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Marines earn 2.5 days of leave a month, so while they were at boot camp they racked up 7.5 days of leave. Boot leave (10 days) uses up all of their saved up leave and puts them in a negative 2.5 day leave balance. The month at MCT (or the first month of ITB) brings them back to a balance of 0. So they arrive at MOS school with a leave balance of approximately 0.

Boot leave is not going to be more than 10 days (that rumor is always floating around), since he won't have enough time accrued to do that. What might happen though is that he has 10 days of leave, and then a couple weeks of RA. When he is on RA, he is working (not on vacation) and his schedule depends on what the recruiter wants him to do. Some recruiter are relaxed and others have them working 12+ hours a day, 7 days a week. So therefore some folks like RA and others hate it!

There is no RA assignment directly out of MCT because the admin staff at MCT don't have the time to make that sort of arrangement. All Marines report directly to MOS school and then the school will let them know whether or not they are able to request RA. If they are able to request it, they will have to follow the school's request process and the admin office there will process the request. Many schools don't allow RA, even if there is a backup. The Marines stay at the school and perform on working parties, which is what helps keep the bases nice and clean!

As far as birth goes, the USMC policy says that the Command has to grant the Marine 10 days of paternity leave (including weekends) *if* the leave does not interfere with the mission. The schools generally interpret that to mean that if the student has already started classes (so they are no longer in a waiting status) then they are not able to use the paternity leave. If they are still waiting to start classes, then it is more common for the school to go ahead and grant the paternity leave. Sometimes (if the birth is very soon after they arrive at the school) they've also held a Marine in a waiting status (not picked up for training), waited for the birth, and then granted RA at that time. What that means though is that the Marine is waiting even longer to start MOS school, so his graduation will be pushed back.

The other catch with the paternity leave policy is that they are only required to grant it AFTER the birth. They don't have to grant it for labor. Sometimes they require the official Red Cross message saying that the birth has indeed happened. I'm pretty sure that is a result of a lot of false alarms and fake labors to get guys to come home. It makes it harder for everyone else who isn't trying to cheat!

What MOS school is he going to be at? I can see if we have anyone around who has dealt with that particular school!

It really depends on whether or not there is a backup. If there is, then there is a greater chance, but he probably won't know until after he checks in at C school. The goal is to get them trained as soon as possible (understanding that there are only a certain number of instructors and slots, so schools are known to have some sort of wait). Every time they have RA, the Marine is delayed and a training slot might to waste. If there are openings, then they want the guys and gals there to fill them.

Once they graduate from one place, then then new destination is technically in charge of them. They have to get permission to delay training from the new location. That's why they have to report to MOS school after MCT graduation before applying for RA! There are no guarantees at all and SOO many times that some of the stuff the recruiter has said doesn't really happen. The recruiter's job is to get guys in the door and to get that paperwork signed, so sometimes they aren't the best at explaining what is likely to happen. Instead they focus on something that sounds better, but only has a small chance of happening. That isn't to say that some of those things are impossible, but just not likely.

As far as BAH goes, yes, if you were married prior to boot then you will get it. You might not get it until a couple paychecks after boot camp is over though - it all depends on how the paperwork was processed. Sometimes the paperwork went to through quickly and he will receive BAH the entire time he is in boot, and other times there are hiccups that have to be corrected and it is delayed.

Here's how to tell what zip code you get BAH for:

- If he is on UNACCOMPANIED orders, meaning he is at a location where the USMC is not allowing you to be with him (such as boot camp, MOS school, and some duty stations like Japan), then you get BAH for the zip code that you are actually living in. If you choose to move to a house/apartment near that base, you are supposed to have him go to admin and update your location respectively.

- If he is on ACCOMPANIED orders, meaning that he is at a location where the USMC is allowing you to be with him, then you get BAH for the zip code of that base. It doesn't matter if you have actually moved there or not yet.

- Deployments are *not* considered to be unaccompanied orders. His permanent duty station is still the base that he is assigned to (such as Camp Lejeune, or Camp Pendleton). He just has a temporary assignment to deploy. So in the case of deployments, his orders do not change. If you move home, you still get BAH for the base that he has accompanied orders to (and of course you have to pay for your own moves).

FSA is Family Separation Allowance. It's an extra allowance that you get AFTER 30 days of your spouse being assigned somewhere that you can't go. So in the case of boot camp, you don't get FSA for the first month, but you will get it for the second and third month. Just like with BAH, when you get the money depends on how fast the paperwork gets through the system!

Most MOS schools require that Marines live in the barracks, even on the weekends. Some schools do allow for Marines to be "signed out" for special liberty once they earn it, which allows them to be out later or even overnight. It really all depends on who is in charge of the entire school, his specific company, and his specific platoon. It's one of those things that he won't know until after he checks in at the school! I definitely would not sign any leases until after he checks in and figures out what his life is going to be like there!

Hope that helps some!

Remember that the ability to leave on week nights, weekends, and the distance limitations will vary from one MOS school to another, and can sometimes even vary from one week to another based on how the students are performing. It's not uncommon for them to "go on lockdown" at MOS school and lose all priviledges because one Marine messed up. It can be a pain in the rear sometimes, but it's just one of those things that comes with the territory.

The rule about whether or not you can get accompanied orders for MOS school based on the length of training is not actual a rule - it's a guideline, and each MOS school gets to make the final determination. Some schools allow accompanied orders, and others don't even if the training is really long. For instance, 29 Palms usually allows it, but Pensacola usually doesn't. It's one of those "Semper Gumby" (always flexible) things that sometimes people get their hopes up about and then end up disappointed. Recruiters like to hype it up, and sometimes it works out and other times it doesn't!

I think the MOS you are looking for is 2171 ELECTRO-OPTICAL ORDNANCE REPAIRER. The course is A0157L1 ELECTRO-OPTICAL ORDNANCE REPAIRER (USMC) at U.S. ARMY ORDNANCE CENTER AND SCHOOL at ABERDEEN PROVING GROUNDS, MD (sorry for the caps - it's a cut and paste). The course is 139 days long.

If he is assigned to one of the other options in the 2100 series, then the courses are around 30-100 days long and could be at a variety of locations!