Marine Officer?

[justchaz]

As was obvious from my post, I am an "OORAH!", gung ho Marine.

You sure are, motivator.

To the thread starter - if you join the Marine Corps for the sole purpose of being selfish, you're going to be surely disappointed. You won't get out of it what you would if you went in with a different attitude, namely, to be a part of something bigger than yourself. If a little eighteen year old butter bar came into my shop reaking of selfishness and careerism, he'd be chewed up and spit out very quickly. Not to mention the fact that the other O's would stomp his d*ck as well.

Now, with that being said, the benefits of serving in the U.S. military are great. Had it not been for CNN, FoxNews, etc., I would never have known the economy took a crap. All of these DANTES tests - yeah, they're free. We all know the benefits.

On top of these, however, come the benefits of being a Marine. Those are things that you will not be able to put on a resume. They are those intangible substances that only other Marines know about for sure - others can only speculate and assume. Not to say that the other armed services do not have these things, I just haven't seen it in them personally.

Pursuing candidacy for a commissioning in the armed services would be a good deal for you. However, for the reasons that you state, the attitude that is portrayed in your posts seem inconsistent with the values of the Marine Corps. Talk of "resume builder", "40k a year", "not many people can say... at 21 or 22" will make your life excruciatingly hard in the Corps, whether you actually say it or just think it.

Let's speak of perspective. If your future employer is a retired Army/Air Force Captain or Navy Lieutenant, they would be a lot more impressed by "Army Captain" "Air Force Captain" or "Naval Lieutenant" than "Captain of Marines", for sake of their own camaraderie. And there's a hell of a lot more "other service" O-3's out there than Marine.

Have you ever noticed the commercials of the various armed forces? The Army and Air Force strongly promote their educational benefits. Right on. The Navy advocates its worldwide nature. Outstanding. All very good points. The Marine commercials, however, only speak of difficulty, pride, esprit de corps, and belonging.

You give to the Corps, not the other way around. Your paycheck deposits don't say USMC - they say DFAS Cleveland. Your GI Bill and home loan doesn't say USMC - It says VA. The ONLY things that the Marine Corps gives you are intangible. Try putting those on a resume.

[Southron Boy]

Marine commercials, however, only speak of difficulty, pride, esprit de corps, and belonging.

You give to the Corps, not the other way around...The ONLY things that the Marine Corps gives you are intangible. Try putting those on a resume.

[SIZE="7"][COLOR="Navy"]O[/COLOR] O [COLOR="Navy"]R [/COLOR]A H !!![/SIZE]

[Chebasaz]

Aww, I missed a moto-thread! I spent eight years in the Corps, and consider it the best thing that ever happened to me.

I've often tried to identify exactly what "it" is that you gain from being in the military (any branch) and I've never had much luck. The experience definitely will change your life, with varying degrees based on the branch of service and to some extent your MOS or military job. The difference of the Corps as opposed to the other branches in my humble opinion, is that they break you down before they build you back up. It matters not what you are when you step on those painted footprints, because after three months you'll be cut with muscle, standing up straight with your shoulders thrown back, and daring the world to take a swing at you. It usually takes a bar fight or two right after boot camp to teach you that you're really not invincible, but you'd like to think you're still pretty close.

The leadership experience by itself makes the Marine Corps an easy choice. In this we truly trump all branches of the US military, and I think the other branches would agree if they were honest with themselves. If a young man or woman enlists in the Corps at 18, by 19 they will be leading other Marines. It starts early, and you don't have a choice in it. As a PFC, you will lead other PFC's and privates. As a LCPL, you will lead your peers and subordinates in completing your mission. We're not talking about the kind of wishy-washy leading that says, "Come on guys, please do what I say". There's a place for that, but not in the Marine Corps. We're talking about the kind of leadership that demands that YOU as the leader are willing to do the job just as good if not better than every person you ask to follow you. The Corps molds leaders like no other. Did I mention this is all before you even pin on Corporal? (E-4) A Corporal in the Marine Corps often has more responsibility thrown on his plate than their E-6 equivalents in the other branches, and a good Corporal will ask for more. That Corporal is now responsible for other Marines very lives, and is expected to lead his Marines into combat. You want to talk about a heady experience when that reality comes crashing home for the first time? "Holy @#$#, I'm 21 years old and I'm responsible for my people's very survival." Is it any wonder Marines are rather cocky? Seriously, what in the hell is the world going to throw at you compared to that?

