Probably the most popular thing Marines like to talk about is their glorious, eventual EAS date (for civilians reading this, that means “End of Active Service”). There’s always a plan: marrying that special person back home, going to college, or returning to the civilian job you left behind.
Regardless of which end, Marines spend a lot of time thinking about the end. What they often don’t consider, though, is that you can switch into a reserve component and continue working toward retirement without hanging up the uniform entirely. There are some Marines who get out because they don’t want to be in the Marine Corps anymore, sure. It’s fair, but there’s another option: the National Guard.
Also Read: The Guard’s ‘one weekend a month, two weeks a year’ slogan is outdated
While that last sentence might have you laughing harder than when you sent your boot off the third deck taped to a mattress, hear me out: One thing Marines constantly complain about (and there are many things) is the number of regulations in the Marine Corps. And it makes sense—Marines (ironically) have a natural resistance to authority, and the Marine Corps is the epitome of authority.
But walking around base as a Marine is stressful. There’s always some gunny or first sergeant fresh off the Recruit Depot looking to hem up some Marine who (by their assessment) hasn’t been yelled at in far too long. If you’re a Marine who wants to get out, but aren’t ready to hang up the uniform just yet, here’s why you should consider the National Guard:
Relatively Loose Standards
We’ve all seen pictures of National Guard service members. I don’t even have to describe it; you’ve got one that comes to mind. However, it would be a disservice not to explain. There are standards. They exist, unlike CW5s who are doing anything other than flying helicopters for special operations or receiving the Medal of Honor (seriously, where do they all go?), they’re just not strictly enforced.
Whether you’re in the Air or Army National Guard, the standards come from the parent branch.
So if you can imagine what the standards are in the Air Force (I laughed writing that, don’t worry) or Army, that’s what they are in the National Guard. The problem is the lack of time in general.
This argument can be made for any other reserve component, but the National Guard’s domestic operations focus and mission set can interfere with the amount of time on any given drill weekend or annual training. There’s then a decision about whether we’re spending our time enforcing every single uniform standard, or correcting what we can and moving on so we can get training done.
Don’t show up without a haircut, though; that’s not only basic level stuff, but you will get your head shaved. Like, boot camp-style head shave.
Varied Experience Levels
Plenty of people make the jump from active duty to Guard. It’s not unusual. In addition to that, you’ll find plenty of Guard units that have deployed to war over the course of the last two decades. You may meet someone who deployed to Syria with the 10th Mountain Division in 2023 who just recently decided to switch over, or even a “Guard baby” who was attached to the 1st Cavalry Division in 2004 during a deployment to Iraq.
Regardless, there’s plenty of experience around. Even people who have been in a while and never had the chance to deploy still tend to be knowledgeable.
You may think going from the Marine Corps to the National Guard is a major downgrade because you’ll be dealing with a bunch of people who don’t know anything, but the reality is often the opposite. You’ll realize that there’s plenty, and they welcome you with open arms because of your unique experience.
Domestic Operations
One thing that disappointed me while I was in the Marine Corps was the feeling that I didn’t get to do one thing I signed up for: go to war. The time period was strange, and being stationed in Hawai’i became a double-edged sword. On the one hand, I was stationed in Hawai’i. On the other hand, the Marine Corps never looked to the 3rd Division for Middle East deployments while the president was actively trying to leave the Middle East.
But when you join the Guard, you take on the responsibility of domestic operations, which may satiate your desire to do something with real-world, community-related impact.
A wildfire starts ripping through the state, and suddenly you find yourself out there. The American people don’t really know what impact your Southeast Asia deployments will have, and maybe you won’t ever get to find out, but when you’re cutting brush or finding survivors, sometimes you feel like you’ve just stopped the apocalypse—and it feels good.
While you may just be looking to leave the Marine Corps and stay gone, consider joining the National Guard. In plenty of cases, you do get to choose your own adventure (within reason), and you can also collect other benefits while you’re at it. You can continue working toward retirement around the 20-year mark and still have time to focus on pursuing a civilian career.
Just make sure you don’t fall prey to the concept of stuffing your trousers into your boots. That’s just nasty.
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