How long does the process take to transfer from the Marines to the Army to become an officer?

2021-06-06T22:40:21-04:00

I am a Sergeant in my second enlistment and was pursuing the officer route in the Marines. However, I have been thinking more about the Army. With that being said I have some questions;
1. How long does the transition process take?
2. Biggest challenge(s) faced?
3. Any official/unofficial advise?
4. Any comments or concerns or questions that could help guide me through the process would be greatly appreciated!

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 6 at 2021 10:50 PM

2021-06-06T22:50:17-04:00

It can happen as soon as the next day depending on the situation.

Are you trying to get in the Army enlisted or as an officer?

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Jun 7 at 2021 2:39 AM

2021-06-07T02:39:52-04:00

I have been out of service for a long time. However, you should explore or ask about a transfer over to contracted ROTC. The Army used to have a program for enlisted that wanted to transfer to contracted ROTC where they chopped the last 60-90 days from your enlistment contract as an incentive. I am pretty confident that program still exists. I don't know how that works for Marines to Army, I think you would have to be Army first. Second, if I were in your place I would emphasize or prioritize the college degree, if you could. Reason being is college degree you get to keep if you decide later to leave the service or for some reason are forced into retirement. Also remember long-term Officer career it goes like this. Bachelor Degree to get CPT or MAJ or rank, Masters Degree to get LTC or COL rank, Doctorate to get General rank. Intermediate term on the officer path they will give you time or a lax assignment where you can get your Masters Degree while still on Active Duty. I think they do the same for Doctorate. Remember also if you find college course difficult at first they offer remedial courses as well as after class hours tutoring in almost every college course you take. If you have a problem with a course don't just throw in the towel and give up, you can get help, I had to do so more than once. Goal of the University is to graduate you vs see you quit or fail. Say you do poorly on a test and it drags your grade down for the course, sometimes you can negotiate with the professor for an extra credit assignment to recover from that. So use everything available to you in college to get the best possible grades and experience. Most of the ROTC college courses for credit are easy A's. I took some out of curiousity after I left the Army and was in college with the Army College Fund. I see your Infantry, also will give you a tip that Geography for the Natural Science credit is mostly topographical map reading and learning terrain and how it came about (easy). So some of your Infantry background will help a little. Good Luck.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 7 at 2021 2:51 AM

2021-06-07T02:51:43-04:00

You can't be an officer without your degree, so the first thing you have to determine is will you acquire your degree in the Army or the USMC?

You haven't acquired the most basic first step yet, so everything else is just imagination at this point. A few things to consider as you're planning your next steps:
1. A Conditional release is almost never flawless. Unless the USMC currently has a program to release you to another branch for a specific program, then it's not really a conditional release. Conditional releases for enlisted to enlist in another branch mostly stopped after the surge a decade ago.
2. You have to have a degree before you apply to OCS. You can get your degree in the Marines and then apply if the USMC has an agreement with the Army to allow Marines to conditionally release to the Army during their enlistment. You can get a degree and apply to Army OCS after your EAS. You can join the Army, get a degree and then apply to OCS.
3. Unscrupulous Recruiters will hand you a DD368 and tell you that all you need to do is get this Conditional Release signed and you're good to go. It's not their job to know your Branch's policies and regulations. It's never that simple they are usually used for Reserve to Active and Enlisted to Officer in the se branch.

My unofficial advice is to take as many classes as you can, separate from the USMC, enlist as Infantry 11B, finish whatever classes you need an immediately apply for OCS. DO NOT try to enlist for a new MOS. Unless you have your degree already once you separate from the USMC do not hold out for an OCS program or any other program to enlist into. Do not waste any time. Do not waste your time with a conditional release, it doesn't help, unless there's currently a program you're applying to that the USMC supports. I am not aware of the USMC currently supporting the US Army OCS program at this time.

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Jun 7 at 2021 8:18 AM

2021-06-07T08:18:14-04:00

OK, do you have a degree or are you in the process of getting a degree? Without that, you are dead in the water from the start. I am not aware of any program that will allow an Active Duty Marine to apply to Army OCS, you need to talk to a career counselor to see if it is even possible. I suspect not. In that case, you have several options, depending on how fast you want to accomplish things. You can finish your degree while you are still in the Marines, ETS, and join the Army and apply for OCS. You can enlist on a 09S OCS contract, but since you will not have to repeat Basic Training in the Army, not sure of an advantage. You could ETS, join the Army and complete your degree, then apply for OCS.
The one I will mention since it would complete the education process faster and still get you commissioned. ETS, find a college you like and apply as a full time student using your GI Bill. Then join a National Guard unit in that State, they usually have additional educational benefits and you get paid to drill. Since you are MOS qualified prior service, you can skip the first two years of ROTC, join before your Junior year, and commission after you graduate. If you chose that route, you will want to do the Simultaneous Membership Program with the Guard while you are ROTC. You get paid to drill with the Guard Unit and you will not lose any Time in Service while you are ROTC.
If you want a specific Branch, you will need to be in the top of the class to get that choice. Branch assignments are still needs of the Army. If you get one that wasn't your choice, don't sweat that too much. You should get the change to pick up a different Branch as an O-3, sometimes as an O-2 promotable. I think you will find most of the Officers and former Officers here have more than one Branch qualification. I started out as an 11A Infantry Officer, ended up a 21A, which would be a 12A Engineer Officer today.

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 7 at 2021 1:13 PM

2021-06-07T13:13:42-04:00

No transfer to my knowledge. If you rejoin Army soon after separation from Marines, you can lessen "broken time" between the 2 Services. Good luck.