Hi I was curious about what the rules are as far as a Marine Corps Infantry Officer transferring after his first term to the Army to be a Special Forces officer. I know the requirement for an SF Officer is that he be an 0-3 or above and most Infantry Officers make captain O-3 in there first 4 to 6 year term. Has something like this been done before and would the Service Member get to keep his commision. Would he lose any rank. The reason why I ask this question is because I am currently in college and my dream is to be a Marine Infantry officer, but I want to know if any other oppertunities would be available down the road, if I want to go special forces.
If you want to be a Marine Officer, then get your degree and talk to a USMC Officer Selection Officer (OSO). From what I understand, all USMC Officers will go through The Basic School, which teaches advanced Infantry skills, as all Marines are Riflemen first and foremost.
If you want to be an Army Officer, you have a few options. You can do college and ROTC at the same time. You can also go through Officer Candidate School (OCS), where you will do Basic Training and then OCS. ROTC is 4 years (commission after you graduate) and OCS is 12 weeks (following 9 weeks of BCT).
I've seen/read a lot of posts here about kids thinking that they can hop from one service to another as easily as changing classes in school. While it CAN be done, it is not easy and certainly doesn't help in career progression. Decide which service suits you best and pursue all that you can in that branch of service. If you decide that it's not for you after your service obligation is up, THEN see about a branch transfer.
But I would strongly suggest picking a service and sticking to it.
oppertunities would be available down the road, if I want to go special forces.
If you want to be Marine Officer , go for it. The Marine Corps has special operation units. Try for one of those , there's really no need to switch services.
Back in the Pentomic era, one of the Rifle Companies in my Battle Group had a First Sergeant who had been a U.S.M.C. officer. As I recall, he had difficulty counting cadence correctly. Goodnight, Airdiablo6.
I do not recall ever hearing of a Marine officer that switched over to the Army.
Neither have I. I would suspect most Marine officers have a service commitment that leaves them a bit too senior compared to the average Army CPT going into SF.
