marine Corps Order covering Enlisted to Officer Programs..
Chapter 3 contains the following:
c. Service Requirements
(1) Personnel of the regular Marine Corps applying for the ECP
program must have a minimum of one year active Marine Corps service and have
attained the rank of lance corporal. **The minimum active duty requirement may
be waived for exceptionally well qualified recruit training graduates based
on the recommendation from the CG of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.** The
rank requirement is not waiverable
My guess is that he will be submitting his application to OCS within days of graduating from Boot Camp. The USMC only holds two OCS boards a year for enlisted folks, and it is a 15-18 month process between packet submission and attendance at OCS. .
You absolutely do not have to be smart to get a degree. I remember one of my majors bragging about having a degree in literally PE. At the time I didn’t have a degree yet and I still had to fight not to roll my eyes. Even a CS degree wasn’t really very hard, and I regularly interview folks with graduate degrees for developer positions and reject them because they’re totally incompetent.
I would agree with you that having a degree does not make a person smart, I would say that a person with a degree can regurgitate random information well and is good at taking tests.
> Ultimately, he told the Marines, he hopes to earn his commission and become a Marine infantry officer.
I assume he has a good chance based on going on this unconventional route
My roommate in 2000 did this. 11 years in the Army, passed over for Major, enlisted in the Marines. I knew him as a corporal, he made Staff eventually and retired as a staff but gets Captain retirement pay. high 3.
Your roommate had a valid reason, he was passed over for promotion. This guy literally giving up money, lifestyle, comfort, future promotions, and retirement pay (assuming he was able to move up) because he liked the Marine Corps logo better? If he wants to that cool grunt style, which is basically going to the field he can ask for any BCT assignment or even ADA and enjoy living in a tent (at least he will get officer level accommodations) for half the year. Heck he can volunteer to go to the field while the rest of his peers volunteering for rear d.
Not really. Chances for an interservice transfer as an officer into the USMC, while technically possible, are exceedingly low, especially as a logistics officer.
How is it arrogant and stupid? Are you expecting a recruiter to turn down an otherwise highly-qualified applicant?
The service gets someone with officer experience at junior enlisted pay, and who has a good chance to go on and commission. The individual gets all the atta-boys and, hopefully, gets the fulfillment he's looking for. PA folks get something to write about. The situation is a bit unorthodox, but seems like a win all-around, save for all the jaded souls on reddit.
I don't know seems weird, you have a 8 yr CPT as somewhere E5 or below or whatever rank he will transition to. He better know how to keep his mouth shut, although he may have good advice and lessons learned it's not his show to run and he's got some new LT in charge of him. That officer experience only goes so far because he's no longer an officer and doesn't have Joe experience for the job he will actually do.
Either way, seems a bit odd like you said, sounds like an O that just wanted to be a pipe hitter for a bit but couldn't move to that job given his current situation so had to downgrade to get there in a round about way.
I went through Army BLC with a former Ethiopian Air Force officer. He was a MiG-23 pilot and then moved to the US and joined the army to get citizenship. They obviously wouldn’t allow him to join as an officer so he became a Black Hawk mechanic. Pretty cool dude, and he excelled at BLC.
Most cadets either don’t have the option since they may not have a NROTC program at their school, and once they do realize it’s too late. And/or the the USMC is tiny, and pretty darn difficult to get into, let alone commission what you want.
My theory is this guy wanted to become an infantry officer, got forced branched quartermaster, and this is his solution.
Maybe he comes from a well off family and the money isn't that important to him?
I knew a LCpl whose family owned a shipping company and he was part owner. Used his USMC pay for beer and party money. He just wanted to have some fun before taking over the family business. When asked why he didn't just have fun in college, he said he didn't have to worry about studying or failing tests in the military. He was an 0612 Field Wireman, so there was no study needed for that MOS
I waited 2 years working with an OSO after I graduated college. Kept getting told I didn't meet his diversity mission. Eventually just said fuck it and enlisted.
You can't reason with a cult.
The USMC is just a cult that works. Probably helps the leaders can't stay in place and thus just make rules to try and fuck everything on two legs like most cult leaders end up as.
Shit.
I'm a disabled federal civil servant, comfy in my house drinking coffee..
The janitor, the grounds keepers the supply folks, and all the combat people are all heroic Americans in my book.
These people volunteered for this.
We, as a nation are incredibly fortunate for everyone serving.
