Marine Corps Recruiting Command
Encyclopedia
The Marine Corps Recruiting Command is a command of the United States Marine Corps
responsible for military recruitment
of civilians into the Corps. In addition to finding volunteers to join, it is also responsible for preparing them for United States Marine Corps Recruit Training
, Officer Candidates School
, or the United States Naval Academy
.
of the Corps in 1775, the first recruiting drive was held at Tun Tavern
in Philadelphia. At the time, the recruiting of volunteers was the responsibility of the various barracks commanders scattered throughout the United States to guard naval installations and man ships. Recruiting posters through to the American Civil War
promised prospective recruits of bounties
and prizes for service at sea.
After the end of the draft in the United States
in 1972, recruiters had to shift from merely processing recruits to actively seeking and encouraging them to join an all-volunteer force.
Because there are Marine installations in relatively few states, Marine recruiters are typically the public face of the Corps, seen most commonly by the civilian population.
.
All potential recruits are screened by recruiters for physical standards and fitness, adequate education (a high school diploma
or equivalent, such as a GED for enlisted, and a bachelor's degree
for officers), lack of significant civil conviction
s, lack of significant drug use
, and other qualifiers. The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery
is administered to determine qualifications for a job field (known as a Military Occupational Specialty).
Enlisted Marines who qualify and successfully process through a Military Entrance Processing Station
can ship to recruit training. Recruits from the 1st, 4th, and 6th Marine Corps Districts will attend Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
, while males from the 8th, 9th, and 12th will attend Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
. All enlisted females attend recruit training at Parris Island, regardless of district.
Officers can be sourced from several veins: Officer Selection by Recruiting Stations, Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps
, and enlisted commissioning. The vast majority will train at Officer Candidates School, but some will attend the Naval Academy instead.
. The Western Recruiting Region predominately covers districts west of the Mississippi.
The two regions are divided into three districts each, each comprising several states. These are subdivided into Recruiting Stations (RS) located in large metropolitan areas, with smaller Recruiting Sub-Stations (RSS) covering smaller cities and rural areas.
The Marine Corps Recruiting Command has approximately 3,000 recruiters operating out of 48 Recruiting Stations, 574 Recruiting Sub-Stations, and 71 Officer Selection Sites across the continental United States
, Alaska
, Hawaii, Puerto Rico
and Guam
.
.
It has the following Recruiting Stations:
and some of the South Atlantic States
, and is headquartered in New Cumberland
, Pennsylvania, the only district to have a headquarters located outside of its jurisdiction.
It has the following Recruiting Stations:
), as well as Puerto Rico
and the United States Virgin Islands
. It is headquartered at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
, in South Carolina
.
It has the following Recruiting Stations:
, and is headquartered at NAS Fort Worth JRB on the west side of Fort Worth, Texas
.
It has the following Recruiting Stations:
. and is headquartered in Kansas City.
It has the following Recruiting Stations:
, Hawaii, and Pacific territories, and is headquartered at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
.
It has the following Recruiting Stations:
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
responsible for military recruitment
Military recruitment
Military recruitment is the act of requesting people, usually male adults, to join a military voluntarily. Involuntary military recruitment is known as conscription. Many countries that have abolished conscription use military recruiters to persuade people to join, often at an early age. To...
of civilians into the Corps. In addition to finding volunteers to join, it is also responsible for preparing them for United States Marine Corps Recruit Training
United States Marine Corps Recruit Training
United States Marine Corps Recruit Training, commonly known as "boot camp", is a program of initial training that each recruit must successfully complete in order to join the United States Marine Corps...
, Officer Candidates School
Officer Candidates School (United States Marine Corps)
The United States Marine Corps Officer Candidates School is the entry-level training for Marine officers, equivalent to recruit training for enlisted Marines. Located at Marine Corps Base Quantico, the school trains, screens, and evaluates potential Marine Corps officers...
, or the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
.
