a few questions about enlisting

[prospective_marine]

if i want to join the reserves at 17, do i need parental permision?
can i attend ocs and bts if in the reserves or do i need to be on active duty?
do i need to pay for ocs? or how does it work?
are there any enlistment bonuses for new recruits? if so, do you know how much?
do you have any suggestions for daily workout regiments to get me into shape for the marines?
are we allowed to bring personal items to basic? such as cellular phones and laptops? or are those things to be left at home?

thanx for the answers =]

[MICHAELWOOTEN]

Yes, if your still in High School.

You can in either. Kind of a confusing question though. I assume you do not have your degree yet. Once you recieve that you can apply for commisioning or however that works. An Officer Selection Office can help you way more than anyone on here. if you tell me where you live I can find one near you and post the info.

You don't pay for OCS. It is a school that the Marines send you to. It is a boot Camp for Officers. After successful completion, you will be an officer. If you was prior enlisted, and did not finish, you will go back to your previous rank as enlisted.

There are, but they are few and slim. You need good scores and pick the right job. Your local Marine Corps Recruiter will probably know these off the top of his head. Ask one.

Run, Sit-ups, and Pull-ups. Easy as it gets.

Leave everything at home. What you need will be given to you there.

[prospective_marine]

umm so i live in northern GA, about 30 miles from chattanooga, but thats about as descriptive as im gonna get w/ all the stalkers online these days =S

so if i was to drop out i dont need parents permission? its not my 1st choice but... my mother is trying to force me into doing comm. srvice before the summer or i have to sit all summer on a semi truck w/ her, and i have to do 135 hours before the end of the summer, so i can get an extra credit for school, bc i just moved here and teh graduation requirements are diff, so i need an extra credit, and her making me sit on the truck will leave me no other choice bc i wont be able to do any comm. service and i will not graduate next year.



what kind of a degree would i need to attend OCS?
thanx for the help =]

[MICHAELWOOTEN]

well, we have recruiting offices all over. Some main ones are Albany, Statesboro, Savannah...not sure where you are so I am shooting in the dark.

Drop out of what...High School? No. Don't do that. You will never get in any branch. You must have a high school diploma. Very Rarely do you get in with a GED. Just finish school.

To ba an officer you need a Bachelor's degree...which results from 4 years of college. They also offer programs that pay for your college.

From the looks of your posts, I don't think you want to do anything like that. Tough it out and finish High School, then enlist through your local recruiter.

[ibanezrg520kid]

hey bro. go talk to a recruiter. you can't drop out of high school cause you need to complete highschool to be in the marines. GED won't cut it. to be an officer you must have a college degree, but it doesn't matter what field. talk to a recruiter about ROTC programs if you want to be an officer. but it sounds like you haven't looked much into the marines, so i'd reccomond you learn a lot more about the military before trying to be an officer.

oh yeah, and if you are 17 you have to have your parents sign you up.

[JSDEVILDOG27]

You Cannot Become An Officer By Dropping Out Of School. You Most Likely Couldnt Even Enlist With Out A High School Diploma. To Be An Officer You Need To Have A Bacholers Degree. It Doesnt Matter The Major.if You Cant Stand A Couple Of Months Of Community Service On A Truck You Probly Shouldnt Think About Four Years In A War. If You Are Serious About Joining Stick To Getting Your Diploma. If It Means A Summer Of Community Service Then That Is A Small Price To Pay For Your Future, As You Will Need It Whether You Join Or Not. I Am In Iraq Right Now And C.s. Would Much Easier Than This. But I Love America And My Corps. Talk To A Recruiter

[Mustang7696]

You will need your parents' consent to enlist at 17, regardless of high school graduation or not. I enlisted at 17 as a high school grad but still needed my folks to sign for me.

As other people have answered, to get to be an officer you need a degree. One exception - as an enlisted Marine with a couple of years of college, I got into the Enlisted Commissioning Program (ECP) and got commissioned without a degree, but they made it pretty clear that if I wanted to stay in as an officer I needed to finish the degree ASAP, so I did.

As for reserve status, an officer who is going to be a reservist serves three years on active duty first, including OCS and TBS. An enlisted Marine reservist usually serves 6 months on active duty, to go to boot camp and his/her MOS school, then switches to a reserve unit near where he or she lives. Your choice of MOS may limit what reserve units you can be in, or vice versa. What MOS you land in also depends on what your enlistment contract says, on your test scores and on your ability to successfully graduate from the MOS school. If you enlist without an MOS guarantee, it will be based on your test scores and the needs of the Corps.

As people have said, there are a few bonuses for initial enlistment but not many. Your recruiter will have current info, but it is most likely that those would be combat arms specialties.

Good luck!

[ringjamesa]

Just for clarification, pretty much every branch will take someone who dropped out of high school-most will require at a GED though. They take VERY limited #s for the most part with one notable exception and except for one branch, require MUCH higher ASVAB scores to even be eligible-most likely an AFQT between 19 or 34 points higher than a HS grad. Even then, if you drop out, you could be looking at quite a while before you go to Basic because they only have a very limited amount of slots for non-high school graduates.

