Soon to be Marine wife looking for advice...?

[LOL]

If you plan on following him around (which I'm sure you are), be prepared to deal with times when you two will be apart. Whether it's for a few hours, a few days, or several months, there will be times. In the AF, I've gotten to know quite a few maintainers, and they have shifts for days, mids (afternoon to late night), and evenings. If he's lucky, his shift won't change, but that's highly unlikely. As enlisted, your daily life changes depending on what the mission requires, and if a jet flies in needing repairs on a Thursday, then your weekend suddenly goes bye-bye. There's no such thing as "just enough" mechanics. Maintainers are an extremely vital piece of the mission, so their schedules can and will fluctuate to meet the mission's needs. I don't know how they operate on the marine side, but I doubt it's much different as far as mechanics are concerned. Given his job, he will probably be prone to more deployments. There's no such thing as a "fair share." I've seen a Technical Sergeant go for 13 years without deploying ONE time, and that was when they finally made her go. But again, that AF; marines may be different about deployments. The minimum time away from home for him would be over 6 months (I think, 9 months? Don't quote me on that, though).

As far as your social life is concerned, if you do make friends, be sure to keep in contact on a site like FB or Twitter, or with Skype. The two of you WILL part, and this will help you two keep the friendship going. You will be moving frequently, but not as often as unmarried enlistees (unless marine rules are completely different, command sponsorship will add years to each tour he has a sponsorship submitted for). On that note, if you have to travel overseas to the next base together, have him start the sponsorship process as soon as possible, and give him a complete paper medical history of yourself beforehand. We were completely unprepared because of an emergency and it was a royal nightmare trying to get through it.

Keep in mind that ANY major life choice that either of you will make will require paperwork. Lots of it. Marriage, children, moving, adopting pets, etc. Do not wait! Turn in any paperwork as soon as possible.

Pets is another good topic. Check with the installation rules for pets in base housing before you adopt or buy a pet. Exotic pets such as birds, snakes, and ferrets I would steer clear of, since they will most likely not allow them unless they are in off-base homes. Exotic in this case would basically mean anything that's not a tradtional pet. There may also be restrictions for certain breeds of dogs. I know that in Japan you cannot have Pits in on-base housing, so that is an example (Pit Bulls are perceived as a "potentially dangerous" breed). If you cannot live without a dog/cat, bear in mind that if you do travel overseas, it can and will be placed in quarantine for a lengthy amount of time.

Jobs for spouses: There is something called enlisted spouse preference in the AF, but the marines may also do that. For each base, a spouse is allowed to apply this preference ONCE total to appear higher up on the list of applicants looking for work. If you use that for a job, but then quit, that's it. No more til the next move. You can still apply for another job on base, but your name will appear lower on the list of applicants than it did before. Realize that they are not obligated to give you work just because you chose to follow your husband and need money(not saying you are). Be prepared to have a lot of free time in the first few months of relocating. You never know what the job market will do.

Customs and courtesies: As a civilian, you are both not bound by any, and are not obligated to receive any special treatment. You are just "Ms. Jane Doe". However...civilians are still expected to honor daily songs (you will find out about that after your first base).

Lastly, the best way to sum up most government processes: hurry up and wait. You'll know what that means when that happens. MEPS is a great example.