Commandant walks back possibility of Marines skipping boot camp
“We haven’t said one way or the other.”
BY JEFF SCHOGOL | PUBLISHED MAY 9, 2022 2:05 PM
NEWS
Marine boot camp
Staff Sergeant Joshua M. Cardona, drill instructor, Receiving Company, Support Battalion, instructs a recruit to respond louder during receiving at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, April 11, 2016. (Marine Corps photo/Sgt. Tyler Viglione.).
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When it was unveiled in November, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger’s Talent Management plan appeared to open the door to the unthinkable: Allowing people to join the Marine Corps without going to boot camp.
While the Marine Corps already allows musicians in the President’s Own band to bypass recruit training, the notion that “exceptionally talented Americans” in technologically advanced fields might be able to likewise skip a foundational Marine Corps tradition to fill critically needed billets was met with much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
The Marines are a fascinating tribe. It is ingrained in Marine Corps culture that unless you have been screamed at by a drill instructor, who maliciously disgorged the contents of your seabag all over the squad bay, then you do not deserve to wear the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor.
But Berger recently told reporters that the idea of allowing civilians to join the Marine Corps at a rank commensurate with their education, experience, and ability would not necessarily include a pass for boot camp.
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“We haven’t said one way or the other,” Berger told reporters during a May 5 roundtable. “We haven’t found the person yet. And when we find the person, we’ll go from there.”

“We haven’t said one way or the other.”
BY JEFF SCHOGOL | PUBLISHED MAY 9, 2022 2:05 PM
When it was unveiled in November, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger’s Talent Management plan appeared to open the door to the unthinkable: Allowing people to join the Marine Corps without going to boot camp.
While the Marine Corps already allows musicians in the President’s Own band to bypass recruit training, the notion that “exceptionally talented Americans” in technologically advanced fields might be able to likewise skip a foundational Marine Corps tradition to fill critically needed billets was met with much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
The Marines are a fascinating tribe. It is ingrained in Marine Corps culture that unless you have been screamed at by a drill instructor, who maliciously disgorged the contents of your seabag all over the squad bay, then you do not deserve to wear the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor.
But Berger recently told reporters that the idea of allowing civilians to join the Marine Corps at a rank commensurate with their education, experience, and ability would not necessarily include a pass for boot camp.
“We haven’t said one way or the other,” Berger told reporters during a May 5 roundtable. “We haven’t found the person yet. And when we find the person, we’ll go from there.”
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/marines-walk-back-recruits-skipping-boot-camp/