Hello AirWarriors,
I am very eager to become a Marine Corps officer and pilot. I am very well qualified to do this according to the requirements and I believe I would be a competitive applicant. However, I have been arrested 3 times during teenage years as I was a troubled youth. There were 2 misdemeanors and 1 felony. For the misdemeanors, I took care of them by doing community service and they were dismissed. For the felony, I did not commit the crime and the charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence.
When I contacted my local Marine Corps OSO, he asked me to fill out a background questionnaire and then responded back to me by email:
" I appreciate your honesty by disclosing all of your criminal charges.
Unfortunately, we do not differentiate between a charge vs. conviction and are
not accepting any felony charges on applications. I am not sure about the
other services, and highly recommend you contact them for further
clarification. I wish you the best of luck!"
I would like to say that I am a good guy. I got good grades in school, am athletic, have civilian flight experience, and volunteer experience. Furthermore, I have great respect for the Marine Corps and it would truly be an honor to serve alongside you all. I just made dumb decisions in the past and hung out with the wrong crowd but I have since gotten my act together and haven't gotten into any kind of trouble for 5 years now.
I was not able to find anywhere on the internet if the Marine Corps as a whole doesn't differentiate between a charge vs. conviction or if just this particular OSO does. Would anyone be willing to give me some pointers on what I could try next? Should I contact a different recruiter and try with them? Should I wait until another conflict starts brewing and entry requirements get more relaxed? I am fully prepared to be told and I accept the fact if my past disqualifies me from service.
Thank you for your time.
-AirDrop
I am very eager to become a Marine Corps officer and pilot. I am very well qualified to do this according to the requirements and I believe I would be a competitive applicant. However, I have been arrested 3 times during teenage years as I was a troubled youth. There were 2 misdemeanors and 1 felony. For the misdemeanors, I took care of them by doing community service and they were dismissed. For the felony, I did not commit the crime and the charges were dropped due to a lack of evidence.
When I contacted my local Marine Corps OSO, he asked me to fill out a background questionnaire and then responded back to me by email:
" I appreciate your honesty by disclosing all of your criminal charges.
Unfortunately, we do not differentiate between a charge vs. conviction and are
not accepting any felony charges on applications. I am not sure about the
other services, and highly recommend you contact them for further
clarification. I wish you the best of luck!"
I would like to say that I am a good guy. I got good grades in school, am athletic, have civilian flight experience, and volunteer experience. Furthermore, I have great respect for the Marine Corps and it would truly be an honor to serve alongside you all. I just made dumb decisions in the past and hung out with the wrong crowd but I have since gotten my act together and haven't gotten into any kind of trouble for 5 years now.
I was not able to find anywhere on the internet if the Marine Corps as a whole doesn't differentiate between a charge vs. conviction or if just this particular OSO does. Would anyone be willing to give me some pointers on what I could try next? Should I contact a different recruiter and try with them? Should I wait until another conflict starts brewing and entry requirements get more relaxed? I am fully prepared to be told and I accept the fact if my past disqualifies me from service.
Thank you for your time.
-AirDrop