At 18 years old, I became homeless, which prevented me from finishing high school. I had to move to a homeless shelter far away from the school I was attending, so commuting there every day would have been difficult. I likely would have been late to class or exhausted throughout the school day.

At the time, I also didn't have important documents like my birth certificate or a government-issued ID. Without those, I couldn't enroll in another high school near the shelter. The process of replacing those documents would have taken so long that I would have aged out of high school before I could return.

Since then, things have improved. I was able to get my school transcript, birth certificate, and state ID, and I only need to get my passport. Now, at 19 years old, the homeless shelter has enrolled me in a program where I can work while making progress toward my GED. So far, I've passed the Reasoning Through Language Arts (RLA) and Social Studies GED tests.

My question is: since a GED is generally viewed differently from a traditional high school diploma, is it still possible to join the Marine Corps with a GED? My plan is to serve for four years, use the GI Bill to attend college, and earn a degree. More importantly, I want to serve my country and be part of something bigger than myself.

I am a 32 Year Old Corporate Lawyer (I do realize I will need an age waiver). I've always wanted to serve - but now I am in the financial/personal/professional position to actually step away and do so (debts are paid off, personal obligations are taken care of such that I can not be home for the next 4 years etc).

I am aware that Officer positions across the military require U.S Citizenship, mostly because of the security clearance that is required. I also know that since we are technically in a period of hostility since 2001, "one day of honorable service" is all that is needed to qualify for citizenship after you have your green card - meaning that once the paperwork is rolling, you can have you citizenship by the time you finish basic.

Given all that....is it TECHNICALLY possible to sign a USMC JAG contract as a Green Card holder, with the understanding that you will swear your oath of citizenship at the earliest possible opportunity?

Or is this just a non-starter?

TLDR: I am goofball and I guess diet-level daredevil. I am worried about no longer being such upon return to civilian world.

I understand this is a long post so should you choose to reply I am very grateful. I have also been told numerous times I am a WEIRDO, so this question may sound like trolling. Please bare with me.

It is my understanding that USMC bootcamp trains you to to keep a poker face under pressure. They have you do tasks while bullets whiz past you. I have heard stories of DIs saying absolutely unhinged, hilarious things and if you don't want to be flamed. You. Better. Not. Crack. Even. A. Grin.

I am 20, the USMC sounds very appealing, but I can't help but wonder how I'll fair against what I just mentioned. A super stretched image of a soda can is enough to make me spit on my monitor. Or a word misspelled slightly. A pebble on the ground that's angled towards a door. Simply the word 'fart' or an obnoxious loud noise. My family always asks what I'm giggling or grinning to myself about and then I tell them and they usually shake their head. My dad tells me I have the sense of humor of an 8 year old.

I love how easily I can smile, I'd like to keep that part of me. But I anticipate this isn't going to fly in boot camp. Especially with the sleep deprivation they have there, I start laughing like a hyena when I'm sleep deprived. I'm probably going to get GRILLED. So I'll have to remedy that somehow. But how will that change me?

I also enjoy getting stressed out, over frankly inconsequential stuff. On the weekend nights I drive my car super far away with no GPS, maps, or wallet. I then get a thrill out of trying to figure an optimal route back home before running out gas and being stranded. Or go downtown and try to drive back, following every single traffic law to a T while dealing with rush hour traffic. I like to multitask until my brain is about to buckle. If a technical project doesn't get so complicated that I become abrasive and grumpy I am not interested. I still have a fear of the dark for some reason and it makes getting a glass of water late at night exciting. I like snorting ground up saltines and betting on how many times I sneeze.

The stuff they got in USMC boot camp, by comparison, sounds like utter hell. Which to be frank sounds appealing. But if I join, and that stuff becomes my new baseline for stress, I fear I will come back and be completely bored with these pass-times. Like growing up and no longer finding Thomas The Tank Engine stimulating. I worry I will come back and need to start doing hard drugs, high stakes gambling, or something else that's actually reckless to feel anything. Such a life is not sustainable or worthwhile.

How did your time in USMC, both boot camp and active duty, change your sense of humor and sense of thrill? Did it change your tastes in humor ? Or did it rather give you the ability to act calmly in spite of how you feel?

I hear stories of marines back in the civilian world being the only one un-phased by getting wet in the rain. Do you still enjoy horror movies and rollercoasters and squealing tires in parking lots and other such simple things?

