Army or Marines

[crazymjb]

Any verdict yet?

 

[Rocky Mosasaurus]

I vote Marines but then again I never served in any branch of the AF just have a bunch of friends who went into the Marines and had great experiences.

 

[crazymjb]

I vote Marines but then again I never served in any branch of the AF just have a bunch of friends who went into the Marines and had great experiences.

Your friends are lying

 

[Rocky Mosasaurus]

Your friends are lying

They were stationed in Hawaii and San Diego so I doubt it lol. No but seriously there’s room for growth one of the guys from my high school is a first lieutenant and trains marines for active deployment. He loved goofing off in our high school concert band but the marines shaped him into an absolute tank.

 

[ddskehan]

Army for a career. Marines if for bragging

 

[SgtHal75]

This is coming from a Marine, there are way more opportunities for him in the Army.

 

[SgtHal75]

I doubt that. An airman running a fuel point.....or a fork truck......or a check point or many other jobs for Jr enlisted folks has no need for a secret clearance. They cost money to conduct. 25 years in the army and 90% of the enlisted folks I worked with didn't need a secret clearance until they made the e7 list. All commissioned officers needed a secret clearance......or have an interim clearance started just to enter ocs or any other commissioning program.

My cousin joined the USMC about 40 years ago to become a mechanic. He was promised a mechanic job but did not want to offend his friend, the nice recruiter, by asking for a written guarantee. He completed basic and got his order to be a cook.

My father called the recruiter who of course denied making any such promise. My father had a few more conversations each ending with him asking "Who is your CO and how do I contact him?". Finally he was told something like "The USMC honors its word, we will investigate, and if a promise was made it will be honored".

Shortly before graduation he was summoned to a colonel's office and pressured to say no such promise was made. He followed all military protocols in how he answered, but did not modify his story or crack under the intimidation. Shortly thereafter he received new orders to report to mechanic school, did his enlistment, and was honorably discharged, did plumbing for a few decades, and retired.

this sounds about rightf***in recruiters!!

 

[1776]

Look at companies hiring former military, and what they're looking for. Companies like RayCo are known retirement homes for former military. Some international field Technical Service groups require small arms training! Service the equipment you served on, and have experience with.

 

[appraiser]

does he like to eat crayons?

 

[Matt_SERE]

does he like to eat crayons?

My standard reply to this.

 

[enbloc]

Our son is thinking of enlisting. His dad was Army and then National Guard. I was Guard. Neither of us ever deployed. We both were out by '98.

Great family you've got there. Thanks to all!
~Matt

 

[garandman]

I vote Marines but then again I never served in any branch of the AF just have a bunch of friends who went into the Marines and had great experiences.

The Marine Corps appeals to people with an intense desire to be part of something. Their recruiting efforts cater to that notion. For my older brother this was important. He thinks Paratroopers are insane.

The Army is a lot bigger, has all their own services and support, and isn’t part of the Navy. Navy’s approach to training was much less centralized than the Army, which was an advantage. That seems to be less true now.

For the average active teen, Cavalry Scout is still a great choice, and not for the reason you might think. While there isn’t much difference in the training vs Infantry, Cavalry units are usually stationed out front or on borders, maximum distance from Headquarters. More time in the field and less higher command BS.

 

[usp45ct]

I would say it really doesn’t matter which he picks as the experience wil be the only thing he really knows. Like any experience, he will get out of it what he puts into it. I joined the Army active duty for the money to go to college. I ended up with about 12 years active and over 15 in the reserves. No real regrets.

 

[KBCraig]

For the average active teen, Cavalry Scout is still a great choice, and not for the reason you might think. While there isn’t much difference in the training vs Infantry, Cavalry units are usually stationed out front or on borders, maximum distance from Headquarters. More time in the field and less higher command BS.

When my oldest son turned 18 and mentioned enlisting, he had a GED and a 96th percentile ASVAB. The Army recruiter's eyes grew wide and promised him any MOS he wanted.

Because this was 2005, I told him he would probably be going to the Big Litter Box, where there is no such thing as a non-combat MOS. He would be on the ground, in combat. And in that that scenario, he would want to be properly trained and equipped, and surrounded by other soldiers who were properly trained and equipped. That meant either 11B (Infantryman) or 19D (Cavalry Scout).

