I’m married, with 1 daughter and my wife is currently pregnant with our second child. I’m only 21 years old (we got off to an early start with kids), and it’s been my desire to join the marines. I’m currently going to the University of Texas here in Austin, and I was just wondering: with two kids, a bachelor’s degree, and my wife having a degree from A&M in education (don’t know if that qualifies her as a dependent or not), what are my chances of getting a waiver to enlist in the Marines?
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What do you need a waiver for? If you’re thinking you need one because of a pregnant wife, you don’t. She and your kid and the unborn will be dependants. However, I think it would be in your best interest to be there for your wife during the pregnancy and birth…wait a few months afterwards to get things in the household settled, then join the Marines. Who knows…with your bachelor’s degree, you might be able to go in as an officer too.
You shouldn’t need a waiver, unless you have some sort of moral disqualification and by virtue of your being married to her, your wife (and kids) are automatically dependents. Just provide a certified copy of your marriage certificate and certified birth certificates for the kids and enroll them in DEERS.
No. Many marines have children and get deployed sorry but I did not get married or have children while in the Army for that very reason.
You will inevitably get a short time off for the birth – this could put you back in terms of training, but you won’t be home very long so I strongly recommend you postpone joining until your wife has had the support needed from you.
you will be under the max dependent limit with the 2 children and your spouse. you should not need a waiver.
It’s only a problem if you two are not married otherwise good luck in the marine corps!
First off, since you said you will have your bachelors degree, have you looked into going officer?
“Dependents
In general, DOD prohibits the enlistment of any applicant who has more than two dependents under the age of 18. While the services are allowed to waive this policy, they often will not. In fact, most of the services are even more strict in their policies.
In the Marine Corps, a waiver is required if an applicant has any dependent under the age of 18.”
You’re going to have to talk to a recruiter, I would think a dependency waiver would be much more likely than a moral or medical waiver. And yes your wife does count as a dependent.