Moving to another branch of service?

CPL, keep in mind that as a medical professional in the Navy, you can be assigned to the FMF. The USMC does not have medical professionals. IF you get your DPT degree, and join the Navy Medical Service Corps, you can request FMF assignment. No reason you can't be stationed at Camp Pendelton or Lejuene, at the BMC doing PT there... Many medical types don't want FMF duty, because it's harder duty. So if your heart is pulling you become a PT, get your BS, get into a DPT program, and charge on...

Semper FI!

Sgt (Join to see), Great question. This scenario ALMOST happened to my wife... but almost. She was a PO2, (Cryptology). She was considering going Marine Corps. However, the Corps could not guarantee her continued growth in her field. So, she stayed Navy. Bottom line: Get it in writing! If you don't have an MOS-guarantee, you may find yourself in a pipeline that doesn't suit your talents & interests. She was able to secure a contract outlining continued growth in the Crypto/Intel fields... but, she had to stay in the Navy to do so.

At the end of the day, I'm a horrible recruiter for the Corps. I'm usually too honest. But, the leadership styles required of a Naval Officer v. a Marine Officer are basically the same: You'll be commanding our nation's finest (with a handful of sh**birds). You'll be expected to be technically & tactically proficient. And you'll likely love your job. You get to be a Marine for the rest of your life... even if you "turn blue."

In general, the Naval officers are very technically focused. I'd say Naval officers are very tight within their respective communities (aviation, subs, surface, medical, etc.) Marine officers are focused to 1.) either being a gun-slinger, or 2.) supporting the missions of the gun-slingers.

If you're looking at roads to commissioning, the Corps has plenty: Naval Academy, NROTC, OCS, PLC, and some that I probably forgot (or don't know) about. Hopefully, a Navy mustang will chime in to list the Navy's paths. Either way, figure out if you want to go Marine or Navy. All ahead full, to your commission!

Cpl Sherman
I was prior Navy enlisted. Once I decided I wanted to become a PT I got off active duty, went reserves, and attended under grad studies. As stated elsewhere, GPA 3.7 or higher is a norm to even get a nod for invitation to a PT program. PT schools are very competitive accepting anywhere 1 out of 6-10 applicants. Once accepted you have a 3-year intense PT program, 8-hour school days everyday unlike normal college courses. My initial undergrad PT degree, BSPT, was 240 semester hours completed in 2-years. My DPT wasn't easy as well. So, IF the Navy is willing to pay for undergrad and/or PT school it's not a done deal until you get accepted. There is one military school (Army Baylor) in San Antonio, run by the Army with seats for all 4 branches that have PTs - Army, Navy, Air Force, Public Health Service....very few seats for each service and very competitive to get in and the best part is your still active duty at current rank while in school.

Now as to inter service transfer I too have done this. Upon graduating from PT school I went back on active duty with the Air Force. After serving nearly 17-years Navy enlisted I wanted something new and the opportunity to be stationed overseas, no more ship board duty ( some carriers have PTs) . I served over 5-years in the Air Force then did an inter-service transfer to the Public Health Service looking for bigger challenges. It took me 9-months to complete the transfer and it was a great move. The PHS offers so many more career choices than either the Navy or Air Force did. As a PHS officer and PT you can return to the Navy, Air Force or Army PT clinics and to the Coast Guard medical clinics to work if you so wish, any branch all the time your a PHS officer. As a PHS officer you can work in many more career areas inside and outside of medicine, such as Liasion Officer in Africa or Canada or USNorthcom/NORAD. You can be assigned to the Pentagon, we even had a PT that was assigned to the office of the Vice President, CIA, FDA, etc.

Long story short, simply is with a DPT degree you can open many military doors and many more when you retire. If you have your heart set on being a Marine then PT probably isn't for you.

Wish you the best!!

As a Marine, I'm sure you have meet one or two Devil Doc's. I'm sure they would be happy to tell you about FMF. And the possibilities of a Physical Therapist working in FMF.

Cpl. never forget that the Marine Corps is in the Department of the Navy....It's just the Men's department.
Semper Fi

Sgt (Join to see) Leatherneck,
First question, Medical Corps Officers attend the Officer Indoctrination Course in Newport, RI after being selected for commissioning. It is a much tamer version and shorter version of OCS.
Second question, it is like apples and oranges. You find pros and cons in both services. A stronger sense of espirt de corps will never be found other than in the Marine Corps. That is something that I truly miss, but as Capt Mark Strobl said you will always be a Marine. Yet, for me the Navy has given me the opportunity to operate warships all over the world and see places that this kid from Nebraska only dreamt of.
If you have any specific questions, please let me know.
BT
Is Popeyes still in Kin-Ville?

