Jill Duggar and her husband, Derick Dillard, are leaving Arkansas.
“Derick has joined the Marine Corps! He has been selected for Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (OCS),” Duggar, 34, wrote via her family’s blog on Thursday, April 9, noting Dillard, 37, “ships out for active duty” to Virginia later this month. “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.”
According to Duggar, her husband has wanted to become a military JAG officer “for a long time.”
“He even received a recruiting letter last year from the Marine Corps, but the timing just wasn’t right for our family,” the Counting On alum wrote in her blog entry. “Then, by the time we were ready, we weren’t sure the opportunity would still be available.”
She continued, “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.”
Prior to his military opportunity, Dillard worked as an Assistant District Attorney with the State of Oklahoma, District 27 from 2022 to 2025 before assuming a new position as an attorney at law for what appeared to be his own law firm, Dillard Law.
“Derick Dillard is a practicing attorney, licensed in Arkansas and Oklahoma,” his LinkedIn bio reads.
Duggar married Dillard in 2014 before they settled down in their families’ native Arkansas. The pair, who share three sons, briefly lived in Central America when their eldest son Israel was an infant to serve a volunteer mission. They moved back to Arkansas in 2017.
Duggar and the couple’s kids now plan to follow Dillard to the East Coast amid his military training.
“After Derick’s 10 weeks of intense training at OCS, Jill and the kids will move to join him in Virginia, and then Rhode Island for the remainder of his training,” the blog post concluded. “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.”
Jill is one of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s 19 children, growing up on their Arkansas compound. Most of her adult siblings have stayed close to home except for Jana Duggar, Jinger Duggar and Justin Duggar who’ve settled in the respective states of Nebraska, California and Texas with their spouses and children.
The Duggars have been through a trying time since late last month after Jill’s brother Joseph Duggar was arrested for alleged child molestation. Joseph, 31, pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on bond, while Jill condemned the incident.
“We were shocked yesterday evening to learn of Jill’s brother [Joseph Duggar’s] arrest,” Jill and Dillard wrote in a joint March 19 statement. “We first learned of anything related to his charges yesterday via a text from a friend who messaged us about the recent media reports of Joseph’s arrest and his alleged confession to molesting a juvenile female in 2020. We are shocked and heartbroken.”
They added, “We strongly condemn abuse. We support the rule of law and hope that justice will be achieved. Our hearts go out to the innocent juvenile victim of this unspeakable crime and her family. We pray God gives her strength, comfort and hope, and that she is able to get all the help and support she needs and deserves in the days ahead.”
Jill and Dillard further offered support to Joseph’s wife, Kendra Duggar, and the couple’s four children. Kendra, 27, was later arrested for alleged child endangerment but released on bond within hours.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
