I have heard of and spoken to people who had been in the Army and gone to the Marines. First, I guess my question would be why would someone leave a branch with which they are already familiar? Second, would you be granted a rank similar to that which you held in the Army, or would you basically start out at the bottom of the food chain again? Someone, anyone??

I have never heard of anyone going from Army to Marines, but I have known all kinds of Marines who went Army. Here is something I wrote on a simular topic a few months ago.

I have heard some bad things about Marines going back in. Last month I was down at MEPS. I talked with a Marine who was going into the Army. He was out for only 6 months. He said if he had gone back to the Marines he'd be an E-3. The army is allowing him to keep his rank. This is a huge reason why a lot of Marines go into the Army.

I went to boot camp with a guy that was coming from the Army to The Corps, he started over. He "supposedly" was guaranteed PFC out of boot and that was it, he was a Sgt in the Army and spent 6 years there before deciding to go Corps.

That wouldnt make sense not to give them their rank.

It all depends. I was told in the Army that they do not consider you an NCO nor do they really give you the responsibility of an NCO until you reach E-5 paygrade. In the Marine Corps you are considered an NCO and given responsibility and taken to task for your actions as an NCO at a paygrade of E-4.

One of the reasons for the decrease in rank from Army to Marines is the MOS credibility and general knowledge. I had a buddy of mine that went thru Army bootcamp and he was taught very little of the Army traditions and history. In the Marine Corps boot camp you are drilled with history and general knowledge on an almost day to day basis.

Here is a scenario for you: You get out the the Army and join the Marine Corps. You are allowed to retain an E-4 paygrade even tho you were an E-5 in the Army. You come to my shop as a Corporal. I would expect you to know at the very least what I myself know as a Corporal. Of course you would not because you do not have the MOS experience and the knowledge of the Marine Corps that I have from my time in service of 2 years or more versus your time in service of less than a year.

Of course the reverse should hold true as well from the Marine Corps to the Army, or to any other branch of the service as far as that goes.