How hard is it to go from USMC NCO to US Army Officer?

I went from USMC AD NCO, to Guard Officer after a break in service...culture shock yes, I always catch myself saying, "In the Marine Corps...", Soldiers hate it, but there are a lot of prior service Marines in the Guard. So, forget everything you learned about the military, just use your personal characteristics/ traits/ work ethic, and prepare for a lot of head scratching, but I can honestly say it's not nearly as bad as you've been programmed to believe by the Corps.

I was in the Marine Corps Reserves from 1990 to 1996. I was deployed during Desert Shield/Desert Storm as a PFC/Lance Corporal. Went IRR in 96 and was honorably discharged in 98. After a 15 year break in service I joined the Army Reserve Nurse Corps as a First Lieutenant. Going from enlisted Marine to Army Nursing Officer was a bit of a culture shock. The two biggest differences are the sheer size of the Army compared to the Marine Corps and the increase in self direction that goes with being an officer. It's nothing you wont be able to adapt to. I promise it beats the hell out of going the other direction.

I think a lot depends on you. I can tell you, from my perspective as an Army officer, my opinions, but they are just that -- my opinions. My first gut, visceral response is that if you become an Army officer, and I was your boss, I would absolutely use you as a liaison when necessary with the USMC. My experience: Marine officers didn't think Army officers knew jack or crap about anything when we worked with them in Anbar province in 2004, when we'd been there for six months, and they treated us as such. They made my battalion re-do accountability after a rocket attack because they didn't trust we'd done it correctly. We had six months' practice; we'd done it correctly. Our experience, our efforts, our methods and our lessons learned simply didn't matter. If you want to know more about that, message me; unfortunately I have plenty of examples. Before that, I thought the whole rivalry thing was just talk. It's not.

(There are several Marine officers I like, especially my best friend from college, and I had awesome experiences with Marine Warrants. Unfortunately, I wasn't dealing with anyone I knew.)

I loved enlisted Marines. They were hardworking, polite, and dedicated. But there is also, I think, a difference in the relationship between officers and enlisted in the two branches.

Soldiers will question. Marines, from what I have seen, question less. I think it has to do with culture and traditional mission. Marines, traditionally, assault beaches, which tends to result in a lot of casualties. Where there is water and beaches, there is almost no cover or concealment. They almost have to have instilled in them a near-blind willingness to follow orders. The few, the proud... You have to know, to absolutely trust, that everyone around you is going to be doing his/her part. It takes a different, more intense obedience.

Soldiers don't have the same kind of traditional mission, first of all. I think Marines probably judge us as undisciplined and disrespectful. I think our cross-ranks relationships areva tad more casual. Not unprofessional, just not what I've seen in the Marines. We're not, at all, disrespectful. We're just different.

We very often operate in very small units: fire teams, squads, sections, etc. We also don't have the same emphasis on every one of us being Infantry, first, although most of our schools use basic infantry tactics as common ground. There are more of us, so we can afford to do that. Our logistics Soldiers can defend themselves, for example, but most of us aren't trained to raid a house.

Marines also have PR down to a fine art, at all levels. When Marines execute an operation successfully, it'll be in the news, and there's going to be a book. Guaranteed. Marines have the best commercials, hands down. And when someone like Bing West writes a book (like he wrote about Anbar in 2004-2005), he's going to ignore as much as possible any Army participation. (I guess that's 'good editing,' but how do you name a Brigade Commander and Brigade CSM, mention their respective Bronze and Silver Stars for an action, but never even mention the Brigade they led?) Forgive the bitterness, but yes, I'm still pissed off. We were there, too, and just as an interesting sidenote, or less. 'First Brigade, 1st Infantry Division' does not take up that much space. Maybe he thought we sucked; if so, I can counter that, too.

Maybe we just measured success differently. I genuinely don't know. I wish I could tell you, because it might inform your decision one way or another. But it was brutal.

All that said, let me clarify: Marines and Soldiers, both, will always do what they need to do to accomplish the mission. We all support and defend the Constitution. We all work to minimize casualties, but we collectively do not err on the side of cowardice to prevent them. Both forces are valid and necessary. But culturally, we differ.

I would go to war with enlisted Marines in a heartbeat. If a Marine officer is not a very short list of people I personally know, or directly recommended by one of those people... I'd at least have to get to know him/her, first. That's as honest as I can be.

