How to Date a Marine
Once you find a Marine that you like, you may find yourself wondering exactly what life will be like as the significant other of a Marine. Dealing with deployments, training exercises and other service related duties are all situations that you will find yourself in during the relationship.
Once you find a Marine that you like, you may find yourself wondering exactly what life will be like as the significant other of a Marine. Dealing with deployments, training exercises and other service related duties are all situations that you will find yourself in during the relationship. Being prepared for life as a Marine Corps significant other will help to ensure that you are really ready for the relationship.
Step 1
Limit public displays of affection when your Marine is in uniform. Public displays of affection are frowned upon by the Marine Corps according to the Military Spouse magazine article "Do's and Don'ts While in Uniform." While acts such as hugging or holding hands may be permissible at special events, such as graduations from boot camp, you shouldn't expect your Marine to do these acts in public on a consistent basis. It isn't that he doesn't want to do it, it is that he is forbidden from these actions while he is in uniform.
Step 2
Prepare yourself for deployment. Marines are subject to deployment with very little notice. When she is out on a deployment, your Marine may not be able to communicate with you very often. During these times, you must remain faithful to your Marine and have faith that he is doing the same.
Step 3
Follow social media regulations. The Marine Corps expects its members to act like Marines 24 hours a day—even on social media websites. Because of these regulations, your Marine may not be able to "post to your wall" or reply to public messages in certain ways. Everything he posts on social media websites has to defend the Marine Corps and put a positive light on the entire branch.
Step 4
Familiarize yourself with base rules. Rules may vary from base to another, so you must learn the rules at every base you visit with your Marine. For instance, you may not need a dependent ID when you ride with your Marine on some bases, while others may require ID from every passenger with the soldier.
Step 5
Learn Marine lingo. At times it may seem like your Marine is speaking a foreign language, but you can learn some of the language so you can understand some of what she is saying. For example, the "head" is Marine-speak for the bathroom, "bulkhead" is a way of saying wall, and "dog watch" is a watch duty shift that lasts from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Step 6
Know military time. The military operates on a 24-hour clock, with midnight being 0000. The morning hours are noted as 0100, 0200 and so on through noon. Noon is 1200. To determine the military time for afternoon hours, you add 1200 to the civilian time, so 2:00+1200=1400. When speaking times for military time, you always say "hours" after the number, so "1400 hours" means 2 p.m. in civilian time.