Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

[Covert8645]

I EAS in about 9 months (7 months if approved for the "early-out" crap) and I've been trying to talk to career planners about reenlisting..... None of them want to talk to me. I'm 1 of probably 4 people in my company who are seriously trying to reenlist.

I'm an 0351 Assaultman, I know I'm a dead breed, but I've been trying to talk to people about lat-moving to pretty much ANYTHING that will keep me in the Corps. I've looked into the possibility of going to another branch, but if by chance, I'd like to stay in the Corps.

Anyone else have this problem of wanting to stay in, but the Corps just doesn't want you?

 

[Redmanss]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

I'm assuming you're on your first contract and are fully eligible for reenlistment. If your EAS is in FY11 (Before 1 Oct 2011), then the "jammer" should be talking to you. If you're FY12, then they probably won't discuss your options with you until this summer.

What is happening in the rest of your company is irrelevant. You have to compete for a "boat space" with the rest of the 0351s in the Corps. All of the 03xx MOS boat spaces fill up pretty quick at the beginning of the FY.

If he won't talk to you, I'll bet your 1stSgt will have something to say about that. Take it up the chain.

 

[sixpack340]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

could be because of exactly what you just said, 51's are kind of a dieing breed. maybe try to re up under a different mos. yea, you may have to do soi again to learn a new mos, but hey, its only 2 months and youll still be in the corps. i know my unit is sort of always talking about phasing out the 51's. nothing ever happens though. whatever you do though, stay in weapons! haha!

 

[Covert8645]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

Yeah, it's totally fine if I have to go through SOI again, it'd be nice to not have a RIDICULOUS cutting score... But, my body's breaking down and my wife and kids are nudging me to lat-move.

I've already told the career planner that all options are on the table for me. I have a... "not so good" CoC, no one really gives a shit about anyone in this company, which is why I'm relying on outside means to try to get some help.

 

[sixpack340]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

yea i hear ya. the scores for us grunts are ridiculous. not to sway you to join the army, but a friend of mine in my unit is a corporal and hes switching to the army when his enlistment ends here in a few months. they gave him seargent and hes staying right by his hometown for his new mos with them. doesnt sound like a bad deal. i dont ever see myself going army, but i think there are wayyyyy more opportunities there.

 

[Covert8645]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: sixpack340</div><div class="ubbcode-body">yea i hear ya. the scores for us grunts are ridiculous. not to sway you to join the army, but a friend of mine in my unit is a corporal and hes switching to the army when his enlistment ends here in a few months. they gave him seargent and hes staying right by his hometown for his new mos with them. doesnt sound like a bad deal. i dont ever see myself going army, but i think there are wayyyyy more opportunities there. </div></div>

Yeah, it'd break my heart to switch branches, but I gotta do what's best for my wife and kids too. I've been offered a full-time position with the national guard back in Indiana. That'd be pretty nice... But I wanna stay Marine though. It just sucks that other branches are more job-specific, where the Marine Corps puts you where it needs you.

 

[sixpack340]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

yea, i hear ya. but youre also a man before youre a marine. thats the way i try to look at it sometimes. family is more important than anything else. i love being a marine myself, i love the pride and the title. but if i was in your shoes and needed to do whats best for my wife and little heads, id do whatever it took. maybe look into becoming a pmi or something. itd be a steady slot that wouldnt change much. plus youd get to teach future marines how to shoot. thatd be awesome!

 

[dohnuts58]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

the marine corps times has the new list of mos already closed out to first termers

 

[ZLBubba]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

Your career with the military works both ways, you take care of them and they take care of you. The more you give, the more you get; the less you give, the less you get. If you're giving and they don't want it, you need to move to greener pastures and realize that for whatever reason, your services aren't wanted anymore. You can still serve your country in any number of capacities, inside and out of the military. But if they don't want to re-enlist you, then realize this may be the time for you to adjust your skill set or priorities. Frankly, provided you've had a clean record while you've been in, you deserve better than this. But it is what it is. Take this time to look at the myriad options out there.

 

[Covert8645]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ZLBubba</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Your career with the military works both ways, you take care of them and they take care of you. The more you give, the more you get; the less you give, the less you get. If you're giving and they don't want it, you need to move to greener pastures and realize that for whatever reason, your services aren't wanted anymore. You can still serve your country in any number of capacities, inside and out of the military. But if they don't want to re-enlist you, then realize this may be the time for you to adjust your skill set or priorities. Frankly, provided you've had a clean record while you've been in, you deserve better than this. But it is what it is. Take this time to look at the myriad options out there. </div></div>

Yeah, one person that opened my eyes a bit more told me that it's just a job, sure we'll always be Marines and yadda yadda, but it's just a job and I have to do what's best for my wife and kids. I've never been in trouble, no NJP's, no page 11's, nothing... Always been the good lil motivator but between the Corps downsizing, a questionable chain of command, and my EAS date falling on the 1st of the fiscal year, it might be a sign for a change of venue.

