Army vs marine reserves

Hi guys,

I realize this is my third question in a row but I’m in the middle of figuring some things out...any input is appreciated!

What is the difference between Army and Marine infantry reserves - culturally, logistically, frequency of deployment, or otherwise?

Do Marine reservists ever deploy to serve a rotation on a ship? I ask because it sounds really interesting, not because I wouldn’t want to do it.

Thanks!

Yes Marine reserves can deploy and they can go on ship. It can vary on unit, op tempo and many factors. Does it happen a lot, no, but it can. My buddy is a reservists and has done multiple summer trainings on UNITAS that is usually reserves training throughout South America. Do you want to commission? If that is the case you can figure you will be on active duty for close to a year. OCS (12-13 weeks), TBS (6 months) then you would go to your unit. You would then also go to IOC. If I remember correctly there is an USMC IOC course for reserves that is is shorter than the regular IOC course. The USMC is smaller so less units to choose from. The USMC is notorious for being short junior officers in the reserves. If you want enlist, shouldn’t be s problem to get an infantry spot. I suggest you google Marine reserve units to get an idea of locations and type of units.

I am guessing the reserves or NG for the Army work about the same but probably with more locations and options. To go SF you would eventually apply for the course and attend all the courses. The selection path won’t be shortened I would imagine. So it would take some time to attend those.

Thanks, that’s very helpful! Just to clarify, is it possible to go Marine to Guard SF, or does SF only pull from Army?

Marines have Force Recon/MARSOC (Marine Special Operations Command). Each service (Army, Navy, Marines, AF) have their own special operations forces with different focuses. Each would only take from their own service.

Oh really? Even if I resigned when my commission was up, I could cross over and join the guard SF?

Doubt it without additional training. Like I said, each has a different focus. It isn't one size fits all.

Also, You shouldn't really start a new thread for what is essentially the same topic on another thread. I may merge your two threads but will think about it some more. I'd appreciate it if, in the future, you avoid this practice.

kinnem said:

Doubt it without additional training. Like I said, each has a different focus. It isn't one size fits all.

Also, You shouldn't really start a new thread for what is essentially the same topic on another thread. I may merge your two threads but will think about it some more. I'd appreciate it if, in the future, you avoid this practice.

Click to expand...

Oh ok thanks. Well I wasn’t trying to but someone else brought it up!

You don’t join any SF unit, you are selected for it. And that is after months and years of making it through the selection process. I do not believe any service has a reserve SF pipeline. It all pulls from the same pipelines. So remember even if you went reserve infantry, you would then apply for the selection process. That process takes years to pass and earn all the qualifications. If you wash out you still have a contract to fulfill. And yes you could go USMC, fulfill your contract, resign your commission, then apply for the SF pipeline. You could also go USMC infantry then applied for MARSOC. I recommend you spend some time with Google researching the various SF paths for each service. Each has pre-reqs, you will see what needs to be done.