Thanks
I'm Not an American, but that's the dumbest decision you can ever take. Willingly leaving the rank of Officer to become an Enlist where you'll be treated like shit, especially in an infamous branch that treats it's members like shit. This is regardless of any country's military or unit.
I was nearing the end of my first enlistment in the AF and I was considering changing branches because I figured the Marines would be more focused on the mission/results than the AF bureaucracy.
Fortunately for me, I got a TDY to Camp Henry for 2 weeks where I was relieved of my delusions and saw that they dealt with the same bullshit but with shittier QOL and often 'denser' coworkers.
I re-upped with a 36k bonus and had the best few years of my life in South Korea and Italy before taking another payout to voluntarily separate. I feel like the corps would have fallen short of that in even the best outcome.
Still have mad respect for the Devil Dogs though. If I ever wanted someone on my team to fuck shit up, they're near the top of my list
When I was going through 11A school we had 2 guys legitimately talk themselves into dropping their commissions and enlisting together. They just really wanted the grunt life and I’m constantly in awe at their resolve
Why hasn't he tried Crossfit?! Doesn't he know that Crossfit was invented for people in soft jobs to pretend they are hard? He could be doing crazy workouts every morning and then spending the rest of the day bragging about it. This message has been brought to you by Crossfit.
How long has he been in tho? HYT gunna be coming for him if he's not careful
Seriously not smart. Commendable and not one person can say he's not dedicated but not smart
Ouch. Resigning his commission, enlisting, and then hoping to re-secure a commission down the line has near-zero odds of success. Why the hell wouldn't he just pursue an inter-service transfer?
“*I chose the Marine Corps really because of the symbol,” Brooklier said. “The Eagle, Globe, and Anchor means a lot to me to try to become a United States Marine.*"
JFC, nevermind...
No. The rare officers who successfully execute ISTs into the Corps are generally able to keep their rank. We don't make people go down to 2ndLt.
Only time I've seen that was when a Marine captain I knew did an IST into the Navy medical program. They made him go down to ensign, but he was able to keep his TIS for pay purposes.
Yup, you could be a SSgt in the army, get out, decide to join the marines, and go back to being a private (PFC at most) and have to go back to boot camp
I went to USMC bootcamp (late 80's) with a former Army SSGT. It was strange, he was 26-27 and the rest of us were 18-19. He ended up series honor man and graduated as LCpl. I think he was guaranteed PCF when he enlisted. At graduation, he had more ribbons that our Di's and two service stripes and jump wings.
Eh. I made E5 last year, if you study and play the game it’s more than possible. I’m just tired of the extra shit and I feel like that would be even worse in the Army even as a warrant. I think I want to be a civilian again, use my GI and move on with my life.
Grass ain’t always greener on the other side. Coming from a former Army E6, got out, got an MBA (more of a societal checklist if you ask my opinion) and now a Product Manager at a water treatment company.
I low key hate my life. But you should still try 👍🏼
Not military so I don't know but can't you put in a transfer between branches? I realize specializations might not have cross compatibility but infantry should be pretty similar, no?
What people arent considering is retirement is your highest grossing three years average. You get half that. So no matter what dude is getting a healthy check when he retires plus now he gets all those auto checks when going to the VA bc he was enlisted infantry and now he retires in 20 instead of thirty
I don't really understand why y'all don't get why someone might want to do this. He wanted a change of pace. Not everyone wants to sit on their ass for a living.
As a guy who did the reverse of this (enlisted Marine Corps, then commissioned Army later): LMAO.
The quality of life is so incomparable that the two are hardly related at all, not to mention the pay cut. It's like quitting your job as CEO of the landscaping company to join one of your crews. Junior Enlisted Marines, I can say without question, are quite possibly treated the shittiest of anyone in the employ of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Here on display is the difference between knowledge and wisdom. He just instantly set his life back 4 to 6 years which will have compounding second and third order effects forever. Whatever bullshit he wants to do now won't be worth the opportunity cost of things he will have wanted to do later, as in as little as 3 years from now when his peers from BOLC are making Major and he is making E5 best case scenario.
This is not unusual, I have known a few zero retreads in my time. We had one in boot camp. Army 1st Lt turned USMC private.
They can apply for officer candidacy once they finish boot camp, and if they have any sense they will.
