eric76 said:

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I ran into someone last Friday who was wearing a cap that said "Army Veteran". I asked him about it and he told me that he first joined the Marines and when that time was up, he joined the Army!

Does that really happen? I thought that he sounded kind of flaky for other reasons.

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I have no idea how common it is, but there's no obstacle to it. For example, my brother enlisted in the Marines and after his hitch was commissioned into the AF and had a long, successful career.

I know a decent number that have done it from my old unit. Some get out and then join army reserves/guard, some join for a different job that they'd rather do, others get out then want to get back in but realize the weight standards are lower in the army and would rather go with the army than unfat themselves. I was at camp Pendleton for a couple years and I'm pretty sure there was a billboard near base advertising the transition, and even a commercial on the TVs at the base gym.

I sever with 5 or 6 people who had been Marines before getting out and then joining the Army.

The Marines that I knew who did that wanted to keep serving but got feed up with the Marine Corps BS so switched.

It's not that uncommon. I served with several Army Soldiers who were prior service Marines. In most cases, after they got out of the Marines and decided to return to active duty, they enlisted in the Army because they would come in at the rank they were when they were honorably discharged from the Marines. The Marines would welcome them back, but at one pay grade lower than when they got out. Also, almost to a man, they all said it was easier to make rank in the Army than it is in the Marines. Sometimes they enlisted in the Army rather then rejoining the Marines because they wanted to change jobs in the Army than it is in the Marines.

I worked with an NCO years back who had joined the Army after finishing his enlistment in the Marines because the Marines' family housing was s**t. He said the Army was much better for junior NCOs with familes.

True story, one of the guys in my Platoon at Army ROTC Advanced Camp was prior Enlisted Marines and back in the era before everybody and their mom had tattoos, this guy had a USMC tattoo on his forearm that you could see when he saluted. It was kind of funny.

When I was in the National Guard, we had a few prior service Marines. In the Guard, you get guys who can drill in their hometown and earn some extra scratch so it's worth it. They're usually good troops too so everybody wins.

On the other side of the coin, when I was drilling in Coleman, TX, I had one of my Squad Leaders who had been a Recon Marine who was so Hooah to be a Cavalry Scout that he was driving 200+ miles to drill from Waurika, Oklahoma where he was a prison guard. Solid Troop.

Early 2000's I'm working in a bank branch and we get a new manager trainee in. I'm a 20 year Army retiree, he started talking to me as he had 10 years in himself he said, 5 in the Marines, followed by 5 in the Army. Story got weirder every time he told it, I couldn't reconcile anything he said with reality so I called HR and told them they needed to check out his military history, specifically his DD-214. About a week later 2 guys in suits walked in and right out again with this guy beside them, never to be seen again. Turns out he had 5 years as a Marine followed by 5 years in Leavenworth for killing a soldier in a fist fight. How he got hired in the first place is still a mystery to me.

The Marine/Army thing is legit, but the OP makes me wonder what else is "flaky"

HollywoodBQ said:

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True story, one of the guys in my Platoon at Army ROTC Advanced Camp was prior Enlisted Marines and back in the era before everybody and their mom had tattoos, this guy had a USMC tattoo on his forearm that you could see when he saluted. It was kind of funny.

When I was in the National Guard, we had a few prior service Marines. In the Guard, you get guys who can drill in their hometown and earn some extra scratch so it's worth it. They're usually good troops too so everybody wins.

On the other side of the coin, when I was drilling in Coleman, TX, I had one of my Squad Leaders who had been a Recon Marine who was so Hooah to be a Cavalry Scout that he was driving 200+ miles to drill from Waurika, Oklahoma where he was a prison guard. Solid Troop.

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I heard a story where a former Marine was checking into a Guard unit and the SNCO saw he was coming from the Corps with associated tattoos:
Yells "We've got another one!!!"
…several guardsmen come trotting over and each pull back their uniform to show their respective USMC moto tats.

Funny story: When I was a Drill Sergeant at Knox back in 2000, we got a new recruit who claimed to have been a seal as a prior service navy guy. We got our guys to research his claim and his DD-214 did indeed say he was a seal in the navy, a medic. He had enlisted in the Army and just had to pass basic training and he was to report directly to a Special Forces unit after graduation to serve in the same capacity as an SF medic.

My company, Aco 1-46 had the task of supporting any seal or SF unit that came to Knox to use the river or MOUT site, giving them MREs or bedding or the like. Well, one night at about 2200, there was a knock at the locked front door and a private came and got me, as I was CQ for the night. The guy at the door was an E8 seal needing some bedding and other stuff. So, I asked him if he knew the "ex-seal" we had in cycle? When I told him his name, his expression went blank and he said why am I asking? I told him that the individual in question was in the building. Well come to find out, the E8 was a seal instructor and had the private in his class. The private was in seal training up until almost the last week, and the navy version of the ERB was already filled out saying he was a graduate. However, the private "rang the bell" only a few days prior to graduation. He was not a prior navy seal after all.

We got a statement from the E8 and was able to get his orders cancelled. He entered the Army as an E1 and was sent to the 82nd as a medic, which he was actually qualified to be. The look on the privates face when he saw his ex-instructor was priceless. I think he may have **** his trousers.

Me-S/2c Navy then Air Force 1st Lt thru Corps! Didn't know it at the time but Navy time got me a promotion

to 1stLt after just 6 months instead of 18 months! Thanks to some clerk who was on the ball!

When I was an Ensign, I had an MN2 (Mineman Second Class) who was enslisted in the Army, then joined the Air Force Reserves, and then went back active duty by joining the Navy. Interesting path.

I was a Recruiter when the Blue to Green program was around. I put a couple Marines and quite a few squids into the Army. Program was ok for Navy because they only had to go to an abbreviated training but none of their jobs really transferred so they had to go to AIT. Rank wasn't always 1 to 1, either.

Marines kept rank, and only went to AIT if they changed jobs. Hell, I put a Marine fueler in that went to the Army's fueling school at Leonard Wood because Marines don't have that school. He kept his SGT rank, got a $20k bonus and even got to pick duty station. Dude moved his family to Hawaii. I'll always remember that one because he was a permanent resident and in 6 years the Marines had never helped him with the expedited citizenship program Pres. Bush approved for military service. Dude reached back out about a year later to let me know he became a citizen.

Recruiting blew monkey nuts, but it had its moments