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I lived through the forced draw down during Graham-Rudman 1985/86. I left the Corps and went to work for Lockheed, eventually (after a nearly four years hiatus) went back to the Marine Corps Reserves. In 1993 the Corps courtesy of Clinton started going through a drawn down just like Graham-Rudman but this time it also impacted the Reserves. I was in a leadership role and read the message traffic, I saw the writing on the wall. My MOS was frozen for promotion and they cut the HYT (High Year Tenure) by two years over night. I had two cycles to get promoted in a field that had been frozen for at least one of those cycles and I was not even in the Zone yet. I had two options roll the dice and ride out the Corps budget cuts hoping for a promotion or a waiver, option two was an inter-service transfer. I went to each branch of the reserves and the Army and Navy offered me a position. Army meant a losing a rank but it was a safe position to ride out the budget cuts. As a NAVVET (Marine) the Navy let me keep my rank, gave me a six year enlistment which ensured I could retire, but, I had to accept an admin billet outside aviation. Wisely, I chose the Admin Billet. My WASP work ethic and Marine Corps discipline served me well in the Navy. They say God takes care of fools and children, well ironically the Aviation billet the Navy was considering me for originally saw personnel cuts and promotions frozen as they moved some aircraft out of the Reserves. As a YNC I was brought on active duty for the war and kept there until I retired on a full active duty retirement. It was still always a battle to remain in uniform because of HYT. I tell young Marines in the end, despite the rhetoric, they are really nothing but a line number to the Corps. Before you get out and go Reserve act like a free agent and talk to the other services you may be surprised at what they offer you.