During the Cold War, I was an artilleryman assigned to a cavalry regiment, and I had a lot of respect for the Cav (Allons!), so I encouraged him to take that route, and he did. High-demand MOS, Combat Arms, quick-ship option ("quick" by Army standards... it took almost four months to actually start his OSUT), all added up to a $19,000 enlistment bonus.

No disrepect to the 11Bulletstoppers or 13Bigbulletloaders, but Cav is the way to go for someone who is both smart and in reasonable shape.

 

[bostonelli]

I was Army on the Officer side, so I would be bias and vote Army. In terms of 'deploying', its luck of the draw, I was stationed at Fort Campbell KY and deployed to Iraq. Tell him to enjoy it and I wish him the best of luck!

 

[Crash9D23]

I was Army for 6 years and had 3 GWOT deployments for 9 month clips with roughly 14months of training before I got to my unit and 3 months at a particular school when I got there. Guys that stayed in or who were already in prior to 05 when I enlisted have double digit deployments.

There is plenty of opportunity to deploy in the Army with any unit, but particularly SOF or the combat arms which you can sign a contract for prior to enlistment that will get you directly into the pipelines.
The marines are a great option if your son wants to be a rifleman, but it’s my understanding that contracts are not guaranteed so placement is not entirely based upon performance or ability initially

I’ve worked directly with marines down range and they were more than competent, but also didn’t have the freedoms we had.

Just my experience, feel free to pm me if you would like more info.

Ryan

 

[Andy in NH]

...it’s my understanding that contracts are not guaranteed so placement is not entirely based upon performance or ability initially

Your understanding of the Marine Corps contracts and "placements" is wrong.
The Marine Corps recruitment contract guarantees a specific Occupational Field, but does not guarantee a specific MOS within that OccFld.
(Potential recruits can sign an open contract in which the needs of the Corps will select their OccFld and MOS, but signing an open contract is not recommended.)
ASVAB scores determine which OccFlds the potential recruit is qualified for or not qualified for.
ASVAB scores also help determine which MOS within an OccFld a potential recruit will be selected for.

For example, to be eligible for the Infantry OccFld the potential recruit needs a minimum GT score of 80.
By the time a potential recruit gets to their MOS school they have already graduated Boot Camp, so I'll call them a Basically Trained Marine now.
When our BTM gets to the Infantry Training Battalion, if they met the bare minimum GT score, they will most likely be assigned the MOS of Rifleman.
BTMs with Infantry OccFld contracts and higher GT scores are assigned other Infantry MOSs; the highest GT scores typically become TOW Gunners.

In another example, when our BTM gets to Engineer School, if they met the bare minimum Mechanical Maintenance (MM) score, they will most likely be assigned the MOS of Bulk Fuel Specialist.
BTMs with Engineer OccFld contracts and higher MM scores are assigned other Engineer MOSs; the highest MM scores typically become Combat Engineers of Engineer Assistants.

 

[Crash9D23]

Your understanding of the Marine Corps contracts and "placements" is wrong.
The Marine Corps recruitment contract guarantees a specific Occupational Field, but does not guarantee a specific MOS within that OccFld.
(Potential recruits can sign an open contract in which the needs of the Corps will select their OccFld and MOS, but signing an open contract is not recommended.)
ASVAB scores determine which OccFlds the potential recruit is qualified for or not qualified for.
ASVAB scores also help determine which MOS within an OccFld a potential recruit will be selected for.

For example, to be eligible for the Infantry OccFld the potential recruit needs a minimum GT score of 80.
By the time a potential recruit gets to their MOS school they have already graduated Boot Camp, so I'll call them a Basically Trained Marine now.
When our BTM gets to the Infantry Training Battalion, if they met the bare minimum GT score, they will most likely be assigned the MOS of Rifleman.
BTMs with Infantry OccFld contracts and higher GT scores are assigned other Infantry MOSs; the highest GT scores typically become TOW Gunners.

In another example, when our BTM gets to Engineer School, if they met the bare minimum Mechanical Maintenance (MM) score, they will most likely be assigned the MOS of Bulk Fuel Specialist.
BTMs with Engineer OccFld contracts and higher MM scores are assigned other Engineer MOSs; the highest MM scores typically become Combat Engineers of Engineer Assistants.

thanks for the clarification