Marine boot camp starts on the ship date your recruiter assigns you after you sign your enlistment contract, and for most recruits that date falls weeks or months later rather than immediately. When exactly Marine boot camp starts for you depends on the training slots open for your chosen job, whether you clear MEPS cleanly, and how the Marine Corps is pacing its recruiting that year. Recruit training itself runs 13 weeks once you arrive at the depot.1United States Marine Corps. Recruit Training
What Has To Happen Before You Get a Ship Date
You don’t get a date the day you walk into a recruiting office. You move through a sequence, and each step is a gate.
- Meet with a recruiter, who checks basic eligibility and starts your paperwork.
- Take the ASVAB. You need at least a 31, or at least a 50 if you have a GED instead of a traditional diploma.2United States Marine Corps. General Requirements
- Process at a Military Entrance Processing Station for a full medical exam, background review, and final aptitude confirmation. If you pass, you pick a Military Occupational Specialty from what’s open to your scores.
- Sign your contract, take the Oath of Enlistment, and enter the Delayed Entry Program. Your recruiter assigns your ship date at this point.
A recruit who scores well and clears MEPS without complications can sometimes ship within days of signing. A recruit who needs a medical waiver, or who wants a competitive MOS with few seats, can wait considerably longer.
What Moves Your Ship Date Earlier or Later
Which Job You Pick
Every Marine job has its own training pipeline, and the pipelines don’t all start at the same time. A high-demand MOS with frequent class starts may have a slot open soon. A specialized MOS with only a handful of classes per year can push your date out by months. If shipping quickly matters more to you than a specific job, tell your recruiter, because flexibility on MOS opens more dates.
Medical Clearance
If a MEPS doctor flags a disqualifying condition, you need a waiver before you can ship. Under Conditional DEP, you can enter the Delayed Entry Program and begin preparing while the waiver moves through approval, but you cannot ship to boot camp until it’s officially granted.3United States Military Entrance Processing Command. USMEPCOM and Recruiting Partners Streamline Waiver Process Waiver timelines are unpredictable, and this is one of the most common reasons a ship date slips. Handle any known medical issues proactively; a waiver that surfaces for the first time at MEPS can stall everything.
Whether You Can Pass the IST
While in the DEP, you periodically take the Initial Strength Test, which measures pull-ups (or push-ups), crunches (or planks), and a timed run. You have to pass the IST before you can begin recruit training.4United States Marine Corps. Delayed Entry Program (DEP) If you’re consistently short of the minimums, your recruiter can push your ship date back until you meet the standard. This one is on you.
Marine Corps Manning Needs
The Corps adjusts how many recruits it ships based on end-strength goals and retention. In years when the Marine Corps needs more bodies, recruiters have more slots and quicker dates. When recruiting is running ahead, slots tighten. Two recruits with identical qualifications and the same MOS can get different timelines for this reason alone.
Time of Year
Recruit training runs year-round, with new companies forming on a regular schedule at both depots.5Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. Training Information Summer sees heavier recruiting volume because many enlistees ship after high school graduation, so competition for preferred dates from May through August is tighter.
How Long You’ll Sit in the Delayed Entry Program
Most recruits spend weeks or months in the DEP between signing and shipping. It exists so you can finish school, get your personal life in order, and prepare physically. You can stay in the DEP for up to 365 days, or up to 410 days in certain circumstances.4United States Marine Corps. Delayed Entry Program (DEP)
The DEP isn’t dead time. You train with other poolees, attend family nights, take periodic IST assessments, and stay in regular contact with your recruiter about anything in your life that could affect eligibility.4United States Marine Corps. Delayed Entry Program (DEP)
Your date can shift while you’re in the DEP in either direction. If an earlier slot opens for your MOS and you’re physically ready, your recruiter may offer to move you up. Training schedule changes, or personal issues like needing to finish a semester, can push you back. Keep talking to your recruiter.
A Note on Which Depot You Report To
You don’t choose the depot, and it doesn’t affect training quality. Recruits from states east of the Mississippi train at MCRD Parris Island in South Carolina; recruits from western states train at MCRD San Diego. Both run the same 13-week program with the same standards.1United States Marine Corps. Recruit Training Your assignment can nudge your ship date because each depot has its own training matrix with slightly different pickup schedules, but that’s the extent of it.
How To Get the Earliest Ship Date You Can
You cannot demand a specific date, but you can stack the odds:
- Score as high as possible on the ASVAB so more MOS options are open.
- Stay flexible on your job if shipping soon matters more than which job.
- Get in shape before you sign so the IST is never your bottleneck.
- Resolve any medical issues, and gather documentation, before your MEPS visit.
- Tell your recruiter your real timeline. If you need to ship before a certain date, or need extra time to prepare, saying so early gives them the best chance of making it work.