To enlist, you must be a U.S. citizen or a resident alien. So if you move to the US, you can join. Otherwise, no.

Cheers,

John P.

Zane!! :)

But here’s the thing: when I joined, I had very little confidence in myself, I got pushed around a lot growing up because I was small and sheepish and wouldn’t defend myself. I was easily intimidated and believed it when someone told me how worthless or stupid I was. And believe, I was a guy that grew up with the most supportive parents in the world. Unfortunately, I let the opinions of those around me in school affect my own self worth.

When I graduated: I was lean, I was toned, I was strong and most of all confident. I walked with my head up and my shoulders back and meaningful purpose to my step. I would’ve taken on six guys at once because even if I couldn’t take all of them, I didn’t give a shit because I certainly wasn’t scared.

I was 18 when I went through it and I’m 31 today and the lessons and the confidence still resonates. Semper Fi.

Your training will be as hard as your Drill Instructors, some are intense, some are not. We started wth 76 and graduated with 54 (and thats after 10 pick ups). So, we had about a 40 percent attrition rate. We were honor platoon and we won nearly every contest between the other platoons. We also had three suicide attempts (1 almost succeeded), 1 UA who made it all the way to Arizona (escaped from San Diego), and a few sent home because they were deemed psychologically unable to adapt. The rest of the drops were injuries or got too sick. So in my opinion, we were trained hard in 2003.

Croatia, yes you can join. You will have to locate an overseas recruiter in Europe I believe. But do not hold me to that.

Choosing MOS. Hey, it’s all who and what you want to be. If you are concerned about your career and monthly income after the USMC, I would advise you not to go into infantry unless you just don’t make the grade on the ASVAB. If you have a GT score of 110 or higher, you definitely need to stay away from infantry and use your intelligence for something more specialized. At the time of my entry, I had a GT of 110, BUT I had been arrested when I was a dumbass 16 yr old for drugs. That kept me from getting intelligence or other fields that required a clearance. So, I went LEGAL admin. Well, just because it says LEGAL, doesn’t mean you will be learning about the law which I found out when I got to MOS school (that was my fault for not doing research). However the Corps just had a different plan for me altogether and I ended up getting to do a lot of all the fun stuff that a Marine loves to do. Fire different types of weapons, pick up detainees, security convoy missions, humanitarian assistance missions, HMM-V courses, helo missions, train with other militaries, tech training, etc. So, in alot of ways, I got the best of both worlds because I was on a MEU. ANYWAY, think about your MOS and what your intentions are. Just because you are one MOS, doesn’t exactly mean that is what you will be doing your whole USMC career. The higher the GT score requirement and clearance, the higher the pay later on in life. Recommendations are 0511 and 0231, these have great civilian careers as well.

Final last two pieces of advice. TRAVEL! Do not try to select a location close to home. Who joins the military only to stay close to home? Go out and explore all what the Corps has to give you to you. GO MSG!!! I got to travel to 25 plus countries and dated all kinds of women from every skin color, different languages, and customs. Enjoy and embrace the adventure, you’ll regret it when you’re older.

USE tuition assistance and GI BILL!!!! Ask your college buddies or high school friends who didn’t join the military how they are paying for school. If it isn’t their parents, they are taking out loans that will keep them in debt for quite a while. I have no debt, all of my school is for free, and I’m getting paid an extra $2,000 A MONTH to get my MASTER’S. This is on top of my GS-12 paycheck. Who gets paid the equivalent of 40,000 a year to go get an advanced degree???? NO ONE else except military vets!! TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE GI BILL, ITS THE BEST THING THE US MILITARY OFFERS VETS!!!

Do not get into trouble while you’re in the The Corps, it could ruin your professional career. The Corps will be very good to you if you’re good to the Corps. Semper Fi

John P.