What is it like to switch branches from Marines to other branches, specifically USAF?

My dad was a Marine in Korea. He then switched to AF in 1958 or 59 and retired after 22 years AF and 4 USMC. He enjoyed his AF career, and growing up as an AF brat, I enjoyed being stationed in Turkey and Spain when I was a kid. But I also loved being a Marine and being stationed in Okinawa, Puerto Rico and Denmark. It may all depend upon your MOS and what you want or expect from a swap in service.

I was Army and want to go back in but they won't take prior service to be Active unless your job is needed. And they won't give you a new job. I was considering Marines or AF but I have way too many tattoos so all that was left was either Navy or army reserves or guard. I was considering navy reserves but I'm having issues because of all the crap we talked about them. It just makes me uncomfortable and I would be embarrassed to admit to being in the navy.
I guess after all that rambling on, I would just do whatever is best for your career. It will be different, especially going from marines to the chair force

I would not get to hung up on the culture / customs of other branches. I made the switch from USMC to the Army Reserves and found it's not that much of a change. We are all in the military so most of the same holds true across all branches. The biggest change was coming from the Infantry to the Support Companies, as I re-classed into supply. If you get in with a good group NCOs and use what you learned as a Marine, in leading from the front, and getting the mission accomplished you will excel in any branch. I would keep your options open, but jump at best opportunities offered throughout your career and in life.

Don't do it. You forgot how much it sucked. Hang out at your legion for a bit and you'll change your mind.

I don't have that experience but I would say USAF would likely be the best option, especially since they have more jobs. It also depends on what your career goals are and what service you want to retire from.

I Think the question here should be, why do you want to switch services? If you feel you have a valid reason, then go for it. I don't have any personal experience in this matter but, my oldest brother transferred from the Air Force to the Army because they had a better flight training program. I find it rather ironic and surprising that the Army would have a better flight training program than the "Air" Force.

Is your ASVAB score high enough to switch? Lol, I was Air Force 20 years, I can tell you that deployment wise, we have it better than any other service.

We had a guy in boot camp that was 6 years prior navy. I don’t know for sure what he had been told by his recruiter but it seemed he was under the impression that he only had to do a “condensed” course, since he was a seasoned veteran. I believe he was the most unhappy recruit in our platoon, but he made it and earned his EG&A.

The range in behavior and interaction with subordinates per service seems to relate directly to the impending request for mortal action from the superior to the subordinate. If I am a Marine infantry Captain, likely to order you to some activity that might cause your death, I can only imagine that my service will indoctrinate me to shield myself and you from the psychological impact of such a thing.

Never served in the AF, Just the USMC, I crossed paths with many branches while in and heard stories from family and friends when I got out. The Air Force is laid back but runs some very lethal weapons systems that require brain power not necessarily psychological or physiological like the Corps emphasizes. I've heard it explained like this: The AF is a Corporation, the Marines are a Cult, and the Army and the Navy are the REAL Military. With few exceptions, that seems to be about right...Semper Fi.

I went from active USMC to army guard so the transition was not to bad but then I went air guard and that was a major shock that I really never got over. The politics in the guard are pretty bad but the USAF seemed worse and the attitude of 8 and the gate worse the hardest to get used to.
And yes the willingness to just through paperwork out instead of trying help the person is pervasive. Just my take

the marines AF and navy work pretty close together aside from tech school probably not that difficult.

I went Marines to Army. It was easier.

I will say in the Air Force discipline depends on the career field. I served 11 years as an NCO in the Telecommunications career field. I was then commissioned and became a cop (Security Police no of course called Security Forces). I saw airmen being given LOR's for being late to work one time. In my telecommunications experience they would have been told not to show up late and then given progressive discipline if they didn't improve. So discipline depends on the job or it did when I was on active duty.

Why would you want to? Take what you've done and learned in USMC and put it to work for you. If that means going active, going to school, lateral move, whatever. Plenty of opportunities and you've already got your foot in the door. You're likely going to lose rank otherwise and it's like starting all over. Whereas you could be a Sergeant in a short while, SNCO before too much longer. Go B billet and bust ass, pick up meritorious rank. Go WO, or MECEP. If not, blink an eye and you'll be respectably retiring as a Senior SNCO of Marines, and that's top notch in anybody's book. Point being you already got a lot going for you so make it happen. Good luck with whatever you choose.

The shock is real.

Lots of marines have made the transition from Marine to soldier and seemed to like it. Going from marine to chair force is going to be hard

Going from the Marine Corps to any other military branch is like being Raise a St. Louis Cardinals fan, Then moving to chicago and rooting for the Chicago Cubs. It's blasphemy sacrilege an abomination against nature itself. Me as a cardinals fan putting on a cubs Jersey I will be better off shooting myself in the foot.

The Air Force tried to convince me there is no I in team. What they didn't tell me was most of the time I was the entire team.

As I read about people leaving the Marine Corps to join another military branch. One has to wonder what is the real reason they want to leave the Marine Corps, This is only my opinion but I think most people can't handle the strict discipline and regimen of the United States Marine Corps. You have to stay on your game 100% of the time were as you see and hear stories about other branches how they get laxed in their expectations of their enlisted people. If I were any other branch and I see a marine wanted to join me I would be insulted because really what that Marine is saying, is you guys are not as hard as from where I come from. I know I can make it in your branch vs the Marine Corps. And to tell the truth they are probably right. But that also says something about the individual marine That wants to make the switch, Mentally they have given up and once you start to give up in one area you will slowly give up in other areas not a good way to go through life. I'm just saying