VeeshanVault

Well on Friday I was sworn in and I have a ship date of May 12th, but I still have a week to pick an MOS. I was hoping one of you (or anyone from another branch of the service) could give me a little bit of advice on what to pick.

Right now half of me wants to go infantry, but the other half wants to do something a little more practical because I know infantry will get real old real fast. I'm thinking of going for Intelligence or MAGTF Planning Specialist if I decide not to go infantry. I can pick pretty much anything I want because of my testing scores, except I'm classified as colorblind (which was news to me). I haven't completed college yet so I'm going to be an enlisted man if that helps any.

Any kind of advice you guys can give on MOS's or the Corps in general is much appreciated.

Ex-Army here, but for what it's worth...

For how long did you enlist? If you're just doing a relatively short enlistment for college money, go for a combat arms job (infantry, armor, artillery, etc). If you're committed to several years, then choose something with some practical, real-world benefits: signal corps (whatever jar heads call that), intel analyst , linguist, mechanic etc - whatever interests you.

When I enlisted, I was just going in for a few years to get college money to ease the burden on my parents. My preferences at the time were (in order): infantry, cavalry scout, armor crewman. Ultimately I ended up an armor crewman because there was an 8 to 14 month wait for infantry and cav. scout, but I could go in right away as armor or artillery crew. The recruiters were all over my ass to choose an intel job because of my GT score, but I wouldn't go for the longer service commitment (as much as 7 years including school for some MOSs).

I loved my time in the Army, and wouldn't trade those years for anything. I spent my entire enlistment in Germany and travelled every chance I got. Make the most of it and good luck!

sucker.Infantry is all fine and dandy. But it fucks up your body a lot, be one of the main ones who die the most *read Iraq*. If you like the idea of going to a conflict at all, and like the thought of being shot at. Go for it.

Other than that, pick something else. Be a gas pumper, or whatever. You will get shit jobs, maybe pick one that will have a influance in training for the outside world. Infantry is not the way to go.


I myself am going on 7 years in the Infantry. I enjoyed my first year, the rest sucked monkey dick.

Woooot! Took you long enough Brotha!

/pharm

If you can get into intel by all means do so. Intel gear maintenance specifically. It's fun while you're in, you're less likely to get shot at, and very good job oppourtunities after you get out. You'll be able to build a resume that would take someone with a "degree required" regular job 15 years to do. Great bunch of folks to boot.

Don't be a ground pounder if you can avoid it, though other than the being shot at part, everyone I knew liked it.

Shoot for something in aviation as a second choice. Mechanical or electronic calibration\repair are both good while you're in and after you get out as well. That's what I did for my first 12 years in.

Many choose a service you can use/make money on after military! Fireman for example!

JARHEAD!
I was in the Army for lil over 5 years. I loved it originally went in as Medic in the guard. Then reserve LPN then Active til i fucked up my knee oh well have fun.

Kwonryu DragonFist wrote:Many choose a service you can use/make money on after military! Fireman for example!

I don't know about Sweden, but firemen in the US don't get paid a whole lot as I recall

Heheheheh Jarhead.

Airforce here. Yeah we may not be physical but we are smart enough to watch the war from TV. I suggest being a Cook. Those skills carry on to all kinds of fast food establishments after your tour is up.

Honestly though, think of your future beyond the Marines and what will help you most. Marines are some tough bastages who know more ways to kill than I know how to die. Good Luck to you.

Which MCRD are you heading to?...

Parris Island or San Diego?..

I can tell you from experience that what you "pick" during the enlistment process etc doesn't necessarily mean anything. During your first week at boot camp you will have to take the ASVABs again... usually after being semi awake for 72 hours.

Ulltimately the needs of the corps will dictate what MOS you are placed in regardless of the choice you made.

Oh and one other thing... If you had hair prior to heading to boot camp make sure that you pick up sunscreen on your first trip to the BX... 2nd degree burns on the tops of your ears sucks... bad. Not only do you have to deal with the pain you will get chewed out for not taking care of yourself too.

Just to let you know, there is no such thing as an “ex-Marine”. We prefer to be called former Marines. Once a Marine, always a Marine.

Infantry can be a rough life. If you aren’t on some deployment, like Iraq, then you will spend a lot of time in the field. Some people I knew liked it at least initially, most say it gets old after several years. As Raistin mentioned, Infantry is rough on the body, especially the knees.

Also mentioned above, if you plan on doing just one enlistment, then choose an MOS that directly correlates with a civilian job. Trust me from experience, there just aren’t very many things a Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Specialist can do in the civilian world.

Listen to Daerib about the MOS that a recruiter “guarantees” you, LOL. If you read the fine print, you are guaranteed a package that is comprised of several MOS’ with one selected as preferred. If your preferred MOS has already met it’s T.O. Corps wide, you won’t get it. One way to tell is to ask about enlistment bonuses. If a bonus is offered for enlistment in an MOS, then the Corps needs people in that MOS and you will most likely get that MOS if it is your preferred choice.

Aabidano mentioned aviation as a possibility. There are three main “types” of Marines. Grunts, support, and the wing.

The wing, or aviation, is definitely the most relaxed and laid-back of the three. Plus, the right MOS in aviation can make it very easy to get a decent paying civilian job if you decide not to re-enlist.

Support type jobs, like the MAGTF specialist job you mentioned, would usually be a little more strict. Also to note, the wing units and the grunt units both have support people. You could have an opportunity to be in all three types of units if you have a support MOS.