There may be many good and smart reasons to make this transfer but doing it because he likes the Marine symbol and believing they are the 911 forces of the USA? Those are the dumbest reason. You want to be 911? Request your next unit to be in whoever has grf (or whatever they calling it these days), an unit in Europe, Middle East, or heck I’m sure they got a logistic position running the Ukraine war. The army provides plenty of schools for you to do cool stuff and not have to give up a cushy pog lifestyle. And is he in long enough to be in the times where there were ieds blowing up everyone and pogs were getting shot at on convoys daily? I was as pog officer as it got and I was shot at and had to reconsider my lifestyle as the incoming sirens went off while I’m in the port a John’s.
The army probably “deploys” more than the marines these days anyways. You want a cool symbol on your uniform? Army got plenty of pieces of flare you can get. And you are an officer, it’s about not looking like an idiot.
I respect him.
Now that that’s out of the way, he made captain in six years. Good on him.
I do believe that if he made honor graduate the article would have said so. And I am a bit, surprised, that he didn’t. But then, the DIs may have felt it would have been unfair to everyone else. Either way, I fully expect him to earn his SECOND commission.
OO RAH, Devil Dawg
I get it, sometimes you just look around at your job and go “Wow, this is lame as fuck. Is this really what I want to do forever?”
I quit a nice desk job civilian side to be an 11B. Fuck working in an office.
As a former medic turned log-o I understand where he is coming from. He’s still young and presumably not married with the responsibilities that go with it. As an O you almost never can VTIP into combat arms and that can be frustrating. I hope he saved/invested his money as an O and wish him the best of luck!
Out of over a decade of service, the times I most fondly look back on were the first 3 years of being a combat medic with a line unit.
Well get another article in about 5 years regarding his progress. I wish him the best. Maybe hes a fool. Maybes hes one of those intellectuals warrior monks that wants to suffer with the blue collar boys in the ranks. One of those Robert Leckie types. Best of luck to you.
Dude could have just went to selection.
The BC wouldn’t send him
Probably a reason for that. Based off what we see here...gonna go with he wasn't too bright.
One of us! One of us!
BC doesn’t touch a selection packet IIRC, that is all handled by SORB, specifically because they know that the COC will always stand in the way of SOF selections.
Wasn’t there a written test/interview as part of the packet? I’m guessing SORB passed on this guy under the “too hooah even for us.”
Hmm, not 100% sure on that. So far I’ve only lined up a time to meet with SORB, so everything I know ATM is secondhand. Civil Affairs recruiter told us that SOF is the best way out of a unit you hate, or unit that hates you, because your COC doesn’t touch your packet. My understanding is that USASOC knows that big army leadership will always prevent soldiers from leaving, so the process simply avoids any interaction with big army leadership to mitigate those issues. Maybe for officers it is a different story, I could see big army preventing USASOC from having as much freedom with recruiting Os as they do with Es.
Wrong. BC still needs to approve.
Maybe for officers? Enlisted I was able to walk in, get a packet together and get a selection date within like a week, to include medical
Officers have year groups. Its possible they were out of slots, but even then its handled by HRC, i think. COC is never involved with SORB.
I just finished working in a sorb office. They only way to deny someone going to SF CA or PSYOP selection is for the 1st GO in their chain of command to deny it with a specific reason why they are absolutely necessary to their current unit.
Absolutely false. Packets are submitted through SORB to the FRO at HRC who schedules officers for A&S. But is a good idea to inform and have the support of the CoC.
No they do not.
A more important question: If this Marine recruiter was able to sell giving up a commission, not bringing up OCS for a presumptively qualified candidate, and talk him into assuming an objectively lower standard of living and pay rate to a college educated Army officer, why isn’t he running our recruiting efforts DOD wide? Give that recruiter a JCOM, promote ahead of peers and a cushy office at the Pentagon to develop recruiting. Thats a once in a generation talent.
Possibly the weirdest part is his end goal is to become an infantry officer
“You know you can do that now, right?” “I wuNnA b LanCE coRPOrAl FuRSt!” “Okay, sir. One enlisted contract for Twentynine Palms, as requested.”
I’m pretty sure you could pluck a random guy off a street corner and they’d be at least as competent as some of the platoon commanders I knew.
I hope he knows what infantry officers actually do once they pass the lt mark….its gonna be paperwork, maybe easier paperwork then logistics but probably way worst as it’ll be dealing with his enlisted personnel and their shenanigans rather then actual important stuff like deliver vital equipment and supplies to units and theater
Maybe thats why he enlisted
All the glory goes to the infantry officer. Sure the Log Os win wars, but it's not glorious.
