09/04/2026
Eight Good Reasons to Get Out…or Maybe Not?
The Museum recently acquired a large collection of Marine Corps recruiting posters dating from the 1970s and 1980s. The artifacts provide colorful insight into how the Corps approached career planning and retention.
One of the more humorous posters was created by legendary illustrator and cartoonist Jack Davis, best known for his long-running work with Mad Magazine. Before making generations of readers laugh, Davis served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, where he put his artistic talents to work creating cartoons for The Navy News.
Around 1975, Davis brought his signature cartoon style to the Marine Corps with a recruiting/re-enlistment poster titled “8 Good Reasons to Get Out.” Yes, you read that correctly. The poster presents eight very convincing reasons a Marine might want to leave the Corps:
💼 “Get a better job”�
🫡 “Nobody to give you orders”
�🙋 “Be an individual again”
�💰 “Earn big money”�
😴 “More sack time”�
💃 “Improve your social life”
�💇 “Let your hair grow”�
🛣️ “Hit the road”
Sounds pretty good, right? Well…there’s a catch –And the cartoons show it!
The final cartoon panel shows our Marine back in civilian clothes—and apparently back at the recruiter’s office. The message? Before you trade your Eagle, Globe, and Anchor for civilian life, have a conversation with your Career Planner first.
It’s a great example of how the Marine Corps used humor to tackle a serious issue: retention. And with the talented Jack Davis behind the artwork, the message was hard to miss.
Nearly 50 years later, this poster still manages to make us laugh—and reminds us that some things never change. Marines may dream about getting out… but sometimes they just need a little career counseling first.