First, if you do decide to transition to another branch, be prepared for the inevitable regret you'll feel. Us Marines are obsessed with being Marines, so going to another branch can be kind of depressing at first, but you'll get used to it. Hold yourself to your Marine Corps standards and you'll stand out amongst your new peers. Remember, once a Marine, always a Marine.

In my case, I was active Navy, then active Marines, then reserve Army. I preferred my time in the Navy and Marine Corps way more than I currently do in the Army. The Navy and Marines were pretty much on point with everything, whereas my time in the Army (currently just a year and few months) has been a bit stressful because the Army (or at least my unit) is a tad bit disorganized and at times dysfunctional, but things are starting to look up ever since we had our change of command.

Take it from me, though. If you go Navy, you won't be disappointed. Semper fi.

The process differs depending on the commission program that you go through. The first step is getting accepted into a Commissioning Program, then submitting the request for an inter-service transfer. I went through MECEP and I had a friend would was a SSgt or GySgt that submitted a request to HQMC to receive a commission as a Navy Officer because he wanted to be a Nurse. It was approved, I really think it's all about quotas at the time. I had another friend at the same unit who wanted to go be a SEAL (he was prior enlisted Intel) and his request wasn't approved.

I considered it, but at the end of the day I just couldn't leave the USMC

When I was in the Marine Corps, I had a chance go to the Coast Guard Academy. Afterwards I would be assigned to a Lighthouse. However, I just could bear the thought of not being a Marine.

Don't expect the Navy to be like the Marines... It's not, and depending on which side of the fence you are on, that may or may not be a bad thing. When you put Marines and Sailors together, almost invariably the first insult comes from the sailors... and it's usually a stupid Marine joke. They want to be like the Marines... but they don't want to be Marines. And why should they be?

It's been my experience that most people join the Navy to learn technical trades -- because they see themselves as being smart and more technical minded, and so the Navy offers them a greater academic challenge. The same attracts people to the Air Force BUT the Navy offers the ADVENTURE of being out on the open ocean and getting to see lots of different and exotic places around the world where they can go out on liberty and... act like sailors! ; ) Marines share that same love of the sea and maritime tradition, BUT! they are just crazy enough that the thought of slogging through the mud and being in combat up close and personal isn't enough to deter them from wanting to be part of that elite fraternity of warfighters called "The Marines." Those that join the Marines want to be associated with the legacy of honor that the Marines have built for themselves, but more importantly, they want to add to it.

Just like the Army, the Navy has a few very elite units... and more not so elite units. That's not to say they are bad; they're just not as elite as the others. You will not find the same sense of comradery in the Navy, except perhaps in the SeaBees or SEALS, and your chances of being in either are not guaranteed. Overall, you're not going to find the same level of discipline and esprit de Corps that you find in most Marine Corps units. And if you have grown accustomed to Marine Corps leadership (which is tops, no sense me being modest), you may find yourself disappointed with Navy leadership (in general). They just have different priorities.

For example, when I was at GTMO, the Navy was more interested in spending money on MWR projects (such as raising the pitchers mound on the ball field) than they were in maintaining the fence line. The Navy's attitude was that the Cubans weren't going to attack. The Marines always consider the worst case scenario and so their priority was on the fence. Chances are the Cubans won't attack, but "What if they do?!!" You don't want to leave anything to chance and you NEVER EVER intentionally leave yourself in a position where you can get caught with your pants down. The Marine Barracks CO had to fight to get the Navy to spend money and get the SeaBees down there to fix the fence where the ground was eroding and leaving holes large enough that people could easily crawl under it.

If you go the commissioning route through NROTC, you will get some exposure to the Navy and how they go about doing things. There are some areas of the Navy that are very good (Navy Intelligence is quite good, SEALS obviously are a cut above, etc.), and then some areas of the Navy that will have you scratching your head. Amongst the Black Shoes, you will find some knuckle draggers and they tend to eat their young. Leadership school in the USN tends to be sink or swim -- at least for junior officers. The Navy doesn't have the same discipline, and what the Navy considers a leader is not what the average Marine considers a leader. They especially had a lot of work to do in the senior enlisted ranks to bring the leadership up to snuff back when I was in, 15 years ago. Things may have changed. They were beginning to turn things around when I retired, but I can only speak to what I experienced back then. Anyway, some food for thought.

Bottom line: Don't go into the Navy thinking it will be like the Marines. If you do, you'll be in for some serious culture shock and you may be disappointed. If you can appreciate the Navy for what it is, you are going to like it and have a good career.