 

[Switchblade]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

When I went to re-up the MArines were forced to draw down(Gramm-Ruddman Act, 1986). 1st, 2nd, and 3rd term Marines were forced out if their EAS was from 1/7/86 - 31/9/86(KMCAS, don't know about other places). Promotions within certain MOS's were frozen and no one was dieing so many had to go find work elsewhere

 

[Redmanss]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Covert8645</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yeah, one person that opened my eyes a bit more told me that it's just a job, sure we'll always be Marines and yadda yadda, but it's just a job and I have to do what's best for my wife and kids. I've never been in trouble, no NJP's, no page 11's, nothing... Always been the good lil motivator but between the Corps downsizing, a questionable chain of command, and my EAS date falling on the 1st of the fiscal year, it might be a sign for a change of venue.</div></div>
The fact that they aren't reenlisting you has nothing to do with downsizing, CoC, or whatever other excuse/finger pointing you're trying to come up with. You said it right there: "...my EAS date falling on the 1st of the fiscal year..." The Marine Corps can't reenlist you yet. It's not your turn. You're turn comes in FY12. Everyone else gets their turn now. That's why I asked you the question earlier. I know what the hell I'm talking about here.

What you need to do is look up the regulations covering First Term Alignment Plan (FTAP) reenlistment. The regulations are cut and dry. Once you read them, speak with your PltSgt and 1stSgt to answer your questions.

If you desire to reenlist, here's how that shakes down for you: You're coming up on your six month interview in March. You tell your Career Planner you want to reenlist. He starts the paperwork, and submits it in July or so. He will have you sign a one month extension, just in case something goes wrong with the paperwork. Your approval will come back in the end of September once the boat space announcements are released. You will be given a reenlistment window that is two weeks long, where you will have to execute your reenlistment. Done, welcome to being a career Marine, see you in another four years.

Doing a lat move is a lot more involved, and each and every MOS has different stipulations and requirements each year. They can guess, but they won't be able to tell you for sure if you're going to be allowed to move out of 03xx or not yet, and that still requires approval from Manpower. Get the details from your planner on that.

Seriously, from one grunt to another, calm down about it. They can't do shit for you yet as it is against MCO to reenlist you until 1 Oct 2011. Relax, keep up the good work, get promoted and continue the fight.

Semper Fi!

 

[Covert8645]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Redmanss</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Covert8645</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yeah, one person that opened my eyes a bit more told me that it's just a job, sure we'll always be Marines and yadda yadda, but it's just a job and I have to do what's best for my wife and kids. I've never been in trouble, no NJP's, no page 11's, nothing... Always been the good lil motivator but between the Corps downsizing, a questionable chain of command, and my EAS date falling on the 1st of the fiscal year, it might be a sign for a change of venue.</div></div>
The fact that they aren't reenlisting you has nothing to do with downsizing, CoC, or whatever other excuse/finger pointing you're trying to come up with. You said it right there: "...my EAS date falling on the 1st of the fiscal year..." The Marine Corps can't reenlist you yet. It's not your turn. You're turn comes in FY12. Everyone else gets their turn now. That's why I asked you the question earlier. I know what the hell I'm talking about here.

What you need to do is look up the regulations covering First Term Alignment Plan (FTAP) reenlistment. The regulations are cut and dry. Once you read them, speak with your PltSgt and 1stSgt to answer your questions.

If you desire to reenlist, here's how that shakes down for you: You're coming up on your six month interview in March. You tell your Career Planner you want to reenlist. He starts the paperwork, and submits it in July or so. He will have you sign a one month extension, just in case something goes wrong with the paperwork. Your approval will come back in the end of September once the boat space announcements are released. You will be given a reenlistment window that is two weeks long, where you will have to execute your reenlistment. Done, welcome to being a career Marine, see you in another four years.

Doing a lat move is a lot more involved, and each and every MOS has different stipulations and requirements each year. They can guess, but they won't be able to tell you for sure if you're going to be allowed to move out of 03xx or not yet, and that still requires approval from Manpower. Get the details from your planner on that.

Seriously, from one grunt to another, calm down about it. They can't do shit for you yet as it is against MCO to reenlist you until 1 Oct 2011. Relax, keep up the good work, get promoted and continue the fight.

Semper Fi! </div></div>

Will do, thank you.

Semper Fi.

 

[DP425]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Covert8645</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: sixpack340</div><div class="ubbcode-body">yea i hear ya. the scores for us grunts are ridiculous. not to sway you to join the army, but a friend of mine in my unit is a corporal and hes switching to the army when his enlistment ends here in a few months. they gave him seargent and hes staying right by his hometown for his new mos with them. doesnt sound like a bad deal. i dont ever see myself going army, but i think there are wayyyyy more opportunities there. </div></div>

Yeah, it'd break my heart to switch branches, but I gotta do what's best for my wife and kids too. I've been offered a full-time position with the national guard back in Indiana. That'd be pretty nice... But I wanna stay Marine though. It just sucks that other branches are more job-specific, where the Marine Corps puts you where it needs you. </div></div>


I understand wanting to stay in the corps, but depending on what the fulltime position was, that may be a better option for your family. If it's an AGR job it's got good stability and you don't have to move around. If it's ADSW (one year orders), the stability of that job is questionable.