Now take these individuals I've described above and ask yourself - If this is the enlisted, what must the officers do to lead these Marines and earn their respect? If you think you can live in that world and excel, than I wholeheartedly recommend you take the plunge.

The civilian benefits of life in the Corps should be easy to see. Once you see the world through Marine eyes, the civilian job world is life in "easy mode" in a lot of ways. There are differences to be sure, but a Marine walks into this arena already armed with some pretty potent weapons. That leadership thing shines through, and I've rarely met a former Marine that wasn't in a leadership position of some sort. Most people in this world aren't comfortable with telling others what to do. There's nothing wrong with this, it's just how most people are. They've never been been forced to lead, and then held responsible for their performance.

A Marine never has that problem.

[Chebasaz]

Farmerboy - I should also point out that the Marine Corp uses Psy-ops in its recruiting techniques.

The Army recruiter says, "Come join us and be part of a team!"

The Navy recruiter says, "Come join us and see the world!"

The Air Force recruiter says, "Come join us and learn a trade!"

The Marine Corps recruiter says, "Get the hell out of my office, you don't stand a chance of becoming a Marine"

It's a good system. Throw a challenge like that in front of the average 18 year old male and he'll join up just to prove the recruiter wrong. Not all of them make it through boot camp of course, but the ones that do are exactly the type the Corps is looking for. Did you notice I used the same technique in that last sentence? Insidious isn't it? :eek:

Oorah!

[Southron Boy]

Oorah! :eek:

But, I'm not sure Farmer Boy is still out there.

[Farmerboy]

Oh I'm here and enjoying the discussion! This really is something that I want to do but, somebody on this thread mentioned that I would have the potential to be called back at any point after my service is over. If that is true I will not sign up. I feel free to join now because I have no one depending on me for anything but if I got out got married etc I don't want that possiblity hanging over my head.

[creationstory]

Oh I'm here and enjoying the discussion! This really is something that I want to do but, somebody on this thread mentioned that I would have the potential to be called back at any point after my service is over. If that is true I will not sign up. I feel free to join now because I have no one depending on me for anything but if I got out got married etc I don't want that possiblity hanging over my head.

thats called IRR .. inactive ready reserves. typically its for 2 years.. read up on it b4 you drop the idea of the military all together. after IRR is done .. you're untouchable..

[craftkc10]

Individual Ready Reserve - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Farmerboy, I wouldn't consider the risk of an IRR call up a big factor in a decision to serve. It's not that common and very limited in scope when it is used. The bigger issue is that if IRRs are called up, it's because the active duty and regular reserve components can't meet the needs of the Department of Defense in a time of national emergency. This is when I would expect a committed American warrior to rush to the front of the line. Again, it might be time to reassess your reasons for serving.

[thestumps]

for enlisted: you sign a 8 YEAR contract either 4 active 4 IRR or 6 active reserve and 2 IRR in the Marine Corps, after 8 yrs no matter how you slice it you are done and cannot be involuntarily called back in.

for officers: there is no time limit for your service once you are a commissioned officer in any service the U.S of A could call you back at ANY time if they need you thats one of the consequences of being an officer... obviously if you are 70 yrs old they aren't going to call you back in but for example if you are 40 and they need an officer in your specialty they could call you up to serve your country again. Most officers that I've been around become officers and STAY in to make a career out of it because they love what they do. Officers across the U.S military make very good money (comparable to the private sector) with all of the other incentives (BAH, COMRATS, etc.) added in.

Just remember this: once you step on the yellow footprints you are theirs.

[caitlyn4321]

I once worked with a warrant officer who was WELL into his 60's at least. He was old, fat, and not happy to be there one bit. He had a specialty that was in critical demand once we went to war and filling that demand with new soldiers, that may take years of OJT before becoming an expert, just wasn't going to happen. This was the same time period that whenever we said goodbye to army folk in our joint environment, we couldn't help but make the whole, "see you in a month when you get your stop loss letter" joke. Or half joke really. During my time at that specific command, I never saw an army person leave unless they were midically disqualified.

As I was leaving the navy and one of the army majors in my chain of command was trying to get me to stay in as a WO in the army, I liked the idea, but the memory of the fat, old, and grumpy WO just wasn't leaving my mind.

I wont always be young, I wont always be in shape, and I wont always remember those skills I had. It took months of bootcamp with me being young to get me battle ready, what would it take when another national emergency came up? I'm serving my country still, I'm just focused on what I do best now and without fear of my next PT test. I like knowing they wont call me back up to mow lawns or do some other such busy work, but I can still serve my country when it needs me in my own way.