Grunts, or Infantry, are more like what you see on A Few Good Men, hard core Marines. I once served with a platoon of 03’s (grunts) on a training team. We spent about two thirds of our time in garrison, the other third in the field. They told me that assignment was the LEAST amount of time they had ever spent in the field.

And finally, one little piece of advice about boot camp. Tell your girlfriend/fiancé/wife to NOT send any letters with lipstick and/or perfume, ROFL.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions. I am in contact with several retired Marines on a weekly basis. I’m sure between all of us, we could get you a sufficient answer.

Semper Fi

Air wing marines = sailors in disguise

They were a shock after working with marine security folks for 8 years...

Raistin wrote:sucker.Infantry is all fine and dandy. But it fucks up your body a lot, be one of the main ones who die the most *read Iraq*. If you like the idea of going to a conflict at all, and like the thought of being shot at. Go for it.

Other than that, pick something else. Be a gas pumper, or whatever. You will get shit jobs, maybe pick one that will have a influance in training for the outside world. Infantry is not the way to go.


I myself am going on 7 years in the Infantry. I enjoyed my first year, the rest sucked monkey dick.

h8r...

good luck to you Brotha, hope it is a valuable experience for you =)

I hear the shores of Tripoli are a nice place to be stationed.

cool maybe bush will get re-elected and you will get to murder some brownies

Why do marines have such pretty uniforms?












The army liks their Bellhops to look good
/em dives for cover

Kooky wrote:cool maybe bush will get re-elected and you will get to murder some brownies

or blackies or whities or redies. the color doesnt matter. the important thing is you get to murder someone.

Blood makes the grass grow! Kill, kill, kill!!

well all that eagerness certainly explains why you wind up shooting each other more often than the enemy. well enemy isn't really the proper word since most of the time they haven't really done anything to warrant getting invaded.

Someone sent me super secret infoz that said Atokal likes to eat brownies....that once they graduated to girl scouts that they were spoiled.

Thanks for all the replies .

To answer some of the questions: I'll be going to bootcamp in San Diego an I've enlisted for four years. I'm going to see my recruiter later today or tomorrow and see if he can get me a spot in intelligence, as that seems the best bet right now.

Kyoukan, maybe if Bush gets re-elected he'll give us a chance to liberate Canada. Politically it would be a smart move- short, low casuality wars usually are good for a president's popularity ratings, and god knows Canada would make the resistance in Iraq look like Stalingrad.

I was a Navy Hospital Corpsman.

Always remember you will pay taxes, you will get sick and you will die someday.

Keep that in mind when choosing your career :)

Intellegence would be a good start. Perhaps you should also look in to Linguist. I understand if you are given a 'good' language to learn and do it well there are many business opprotunities in the civilian sector with overseas corperations.

Example: Learn Japanese. LOTS of money to be had in Japan as a English/Japanese translator (froim what I understand).

Example: Learn Hindu. You could get a job talking to shit farmers in the middle of the desert in India trying to obtain information on why they like gay sex and finding out how many cows they ate last year.

Just a thought for ya.

Diae Soulmender wrote:LOTS of money to be had in Japan as a English/Japanese translator

My cousin finished off his doctorate doing that on the side to pay the bills. He made fairly good money, even in the 20-30 hours a week he usuallly worked.

Anglo japanese translators are fairly hard to come by from what he said.

Aabidano wrote:Air wing marines = sailors in disguise

They were a shock after working with marine security folks for 8 years...

Aabi was VERY popular with the sailors, if you know what I mean, and I think you do!

MOS Help and a joke or two

I would strongly recommend avoiding the "Grunt" life. You will go to sea on "Gator Freighters" for at least 6 months at a time. Rotations are damn tough. If it were me, and its not, self preservation comes to mind early and often.

That said. Marine Corps Avaition brother. If you want a skill that you can use once you get out, work with jets. IE Avionics Tech or Jet Engine Mech, Air Framer. Yeah you don't run around shooting people, but your ass isn't decked out in full MOPP gear sweating your ass off either. You will most likely be on a boat working on helos or if your lucky fixed wing aircraft. Nothing wrong with serving your country, no matter where you serve.

Me? I was an enlisted sailor 10 years turning wrenches on F-14s. I bombed the shit out of many countries and did everything from Gulf War 1, Somalia, Haiti, Servia/Yugoslovia (General Clark, you are still a fucking prick) and just about every other MOOTWA from 1991 until 1996. I then got smart, got a degree and now fly around in AWACS for the Air Force Its a lot of fun. With that I will leave you with 3 jokes:

1) MARINE stands for
My
Ass
Rides
In
Navy
Equipment

2) Marines... Every sailor has 2 on call!

3) An Army troop has to hump 5 miles in the rain: "Man, this is shit."
A Navy SEAL does a HALO jump from 35k, swims 5 miles to shore, ingresses 10 miles, blows up a bridge, egresses and is picked up by a mini sub: "Man, this is some GOOD SHIT!"
A Marine has to hump 12 miles in the rain, set up an ambush, exicute the ambush, and have the Army unit get credit for it to save face: "Man, I just love that shit."
A young airmain in the Air Force is in an Air Conditioned office in Iraq, carpeted floor, decent chow hall, and a satillite TV with full porn capability when the remote won't work and he has to switch channels manually: "Man, what kind of shit is this?!"

Thank you bro for serving the BEST country out there, its an honor to serve with you.

/salute
"Rage"

PS Have fun on Mt Motherfucker

Have fun, don't forget to die for us.