Also Indiana has a LRS-C; marines generally fit in very well to a LRS-C, although the LRS community has a bit more of an against the grain culture.

Good luck

 

[DP425]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

I'm not a Marine- I've been Army for over a decade now; I am curious though... Your window doesn't open until the FY in which your EAS (ETS for us) is in arrives? So in the OP's situation, being his EAS is the first day of FY12, his window does not open up until the day of his EAS? Just trying to see if I understand this correctly.

It's a bit diff in the army- one year out and your window opens; you can just about always reenlist assuming you haven't been barred/flagged. Perhaps that's one advantage of being a larger branch with a higher turn-over rate?

 

[groovebus]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

In '97 I tried for almost a year to re-enlist. Tried to lat-move but unfortunately, due to my MOS (5953),all I could go to was intel or counter intel. The counter intel was my first choice. But those always have to many Marines, so 75 Marines ended up fighting over 3 re-enlistment spots that year. So I basically was forced out due to downsizing during the Clinton administration. And on another note, all of the bases I served on have since closed and been absorbed into the civilian world.

 

[Redmanss]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DP425</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm not a Marine- I've been Army for over a decade now; I am curious though... Your window doesn't open until the FY in which your EAS (ETS for us) is in arrives? So in the OP's situation, being his EAS is the first day of FY12, his window does not open up until the day of his EAS? Just trying to see if I understand this correctly.

It's a bit diff in the army- one year out and your window opens; you can just about always reenlist assuming you haven't been barred/flagged. Perhaps that's one advantage of being a larger branch with a higher turn-over rate?
</div></div> Yes, that is correct for first term Marines that you reenlist in the FY your contract expires. For subsequent reenlistments, you are eligible once you are one year out. In the OP's situation, the Career Planner will run a one month extension so he doesn't have to worry about running right up to his end of contract date. You can submit and sign an extension on the day of EAS, in fact I did it twice when I ran into a paperwork problem (fit-rep date gap...) on my second reenlistment.

The Corps' reasoning for this is first term Marines must compete for reenlistment their first time, not just be eligible, and it also keeps the particular MOS's from becoming bottle-necked for promotions by too many staying in when they don't deserve it or the Corps doesn't need that many.

Those that aren't eligible for reenlistment but are blocked from reenlisting in their MOS due to too few available slots are still eligible for a lateral move to a different MOS, but must still be approved for that move too.

 

[DP425]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Redmanss</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DP425</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm not a Marine- I've been Army for over a decade now; I am curious though... Your window doesn't open until the FY in which your EAS (ETS for us) is in arrives? So in the OP's situation, being his EAS is the first day of FY12, his window does not open up until the day of his EAS? Just trying to see if I understand this correctly.

It's a bit diff in the army- one year out and your window opens; you can just about always reenlist assuming you haven't been barred/flagged. Perhaps that's one advantage of being a larger branch with a higher turn-over rate?
</div></div> Yes, that is correct for first term Marines that you reenlist in the FY your contract expires. For subsequent reenlistments, you are eligible once you are one year out. In the OP's situation, the Career Planner will run a one month extension so he doesn't have to worry about running right up to his end of contract date. You can submit and sign an extension on the day of EAS, in fact I did it twice when I ran into a paperwork problem (fit-rep date gap...) on my second reenlistment.

The Corps' reasoning for this is first term Marines must compete for reenlistment their first time, not just be eligible, and it also keeps the particular MOS's from becoming bottle-necked for promotions by too many staying in when they don't deserve it or the Corps doesn't need that many.

Those that aren't eligible for reenlistment but are blocked from reenlisting in their MOS due to too few available slots are still eligible for a lateral move to a different MOS, but must still be approved for that move too. </div></div>


Okay gotcha- that actually makes sense and it sounds like the Corps is in the position to be selective with who they allow to make it a career; great for the over-all quality of the Corps

 

[Redmanss]

Re: Marines, did you guys have trouble reenlisting?

It's not perfect and it does force some of the good guys to move over or move out, especially in the smaller MOS's, but it also keeps down on some of the "riff-raff" too...

The biggest catch with it is "you snooze, you lose". If they wait until well inside the FY to request reenlistment, they may very well find yourself forced into a lat move, if they're lucky. The key is to have their Career Planner submit their package as early as possible. IIRC, that is about 1 August or so.

Some guys screw themselves by waiting so they can get their re-up bonus in a combat zone, and find themselves getting a new MOS or a DD-214 instead...