How does a Marine get selected for Marine Corps Recruiting Duty?

Article by Christina

Marine recruiting duty is not for everyone, but in the Marine Corps career Marines are expected to complete a job outside of their Military Occupational Specialty or MOS. This position is referred to as a B billet and includes Recruiting Duty, Embassy Duty, Drill Instructor Duty, Military Combat Training Instructor, and similar positions. There is a team within the United States Marine Corps called the HQMC Recruiting Screening Team or HRST. The HRST team’s responsibility is to screen applicants in the Marine Corps and determine if they are basically qualified for Recruiting Duty.

There is no way of knowing if your name will show up on the HRST list or not until it is there. Once a year the team travels to every command in the Marine Corps. If your name shows up on the list for that year you are required to attend the screening process. You must also complete a screening packet that lists information about yourself, your medical history, your family and their medical history, and your financial assets and debts.

The screening consists of having your Service Record Book screened for any punitive punishments or awards. They look to see what problems you may have had in your career as well as what assignments you were on. They are looking to see if you can handle yourself on an independent duty assignment away from a military installation.

Next you and your family must be screened medically for Marine recruiting. Any chronic conditions or mental health diseases should be noted as many duty stations are out of range of a military treatment facility. Any condition that requires frequent doctors’ visits or medications has the potential to be disqualifying as it could cause an undue financial burden on the family. However disqualifying medical conditions regarding the service member can hinder advancement in his military career.

Your financial assets and debt will need to be assessed as with any independent duty station. You should not have excessive money owed or live outside of your budget. There have been reports of individuals who purposely attained a high debt to income ratio to avoid Marine Recruiting Duty. Those individuals where punished and sent to Recruiters School anyway.

When all the paperwork has been cleared the Marine will interview with a member of the HRST team. The interview is used to decide how a Marine speaks and expresses him or herself. The team member will make a determination. If the person is qualified for Marine Recruiting, a class date will set and orders will be issued.

Some individuals try to avoid being selected for Marine Corps Recruiting Duty. This can actually be detrimental to their career. Being disqualified for Recruiting duty can also disqualify a Marine from other assignments. This in turn can result in the inability to reenlist after the current contract expires.

Recruiting duty also supersedes other assignments. This means that even if a Marine has a package in for another B billet he may still be given orders to become a Recruiter. Marines who were scheduled to deploy have also had their orders canceled for them to attend school.

Marine Recruiting duty is not an easy assignment but it is only temporary. For individuals who do not wish to become a Recruiter it is best to submit an application for a different B billet before you show up on the HRST list. You can talk to your career planner for more information regarding becoming a drill instructor, Combat instructor, or other position.

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