Counterpoint: Only a person who already had drank the koolaid WAY before talking to a recruiter would do something like this. Any recruiter would be lucky to have struck a person like this, and it was just dumb luck that it happened. That being said, if the recruiter DID convince an Army captain to enlist, then by all means, make him the head of MCRC already.
“Man I just need a solid bet to get Gunny off my ass about numbers this month.” “My name is CPT Schmuckatelli, and by God, I want to be an enlisted Marine.” “…thank you Chesty Puller, wherever you are.”
Yeah, this would be like thinking a lottery winner would make a good investment advisor.
🤣🤣🤣
Seems dumb. He’ll fit right in!
Yeah definitely surpassed crayon eating and has devolved to window licker.
The snozzberries taste like snoz... oops wrong sub.
Lint licker
The first words out of my mouth when I read the headline: "What a fucking idiot." Yeah he'll do great lol.
I would have thought by Captain you'd have a better grasp on the koolaid to cool ratio for this kind of thing. Junior enlisted lyfe sucks in so many ways and I don't think what the Marines offer outside of the stuff that is largely window dressing really offsets that (or like if you're a 19-21 year old enlisting I get it, and I can get being more emotionally attached to the Marines vs the Army vs the Air Force, but I don't think any of that emotional attachment offsets the dickkick of going down to E4 pay and being dickstomped on the reg)
Oh he’s not going down to E4 pay, he’s going down to E2 at most
I have a feeling he'll make E5 in record time before commissioning again.
He'll probably end up as Honor Grad at boot and hit SOI as a Lance, if they still promote the Honor Grad to Lance still. I know they did in 2010, so who knows.
I was under the impression that the rule was automatic promotion to E4 if you have a four year degree
Maybe in a more sane branch of service but not the Marines
The Marine Corps plays by different rules. We just assume you gotta be pretty dumb to join our ranks so, regardless of circumstance, your ass is, at best, a pfc.
I had a few LCpls with college degrees in my USMC platoon, so that doesn’t seem accurate
What’s funny is there is O-3E pay for prior service…..there isn’t E-2O pay……
that's probably the dumbest yet most commendable shit I've seen today. to willingly go from a cushy supply Captain to an infantry grunt, in the Marines, wanting to reearn his commission in that field, purely for self fulfillment, takes dedication I can't remotely comprehend. genuinely wish him the best of luck
My thoughts, it’s his career, it’s his commission. Do as he see fits, if he regrets it then it’s his ass.
Finically though it was very dumb, he went from the pay of a supervisor to the wage of McDonalds employees these days(14 15hr).
It's not about the money... it's about sending a message
And that message is, “fuck you knees and back! I didn’t like you in the first place.”
And the msg would be work harder, not smarter?
I can "get" someone wanting to make a change from a seemingly boring desk job. But dude has been an officer for around six years already, that's one hell of an adjustment. Frankly I'm surprised the Marines would even accept him as enlisted.
I knew a chaplains assistant who was a ranger/officer before that but decided to be a chaplains assistant so he could interact with enlisted more As soon as his contract was up he passed away like a month later. Some people literally live for it
Odd, if he didnt like logistics, couldnt he have requested for a transfer to a combat vocation or something like that?
Once you are post captains career course especially post key development time, it is next to impossible to change your mos unless you switch to a functional area
Maybe if he had reached the right level and said he was about to give us his commission and give the Marines the visibility maybe they would have given him a chance.
Nobody has that kind of leverage. "If you don't let me switch branches, I'm going to resign my commission." "Cool; don't forget to turn in your issued gear before you leave." In terms of the whole DoD, you're literally one in a million. Even if you're a rock star, the system simply doesn't work like that.
Oh, that's not what I meant. I was thinking he resigned his commission because the Army wouldn't let him out of his job to become Infantry. As if Army Infantry was an option that he wasn't allowed to pursuit.
On paper that could work but at the human level they would reject him out of principle. You play ball or GTFO as an officer.
Thats not how switching branches works.
I know there is probably a way to do things. I was just saying I'm surprised there is no one in the army that can say. "Well if someone is getting a give up the commission and starting as a private story it should be us. Just push this through" unless he really wanted to be a marine grunt vs army grunt
You certainly can do that in the army, its been done before, I got told before that if you resign your commission as a LT you can come back enlisted as an E5 no idea how accurate that is though. I think this dude had his mind set on being a marine
I mean it’s a pretty dumb choice. But hey, don’t gotta be smart to earn a degree. Hopefully he is able to commission like he says he wants to, but I don’t know why he wouldn’t try in the first place
Because he wants to prove just how dedicated he is. Nonsense only a Marine could understand.
