Introduction- Matt

[goon175]

You do realize the USMC has mechanized infantry as well....

You do realize that all these options that you think you have, you give up once you elect to become an officer....

You do realize that the length of deployments depends on the unit your in....

And also..based off of your current plan... you "most likely" won't go to a special-operations-anything....

Just saying....

[Hutch]

Yes, I realize the Marines have mechanized infantry as well, but from what I have read it seems like all Marine Corps Infantry officers are assigned as platoon leaders to a standard infantry unit. I was under the impression that the Marines didn't really have "specialized" divisions like the Army does, I thought that all their infantry units are essentially the same. Guess I need to do more research.

I do realize that I don't have much of a say in particular assignments, but I do have at least some control over what MOS I get. I may not get my first choice, but if I perform well then I will probably get one of my top 3. All of what I'm saying is under the assumption that I can not only pass in all classes, but be within the top. I realize that this is very ambitious and may seem a bit arrogant, but I am very confident in my abilities.

Now that I did not know. From what I was told, and read, most Marine deployments last 6-7 months and most Army deployments last 12-15 months. But regardless, that is a relatively minor factor in my decision, though it is still a factor. I guess the main differences I see between the Marine Corps and Army is that the Marines conduct a lot of amphibious operations while the Army primarily sticks to land operations.

And on this, perhaps I didn't explain myself well. I don't plan on trying to get into any Special Operations unit at the beginning. I know that I am not ready for anything like that. But my point was, if I do become an Infantry Officer, excel at the position, and decide to stay in the military for 8+ years, then I can at least try to get into the Special Forces, Rangers, MARSOC, etc. Again, this is all under the assumption that I excel at everything I do and even then, nothing is guaranteed. Its just an idea, and I know that a lot of things may change over the year. But I do know that officers can try out for things like that.

Thanks, Ranger goon

[goon175]

A link for all the USMC Officer career fields: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/officerj ... bsmenu.htm

USMC deployments are 6-7 months on average, Army deployments range from 3-12 months, some get extended to 15. With out breaking OPSEC here, I can confidently say that the USMC deploys for longer than I have ever deployed at any one time.

Yes, the USMC's legacy mission is to conduct amphibious landings. Guess how many amphibious landings they are conducting in land locked afghanistan?

You cannot just volunteer for Ranger or SF at any point in your career as an officer, like you can as enlisted. The officers on this board can elaborate more on this if they want to.

Bottom line, I'm not trying to say you should go officer or enlisted, army or marines, but rather know what your personal goals are, and the appropriate, realistic way to get there.

That way you don't end up like my younger brother who took a full ride USAF scholarship in hopes of becoming a special tactics officer, only to find out officership is full of politics, and that his ROTC instructors could and would screw him on his special tactics dreams, and even should he get there, he discovered through discussions with ST NCO's and O's that his job as a ST officer will be drastically different than that of a ST NCO. So now he is enlisting in the US Army as a 13F bound for a Ranger Battalion, to be a barrell chested freedom fighter, and do the job that most only talk about doing some day. The sad thing is, that ROTC scholarship could have went to someone who wanted to be a USAF officer.