Welcome to "What's After Boot™", a community for parents, spouses, and family members of newly graduated Marines. This program of MarineParents.com will help answer some of the questions you and/or your new Marine may have about what to expect after boot camp.

Before your new Marine can be assigned to a "Permanent Duty Station", s/he must complete additional training. After graduation from Recruit Training, all Marines will complete at least two additional types of training and schooling:

• SOI: School of Infantry
  This is step one after boot camp. All Marines, male and female, will attend the School of Infantry. Those who graduated from MCRD Parris Island will attend SOI/East. Those who graduated from MCRD San Diego will attend SOI/West.

• MOS: Military Occupational Specialty
  After graduation from SOI, your Marine will go on to training for his/her Military Occupational Specialty, or MOS. Each MOS will entail different lengths of schooling, requirements for graduation, and locations.

PDS: Permanent Duty Station
Your Marine will NOT be assigned to a PDS until after he or she has successfully completed both SOI and MOS. After all the schooling is complete, your Marine will be assigned to a "Unit" which will have a "PDS", or permanent duty station. Until that time, your Marine needs to travel light and only take necessities with him/her from one training location to another. Storage is minimal, particularly at SOI where Marines continue to live in squad bays. Valuables should not be taken with them to SOI.