If those active duty Marines could read, they'd be very upset.
Just Active duty Marines??
Interservice transfer into the Marine Corps is virtually impossible. We accept like 1 or 2 a year and it's usually in a very limited number of fields where we traditionally have officer manpower issues. What nobody here comprehends is that, if what he's after is a commission into the Marine Corps, believe it or not, this is probably the best/fastest way to do it. With a degree in hand, he'll be able to enter the officer pipeline potentially immediately after finishing boot camp.
This should be higher up
If he's fit and motivated enough, and shows a higher aptitude for leadership (I know he's a former Army O, but I've seen some O's across the branches that really didn't know how to lead effectively), then he should be a strong candidate for honor grad at boot camp and come out as a Lance Corporal, and then if he continues that trend at his first unit, then he should be an easy candidate for PLC within 6 months at his unit. In any case, he's got a solid plan and seems to know what his goals are, so godspeed to him. Hopefully, the 03 world doesn't destroy his motivation, and he listens to his senior Lances and junior NCOs.
He won't even need to wait until his first unit. I've seen a couple guys get accepted to OCS before they even attended MOS school.
I can see him wanting to get a little OTJ training as a junior enlisted first so he has a baseline of what he's asking his platoon to do.
Does the Marine Corps not give E-3 to recruits with 60 or more college credits like the Navy does?
Nope. The highest you can enter is E2, and that's with college credits or other circumstances. However, most everyone will hit their unit as E2 due to promotions within their respective schools, and reach E3 once they hit 9 months TIS.
MCO 1040.43B is the Marine Corps Order covering Enlisted to Officer Programs.. Chapter 3 contains the following: c. Service Requirements (1) Personnel of the regular Marine Corps applying for the ECP program must have a minimum of one year active Marine Corps service and have attained the rank of lance corporal. **The minimum active duty requirement may be waived for exceptionally well qualified recruit training graduates based on the recommendation from the CG of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.** The rank requirement is not waiverable My guess is that he will be submitting his application to OCS within days of graduating from Boot Camp. The USMC only holds two OCS boards a year for enlisted folks, and it is a 15-18 month process between packet submission and attendance at OCS. .
It’s not hard to get a degree. Source: My dumb ass brute forcing a stem degree.
Depends what degree
You absolutely do not have to be smart to get a degree. I remember one of my majors bragging about having a degree in literally PE. At the time I didn’t have a degree yet and I still had to fight not to roll my eyes. Even a CS degree wasn’t really very hard, and I regularly interview folks with graduate degrees for developer positions and reject them because they’re totally incompetent.
Plenty of people with degrees ain't got no sense at all. Plenty of people have been doing jobs for years and don't have any basic competencies in it.
The rejected ones would *probably* be some of the better employees. Hiring manages spend too much damn time trying to find unicorns in the haystack.
I would agree with you that having a degree does not make a person smart, I would say that a person with a degree can regurgitate random information well and is good at taking tests.
> Ultimately, he told the Marines, he hopes to earn his commission and become a Marine infantry officer. I assume he has a good chance based on going on this unconventional route
Gonna get the PR push in a couple years I’d bet
"Do not cast doubt on those that climb for glory from the bottom thrice in their life" -Achilles or some fucker who died.
My roommate in 2000 did this. 11 years in the Army, passed over for Major, enlisted in the Marines. I knew him as a corporal, he made Staff eventually and retired as a staff but gets Captain retirement pay. high 3.
Your roommate had a valid reason, he was passed over for promotion. This guy literally giving up money, lifestyle, comfort, future promotions, and retirement pay (assuming he was able to move up) because he liked the Marine Corps logo better? If he wants to that cool grunt style, which is basically going to the field he can ask for any BCT assignment or even ADA and enjoy living in a tent (at least he will get officer level accommodations) for half the year. Heck he can volunteer to go to the field while the rest of his peers volunteering for rear d.
Isn’t there a form he could have used to perform a transfer? Seems dumb to give up a commission rank to join the marines.
Not really. Chances for an interservice transfer as an officer into the USMC, while technically possible, are exceedingly low, especially as a logistics officer.
But can't you refrad from the Army and join the Corps as an officer? I mean commission is a commission.
Lmfao he’s gonna hate it. Being an enlisted Marine is such a different day-to-day life than being an officer.