If you plan to commission through ROTC, try to do training with both Army and Navy ROTC (NROTC includes Marine option). Or even if you're near a college that has both, go talk to the cadre and check them out. Talk to both about the differences and similarities. Try to talk to both officers and NCOs. There are so many factors that apply, and ultimately it all come down to people. There are good and bad people in both forces. There is good and bad leadership in both. There are units with good camaraderie, and units that don't; both can reverse based on leadership.

I loved being in the Army. There were both good and bad facets. I deeply respect all of the other branches -- I believe we do ultimately augment each other, and that when we do work together it's a beautiful thing that rightly terrifies our enemies. I also think there's a reason there's not a lot of crossover between the Army and Marines, that we usually have separate areas of responsibility and operations.

Whatever you decide to do, you're going to face changes in how you think and in your responsibilities when you commission. I submit that, whichever route you take, your best bet is to consider your experience to date as part of your education, as part of your construction into a leader, and to use your LT time to watch, listen and learn to shift your perspective. Engage, take charge, but listen twice as much as you speak -- don't be That Guy who can't or won't take off his/her stripes, or who became an 'O' because of better pay and "better" hours. Being an officer is harder in some ways and easier in others, but it is never easy and it is always extremely visible.

Best wishes, and if you need/want further clarification or if I can be of further assistance, please don't hesitate to ask (yes, even if you become a Marine officer). :) Godspeed, and Semper Fi!

Hannah Heishman
MAJ, LOG (RET)

Bottom line is that it's no issue at all. There have been some really excellent answers already, but as a former FMF HM who became an Army officer, I can tell you that my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. As previous posters have said, understand there will be some initial culture shock, but if you approach your new career as a learning experience, you should do just fine.

I'm a recruiting officer for an Army ROTC program. It is fairly simple provided you can: make the grades, pass the APFT, do well at CST, have a major that makes you valuable and have three years of college remaining.

Active or Reserve is first big question. On reserve side I had a Marine DI in my OCS class....he was honor grad btw. Lingo not a big deal, culture, you can adjust. Army ranks have many former Marines.

If AD, bit more of a challenge, but I am not the guy to answer that.

There is a misconception regarding the differences in the services. Are there different standards, customs, traditions? Yes. But don't be fooled. Being an NCO in the Marine Corps (I was) and becoming an Army officer (CW5 in my case) is not an automatic, easy step. The Army typically requires a college degree and an MOS that is in demand. Given the current draw down, all the branches can be more selective. I'd go for it. I did and never regretted it. I chose the Warrant Officer route, but could have gone for a commission (W-2 thru W-5 are all commissioned). Easiest track is ROTC, otherwise OCS if selected. Good luck.

In 1999 I left the Active Duty Marine Corps as a 1stLT on the O3 promotion list. I was promoted to Capt. in the USMCR (IRR). Two years later, after 9-11, I tried to go back on active duty but was pretty much told, "thanks we'll call you if we need you". So, I did what ever God-fearing Patriot would do. I joined the Army. A couple years later, as an Army CPT I was in Command of a Rifle Company. My biggest questions were "why did I only own 2 60mm Mortars, and why where there only 2 teams (vice 3) in my Squad formations. Point is, the military structure as a whole is more similar than it is different. Now my experience has been combat arms in both services, so I'm comparing "Green apples to red apples". I imagine if you were a Combat Arms NCO in the Marine Corps, and became a logistician Officer in the Army, your experiences might be different. But Not that much different say you were an 0311 Marine, and commissioned as a 0402 Marine Officer.
The leadership instilled in a SGT, Sgt., SSgt, or PO3 should transfer over to the basic leadership principles needed as a JMO, regardless if you are a 2ndLT, 2LT, or ENS. Furthermore, as a "Mustang" you understand what it means to be a "joe". Hopefully this will help influence your decisions and reduce making dumb decisions since you have actual experience. Of course be prepared for the same inter-service rivalry when you are asked "why did you switch". You are always welcome to use my answer, which pays homage to an old recruiting line; I simply say, "I heard the Army was looking for a few good officers". Good luck!

I commissioned with several former Marine NCOs at my commissioning program. (National Guard OCS Accelerated with the Alabama Military Academy.) Those guys flourished and thrived in the high stress environment that we were in. Like LT Johnson said, leave ego at the door. Other than that, those guys used the negative experiences they had with "bad officers" as lessons learned in applying to their leadership styles as Army officers. Good luck to you.

"It Shall Be Done"

I have been a Marine for nearly 26 years and wanted to do the same earlier in my NCO days, but opted to stay and became a Marine Warrant Officer.

If you decide to transition to the Army Corps as an officer, you must have a 4 yr degree. You know whats best for you and if you are willing to make the sacrifices to succeed and endure the journey..... jusy do it.