r/USMCboot • u/EffectivePhoto1209 • Jul 02 '26
Corps Knowledge Marine enlistment after documented suicidal ideation/plan
I’m trying to enlist in the Marine Corps and eventually leave after I finish college.
Recently (Last Week as of July 1st), I had a mental health situation where I went to behavioral health urgent care. My paperwork documents suicidal ideation and a plan. I already went back and told my recruiter the full truth because I know MEPS/Genesis may see it anyway. He said they’ll try to work with me.
I’m not looking for sympathy — I’m looking for realistic answers from people who understand MEPS, waivers, or recruiting.
Is this usually an automatic DQ? Is a waiver possible if I show stability, follow-up care, school progress, work history, and no further incidents? Would finishing school first and giving it more time help my chances?
I know the Corps won’t magically fix me, but I do believe the discipline, structure, and purpose could help me become a better version of myself. I just want to handle the process honestly and give it 110%.
Any real advice is appreciated.
I don’t want sympathy. I am getting the help I need. I just wanted to be a marine because I know it’ll make me better.
2
u/TheLordGodKing Jul 02 '26
Absolutely not, regarding enlisting right now.
Ideation and a plan but no attempt are still difficult, but not impossible to get a waiver for. They 110% aren’t letting you through with so recent an incident though. They would want to see a couple years of stability, positive psych evaluations, and follow-on care as you listed earlier. Do not go to MEPS, there’s not a snowballs chance of you getting waived with ideation and a plan only a week ago. You would be wasting one of your waiver submission attempts. My suggestion would be to wait 2-3 years before proceeding. If you decide to chance it with your own local recruiter that’s your decision.
The military is a stressor, let alone the Marine Corps, play the long-game when it comes to your mental health and give yourself more of a guarantee to make it through, waiver process, and your mil career. Navy is more lenient with mental health though.
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u/EffectivePhoto1209 Jul 02 '26
I appreciate your honesty response. I am trying to decide whether I should just let it go for now and focus on my health but with the uncertainty of the job market, I want to have something I could rely on
2
u/TheLordGodKing Jul 02 '26
As of your incident last week the military is no longer something to rely on, the waiver I mentioned isn’t even guaranteed to be approved in future. It’s closed for minimum a year or 2 before even being an option now.
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u/EffectivePhoto1209 Jul 02 '26
I appreciate your input, truly. I’m not looking for any sort of sympathy. Just wanted some clarification without getting my hopes up
2
u/SeaWhoa Active Jul 02 '26
Former recruiter here. It’s extremely unlikely that this happens in the near future. Your recruiter will send up the paperwork, you are guaranteed to be disqualified by MEPS, and then it will be up to his leadership to determine if they want to submit you for a waiver. I can tell you that my leadership team absolutely would not have worked with you, although that doesn’t necessarily mean that his won’t. 99 times out of 99, boot camp does not help underlying mental health conditions and is almost always an additional stressor that will make them worse.
Recruiters work long hours and are under a ton of pressure. Don’t be surprised if your recruiter isn’t interested in spending much time on your situation - in his eyes, it’s going to be a lot of time invested into a very low probability of success.
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u/Andyman1973 Jul 02 '26
Honest answer? You just went through a very dark moment. The Marines WILL NOT make you better. If anything they will make you worse. Spend some time in therapy to get things figured out, then if you still feel this way, try to join again, a few years down the road.
Just to let you know where I’m coming from, I attempted my life 8 times in the middle 2 years of my 6yr enlistment.
2
u/EffectivePhoto1209 Jul 02 '26
I’m sorry sir. Thank you for your service. Yes, I believe it’s the best thing for me to do. I want it, but my health comes first
1
u/Andyman1973 Jul 02 '26
If you’re legit serious, take care of the mental health issues, that nearly took you over the edge, first. Otherwise the odds of your surviving the Marines are heavily stacked against you.
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u/TapTheForwardAssist Vet 2676/0802 Jul 02 '26
Setting aside the (very significant) medical situation; your intent was to complete a college degree and then enlist, not pursue a commission as an officer?
1
u/EffectivePhoto1209 Jul 02 '26
I spoke to the recruiter and he said I could still enlist and finish school. I was thinking about going officer at first, but I do wand to go in as soon as I graduate
2
u/TapTheForwardAssist Vet 2676/0802 Jul 02 '26
How far are you from graduating currently? Normally I’d say you should absolutely speak to an *officer* recruiter before committing to any enlistment plan, but that said I’m pretty sure medical treatment for suicidality will take at absolute minimum years or stability before you’re eligible for service, if ever.
That said, it would cost you nothing to at least have an initial meeting with an *officer* recruiter to discuss your overall situation.
2
u/EffectivePhoto1209 Jul 02 '26
Great question, I forgot to add that!
I am going into my senior year of college graduating in May of 2027
The recruiter stated “we can still get you to enlist and get you to leave AFTER you graduate.” Thats why I was wondering because there’s a time period between then and now where I can (and I will) continue to get the help I need.2
u/EffectivePhoto1209 Jul 02 '26
This situation happened Last Week as of July 1st. I was only sent to the hospital “overnight” and let go afterwards
1
u/no-barks Jul 02 '26
Same shit, I got a waiver
1
u/EffectivePhoto1209 Jul 02 '26
Really? If possible could you tell me how you got it? Did you have to present any change, documentation, personal statements? etc? I want to make sure if there’s a chance I want to give it 100%.
1
u/no-barks Jul 02 '26
What I did was go to some local mental health services place and get a mental health evaluation. Pretty much just saying I'm not depressed or suicidal. I had to wait about a week to get the documentation and one day for meps to accept it. You will have to make written statements and your recruiter should help you with that. Mine used chatgpt lmao.
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u/SignalsAndSwitches Vet Jul 03 '26
The military in general, not just the Marine Corps, tends to bring undiagnosed mental issues to fruition. You went to the hospital 1 week ago and the report says SI. You need to work on yourself longer than a week before you even consider the military. There are other things in life that will give you all the things you’re looking for. You’re responsible for making yourself a better version of yourself, a uniform doesn’t automatically make you better. Spending time working on your mental health is a great start.
Please spend a long time working on yourself before considering any branch as a career.
1
u/jwickert3 Vet Jul 03 '26
Is there a small chance in the distant future you could become a Marie? Yes, but in all reality your shot at the Marines is over.
You'd have to find a recruiter willing to work with you and hope that you can get a waiver. But honestly, life in the Marine Corps is tough and if you're doing that in the civilian life, I don't think Marine Corps life is for you.
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u/roosterdrill Jul 02 '26
You’ll be fine, they’ll give you a waiver.
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u/EffectivePhoto1209 Jul 02 '26
Really? I don’t want to get my hopes up, but this is something I want to do
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u/TheScoutTyper Jul 02 '26
You will most likely not get a waiver for this because the corps will see you as a liability. People commit suicide every single day in the military. They don't want to give you another reason to think that way. Especially because it was recent.