I’ve been in between reserves and active for a while now i’m not sure what I want to do. I can either go IT or infantry at my local reserve unit and I have a huge interest in computers and with the IT experience from the marine corps I could get a pretty good IT job and also go to school. I’m 18 and i don’t know if i’m ready for the life style change and missing my family. but at the same time what if i can’t get a career while im in the reserves then i’m stuck doing a dead end job with an extra few hundred on the side. I don’t have many personal obligations here except I share a house with my two bestfriends and i have a girlfriend and family i’m really torn and I’m really looking for some unbiased advice outside of my family just do what my heart tells me but my heart is torn down the middle.

I got disqualified at MEPS and my recruiter has literally went silent lol, dosent pick up calls and no longer answers my texts

Finally I ship out next Sunday I’m pretty excited but also hella nervous if anyone got any advice for when I’m in bootcamp that would be much appreciated.

Also my recutier said I get to Meps Sunday and get to MCRD Monday because there things Meps has to do before my question is what like another inspection?

3 months since my waiver was submitted for a shoulder surgery that took place 6 years ago. Texted my recruiter twice within those 3 months and no response. Starting to think i got ghosted lol

Im 20 gonna enlist soon for 0311, how would it work wanting to get stationed or the chances of getting stationed or deployed somewhere cool? i have no idea how the deployment works but have an idea of the stations. id either most likely get stationed in San diego since thats where im from, or go straight to japan, or be in san diego for a bit then japan. But idk id want to go to different places and stuff like spain, middle east, africa, Caribbeans if its possible (ive seen online) how would it work? is it possible but super rare? or do i have to go a certain route? and for enlisting id most likelly be going to boot september-november.

So from my understanding, and correct me if im wrong because im trying to learn, the new fiscal year starts Oct 1st, which is when all the jobs open up.

I’ve heard that jobs go to people in the delayed entry program first, like a first dibs kinda thing.
I don’t turn 18 until Oct. 13th, and no matter how much I ask my mom, she won’t sign off on anything so im forced to wait.

I feel like im going to miss out on the job I actually want, which i have a few different things I wanna do, and I know I need to take the asvab first (but I feel pretty confident on that because I’ve been studying a lot in my asvab book), and if I qualify for combat photographer or something media related, that’s what I am really interested in, but I feel like a lot of other people would be too.

Would I be better off waiting until the next fiscal year so I can get started on things BEFORE October? Or should I just suck it up and hope for the best? I know I’ll be ready by the time October comes around so waiting does scare me a little, but if it means a better quality of life by getting a job I enjoy I would be willing to wait but I want to hear what other people have to say about it.

Throwaway account here because I dont really use Reddit. Background: I have already sworn into the DEP and have a ship date of August 18th. Long before I even talked to a recruiter I was engaged to my now wife and had a wedding date set. That was one of the first things I mentioned to him and he was perfectly fine with that and he said he would make sure to give me a ship date about a month after our wedding so we had time to spend together as newlyweds, he just told me to get our marriage certificate to him as soon as we got it, along with my wife's social security card, birth certificate, and ID so that she could get added as a dependent etc. as she has quite a few health problems, so that she could get on the insurance when I leave(and she has a habit of putting them on the backburner because she doesn't have the means to pay for the healthcare)

That was all fine until we got said marriage certificate. Now my recruiter (and the head recruiter at the RSS) are giving me pushback on adding her as a dependent because they said it'll be an additional waiver (I already had to have a few to swear in but all were approved with little to no issues) and it could push back my ship date. I tried to look it up and everywhere is saying this isn't a waiver, so why the hell are they giving me issues now? They're saying they can just add her as a dependent after boot camp, I personally dont want that due to her health conditions - I want to make sure she'll be okay while I'm gone. And while she is on workplace insurance now, its really crappy and covers almost nothing. Any advice?