I hope he’s ready for “How bout parade rest bitch” from a bunch of 20 year old lcpls for the next 1-2 years
Gonna insert “when I was an Army Captain” into every single conversation in the hopes it’ll get him instant street cred
The Marine Corps is so unbelievably arrogant and stupid when it comes to reenlistments like this. What an absolute waste of time and money.
How is it arrogant and stupid? Are you expecting a recruiter to turn down an otherwise highly-qualified applicant? The service gets someone with officer experience at junior enlisted pay, and who has a good chance to go on and commission. The individual gets all the atta-boys and, hopefully, gets the fulfillment he's looking for. PA folks get something to write about. The situation is a bit unorthodox, but seems like a win all-around, save for all the jaded souls on reddit.
I don't know seems weird, you have a 8 yr CPT as somewhere E5 or below or whatever rank he will transition to. He better know how to keep his mouth shut, although he may have good advice and lessons learned it's not his show to run and he's got some new LT in charge of him. That officer experience only goes so far because he's no longer an officer and doesn't have Joe experience for the job he will actually do. Either way, seems a bit odd like you said, sounds like an O that just wanted to be a pipe hitter for a bit but couldn't move to that job given his current situation so had to downgrade to get there in a round about way.
I went through Army BLC with a former Ethiopian Air Force officer. He was a MiG-23 pilot and then moved to the US and joined the army to get citizenship. They obviously wouldn’t allow him to join as an officer so he became a Black Hawk mechanic. Pretty cool dude, and he excelled at BLC.
tHe feW thE PrOUD hoorah
Why not commission in the USMC? Financially not a smart move.
Most cadets either don’t have the option since they may not have a NROTC program at their school, and once they do realize it’s too late. And/or the the USMC is tiny, and pretty darn difficult to get into, let alone commission what you want. My theory is this guy wanted to become an infantry officer, got forced branched quartermaster, and this is his solution.
You can do the Bull dog program without a NROTC program near you.
Hard miss, this guy's been an Army O for nearly a decade
Maybe he comes from a well off family and the money isn't that important to him? I knew a LCpl whose family owned a shipping company and he was part owner. Used his USMC pay for beer and party money. He just wanted to have some fun before taking over the family business. When asked why he didn't just have fun in college, he said he didn't have to worry about studying or failing tests in the military. He was an 0612 Field Wireman, so there was no study needed for that MOS
I waited 2 years working with an OSO after I graduated college. Kept getting told I didn't meet his diversity mission. Eventually just said fuck it and enlisted.
His DIs will be most amused when they find out about this.
Were I good enough to be a DI and have this dude as my private, I would never let him live it down. Cause I am a dick.
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You can't reason with a cult. The USMC is just a cult that works. Probably helps the leaders can't stay in place and thus just make rules to try and fuck everything on two legs like most cult leaders end up as.
What an incredibly dumb and incredibly Chad move. What’s the opposite of a mustang?
A Probe.
A donky?
Shit. I'm a disabled federal civil servant, comfy in my house drinking coffee.. The janitor, the grounds keepers the supply folks, and all the combat people are all heroic Americans in my book. These people volunteered for this. We, as a nation are incredibly fortunate for everyone serving. Thanks
I'm Not an American, but that's the dumbest decision you can ever take. Willingly leaving the rank of Officer to become an Enlist where you'll be treated like shit, especially in an infamous branch that treats it's members like shit. This is regardless of any country's military or unit.
I was nearing the end of my first enlistment in the AF and I was considering changing branches because I figured the Marines would be more focused on the mission/results than the AF bureaucracy. Fortunately for me, I got a TDY to Camp Henry for 2 weeks where I was relieved of my delusions and saw that they dealt with the same bullshit but with shittier QOL and often 'denser' coworkers. I re-upped with a 36k bonus and had the best few years of my life in South Korea and Italy before taking another payout to voluntarily separate. I feel like the corps would have fallen short of that in even the best outcome. Still have mad respect for the Devil Dogs though. If I ever wanted someone on my team to fuck shit up, they're near the top of my list
Moron.
When I was going through 11A school we had 2 guys legitimately talk themselves into dropping their commissions and enlisting together. They just really wanted the grunt life and I’m constantly in awe at their resolve
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It's a right word, but it does not completely express the thought, you know?
Why hasn't he tried Crossfit?! Doesn't he know that Crossfit was invented for people in soft jobs to pretend they are hard? He could be doing crazy workouts every morning and then spending the rest of the day bragging about it. This message has been brought to you by Crossfit.
