Can you sign up to be a Marine for as long as you want or are you told how long you have to serve?

Answer 1

you enlist for a said amount of time (2, 4, 6 years...) then reenlist if you want when that time is up. They won't tell you to get out unless you are a screw up or have health issues.

Answer 2

I have 2 sons who are Marines. They both signed up for 4 years active duty (which will be followed by 4 years inactive ready reserve if they do not re-enlist). I have heard there is a 2 year enlistment option now, but I think it would depend on what MOS you chose. If your MOS school is long, you will not be able to choose anything less than 4 years. In fact, with some of the longer schools (aviation, etc.) you can't enlist for less than 5 years. After your initial enlistment is up, you are of course free to re-enlist unless you have been in some sort of trouble.

Answer 3

A typical enlistment is 8 years. That breaks down to 4 years active (or drilling reserve) and 4 years inactive (Inactive Ready Reserve). We do have a couple MOS's that require a 6 year active committment. On your initial enlistment though, it will never be more than a 6 year commit. 20 years is typical retirement timeframe, but I have known 30 year Marines. We don't have a 2 year enlistment. Best thing to do would be to talk to a recruiter, and they will give you all the details.

Semper Fi

Answer 4

You sign up for a term of enlistment. At the end of the term, you have the option to re-enlist or get out. Unless you are a high ranking officer, 30 years is pretty much the maximum you can stay in the military.

Answer 5

well, technically, all first terms are for 8 years. after thaqt, youmust continue tor e enlist(up to 30 years max) in chunks of 4-6 year increments. But there are other things to consider.. there is High Year Tenure.. you can only be stuck at a certain paygrade for x number of years, and if you cannot advance to the next grade, they can seperate you involuntarily. if you do not maintain fitness standards, they can kick you out. if you get into trouble, they can kick you out. they can suddenly decide that your job doesn't exist anymore and give you the option to retrain.. and if you don't take it, out you go.

Answer 6

I believe today's Marine enlistment is four years active and two years active or inactive reserves ! There are probably shorter active year programs, but all or most programs require a six year obligation !

Answer 7

In order to receive bonuses you have to sign on for a certain number of years, but if you just want to join for say a couple years you can you just won't be able to get the bonus.

Answer 8

your local recruiter should be able to answer all your questions. DO NOT let them strong arm you. You can choose what is best for you. Tell them your needs and they will try to accommodate you. Your first choice is how long you serve.

Good Luck and Semper FI

Answer 9

Everyone who enlists in the United States Military, whether its for active duty (full time) or National Guard/Reserves (part time) incurs a MINIMUM eight-year service obligation. That's right -- when you sign on the dotted line, you commit yourself for eight years!

Whatever amount of time is not spent on active duty (which is full-time duty) or spent in the Drilling Guard/Reserves (those who drill one weekend per month, and two weeks per year, and are subject to be called to active duty), is spent in the IRR (Individual Ready Reserves).

In the IRR, individuals are not required to drill, nor do they draw any pay, but their names remain on a list and they can be recalled to active duty at any time, until their total eight year service obligation is complete. In fact, for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army has already recalled over 5,000 soldiers in the IRR back to active duty (so far, the Army is the only service who has recalled IRR).

For example, let's say you enlist in the Army on a two-year active duty contract. At the end of the two years, you separate from active duty. For the next six years, you are subject to recall to active duty at any time, if the Army feels they need you to help supplement active duty or reserve deployments.

Keeping the above in mind, the Army offers active duty (full-time) enlistment periods from two years to five years (only certain jobs are available for two and three year enlistees). The Navy will offer a two-year active duty enlistment, but they couple it with a two or four-year active (drilling) Navy Reserve commitment. The minimum active duty enlistment periods offered by the Air Force, Coast Guard and Marine Corps is four years.


Your minimum enlistment in the Marines will be 4 yrs... with a remaining 4 in the IRR. At the time your enlistment is up, you can re-enlistment. You can also choose to extend your enlistment without re-enlisting.

Right now, there are all types of bonuses being offered thru out the branches. You have to decide what branch is right for you and the job (MOS) you want.

"Guaranteed" Jobs. A word about "Guaranteed Jobs." It's important that you understand what a "guaranteed job" is in the military. If you have a "guaranteed job" in your enlistment contract, it does not mean you will get that job, come Hell or high water. There may be reasons, after you enlist, that you can't get the job that your enlistment contract "guarantees." What happens in that case, depends on the situation.

In general, if you are denied the job in your contract due to something beyond your control (such as the service phased out the job, or downsized the job, or made a mistake and discovered that you don't qualify for the job, or you are denied a security clearance -- not due to giving false information), then you will be given the choice of applying for a discharge, or choosing a new job from a list of available jobs that you qualify for. In this case, the choice is yours (It should be noted that while these situations have been known to happen, they occur rarely).

On the other hand, if you fail to qualify for the job due to a reason within your control (you fail in training, you get into trouble, or you give false information on your security clearance application and are denied a security clearance), the choice is not yours. The military will decide whether to discharge you (throw you out), or to retain you and retrain you into a job that you qualify for. In this case it's the military's choice.

Each of the services have different policies/procedures when it comes to "guaranteed jobs."

Army. In the Army, an enlisted job is called an "MOS," or "Military Occupation Specialty." The Army is the only service that offers a guaranteed job (MOS) to everyone. The Army has no such thing as an "open" or "undesignated" enlistment. However, the MOS's offered to you, might not be the one(s) you wanted. It depends upon your qualifications and what jobs have current/projected openings. If the job you want is not available, your only choices are to choose a different job, or not enlist. On the negative side, of all of the services, the Army has the worst reputation for working soldiers in jobs that have nothing to do with what their MOS is. Over the years, I've met dozens of soldiers who were (for example) assigned to drive trucks in the motor-pool, even though their MOS's had nothing to do with vehicles. A while ago, the Stars & Stripes Newspaper published a feature article about an Army Armored Company deployed to Kosovo (without armor) to man security checkpoints. Last year, the Army News Service featured an article about an Army National Guard Supply Company, who deployed to Iraq, and were "re-trained" as a group after arrival in country to perform infantry duties.
(unfortunately, we know several men who have been "cross trained". They were infantry and pulled from their job and trained to be something else.)


Marines. Like the Army, enlisted jobs in the Marine Corps are called "MOS's." The Marines also offer two programs: Guaranteed Job, and general field. Very, very few Marine applicants get a guaranteed job (mostly those with college degrees or high ASVAB scores, applying for certain, designated technical specialties). It's been my experience that a majority of Marines are enlisted in a general field (such as Avionics), and will have their actual job (MOS) designated during basic training. One must remember, in the Marines, one is expected to want to be a MARINE, first & foremost. MOS (job) is a distant second.

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Joining the military, imo, is a great and honorable adventure. You will learn a lot and experience more in those few years as most men/women do in an entire lifetime.
Good luck to you!!!

Answer 10

You decide how long you want to enlist.