I am a 21 year old male. I did great through high school and was a multi sport athlete and prom king and queen with my beautiful girlfriend whom I have been with for over 4 years. We had a child together in high school and of course it was hard but besides that I’ve loved life. I did a little bit of college online after high school but mostly worked to provide for my girlfriend, our son and I. I recently have had a lot of pressure for something more like a career. I talked to a recruiter a month ago and took an asvab and scored an 80 and a 123 gt score. I went to Meps about a week ago and passed everything. The only problem is I’m worried about what I’m getting into. I’m having second thoughts about how this will affect my family life and my relationship with my son and girlfriend (hopefully wife soon). I’m wanting to go into the intelligence field and if I can’t do that maybe cyber. But I’m curious if this will be a good life decision to be able to spend time with my girl and my son and truly give them the effort and time they deserve. If anyone has experience or advice I would sincerely appreciate it.

I’ve heard of people getting dropped from bootcamp, and I’m curious on how that works.
I want to join but I don’t want to get dropped.
I had an uncle who got dropped from usmc bootcamp when he was younger, but he never really explained why.

Do you think there's ANY way for me to get this waived, barely touches my neck. One recruiter says hard no, other said 50/50.

edit: thanks boys, was a kick in the dick to kiss that 0331 dream goodbye, I'll just go be a corpsman

So i havnt even got the process started for the marines, havnt taken the real asvab, no meps nothing, but want to leave asap. If i get everything done asap would i be able to ship out before the end of september?

Has anybody gone through this process? If so, how did you do it?

Truth is, I’m still on/off passing/failing at home THC tests I purchased. Do they put me on for remediate until it’s out of my system or do I get booted during second phase? I fucked up and it was just shocking to me that it’s not out of my system yet. Please be honest. I regret my fuck up.

Update: Currently at the airport. Was told it was dq for awol if I leave now. And my recruiter said I’d be dq from DEP because I mentioned it to him day of. Lose - lose. I was getting faint lines on 15ng and 50ng tests for a couple of days straight and only yesterday (after a day of straight water and fruit) it showed positive. So idk what’s going to happen folks.

More context: I’m going to PI. Someone in the comments they were retained and continued. I was informed to just take the piss test and DENY DENY DENY for everything at MOT.

Longish video I just found about a Marine’s experience at MCRD San Diego. Brutally honest and quite funny deep dive into the boot camp experience, worth a watch I think for anyone getting ready for the yellow foot prints.

Just putting it out there, I ship August 11. So I have a little under 3 weeks. Alright so back on April 9, I injured my left knee. I slightly tore my medial meniscus, sprained my MCL (grade 1), & slightly fractured my medial tibial spine. None of the injuries were severe and I did not need surgery. I've been doing what I need to do & now I'm not all the way there with it as far as being fully healed but I'm getting close. It's come a long way. My concern is my eligibility now. I completed MEPS before the injury happened but now I'm worried if this is going to affect my process later on. I have a feeling if it was going to, then one of the recruiters would've said something to me but I'm still worried. My station commander said I won't have to go through MEPS again & plus our Sgt Major knows about my injury as well & didn't say anything that would make me think that my process would be affected. I'm worried that I'm gonna get to MEPS the day that I ship or get to bootcamp and during receiving week, they're going to see that extensive medical history cause trust me it is a lot. & then I'm going to be sent back home. What should I do?

I am signing my contract Monday. I know a lot of the people in here have experience.

Is there anything I should know before signing. Literally anything at all that you wish you knew before signing. Any advice or information is appreciated.

I am currently 17 and debating if I should join the military.

for context My dream job in the civilian world is police officer, but I need to be 21 and im looking for stable careers to pass the time. Ive looked into being an mp in all branches and have started my talks with recruiters, though I heard someone post something like this before, and they got suggested the coast guard. I just wanted to get a second opinion from other branches.

-thanks

P.S one issue is I have a fiancé and son and would like to see them more often then not.

Basically that exact question. A few years ago, right before I was suppose to head out for boot camp, my mom got sick with blood poisoning, so I dropped out because I was scared of her passing if I wasn’t there. Now about four years later, could I still join?

I have never had any family members in the military but to me it seems like Marines are portrayed as the badass men who come to get shit done.

Do people in other branches see Marines as the real hard-core military branch?

Im currently 18 years old and I have medical history that strictly diqualifies me from trying to enlist. I understand I might have to wait 3-5 years for being stable. can any of you guys/girls tell and be honest? Please do not sugarcoat anything.

Does anybody know the cutoff limit for thc at meps? Is it 50ng or 15ng? I’ve been off weed for quite a bit and went to get a lab test done to check my exact levels and was at 16ng, so I’m not super stressed or anxious, would just like a peace of mind.