History
With the foundingUnited States Marine Corps birthday ball
The United States Marine Corps Birthday is celebrated every year on the 10th of November with a traditional ball and cake-cutting ceremony.-Historical birthday:...
of the Corps in 1775, the first recruiting drive was held at Tun Tavern
Tun Tavern
Tun Tavern was a tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which served as a founding or early meeting place for a number of notable groups. It is traditionally regarded as the site where the United States Marine Corps held its first recruitment drive...
in Philadelphia. At the time, the recruiting of volunteers was the responsibility of the various barracks commanders scattered throughout the United States to guard naval installations and man ships. Recruiting posters through to the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
promised prospective recruits of bounties
Bounty (reward)
A bounty is a payment or reward often offered by a group as an incentive for the accomplishment of a task by someone usually not associated with the group. Bounties are most commonly issued for the capture or retrieval of a person or object. They are typically in the form of money...
and prizes for service at sea.
After the end of the draft in the United States
Conscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
in 1972, recruiters had to shift from merely processing recruits to actively seeking and encouraging them to join an all-volunteer force.
Because there are Marine installations in relatively few states, Marine recruiters are typically the public face of the Corps, seen most commonly by the civilian population.
Recruiting
Recruiters serve as the entry into the Corps through a variety of means. While the majority of accessions are enlisted, those who qualify can attempt to earn a commission and become an officerOfficer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
.
All potential recruits are screened by recruiters for physical standards and fitness, adequate education (a high school diploma
High school diploma
A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED.-Past diploma styles:...
or equivalent, such as a GED for enlisted, and a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
for officers), lack of significant civil conviction
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...
s, lack of significant drug use
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
, and other qualifiers. The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery
Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery
The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery is a multiple choice test, administered by the United States Military Entrance Processing Command, used to determine qualification for enlistment in the United States armed forces...
is administered to determine qualifications for a job field (known as a Military Occupational Specialty).
Enlisted Marines who qualify and successfully process through a Military Entrance Processing Station
United States Military Entrance Processing Command
The United States Military Entrance Processing Command is a Major Command of the Department of Defense, which screens and processes applicants into the United States Armed Forces...
can ship to recruit training. Recruits from the 1st, 4th, and 6th Marine Corps Districts will attend Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. MCRD Parris Island is used for the training of enlisted Marines...
, while males from the 8th, 9th, and 12th will attend Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego is a United States Marine Corps military installation in San Diego, California. It lies between San Diego Bay and Interstate 5, adjacent to San Diego International Airport and the former Naval Training Center San Diego...
. All enlisted females attend recruit training at Parris Island, regardless of district.
Officers can be sourced from several veins: Officer Selection by Recruiting Stations, Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps
Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps
The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps.-Origins:...
, and enlisted commissioning. The vast majority will train at Officer Candidates School, but some will attend the Naval Academy instead.
Structure
For the purposes of recruiting Marines, the United States is divided into two regions. The Eastern Recruiting Region mostly covers districts east of the Mississippi RiverMississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. The Western Recruiting Region predominately covers districts west of the Mississippi.
The two regions are divided into three districts each, each comprising several states. These are subdivided into Recruiting Stations (RS) located in large metropolitan areas, with smaller Recruiting Sub-Stations (RSS) covering smaller cities and rural areas.
The Marine Corps Recruiting Command has approximately 3,000 recruiters operating out of 48 Recruiting Stations, 574 Recruiting Sub-Stations, and 71 Officer Selection Sites across the continental United States
Contiguous United States
The contiguous United States are the 48 U.S. states on the continent of North America that are south of Canada and north of Mexico, plus the District of Columbia....
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, Hawaii, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
.
1st Marine Corps District
The 1st Marine Corps District covers the northeast United States, including New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
.
It has the following Recruiting Stations:
- RS AlbanyAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
- RS BuffaloBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
- RS HarrisburgHarrisburg, PennsylvaniaHarrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
- RS New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
- RS New York
- RS Pittsburgh
- RS PortsmouthPortsmouth, New HampshirePortsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
- RS SpringfieldSpringfield, MassachusettsSpringfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
4th Marine Corps District
The 4th Marine Corps District covers the Rust BeltRust Belt
The Rust Belt is a term that gained currency in the 1980s as the informal description of an area straddling the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, in which local economies traditionally garnered an increased manufacturing sector to add jobs and corporate profits...
and some of the South Atlantic States
South Atlantic States
The South Atlantic United States form one of the nine Census Bureau Divisions within the United States that are recognized by the United States Census Bureau....
