NAVY-Should we get married before or after boot camp?

The question

Hi, my fiance and I want to get married before he leaves for boot camp in April of next year. His recruiter has made it sound like we should wait until after he is done with boot camp and get married at the courthouse in Chicago. But, we have 6 months to plot everything out and we would just like to get it all taken care of now. We have been together for four years, and we know this is what we want, we just want to make sure we do it right. Soo, the recruiters reasoning behind waiting was that if I have any debt it could possibly cause problems for him and his top secret clearance. But, I have no delinquent debt, I have a total of maybe $ 2,000 in debt but thats a combo of 2 credit cards that I am in the process of making payments on now. I have no debt thats been sent to collections. I do have some student loans, but I won’t even have to start making payments on them until 2013. Also I reckon the recruiter mentioned something about a background check, and I have absolutely no record…never even had a ticket. So, my question is does anyone out there with experience in this reckon we should wait until after he finishes bootcamp? Or do you reckon we should be fine to go ahead and get married before he goes??

Thanks a lot!!

Best answers:

Wait until he finishes boot camp AND AIT. In fact you should probably wait until he has his first extended leave after AIT.

Not getting married before Boot Camp would cost you and yours a hunk of change, the real meat and potatoes of getting a security clearance will not be started until after he finishes Boot Camp, as the Navy is not interested in spending money on a Background Investigation on someone and have him not last three weeks;

imho, the Recruiter wants to avoid filling out extra paperwork and is giving you ad hoc excuses.

The recruiter wants you to wait because if your boyfriend buys a dependent (you), he will have to place in for a waiver. The Navy requires a waiver for any dependents. That waiver may or may not be granted. If it is not granted he will be DEP discharged, then no Navy. Waivers are hard to come by right now and the recruiter is trying to keep your boyfriend from crushing his dreams of being in the Navy. Well, that and you could ruin his chances at his required clearance.

DONT GET MARRIED it only leads to distress

Marriage is the leading cause of divorce

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Comments

Sergio says:

November 26, 2011 at 10:01 pm

Just wait – adding more variables to the mix will complicate things for him.

Stay in touch – visit him in AIT when you can – but let things go smooth.

Adding a dependant before basic is more paperwork and if they said it might effect his clearance – its possible – why risk it?

You like him – he likes you – just give it time. Anyone who says get married for the BAH is crazy….yes its nice, but I dont reckon its worth the hassles or complications it brings at this point in his young career.

Its not that long – it wont be simple but visits will help and so does video chat =)

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oneiloilokano says:

November 26, 2011 at 10:12 pm

If you want to get married before basic it’s not going to cause your fiance any problems. The only time a dependency waiver is required is if the applicant has more than 2 dependants. It will not affect his security clearance at all !

The advantage of him enlisting married is the navy will pay for the go to his first duty station and you will be covered under his medical insurance (tricare). He wil also collect a housing allowance which you can bank until you meet him at his first duty station.

You won’t be able to visit him in basic and he will call once a week on sunday. You can see him at graduation. You will not be able to go to where he goes to his class A school. But you will be able to visit on weekends if it’s practical/affordable.

Once he checks in to his first duty station the two of you can choose if you want on base housing or go and rent a place out in town.

Excellent luck.

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