Expert: Rod Powers - 11/29/2007

Question
Well, I received some bad news from my recruiter today. I have been in the process of joining the Marines for about a month now.

First off I have no idea why my High School Diploma is not considered valid (it's a GED) I guess. For this reason I had to gather 15 college credits to join. I graduated from a military school (Florida Youth Challenge Academy) It's #1 in the USA. I was there for 5 1/2 months. It's a whole lot better, I think, to graduate from there then a regular high school. Kids with no discipline, life structure, and motivation (I'm not speaking for everyone) There were two options you can either get your GED or High School Diploma and I received my high school diploma. I wanted to take the military school route in 10th grade because I could graduate early. I never dropped out or anything I just withdrew so I could go to that school.

When I was at the office I told them I had a court case on a charge of (Driving on suspended license, possession of cannabis less then 20 grams, and perafanilia...which was the bag it was in) I also had about 4-5 speeding tickets that were all paid.

Since I had a good lawyer I did not have to attend probation, community service...etc. The charges were dropped all but (DRIVING WITH "NO" LICENSE) not suspended, I just did not have it on me. After my court case it was time to gather all the documents. Such as, transcript from my college, and court docs.

I find out today that I also have on my recored 1 painkiller that I had about 4 months ago for my back. Unfortunately, I was not prescribed. I was never taken to jail and or notified of any sort that I had this. I know this is a felony. I'm waiting for my recruiter to reply to me.

I'm a good kid. I'm in school. I've taken the ASVAB. I really want to change my life, and have been set to join the Marines for over 6 months. Is there ANYTHING in my hands that I could do to qualify? I don't know if I'm disqualified yet but I know he had to get a waiver for my other one charge but now this???

-Aleksey

Answer
Hi Aleksey,

In order for any "high school diploma" to be valid, the school that issued it must meet certain qualifications. From the Marine Corps Recruiting Manual:

"(b) Alternative/continuation high school graduates. Not all alternative/continuation high school graduates are classified as Tier I. To qualify as a Tier I graduate, the applicant should have had the same day-time course and graduation requirements; the same days, weeks and hours of attendance; and have earned the same valid high school diploma as earned by graduates of the traditional local public school system. Applicants whose education does not meet this description should be considered Tier II or referred to the CG MCRC for determination."

Apparently, the recruiting command didn't feel your education met the above criteria.

As for the painkiller incident. apparently you were arrested or detained for possession of a prescription medication that you didn't have a prescription for. It doesn't matter whether or not you were actually charged for jailed, it's still a felony offense.

All you can do is hope that the Marine recruiting command will consider a waiver.

For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my U.S. Military Information Site at: http://usmilitary.about.com Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com