Switching services

[Bredoteau]

How difficult is it to switch from a Marine Option midshipman to a Navy midshipman, and vice versa?

I really want to be Marine, but I am uncertain if I have the physical fitness to be successful. Can I sign up as a MO and then switch down the road if I figure out that I can’t cut it? Or, should I go navy and try to switch to being a MO when junior year comes? I am not on a scholarship, if that makes any difference.

And one last question, what happens to the nrotc mids that don’t make it through ocs?

 

[webmaster]

I'll let ea6bflyr answer the first question. Navy NROTC graduates do NOT go through OCS, yippee!!!

But the Marines have their slew of summer programs (bulldog?), OCS, and then of course TBS. A marine can certainly step in here and answer that particular question.

 

[Crowbar]

How difficult is it to switch? First, talk to the school you're interested in. For this year, I think (don't quote me on this!) that during Freshman Orientation, college programmers who want to be Marine Options take the PFT. If they don't pass, they are given the choice of being Navy option or just leaving period. (This applies only to the school I attend, it will differ from place to place!) So check on your school's policy on that.
I've seen people switch both ways and even saw one student switch from Navy to Marine to Navy, give up the scholarship entirely, come back as a scholarship Marine option, quit again (arrrghhhhhh!!!) and then try to go PLC. Don't do that. Hopefully there's no more than one steaming pile of that caliber in the world. Now that I haven't answered your question, I also will defer to ea6bflyr on that one. As a recommendation, though, I would look into starting Navy, talk to the Marine options, get their PT schedule, work out/run with one or more of them and after a semester or two, give it a shot. If you try to change before you are ready, it will probably just piss off everybody else in the Marine Platoon (we had some people try when they just couldn't hack it, as a result we had to start PT 15-30 minutes earlier every morning because of them).
If you don't make it through OCS, it could be for any number of reasons, each with differing consequences. If you don't meet ht/wt standards, or don't get a 1st class PFT, you more than likely are out of the program and may be on your way to boot camp. If you get disenrolled as a leadership failure, you could face the same things, but it depends on what your NROTC unit staff thinks of you. If you get injured, you will probably just go back the following year.

So, hopefully some of your questions were answered. Let me know if they weren't and I'll try again.

 

[Bredoteau]

Thanks for the responses, they answered my questions exactly. Crowbar, thats a good idea to start Navy and train with the Marines, I'll definitely consider it. I will contact my school's unit soon and find out if they have a similer orientation PFT policy, as well. Hopefully they do. But first, I guess I need to keep PTing my heart out and see how things turn out.

 

[webmaster]

Best of luck finding what interests you.

 

[Bredoteau]

Thank you, Sir. Thank you for this site, too; I absolutely love it. Every time I sign on, I learn something new.

 

[snizo]

Being a Marine MIDN is hard regardless of how you get in to it. Getting one of their scholarships is very competitive whether you get it when you are a freshman or a junior.

Both the Navy and the Corps are doing fine for officers right now. Add in the fact that the USMC is a bit smaller than the Navy and that makes for a difficult group to get in to.

BUT ... it is certainly possible to switch if you start as a squid. Just PT with the marines so that the Marine Officer Instructor can see that you are just as much a badass as the rest of his kids. Get a good PFT (and I mean good -- you will need to be damn near max), keep your grades up, keep up with all your work/rotc reqs, and you have a good chance. Then again -- you should be doing all of that anyway.

I was about this close ---> .
to switching to Marine and probably could have done it if I had decided to sign the paperwork -- but I had been working at it for a while preparing for the PFT. Its definitely doable. You just have to want it.

 

[Bredoteau]

Thanks for the advice. I think the best thing for me is to start Navy and prove myself to go Marine.

 

[nittany03]

It's definitely doable. One of my ROTC classmates started out as a Navy option and is now a Marine Infantry officer. Go for it!

 

[impaladriver]

What is the latest possible time to switch options while in ROTC? End of your sophmore year? or could you do it junior year?

 

[snizo]

It depends on how much you make them want you. Earlier is better. I tried to do it (withdrew my request to change) the first semester of my senior year and probably could have done it.