You are here:
Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/army to marines
Advertisement
Question
Hi, I am currently an E-3 in the Army, my question is, can I transfer from active duty Army to active Duty Marines?
Hi Scott,
I'm afraid not. One cannot simply "transfer" from one active duty service to another, unless one is an enlisted member in one service and is accepted for a commissioning program in another active duty service.
In order to enlist in the active duty Marine Corps, you would first have to complete your active duty Army enlistment, get an honorable discharge with an RE Code (Re-enlistment Eligibility Code) of "1" on your DD Form 214 (Record of Military Service), and then apply to enlist in the Marine Corps as a prior service applicant (see http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/priorservice.htm).
There is one exception to this rule. Under a special program called "Blue to Green," which has been operational since 2004, members of the Air Force and Navy (both services are "overmanned") can apply for an early discharge on the condition they immediately re-enlist in the Army (which is currently "undermanned.") See: http://www.goarmy.com/btg/index.jsp for details.
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
Related Articles
Answers by Expert:
Rod Powers
Expertise
Rod Powers is considered one of the premire experts about U.S. Military career information on the planet. He has more than 30,000 articles about U.S. Military career information on the About.com U.S. Military Careers Information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com. Additionally, he is the author of "ASVAB for Dummies," "ASVAB AFQT for Dummies," (available in Dec 2009), and "Veteran Benefits for Dummies," all published by Wiley Publishing. He is also the author of "Barrons' Guide to Officer Candidate School Tests," published by Barron's Educational Series.
Experience
Rod Powers is a retired Air Force first sergeant, with 23 years of active duty service, 11 of those years as an Air Force First Sergeant. He has helped thousands of military members, recruits, and military applicants since he took over the About.com U.S Military Careers Information site in 1999. He has a reputation for "telling it like it is," so questions may not be answered based on "what you want to hear," but will be answered based of the bast available information, concerning the service/situation.
Education/Credentials
Rod is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Noncommissioned Officers Academy, the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and the Air Force First Sergeant Academy. He also holds an Associates Degree in Personnel Administration from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF).
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.