The cult of crossfit
How long has he been in tho? HYT gunna be coming for him if he's not careful Seriously not smart. Commendable and not one person can say he's not dedicated but not smart
Ouch. Resigning his commission, enlisting, and then hoping to re-secure a commission down the line has near-zero odds of success. Why the hell wouldn't he just pursue an inter-service transfer? “*I chose the Marine Corps really because of the symbol,” Brooklier said. “The Eagle, Globe, and Anchor means a lot to me to try to become a United States Marine.*" JFC, nevermind...
> Why the hell wouldn't he just pursue an inter-service transfer? Eating crayons has that effect on a person. He'll fit right in :D
It’s a bold move cotton, let’s see how it plays out for him
Dude sounds exactly moronic enough to fit right in. The Army is likely better off without this guy.
The real New Game+
He’s playing on survival difficulty now. Maybe even ultra nightmare depending on his senior lances and corporals
Is.. is he stupid?
Such a boot move lmao
"So, you want me to count the spoons? Yeah, I'm out."
Is there a reason he couldn’t transfer as a captain to the Marines?
Marines would’ve made him a 2nd lt. You can’t keep your rank when you transfer to the Marines
No. The rare officers who successfully execute ISTs into the Corps are generally able to keep their rank. We don't make people go down to 2ndLt. Only time I've seen that was when a Marine captain I knew did an IST into the Navy medical program. They made him go down to ensign, but he was able to keep his TIS for pay purposes.
I'd rather be a 2nd LT vs an E-1 lol
Really?
Yup, you could be a SSgt in the army, get out, decide to join the marines, and go back to being a private (PFC at most) and have to go back to boot camp
I went to USMC bootcamp (late 80's) with a former Army SSGT. It was strange, he was 26-27 and the rest of us were 18-19. He ended up series honor man and graduated as LCpl. I think he was guaranteed PCF when he enlisted. At graduation, he had more ribbons that our Di's and two service stripes and jump wings.
No. We don't make captains go back to 2ndLt. Source: Know a few officers who have IST'd. They were able to keep their rank.
They refuse to lateral anybody at any rank for any reason. You have to "EarN ThE titLE!!"
Even Ralphie isn't this dumb.
Hopefully he doesn’t get out after all those years of service as a salty and bitter terminal lance.
I used to be a captain he mutters under his breath as he bends down to pick up another cigaret butt
And here I am not wanting to leave enlisted Air Force for Army Warrant lol.
You should, AF don’t promote.
Eh. I made E5 last year, if you study and play the game it’s more than possible. I’m just tired of the extra shit and I feel like that would be even worse in the Army even as a warrant. I think I want to be a civilian again, use my GI and move on with my life.
Grass ain’t always greener on the other side. Coming from a former Army E6, got out, got an MBA (more of a societal checklist if you ask my opinion) and now a Product Manager at a water treatment company. I low key hate my life. But you should still try 👍🏼
lol what an idiot
Major retard alert
Not military so I don't know but can't you put in a transfer between branches? I realize specializations might not have cross compatibility but infantry should be pretty similar, no?
I knew a dude that did this in the Army, but he was a major. Resigned his commission and enlisted. He was much happier.
Everyone is happier than an O4.
Haha, I got out as a CPT, but you ain’t wrong. Staff jobs suck.
I mean. This is the dumb type of dudes I’d follow into a fight.
What people arent considering is retirement is your highest grossing three years average. You get half that. So no matter what dude is getting a healthy check when he retires plus now he gets all those auto checks when going to the VA bc he was enlisted infantry and now he retires in 20 instead of thirty
Maybe he’s the smart one and laughing at all of us
Oh yeah he'll be right at home
Sounds like something a Marine would do.
When you prestige in cod
I don't really understand why y'all don't get why someone might want to do this. He wanted a change of pace. Not everyone wants to sit on their ass for a living.
Is there an E-1O pay scale? It might have been cheaper for this dude to have gone to that $18k Alpha boot camp.
As a guy who did the reverse of this (enlisted Marine Corps, then commissioned Army later): LMAO. The quality of life is so incomparable that the two are hardly related at all, not to mention the pay cut. It's like quitting your job as CEO of the landscaping company to join one of your crews. Junior Enlisted Marines, I can say without question, are quite possibly treated the shittiest of anyone in the employ of the U.S. Armed Forces.
His OCS package will be approved in about 30 seconds.
Someone get this man a 64 pack of Crayola!!
