Leaving the Marine Corps Without a Plan

Transitioning out of the Marine Corps

Transitioning out of the Corps is difficult enough, even with a plan!

Whether you’ve been in for four years or twenty, at some point, you’re going to have to get out.

The only difference is that you’ll have more time to plan!

In my case, I decided to leave the Marine Corps after four years.

It was a tough decision and one that I’ll regret for the rest of my life, but I had my mind made up and was ready, at the time, to move on.

My time on Active Duty was awesome, and the Marine Corps itself was amazing.

I married my high school sweetheart just six months after joining despite everyone telling me that I shouldn’t, but it worked out wonderfully.

We married when we were both 20 years old, and this year, 2020, we are celebrating not only our 30th birthdays but our tenth anniversary as well.

Our marriage not only survived the Marine Corps, but we made it through without having kids!

I’ll dive deeper into my story at another time.

Back to the point!

Transitioning is NOT easy!

As I am writing this, I have been out of the Marine Corps for almost 6 1/2 years.

It seems like just yesterday I was making my rounds checking out of my unit and saying goodbye to my Marine Corps family.

I was 23 years old, married with two dogs, and about to embark on the next chapter of my life.

This was all exciting, but I had A LOT of decisions to make leading up to this point!

My planning wasn’t the most strategic, and I could have put forth more effort looking back on it.

In my experience, leaving the Marine Corps is exciting.

As you approach your EAS date, you finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

You taste the freedom of civilian life.

In my case, I opted to get out.

I had some plans, but as you’ll see moving forward, not all of them panned out!

My plans after the Marine Corps

Plan #1

As I mentioned above, I had done some planning, but not as much and in-depth as I should have.

My first plan, and one that I was extremely excited about, was to become an Alaska State Trooper.

I know, I know, it seems like a pipe dream, but it was at the height of the show, and at the time I was watching the hell out of it!

Moving to the Last Frontier has always been a dream of mine, and it finally seemed like a real possibility!

There I was, sitting on the couch, watching an episode when a message popped up that said: “We’re Hiring.”

The wife was in the kitchen cooking, and I remember yelling out, half-drunk, half kidding, but excited as hell.

I was expecting her to laugh at me, but to my surprise, she was actually for it!

During the next two months, I made it my mission to get all of my shit in order for the application.

It was brutal; I had to reach out to old bosses, build a resume, and everything else that goes into a police officer application.

My chances were looking pretty good until my decision letter came back as “Denied.”

I had a Misdemeanor on my record for underage drinking that needed to be five years from the date of the application.

Unfortunately, it was only four and a half years after.

It was all good; I understood that not all of my plans were going to work.

Plan #2

The next plan was to reach out to an old acquaintance I had met through a family friend.

While on leave, I met a gentleman who was a big wig at a government contractor that built trucks for the Military.

This was right before my deployment to Afghanistan, and he was excited to hear about my experience as a Motor Vehicle Operator and gave me his business card.

He told me to give him a shout when I decided to get out because his company was always looking for guys familiar with the vehicles, especially with overseas experience.

I kept that business card, and a few months before I got out of the Corps, I shot him an email.

Surprise surprise, no response.

All good, plan 3!

Plan #3

I opted to get out and utilize my Post 9/11 GI Bill.

My wife and I were living on base after I got back from deployment, and our neighbors, an E-4 in the Navy (Corpsman) and his wife were moving back to Illinois to a month before I was getting out.

They sold us on the Suburbs of Chicago and encouraged me to go to one of the state schools in Illinois as they were all pretty decent.

The deciding factor was the Housing Allowance that I would receive by choosing a school near Chicago.

I kid you not!

Leaving the Military means no more pay and the fact that you get paid to go to school when you use the GI Bill meant I had to take advantage of it!

The Housing Allowance where I went to school in the Chicago land area was just under $2,000 per month!

We ended up finding a small one bedroom, one bath apartment for rent that was only $900 per month, so we pocketed $1,100 per month!

Why having multiple plans is important

7 P’s

Before I even begin, I want to say that I hope if you are reading this, you’d have enough common sense to know that having no plan is a BAD idea!

As Marines or any branch of the Military for that matter, we understand the importance of having a plan.

In the Marines, they preach the 7 Ps.

Piss Poor Planning Promotes Piss Poor Performance

Planning in the Corps is everything, almost to the point that it becomes annoying.

On deployment, I remember how repetitive it became.

The convoy briefs and all of the preparation that went into them was A LOT of work.

While I fully understood the importance of it, I would be lying if I said that it didn’t get old!

The good thing all of that planning did for me, and hopefully for you as well, was make me a good PLANNER!

As for those of you considering leaving the Marine Corps without a plan, I would like to say I wish you all the best.

You are going to have a rough time!

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”

― Benjamin Franklin

The Reality

Leaving the Marine Corps or any branch of the Military is challenging enough and a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

As I discussed earlier, getting out is exciting.

You tend to think about all of the negative things about the Military.

You know, all of the bullshit you have to put up with daily.

This is the time not only to weigh the cons of the Marine Corps, but the pros as well!

The Marine Corps is exciting, fun, and a great experience.

It shapes us into better people and better leaders.

Your time in the Marine Corps should not be taken for granted, but instead utilized to its full potential!

If you have any doubts in your mind about staying in, I encourage you to follow your gut.

Leaving the Military, if this is what you choose, should be challenging.

What I mean is that you need to plan your exit out.

Have multiple plans to fall back on, because they will not all work out!

Don’t be the person to move back in with your parents and become a bum and work some dead-end job!

Show your family and friends that you’ve grown into a responsible adult!

Most importantly, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, fail, try new things, and always EMBRACE THE SUCK!

Thanks for reading!

-Tony
Semper Fidelis