The US Military used to just let you "walk out the gates" as you put it and you were done. Now a civilian. The government found that a lot of the servicemen and women had a difficult time adjusting to life after the military. So they started a mandatory program to help you transition from Military to civilian life. I left the Navy just over 4 years ago and had to attend this training. It is a week long course (8hours a day) in which you learn about how your military skills could translate to a civilian job, how to write a resume', how to dress for an interview, and how to act in an interview. What kinds of questions you can expect from potential employers, how to get a job, what your benifits from the military will be (if any) and on and on. The one week time frame may not seem like a lot after spending several years in the military, but it does help those that have become "institutionalized". There are a lot of people that have difficulty with the openness and freedom of thought that is allowed in the civilian sector. Hope this helps answer your question.

The phrase "Once a Marine always a Marine" goes to the mind set that Marines must undergo in order to train an individual to charge a position under heavy fire and very poor odds of a positive outcome. While I will agree that some of these fine men and wormen enter the training "gung ho" they are all trained in the most exhaustive manner possible to ensure only the best make it through. Their training is still the most arduous of the U.S. forces for the basic portion of their training. The always a Marine stems from these ideals and beliefs being "drilled" into them over and over again until they become second nature, and this training stays with them for a lifetime.

While I didn't go through any where near this type of training in the Navy, a lot of the info from "Boot Camp" as well as other schools is still with me today. I am sure Chris and others here on the forums will tell you the same. Some things just stick with you forever.