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David's thread on enlistment got me thinking about joining the armed forces myself. As it is, I have no desire to join the CAF, I'd rather join with the Marines if at all possible. I'd like to know what prerequisites I'd have to fulfill in order to be eligible. Any advice from former or current soldiers is definitely welcome.

First off, if you refer to a Marine as a soldier again, you may end up getting head-shotted from 500 yards away. Just sayin'...

Second off, you can have no Felony convictions, no domestic violence incidents. Be honest about anything that's happened - nothing gets you the boot faster than an integrity violation.

Third off, you must be within height/weight standards, or at least the shipping-out standards, which are SLIGHTLY more lax. Your local recruiter will have the most up-to-date charts.

Fourth, pass the Initial Strength Test: At least 2 pull-ups, 45 crunches in 2 minutes, and a 1.5-mile run in... I believe 15 minutes. Possibly 14.

Fifth, you MUST be a High School graduate. GED doesn't get it, I don't believe.

There are other requirements, ASVAB and medical, but I can't recall them at this time.

The most important thing is to be honest, as I said. Your recruiter can work with a LOT of things, and get waivers for a whole bunch of stuff. If you show enough determination, a recruiter will move heaven and earth trying to get you in. But you have to show them that you want it bad enough. My brother's going through this process right now, fighting for a medical and education waiver (he was home-schooled, which is a whole other kettle of fish.)

Advice? Get in shape, if you aren't already. Push-ups like you've never done them before, and practice holding a push-up at various extensions: trust me, you'll need it on my Island. Running and walking are required, of course, but upper-body strength is often overlooked. Also, if you haven't taken the ASVAB recently, you'll have to take it again. Go to your local Barnes and Nobles (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) and get a Barrons guide to the ASVAB. Practice practice practice!

I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor!

This is what I get for going out with my wife. I miss the only question for Ask Dave that I am not giving just opinions, having to look stuff up or deferring to others.

But I couldn't have said it much better than Charon.

Good choice, by the way! Ooh-RAH and Semper Fi!

Do not wear a "Marines" T-shirt on your way to boot. You'll get chewed out.

Chazwozel said:

Do not wear a "Marines" T-shirt on your way to boot. You'll get chewed out.

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Nothing you do will stop them from chewing you out. The thing to do is just don't give them any freebies.

My mom sent me cookies for my birthday while I was in boot camp. Cookies. As I was turning 19 I got to do 190 pushups while the entire platoon ate my fucking cookies. I never got any.

So, has calling the Marines Docks joke been done yet?

Officer_Charon said:

First off, if you refer to a Marine as a soldier again, you may end up getting head-shotted from 500 yards away. Just sayin'...

Second off, you can have no Felony convictions, no domestic violence incidents. Be honest about anything that's happened - nothing gets you the boot faster than an integrity violation.

Third off, you must be within height/weight standards, or at least the shipping-out standards, which are SLIGHTLY more lax. Your local recruiter will have the most up-to-date charts.

Fourth, pass the Initial Strength Test: At least 2 pull-ups, 45 crunches in 2 minutes, and a 1.5-mile run in... I believe 15 minutes. Possibly 14.

Fifth, you MUST be a High School graduate. GED doesn't get it, I don't believe.

Click to expand...

My brother tried to join the marines during desert storm. A GED didn't cut it then.

Here are some enlistment requirements according to
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/enlage.htm
(note, these vary by branch of service, and I'm only giving the info for the marines)
18-28 years old
US Citizen or legal permanent resident
No minor dependents (may be waived)
Not a single parent
High school diploma OR 15 college hours ( http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/enleducation.htm ) for Tier I enlistment
GEDs and alternative schooling for Tier II (limited number per year--about 5% for marines, must score over 50 on the AFQT/ASVAB)
No drug/alcohol abuse. Must past drug test/urinalysis
relatively clean criminal history ( http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marinejoin/a/criminal.-um-.htm )
Fit within a specific height/weight ( http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marinejoin/l/blintweightmale.htm )
Various medical conditions will disqualify you
Miscellaneous other factors ( http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/enlmisc.htm )

Found this in about.com, can't find anything to contradict it. The Marines main site is basically "Call a Recruiter."

Marine Corps

ASVAB Score - Marine Corps recruits must score at least 32. A very few exceptions are made (about one percent) for some exceptionally otherwise qualified recruits with scores as low as 25.

Education - As with the Air Force, those without a high school education are ineligible. The Marine Corps limits GED enlistments to no more than five percent per year. Those with a GED must score a minimum of 50 on the AFQT to even be considered.

As with the other services, the Marine Corps offers advanced enlistment rank for college credits. However, of all the services, the Marines are the most restrictive in this area. The maximum advanced rank for college credits is E-2, where the other services will give college credit advanced rank up to E-3 (E-4 in the Army).

about.com has some outdated numbers. It says that the air force is taking ASVAB scores above 36, but they are only currently taking enlistees who score 50 and above. This may be true for other branches as well.

[STRIKE]Not to sound elitist, but if you can't score a 50 on the ASVAB I'm not sure I want you handling a weapon in a different culture.[/STRIKE]

Never mind. I went to a few ASVAB sites and the test is a bit more difficult than it used to be. They ask real questions now.

Dave said:

[STRIKE]Not to sound elitist, but if you can't score a 50 on the ASVAB I'm not sure I want you handling a weapon in a different culture.[/STRIKE]

Never mind. I went to a few ASVAB sites and the test is a bit more difficult than it used to be. They ask real questions now.

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Unless it changed from 5 years ago I'd stick with your original statement. I scored a 97 on it on the first go with very little effort.

As a soldier stop comparing us to Marines. And airmen.

I noticed that he mentioned that he did not want to join the "CAF". Did you mean Canadian Air Force or was that a typo? If it wasn't then most of these suggestions are moot as they are for US Marines.

Jonzac said:

I noticed that he mentioned that he did not want to join the "CAF". Did you mean Canadian Air Force or was that a typo? If it wasn't then most of these suggestions are moot as they are for US Marines.

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CAF = Canadian Armed Forces. All of our branches were merged under one administration. If memory serves.

Hrm... so you might be looking at it from more of an immigration standpoint, then?

A buddy of mine is a recruiter in Savannah. I'll chat with him when I see him on Monday. He'd be able to give me more info on that end.

So are you looking to join the Canadian Armed Forces or immigrate to the US and join one of our Services?

I know one of my friend got his U.S. citizenship after he served 6 years in the Army.

Yeah, I was looking to relocate to America and join the Marines or even the airforce. You guys have wicked awesome toys.

The reason is the Canadian armed forces are nearly full, all the positions I was vying for are gone. It might be another year ot two before there's an opening available, I've been sitting on my ass doing nothing for too long now, I need to get my life started.

Well, then. Not sure where in Canada you are...but Air Force recruiters are in most large towns and cities. Minot, Grand Forks, Minneapolis, etc. Hell, if we let Phillipinos in why not a Canook

Is it too late for me to say that all you need is 50 minerals and a barracks?

Damn. I wouldn't even know game that came from.

Starcraft. *grins*