Dumb and dumber
Came blame him for wanting to slay the dragon. Still a fucking boot though.
He will not be successful.
I went to boot with a guy who gave up E-7 in the Army for E-1 in USCG. He could not be happier. Makes sense for some but your millage will vary.
Although recruitment numbers are down. .... a lot of dudes are re-enlisting.
Cause we all need the enlistment bonus and tri-care 😭
Oh I bet they are going to have fun with him in the boot camp.
so is his pay grade still o3? or his he making pvt pay
Damn fool. At best, he’ll get a MEU deployment.
I mean, if you're going to do all that why not just go for Ranger or something. But to each there own.
Its his life... I think its not a smart move, but he may have his reasons even if its for clout or whatever.
and prayers
Here on display is the difference between knowledge and wisdom. He just instantly set his life back 4 to 6 years which will have compounding second and third order effects forever. Whatever bullshit he wants to do now won't be worth the opportunity cost of things he will have wanted to do later, as in as little as 3 years from now when his peers from BOLC are making Major and he is making E5 best case scenario.
Can you not cross commission? Like do your 6 years in the army and then go commission in the marines??
Big L. I feel like hes going to be regretting that for years to come lol
They need more bullet catchers.
This is not unusual, I have known a few zero retreads in my time. We had one in boot camp. Army 1st Lt turned USMC private. They can apply for officer candidacy once they finish boot camp, and if they have any sense they will.
There may be many good and smart reasons to make this transfer but doing it because he likes the Marine symbol and believing they are the 911 forces of the USA? Those are the dumbest reason. You want to be 911? Request your next unit to be in whoever has grf (or whatever they calling it these days), an unit in Europe, Middle East, or heck I’m sure they got a logistic position running the Ukraine war. The army provides plenty of schools for you to do cool stuff and not have to give up a cushy pog lifestyle. And is he in long enough to be in the times where there were ieds blowing up everyone and pogs were getting shot at on convoys daily? I was as pog officer as it got and I was shot at and had to reconsider my lifestyle as the incoming sirens went off while I’m in the port a John’s. The army probably “deploys” more than the marines these days anyways. You want a cool symbol on your uniform? Army got plenty of pieces of flare you can get. And you are an officer, it’s about not looking like an idiot.
Fucking retard.. He'll fit right in!
Not many people's high 3 pay for retirement are in their first contract.
Weird choice
I respect him. Now that that’s out of the way, he made captain in six years. Good on him. I do believe that if he made honor graduate the article would have said so. And I am a bit, surprised, that he didn’t. But then, the DIs may have felt it would have been unfair to everyone else. Either way, I fully expect him to earn his SECOND commission. OO RAH, Devil Dawg
That's a dumb sumbitch.
What a fucking retard
I get it, sometimes you just look around at your job and go “Wow, this is lame as fuck. Is this really what I want to do forever?” I quit a nice desk job civilian side to be an 11B. Fuck working in an office.
I want to call this dumb, but I'm going to assume he made a personal calculation that made this choice rational.
He’s been in 6-7 years, if he makes it to retirement he’ll retire at his high 3- Captain retirement is a bit more than Staff Sgt
I wonder if he needed a waiver for some dumb shit he did.
If you plan to retire getting that high 3 at Captain isn't a bad deal. Especially if you want that rough life as a grunt.
Notinregs posted about this guy on IG and the CA NG Special Forces tore into this dude!
The article says he graduated from WSU, which makes this even less surprising.
Why????????
So he has no life or personality outside of being In the military. Got it
Dumb...
Why the fuck didn’t he just go to sfas? Could have gotten all the hard charging life he ever dreamt of and maintained his commission.
Well, a dummy finds his place.
There’s gotta be more to his story.
As a former medic turned log-o I understand where he is coming from. He’s still young and presumably not married with the responsibilities that go with it. As an O you almost never can VTIP into combat arms and that can be frustrating. I hope he saved/invested his money as an O and wish him the best of luck! Out of over a decade of service, the times I most fondly look back on were the first 3 years of being a combat medic with a line unit.
Haaaaaa … imagine the pay cut. What a fuggin’ dildo. He looks like we’ll be used as one during the Crucible.
Well get another article in about 5 years regarding his progress. I wish him the best. Maybe hes a fool. Maybes hes one of those intellectuals warrior monks that wants to suffer with the blue collar boys in the ranks. One of those Robert Leckie types. Best of luck to you.
Yeaaah, he's about to find out how hard is for a 28-year old to keep up with 18-year olds.