, and is headquartered in New Cumberland
New Cumberland, Pennsylvania
New Cumberland is a municipality at the eastern tip of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. New Cumberland was incorporated as a borough on March 21, 1831. The population was 7,349 at the 2000 census...
, Pennsylvania, the only district to have a headquarters located outside of its jurisdiction.
It has the following Recruiting Stations:
- RS BaltimoreBaltimoreBaltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
- RS CharlestonCharleston, West VirginiaCharleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
- RS Cleveland
- RS Detroit
- RS FrederickFrederick, MarylandFrederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
- RS LouisvilleLouisville, KentuckyLouisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
- RS RaleighRaleigh, North CarolinaRaleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
- RS RichmondRichmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
6th Marine Corps District
The 6th Marine Corps District covers Southeastern United States (mostly the Deep SouthDeep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
), as well as Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and the United States Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
. It is headquartered at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. MCRD Parris Island is used for the training of enlisted Marines...
, in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
It has the following Recruiting Stations:
- RS Atlanta
- RS Baton RougeBaton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
- RS ColumbiaColumbia, South CarolinaColumbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
- RS Ft. LauderdaleFort Lauderdale, FloridaFort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
- RS JacksonvilleJacksonville, FloridaJacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
- RS MontgomeryMontgomery, AlabamaMontgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
- RS NashvilleNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
- RS OrlandoOrlando, FloridaOrlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
8th Marine Corps District
The 8th Marine Corps District covers the southern half of Central United States and southern Mountain StatesMountain States
thumb|300px|Regional definitions vary from source to source. The states shown in dark red are always included, while the striped states are usually considered part of the same region called the Mountain States....
, and is headquartered at NAS Fort Worth JRB on the west side of Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
.
It has the following Recruiting Stations:
- RS AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
- RS Dallas
- RS Denver
- RS Fort WorthFort Worth, TexasFort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
- RS Houston
- RS Oklahoma CityOklahoma cityOklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
- RS PhoenixPhoenix, ArizonaPhoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
- RS San Antonio
9th Marine Corps District
The 9th Marine Corps District covers the majority of the Midwestern United StatesMidwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
. and is headquartered in Kansas City.
It has the following Recruiting Stations:
- RS Kansas CityKansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
- RS ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
- RS Des MoinesDes Moines, IowaDes Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
- RS IndianapolisIndianapolisIndianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
- RS St. LouisSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
- RS LansingLansing, MichiganLansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...
- RS Milwaukee
- RS Twin Cities
12th Marine Corps District
The 12th Marine Corps District covers much of the Western United States, AlaskaAlaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, Hawaii, and Pacific territories, and is headquartered at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego is a United States Marine Corps military installation in San Diego, California. It lies between San Diego Bay and Interstate 5, adjacent to San Diego International Airport and the former Naval Training Center San Diego...
.
It has the following Recruiting Stations:
- RS Salt Lake City
- RS Seattle
- RS PortlandPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
- RS SacramentoSacramento, CaliforniaSacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
- RS San Francisco
- RS Los Angeles
- RS San Diego
- RS Orange CountyOrange County, CaliforniaOrange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
See also
- Berkeley Marine Corps Recruiting Center controversyBerkeley Marine Corps Recruiting Center controversyThe Berkeley Marine Corps Recruiting Center protests began in September 2007 when a small group of protesters from Code Pink began periodically protesting in front of a United States Marine Corps Officer Selection Office located in Downtown Berkeley, California at 64 Shattuck Avenue by standing in...
- Recruiting Service RibbonRecruiting Service RibbonThe Recruiting Service Ribbon is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which is issued by every branch of service with the exception of the United States Army...