One year after Jill Duggar Dillard confirmed that her husband, Derick, had left his job as a prosecuting attorney/assistant district attorney in Oklahoma to take a “sabbatical period,” the former Counting On stars have announced Derick’s next career move.
In a post to their website on Thursday, Jill and Derick revealed that Derick has joined the Marine Corps. and will be shipping out to Quantico, Virginia, soon to attend Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (OCS).
In a photo posted to social media, Derick is shown being sworn in as his three sons watch. (He was sworn in wearing a T-shirt, jeans and socks, natch.)
View this post on Instagram
“Lord willing he will commission as an officer at the end of OCS and then go on to a couple of other trainings before getting his assignment as a Marine Corps JAG officer!” the Dillards wrote.
According to the Marines Corps website, a candidate’s “mind, body, and character are put to the test to evaluate your capabilities as both a fighter and an officer. No candidate at OCS will earn the officer commission they seek without demonstrating they can meet the standard found in our motto, Ductus Exemplo, Latin for ‘Lead by example.'”
Jill and Derick wrote that Derick has wanted to become a military JAG officer for a long time. (In case you’re wondering what that is, a JAG— or Judge Advocate General– is “a commissioned officer and qualified attorney who provides legal services, advice, and counsel to Marine Corps commands and personnel.”)
The Dillards revealed that Derick was recruited last year for OCS.
“[He] received a recruiting letter last year from the Marine Corps, but the timing just wasn’t right for our family, and then by the time we were ready, we weren’t sure the opportunity would still be available,” they wrote. “After starting the process in early March, we have been surprised how quickly things have come together and the doors that have continued to open, so much so that we can’t deny God is leading us in this direction.”
After Derick’s 10 weeks of training at OCS, Jill and their three sons will move to Virginia to join him, and later Rhode Island for his additional training.
“We’d appreciate your prayers for health and strength for Derick as he prepares for and trains at OCS, and for the rest of us as we survive without him for a bit and prepare for new family transitions!” they added.
Jill stated in the comments of her post on Instagram that “Derick will commission as a Second Lieutenant upon completion of OCS. Then it would be off to The Basic School, then Naval Justice School.”
As The Ashley previously reported, Derick graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in 2021 and was sworn in as a licensed lawyer in both Arkansas and Oklahoma the following year, which is also when he became an assistant district attorney. Before that, he and Jill worked as missionaries in El Salvador, and before that Derick worked as an accountant for Walmart.
Derick is the first member (or member adjacent) of the Duggar Family to serve in the military.
None of Jill’s family have commented on Jill and Derick’s post.
RELATED STORY: Jinger Duggar’s Husband Jeremy Vuolo Says Joe Duggar’s Arrest Has Made Him Hug His Kids Tighter & Try to Be a Better Father
(Photos: Instagram; TLC)
22 Responses
Get ready – Rhode Island is EXPENSIVE. But it’s beautiful, and small – I think your boys will love it.
I will hope for the best for them, and hopefully he started conditioning early, but it will be a culture shock. I just dont want to wish ill on him for shooting his shot, literally, and hopefully on target.
I mean hes not gonna be going for sniper school or anything like that.
Sigh reply fail, to bottom comment by Smartipants.
Ok my nap time, bad day.
Im gonna say ge wants to go into politics, and wants to be able to say he’s a veteran. They just raised the ages you can enroll, and sounds like he’s taking advantage of that.
Come from multigen fam, do their family have any experience?
I’ve been in the military for 20 years ive never seen an enlistment done without an American flag present and the officer administering the oath not in uniform. I jave lost of questions 😆
Nothing wrong with this. He’s proactive with work and providing. Hope they’re a happy family.
Did…not have all this Duggar news on my bingo card this year.
Well, maybe what will come of it is Jill and Derrick actually experiencing the world and having more empathy since they’ll be out of the headships orbit for sure.
Well, if Jill could not cope with her husband being away for a normal workday, how is she going to deal with him being gone for ten weeks? He won’t be available for her to speak with, let alone to rush home when she has a difficult day with three kids.
I just don’t think this is going to work for them, unless she gets another available adult to help her.
This. I don’t want to be negative, but being in the military is demanding (I spent 11 years in the Army). Being a spouse of a military member is lonely, and they are often essentially single parents. Jill had Derrick quit his (civilian) job as an attorney because he had long hours and a long commute.
When you’re in the military, you are at your command’s beck and call 24/7. Almost every day, I was contacted my someone in my unit needing me to do something – whether it was 7pm and I was already home, or it was the weekend and I was “off”. Even when you are on vacation/leave, you will be contacted.
The Dillards seem to enjoy their peace and boundaries. They will have NONE of that in the Marine Corps. It’s the most demanding branch of the military. I don’t think either of them will be able to handle it, and I don’t mean that in a snarky way. Derrick is my age. I think he will have a great deal of difficulty with the physical and mental aspects of basic training and OCS. Plus, he’s got an ego and likes to talk back. The people who did well in boot camp were the recruits who were quiet and hardly noticed by the drill sergeants.
While I’m happy that they have made healthy strides to better themselves and distance themselves from Jill’s dad and some of the more toxic members of her family, I really don’t think this will go well for them. I hope I’m wrong, but this is going to be very taxing on Jill’s mental health, especially with three kids.
MarineOCS at his age should be something.
Have family that was in Marines, Army, Navy, and that one air force aunt.
Army Navy day was HUUUGE.
But yeah, if she has a hard time with him working civilian job this is gonna be a culture shock. Depending on his goals, she may need to be involved.
A Duggar separation that was due to a different kind of justice system. How refreshing.
And it’s OCS, not OSC. Thrice in one article is a bit much.
Why are people downvoting this comment? 😂 Yeah it’s “Officer Candidate School”.
Thank you! I cringed at OSC!!! Anyone military adjacent knows its Officer Candidate School – OCS. Dad attended in 1970 after the Marine Corp allowed black officers in the late 60’s and after his 2 tours in Vietnam.
Sorry, just a typo! It’s been fixed. -the ashley
Well at least he has 2 careers and wants to do something with his life besides flipping poorly remodeled houses
Or touching kids inappropriately.
True, I just don’t think it’s going to work out for them. The military is very demanding and Jill will essentially be a single parent. I have been both active duty and a reservist. You have no privacy, your body is not your own, and you are on call 24/7.