Why aren’t you currently serving in the U.S. military?

From the Marine web site

http://www.marines.com/enlisted_marines/faqs.asp?format=flash

I am 16 years old. When can I join the Marines?
You can join the Marines when you reach 17 years of age, and also upon entering your senior year in high school, as long as you have your parents' consent.

 

This is true for all 4 branches of service, not sure about the Coast Guard, but you can go into what is called DEP, Delayed Entry Program, you can even for the Army goto Basic in the summer before you enter your senior year, then goto the Reserves during your senior year then after you grad you go into your active duty.

The nice thing about DEP is it counts against your IRR time. when you join the service, whether you go 2 years active or 6 years active you have a total of 8 years committment. What ever time you didn't have for active or reserve time is what you have for IRR. Which is how they call back troops to service.

 

I will google it later, watching the US v Canada game now, just finished with the CR v Cuba game.

 

Thanks; I was hoping someone would know...

 

Decided to take it easy in college rather than going to a military academy.

Changed the whole trajectory of my life, and probably the reason I am soft and lumpy and can't do but a pull up or two.


There needs to be a mandatory two year stint in public service for all 18 years olds that they can fulfill in the military if they so choose.

 

That used to be the case in Germany, although now it's down to under a year. I worked for the red cross for 20 months between highschool and uni as I felt that would be more useful. A very good experience.

 

hes wrong though.

you can do DEP any time.

DEP is basically any time you sign the papers, but they dont ship you out then and there cause youre technical training wont be for a later date.

you typically find this with spec ops stuff, or jobs that have certain training dates. i had it, for example, cause i signed in june, but didnt go to basic until that janurary.

also, you can go in any time at 17, but as i think was said, your parents have to consent to it. there was a 17 year old in my basic training flight.

 

DEP is primarlily for High School students. If you are out of high school then your DEP time is going to be far less then the up to 1 year you get when you are a high school student.

For those out of high school, your DEP time is contingent on when your basic training will start and when your school of choice will have open slots.

I was not wrong in my statement.

 

everyone i knew in tech school enlisted after high school yet was in DEP. i wouldnt say at all that its primarially for high school students.

my bad, i misread you as saying that it was exclusive to HS kids. sorry.

 

No prob. I remember from when I signed up, and I also spent multiple weeks working in the Recruiters office to earn some money when I was in the reserves and unemployed that you could have people sign up for DEP for up to a year. The focus was on High School students since they usually had to finish High School before they could go in. But you are correct that it isn't for just HS students. With those already out of school the object is to not keep them in DEP for long cause you don't want to lose them to something stupid like a DUI or something drug related etc...

 

I should also point out, that when you are in DEP, if you decide that you do not want to go, you can get out of going. You will not be able to sign up again for I think 2 years, but until you take that second oath when you are at MEPS before you leave for Basic you can still back out.

 

well, youre in the army, right? im in the AF so i think that maybe the difference in focus.

they dont have too many coming in while theyre in HS, and there arent as many (at least from what id imagine) disciplinary problems to deal with.

 

My first tour was Active Navy, then when I got out I went into the Army Reserve.

Worked at WPAFB as a contractor for 3 years and got to see how the civvies in Uniform do things.

 

wouldnt have it any other way.

and on top of just being in the air force, im a flyer, too.

its pretty laid back. heck, when im not on a mission (and even when i am, just when im not actually flying) its like being unemployed, or on an extended paid vacation. sleeping in... not having to do anything... its wonderful.

 

I was Aircrew in the Army, and an AE in the Navy. I spent all my time around Aircraft, though I was I level repair so the parts came to me to be fixed.

Gotta love that inter service rivalry.

 

Already served.

 

I was two job interviews away from joining one of the services back in 1988 at the age of 25. The first interview came through.

My father spent 20-plus years in the army -- unfortunately, he sometimes forgot to quit being a sergeant at home. Otherwise, I might just have signed up right out of high school.

 

tried to enlist... medical problems prevented that from going through.

 

This thread takes me back to a nice one that Gringo Tex started last year:

Time for the Big Talkers to serve their country

 

What is it with all these responses of "I will not fight for something I don't agree with"? You people do realize that out of the over 1,000,000 people in the Army, only about 150,000 are combat troops right? So you could join the military and not have to "fight for something you don't believe in". Will you join the military if the policy changes to something you do believe in? I doubt it.

The fact is you likely just don't want to be in the military. And there is nothing wrong with that; I don't want to join the army either. If you don't want because you are lazy, or a pacifist, or want to make more $$, or whatever, just say so, but don't give this self righteous response of "won't fight if I don't believe" and "don't agree with Bush policy" like you were just about to ship off to boot camp but then the war started.

 

This made me thought about Jerry Seifeld's waitress girlfriend: "I won't date someone that I don't respect."

"But you are a waitress!"

 

Well he sure has been avoiding this thread like the plague.

Wonder why that could be.