Conoley graduated with Bachelor of Arts degree in June of that year and subsequently resigned his reserve commission in order to accept appointment as second lieutenant in the Marines on September 11, 1935.

[2][4] Following his return stateside, Conoley was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and after brief service in San Diego, he was appointed commanding officer of Marine detachment aboard the transport ship USS Henderson in May 1939.

[1][2] After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Conoley was promoted to the rank of captain on December 10, 1941, and appointed 2nd Battalion's Executive officer under famous Lieutenant Colonel Herman H. Hanneken.

While under tremendous fire during an assault by hostile forces, major Conoley, with courageous initiative and skillful leadership, organized a group of Marines and counterattacked a numerically superior unit of Japanese troops who had seized a ridge previously held by one of the companies in his own Battalion.

His heroic conduct, maintained at great personal risk in the face of grave danger, was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

Seventh Marines were subsequently shipped to Australia for rest and refit and he spent next eight months with training and preparations for upcoming New Britain campaign.

[7][2] During October 1943, units of 1st Marine Division were transferred to staging area at Oro Bay, New Guinea to prepare for the amphibious landing, which was scheduled for December 26.

[6][1] Upon his return to the United States and brief leave at home, Conoley was ordered to Infantry Course at the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and graduated in the fall of 1944.

He was then ordered to the Marine Corps Base San Diego under Brigadier General Archie F. Howard and appointed commanding officer of Reclassification and Redistribution Center there.

Men just back from overseas going through the center are given reclassification interviews, assigned to a duty station in the States, furnished new clothing, issued ID cards, paid and are started on furloughs.

Conoley served next three years in this capacity under Major General Ray A. Robinson, before he was ordered in July 1950 to the course at Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

[2][4] He served with the division until May 1956, when he was ordered to the Marine Corps Base Quantico and appointed member of Advance Research Group, which was tasked with the development of the recommendations on how the MAGTF should evolve structurally to meet the challenges of atomic warfare and new technologies such as helicopters and jet aircraft.