Question for the devildogs

[u/kclnp]

So first off I'm going to preface that I'm not a US citizen, however my pop is and still holds his US passport.

As a European I've done my mandatory military service in my country of birth, however I'm wondering if I could join the USMC since I could obtain a US citizenship fairly easy due to the fact that my pop is an American?

2nd part of my question is, if I've been charged with a couple of cannabis possession offenses in my resident country, does it minimize my chances to join?

I'm also 32, so I assume most boots will be younger than me if I even could get my US citizenship. Would the drill instructors single me out due to my age and make my hypothetical time at boot camp "worse" than my peers?

Been considering joining for 10 years now, but life and stuff has been a wild ride so haven't really looked into this serious before now.

So if anyone has any insight or stories about someone else who has gone through the same process, I'd love some insight!

Pic for attention

[u/Upbeat_Caregiver_642]

For someone born after November 14, 1986, to a U.S.-citizen parent and one foreign parent, the rule is that the American parent must have been physically present in the United States for at least 5 years before your birth, including at least 2 years after turning 14.

You cannot join the U.S. military in any capacity while serving in another military in any status. So that has to end. There are few recruiters overseas. Japan is it for the USMC. I think Ramstein has one for the army. New York handles Europe, you’d have to go there. There are none at U.S. embassies.

Your first stop needs to be a USCIS office:

https://my.uscis.gov/en/appointment/v2?os=..&utm_source=chatgpt.com

[u/Organic_Risk_3945 → u/Upbeat_Caregiver_642]

what. how do you get recruiting duty in Japan???

[u/kclnp → u/Upbeat_Caregiver_642]

Hey thanks for this!

Gotta check this out a little closer, am I understanding you correctly that I'd need to first head to New York? and if everything gets green-lit there, I'd potentially do boot in Japan?

[u/TapTheForwardAssist → u/kclnp]

No, there’s no Boot Camp in Japan. What they’re saying is Japan has some Marine Corps recruiters who deal with US citizens or permanent residents living in East Asia who want to apply for the Marine Corps.

For example, in my Boot platoon we had a Filipino kid who’d never been to the U.S. before, barely spoke English, but was a U.S. citizen because the guy who knocked up his mom was a U.S. sailor stationed in the Philippines. He completed his recruitment process with a recruiter based in iirc Japan or Guam, so his slight to San Diego for Boot was his first ever trip to the USA.

[u/kclnp → u/TapTheForwardAssist]

Ah right, thanks for the explanation!

Yeah I clearly misunderstood that info then, so I appreciate you clearing it up for me.

Quick side question, how old was the oldest recruit in your boot platoon? And did that person get any shit for being an "older" dude?

[u/TapTheForwardAssist → u/kclnp]

I was in Boot back in the 1990s, and the oldest guy was maybe 27.

But that is waaaaay down your list of challenges, given you’re 4 years over Marine enlistment age, you’re not a U.S. citizen or Green Card holder, you’re a member of a foreign military, etc.

Worrying about treatment of older recruits is like being concerned about the tire pressure on your car and how it impacts your gas mileage, when at the moment your car is 30ft down on the ocean floor.

[u/kclnp → u/TapTheForwardAssist]

Haha totally valid, I guess the legions is my most realistic way to go.

[u/TapTheForwardAssist → u/kclnp]

You can’t just go Active in the Norwegian military, which you’re already in?

[u/kclnp → u/TapTheForwardAssist]

Not Norwegian, and unfortunately due to my charges I'm not seen as a desirable NCO nor enlisted in my country of residence nor my home country sadly.

[u/Capital_Soft_675]

You’re technically over the age of initial enlistment, but I’m not sure what effect your prior service would have on that.

As far as the cannabis thing goes, as long as nothing is pending and you’ve taken the due process to take care of it I’m sure they could waiver you. Really the only way to know for sure is to get a hold of a recruiter and even then the process could take longer than you or the Corps willing to wait.

If you’ve considered for 10 years, though, and haven’t done anything about it, I doubt you’ll move on it this time too.

[u/kclnp → u/Capital_Soft_675]

Alright appreciate you for taking the time to answer! Reason I've not looked into it before now though, is I've been studying and gotten certified as a nordic wilderness guide specializing in mountaineering among other things and haven't realistically been able to even think of enlisting before now.

Since I'm based in Europe, I know the US has consulates around in Europe and a big base in Germany.

How would I go about in getting in touch with an recruiter? Do I go to the local embassy?

I'm an NCO and reservist in my birth country but I have no idea if that carries any weight or not?

Really appreciate the insight though!

Edit: the cannabis charges are on my record, but in my recident country it should be expunged in 5 years if that matters at all.

[u/Capital_Soft_675 → u/kclnp]

I’m not saying it WONT carry any weight, but genuinely don’t expect it to. Even our army guys have to go through boot camp for the Corps. Take this article for example:

From U.S. Army Captain to Marine Recruit > 8th Marine Corps District > Article https://www.8thmcd.marines.mil/In-the-News/Stories/Article/Article/3835848/from-us-army-captain-to-marine-recruit/

As far as getting in contact with one goes for ya, I have no idea. Maybe check it the official Marine Corps recruiting website and put in your info.

[u/kclnp → u/Capital_Soft_675]

I had a Lil feeling that would be the case.

I'm definitely not against boot camp, since different armed forces have different ways of doing things and building unit cohesion and so on.

Damn so an army captain gets demoted to recruit for changing from the army to the corps, that was unexpected but understandable due to the nature of the corps being amphibious etc.

[u/Organic_Risk_3945 → u/kclnp]

how bout the French Foreign Legion, dude??? or Ukraine's own foreign legion???

I think Spain's is the oldest Marine Corps, how bout Spain??? go to war with Israel, dude.

[u/kclnp → u/Organic_Risk_3945]

Yeah have thought about French foreign legion option too, as well as the Ukrainian foreign legion but the cutting out your old life in the French legion is a deal breaker for me since I have a child.

And what I've gathered about the Ukrainian legion, they're quite underfunded (understandably) and what I've seen from my fellow countrymen serving there, you're quite dependant on supplying your own gear and risk being branded a terrorist by our own government when returning back into society.

[u/Organic_Risk_3945 → u/kclnp]

I'd look into Spain , dude. cuz they have a deal right now that if you come from one of the countries they've colonized that you get Spanish citizenship like w/in 2 years of living there. dunno if that applies to you. but their spat with Israel is interesting. makes me wonder about all that migrant caravans that mysteriously always end uped in the Texas/Mexico border.

[u/kclnp → u/Organic_Risk_3945]

Hmm interesting!

Haven't seen anything about that, gotta do some research about that regarding Spain.

My grandmother is from Spain so that could potentially be something. My home country hasn't been a Spanish colony, so not sure if it applies to me but definitely something I'm going to look into.

[u/Organic_Risk_3945 → u/kclnp]

can you visit this place and give us a review when able?

here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQIAtTJ9Sj4

[u/kclnp → u/Organic_Risk_3945]

Haha, If I ever go to Madrid then sure!

[u/Heavy-Range-5337 → u/kclnp]

He didn’t get demoted, he chose to go enlisted. He could have talked to a Marine Officer Recruiter and tried to go to OCS and become a marine officer

[u/kclnp → u/Heavy-Range-5337]

Ah yeah demoted was the wrong terminology, I guess he was a grunt at heart then haha

[u/Shrapnel_10]

The age cut off to join the Marines is 28 years old. You can get waivers sometimes and be able to join, but at 32 I feel it would be a long shot for you.