[prospective_marine]

thankyou everyone for all the helpful info, just to clarify something, im not dropping out, ive talked everything over w/ my mother and she said she just wanted to see taht i was making the effort for my comm. service. for school...

can i attend ocs before i obtain a bachelors degree is my asvab is high enough? and where do i need to take the asvab at? my high school doesnt offer it, but they use to...

also, are you allowed to switch from active duty to reserves? or from reserves to active duty mid- contract?

[AMERICAFIRST]

I enlisted in the Delayed Entry Program the day I turned 17. I didn't turn 18 until Thursday of the Crucible, the last week of 2nd phase.

Yes, you do need parental permission to enlist in DEP or to ship to Boot if you are 17.

There are two Marines that are...were in my unit who are attending OCS this summer. One was a Sergeant, one was a Lance Corporal.
I know that the Lance Corporal had never served anytime on active duty other than his Intial Active Duty Training. While you are at OCS, however, you will be considered active duty.
OCS is paid for by the taxpayers.
You don't join the Marine Corps for money. However, I have heard that if you join early in the Fiscal Year and you enlist in a high demand technical MOS, such as an avionics technician, you MAY/MIGHT/MAYBE get a SMALL enlistment bonus, but don't count on it.
Before going to Boot, I ran 9 miles every three days, in between the 9 mile runs, I was running 6 miles. I went to the gym every other day and worked out on every machine. You need to strengthen all muscle groups. I will say this: I was stronger before Boot Camp than after. I lost 20 Lbs. in Boot, most of it was muscle. I am just now getting back to where I was before Boot Camp. A few other Marines I've talked to got weaker during Boot, but most get stronger.
Don't even THINK about showing up at Receiving with a cell phone or laptop. Ha, this ain't army boot. I got showered in shrapnel from a CD player that was chunked against the wall and exploded into a million pieces by a Receiving Sergeant. Bring nothing but the required paperwork, the clothes on your back, and, if applicable, religious text. I remember at MEPS seeing the army recruits shipping to boot with backpacks and duffel bags loaded with their trash. Marine Boot definetly ain't army summer camp. If anyone other than a Marine tells you what to take to Boot, don't listen to them, or it will probably be destroyed at Receiving and you will get much unwanted attention.

[EDWARDSDM]

Just to emphasize what everyone else has already told you, don't drop out.

I've spent 17 years in the Marine Corps, and was a recruiter in the midwest from 97-00. Sit down and talk with a recruiter. I preferred talking to applicants that had spoken with the other services first, but if you're convinced that you are going to be a Marine, tell the recruiter that. Be 100% honest with the recruiter, ABOUT EVERYTHING. Trust me, it makes it easier. After speaking with a recruiter and having ALL of your questions answered, bring him to talk to your Mom (and Dad if that applies to your situation). Have the recruiter answer ALL of your Mom's questions. If something doesn't sound right, say so, right then and there to make sure that there are no misunderstandings.

Good luck, no matter what you decide to do.

[ibanezrg520kid]

IDon't even THINK about showing up at Receiving with a cell phone or laptop. Ha, this ain't army boot. I got showered in shrapnel from a CD player that was chunked against the wall and exploded into a million pieces by a Receiving Sergeant. Bring nothing but the required paperwork, the clothes on your back, and, if applicable, religious text. I remember at MEPS seeing the army recruits shipping to boot with backpacks and duffel bags loaded with their trash. Marine Boot definetly ain't army summer camp. If anyone other than a Marine tells you what to take to Boot, don't listen to them, or it will probably be destroyed at Receiving and you will get much unwanted attention.

haha yep, my fiance just shipped out to Ft. Jackson (relaxin jacskson) South Carolia two days ago and she brought all sorts of sh*t with her. she brought all sorts of stuff they wanted her to bring like 3 shirts, 3 shorts, shoes, 3 bras, 3 sports bras, 3 underware, shaving stuff, shower bag, shower shoes, soap, shampoo, feminie products, and she even got to bring her cell phone with the possible chance of them getting to keep them when they get there.

while we were at MEPS saying by to her i saw a kid it talked to the night before at the hotel who was shipping out to MCRD and he had a duffle bag and i was like "dude, wtf are you bringing that for?" he goes "well, i figured i'd need some things and i brought some music and my phone for the nights there" and he insisted i was wrong on the don't bring anything ways of the corps, but he wouldn't listen till i found an E5 in the marine corps walking towards the bus as they were loading and i told him to talk to that kid. 2 mintues later is bag was in his parents hands.

[Zach's Girl]

My boyfriend left for boot camp on the 10th and the only thing he took with him was his bible. That is pretty much the only thing that you can even pass by with! Also, he did the DEP and that was one of the best things he could have done. He left for boot camp with such a positive attitude because his recruiter prepared him so well.

So keep going through high school.... enroll in the DEP and start as much training now as you can. Zach said that was the best thing he could have ever done!

[KrashKatz]

Bring your ID, SSN Card, an address book, bible( if applic), glasses if you wear them, no contacts. If you are married you are allowed to bring your wedding ring. No more than $20 cash. I'll try to make this as clear as possible, YOU DO NOT NEED ANYTHING ELSE.

If you bring anything extra, then you are making the Drill Instructors' in receiving lives harder, then they have to ship all the extra crap you brought home, then your Recruiter gets his fair share of crap, and the Marine Corps has to pay the shipping for your crap.

I hope this answers any concerns you had on the situtation.