How Long Is Basic Training in the Marines?

Series Summary

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces that is responsible for providing force projection from the sea. The Marine Corps uses the U.S. Navy's mobility to send out combined-arms task forces, and it is one of seven uniformed services of the U.S.. The Marine Corps is a component of the Department of the Navy, and over the years, it has evolved in its mission by changing military doctrine and foreign policy. In this free video series, a staff sergeant provides information on United States Marine Corps training. Learn about basic training for women in the Marine Corps, combat training for non-infantry Marines and how long it takes to go through basic training. Find out how to join the Marines, how to become an officer and how to become a pilot, as well. The first step to joining the U.S. Marine Corps lies with this information.

Video Transcript

"Hello, my name is Staff Sergeant Montgomery with United States Marine Corps recruiting office here in West Valley City, Utah. Today we're talking about how long is basic training for Marines. Basic training is three months or thirteen weeks, approximately ninety days. It's twelve weeks of training with an extra week of what's called processing. It is the longest boot camp of any of the armed forces in America. That's eight to nine weeks of Army, eight to nine weeks for the Navy, and six weeks for the Air Force. In order to qualify to be a Marine, you must have a high school diploma, get over a 31on the ASVAB, which is the Armed Service Vocational Aptitude Battery Test. The ASVAB is a percentile test, meaning that you must get higher than 31% of the people who actually take the ASVAB. You also must take a physical, similar to a sports physical. If you are determined to be physically qualified and mentally qualified to be a United States Marine, you then can get an action or excuse me, a boot camp date of 365 days out. That means you can be in the Marine Corps' delayed entry program for a full year. This is usually for seniors who want to sign up when they're 17 years old and spend their whole senior year in the Marine Corps delayed entry program training to be a Marine. Now if you have any other questions, please give us a call at 801-967-9815. That is the Marine Corps recruiting office here in West Valley City. You can also get online at www.marines.com and that will connect you with your local Marine Corps recruiter."