What are the Pros and cons of switching from the Marine Corps to the Army?

I was an E5 in the Marines and switched to the Army. I love the Marine Corps and it will always have a place in my heart but the Army has proven to be a better experience.

These are my opinions as I witnessed them first hand. Others may have different views.

Marine Pros: Best uniforms and highest esprit de corps hands down. All Marines, regardless of MOS, are held to the same standard and that standard is rigorously enforced. Marines stress the importance of history.

Army Pros: The Army has much better equipment and gear and much better training facilities. The Army has much more opportunity for schools. I've seen in the comments where people have asked you why you don't join Force Recon. I'm sure you would like to. I would have liked it too when I was in, but the fact of the matter is that in the Marines that kind of thing is much harder to come by. In the Army I got to go to Airborne school, Air Assault school, and Ranger school without even asking for it, it was just standard. Two were because I was an Infantry officer and one because of where I was stationed. I never saw those kinds of opportunities for anyone in the Marines. Where will you be stationed in the Marines? East coast, west coast, or Okinawa right? For the most part anyway. In the Army you've got everything from Korea to Italy. Germany to Kentucky. Alaska to Colorado. New York to Louisiana. The options are abundant. I mentioned training facilities earlier. In the Marines, MOUT training consisted of clearing conex trailers with windows and doors cut out of them. In the Army we had entire cities complete with streets, alleys, government buildings, burning cars and civilians acting as locals. And when I was deployed our unit was right next to a Marine unit and I can tell you that we did the same job day in and day out. Both with expert efficiency. Just with a little different lingo. If you're wanting to do Spec Ops, the Army would be a much more likely place for that to happen in my opinion.

Army Cons: The combat arms side of things (specifically the infantry since that's what I can speak to) is very similar to the Marines in standards and esprit de corps. But once you get out of the combat arms, standards drop. Not trying to offend those not in combat arms, but it's what I saw.

It was hard for me to switch from the Marines to the Army because the Marines do a great job of pounding it into your head that Marines are indestructible and everyone else sucks. Well, that's just not the case. There are numerous combat tested and battle-hardened units in the Army. The history of the Army, like the Marines, is nothing short of awe inspiring.

Good luck with your career. If you have any specific question let me know.

SGT one of my best friends in SF was a former Marine. He was on an amtrak, hope the spelling is correct. After years he started jumping for the Golden Knights then helped establish the Black Daggers. I am not a Marine, I do have the upmost respect for them and worked with them a good bit over the years. I went to SF School with a Force Recon Marine Officer who was attached to the Special Warfare Center.

Sorry I got distracted.

If you feel like you would like to venture into Special Operations, you know that MARSOC is loaded with some knuckle dragging barbarians badasses. However, I spent 20+ in SF and I would not trade it for anything. I traveled the planet, sometimes with a unit sometimes not with a unit.

I lived in South America, worked for the Embassy but was rarely in the Embassy. I loved it. So the bottom line is no matter the service I love special operations.

For somebody who is thinking about switching from "The Marines" to the Army, be prepared to be surrounded by level-headed individuals who don't talk about how awesome they are all the time, haha. Just kidding, I have many, many, Marine friends so I'm pretty well informed on how the USMC differs from the Army.
Pros: - More opportunities to advance through more career programs (PSYOPS, SF, Ranger, 160th
SOAR, etc and etc)
- Faster promotions on average (bigger force, more room for advancement)
- Way more opportunities to travel with over 50 Army bases in the continental US alone
- Super cool uniforms
- More money for better equipment and schooling
- Depending on the unit, perhaps a little bit more laid back than what you may be used to
Cons: - Ton of bureaucracy
- Constant uniform changes
- Lots of Creeds that must be memorized just in case you forget how to be an NCO or a soldier
(not sure if this is the same in the USMC)
- Although the Army may be a bit more relaxed, it leaves room for soldiers to become
insubordinate and lack giving the proper military courtesy to their superiors.

Hope this gives you somewhat of an idea. I didn't wanna type forever and bore you with all the reading, haha.

When I was a young Marine infantry NCO, I once mentioned the opportunity of becoming an officer in the Army. One of the LCpls heard me and remarked, “what about Semper Fidelis?” After that, I didn’t give it another thought. A year after finishing a BS and six months after I pinned on SSgt, I was in Quantico for OCS. During TBS, I ran into that same Marine who was now a Sgt. I should of asked if he remembered our brief discussion about the Army.

When it comes down to it, the decision to continue military service all depends on what you want in the long term. Still, I frequently run into other military personnel who either previously served as Marines or served with Marine Corps units; all of them look back with great reverence on their time with the Marine Corps.

I ended up staying in the Marine Corps, starting as a private, retiring as a LtCol. Had a rewarding career, deployed all over the place, worked with other branches and even attended some of their formal schools. In most cases, being an average Marine in the joint environment makes you look like a serious professional when performing along side other service members. In fact, they all look to us for decisiveness and leading by example. I loved serving in those non-Marine Corps environments; I envied their facilities, resources and career opportunities, but I have no regrets at all staying in the Marine Corps.

If you'd not getting what you want out of the Corps, jump ship. In my case I got out because I kept getting passed over SSGT. I spent 12 years in the Corps. I was a recruiter and I also took on other jobs that were 2 pay grades above me and I still couldn't get promoted. I got out went straight in the Army, got promoted and was able finish out my 20 for retirement. My advice is if you are considering going in the Army, first check with an Army recruiter to see if they are taking prior service. If they are, start getting your ducks in a row. 30 days before you get out of the Corps get a full blown physical, that way you skip MEPS. Take the paperwork with you to the Army recruiter for your enlistment packet. You may have to retrain in another MOS if your current MOS cannot be transferrable or if it is overstrengh for the army. The Army can still use your ASVAB scores from the Corps. However, if your MOS can be transferable, the Army will let you pick 3 duty stations of your choice. If you need more details send me a reply and I can give you the whole process it's very easy

I went into the US navy in 1993 as a Seabee BU. By the time 1996 rolled around my Rate was locked for advancement. Someone had to die or retire for people to advance.
So after my 6 year contract was up I made the Switch to Army. I Enjoyed it so much more. I was a better fit . So I'm go Army!!

Although not SF I made the switch from Marine Corps to Army. I will say as long as your going SF you won't notice much difference in attitude and comradarie. I switched because I was in field artillery and wanted to be an M.P. the corps said they would rather loose a fully trained marine corporal then let me switch. In and out call garbage. MP's had openings but artillery was short handed. Anyway I have worked alot with S.F. over my last 4 years and have to say they are a great bunch for the most part. The only real difference is they are alot more laid back. But if your talking about general Army units you will be disappointed for the most part. Very few units display esprit de corps. There is no pride in being a soldier for most of the units. Individually you may have out of a 135 man company 10 or 15 that make being a soldier a point of pride. But also I will say coming from the Corps assuming your a squared away Marine you will generally advance quickly and excel in the Army.

I'm curious, why aren't you considering the Raiders?

Pro - You are still in the military, Con - You are in the Army

A lot of Marines I know have switched simply because the Army is bigger.

Much bigger. Which means more room for promotions, and more career fields. Army has far, far more to do in the Special Operations world.

However. Are you a Reservist, or Active? Because of your rank, you will find some issues in trying to switch branches.