Do Prior Service Marines Have To Go To Bct

Prior Service Enlistments and Rejoining the Military

The Complications of Rejoining the Armed forces

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Updated on February 04, 2019

Many veterans are thrilled to get out of the military at first. Simply then, afterwards a few years, many decide that peradventure they fit amend in a military profession than a noncombatant task. And in some cases, service members desire to go out of one service to join a different service.

Regardless of why a veteran with prior experience wants to re-enlist, unfortunately it'south non that like shooting fish in a barrel. The truth is that it's tough to rejoin the military for two reasons: the size of your year group and your previous preparation (the task that you are skilled in may non be needed at your current time in service).

An example of the above result is when a Marine with six years of service wants to go out of the USMC and join the Navy SEALs. The recruiters have to await at their six years of service non as an asset, but make up one's mind if at that place is room for someone with six years of service at a specific rank to bring together the Navy and enter the SEAL program. Some years may be wide open, but some year groups may exist over-manned and not allow for a six-yr Marine to join the Navy and attend SEAL grooming.

Record of Previous Service

The other hurdle for many with prior service is the re-enlistment eligibility code (RE Code) that the service placed on their DD Form 214 (Record of Discharge) at the time of their separation. In general, if the RE Lawmaking is "1," there are no confined to enlistment. If the RE Lawmaking is "2" for the Air Strength, that person is ineligible to re-enlist in the Air Force, but might be allowed to enlist in some other branch of the military, with restrictions. If the RE Code is "2" for whatever of the other services, the person might exist eligible to enlist in either the same service or another service, with restrictions. If the RE Code is "3," the private might be able to re-join their service or enlist in another service with a waiver (depending on the reason for the belch). If the RE Code is "4," the private is ineligible for re-enlistment or enlistment in another service.

Prior Service

Then, what exactly is considered "prior service?"

The Department of Defense definition for "prior service" is not standard as each of the services defines information technology differently:

Ground forces. The Army defines "prior service" as any applicant with more than than 180 days of armed forces service, or those who graduated from military task-grooming (MOS/AFSC/Rating), regardless of time-in-service. Individuals with less than 180 days of military service, and/or those who take not completed military job-training are classified as "Glossary Prior Service," and are processed the same equally non-prior service recruits and given an RE Lawmaking (or receive a waiver) on their DD Form 214.

Air Force. The Air Strength defines "prior service" as persons who have served at least 24 months of Agile Duty service without regard to regular component or continuous service in the Armed Forces. Individuals with less than 24 months of Active Duty are considered "previous service." Previous service personnel are classified and processed the same as not-prior service and given an RE Lawmaking (or receive a waiver) on their DD Form 214.

Navy and Marine Corps. The Navy considers applicants with 180 consecutive days or more of prior active duty service equally "prior service." Those with less than 180 sequent days of prior active duty service are considered non-prior service (NPS) applicants. Even so, they must run into RE Code eligibility requirements (or receive an approved waiver).

For enlistment purposes, the Marine Corps defines prior service as:

Those individuals who have successfully completed the recruit/basic training sponsored by their former service
Those individuals who have failed to complete recruit/basic training, and who accept been given a DD Course 214 and assigned a reenlistment code
Those individuals who take fulfilled their military service obligation within a reserve component

Coast Baby-sit. The Coast Guard definition is vague. They define "prior service" as "a person who has served some valid menstruum of creditable service in any of the U.S. Armed services, including Reserve components thereof."

Prior Service Quotas

Each of the services limits the number of prior service enlistments (this includes those in the Guard and Reserves who wish to enlist on agile duty) they permit each year. It is because a "prior service" enlistment slot is the same equally a "re-enlistment" slot. Given the option, the military will allow someone currently in the service to re-enlist earlier they allow a prior-service applicant to re-bring together.

In near cases, prior service candidates must enlist in the military task they had at the fourth dimension of separation unless the service declares there is no need for that job. Only so can the member elect to enlist in a unlike job.

What to Expect

The Air Force is the hardest active duty service for prior service to enlist, and the Army is the easiest. The Marine Corps and the Navy accept prior service, but non in large numbers.

The Air Strength has accustomed only a scattering of prior service applicants during the by decade, but those who are already qualified in extremely hard-to-fill jobs, such as Pararescue, Combat Controller, or Linguist.

Then, for a prior-service to enlist, the service must be under their goal for re-enlistments. For the past several years, re-enlistment rates have been right on target for all of the services.

With the exception of the Regular army, waiting times of a year or more than for prior service to enlist are not uncommon.

Because there are commonly many more prior-service who desire to enlist than there are bachelor positions, some of the services do not fifty-fifty give "enlistment credit" for recruiters to enlist prior service. Some of the services do give "enlistment credit," simply not until the applicant goes on active duty (which might take a twelvemonth or more). Add this to the fact that prior service enlistments crave more than "paperwork," and effort by the recruiter, information technology'south understandable that many recruiters would rather spend their valuable time working with non-prior-service recruits.

Repeating Basic Training

Whether or not you take to go through boot camp varies in each of the services. The Marines pretty much require all prior-service from other services to become through Marine Boot Campsite. In the Army, quondam members of other services (except the Marine Corps), are required to attend the four-week Warrior Transition Course at Fort Bliss, Texas. Quondam Soldiers and Marines who accept a break in service of more than than 3 years must also attend this course.

For the Navy, the boot campsite determination is made individually, after examining the person'due south military experience. In the Air Force, few prior-service must go through Air Force basic. Instead, they attend a 10-day Air Strength familiarization course at Lackland Air Force Base.

For the Declension Guard, non-Coast Guard veterans with more than two years of agile duty service attend a 30-twenty-four hours bones called "Pit Stop." All others attend the full-Coast Guard Basic Training.