so im about 5 months way from finishing hight school. and im thinking of joining the Marines and later going to college to become a history teacher.

does anyone here currently serve or served that can answer some questions for me?

i just dont trust my recruiter.

 

Why not go to college first and then join up as an officer?

 

College costs money, a lot of people go in first to get access to the GI Bill. Not everyone can get a scholarship or qualify for / afford loans. That being said, if you want to serve AND get money for school at the same time, consider Navy ROTC. I was able to pick up a full scholarship from them at Carnigie Mellon University, though I would be going to the University of Pittsburgh. The campusses are right next to each other, so they share the ROTC program. Virginia Tech also has an excellent program through their Corps of Cadets. You will need decent grades and some other stuff to get an ROTC scholarship though. Navy ROTC does have the option of becoming a Marine officer too, not just Navy. Unfortunately, I was unable to use the scholarship because of medical disqual. (asthma, despite being a distance runner, medical records can come back to bite you). I now work as a civilian engineer for the Navy.

Don't ever trust the recruiter unless they have it in writing on an official, signed document. They are not held to anything that isn't in writing. You may also want to consider the Reserves or National Guard. The marines do have reserve units, though I believe guard is Army and Air Force only.

Keep in mind you will probably be serving in Iraq or Afghanastan at some point, so there is a definite risk associated with the job, despite what the recruiter may promise you. Good luck with the decision, the military can be a solid career path should you choose to make it a career, and will help you find post-service employment should you choose not to stay in. just know the level of risk and committment needed, If you can accept them then go for it, you'll at least have a steady job for the next four years.

 

Recruiters are like car salesmen, they will tell you anything to get you to sign on the dotted line...If I were you, register on a military forum and talk to some of the Jarheads there too, especially about what military life is like CURRENTLY and what you need to do to get the job/MOS you want.

Good luck!

 

alot of my friends are in the military

i have 3 good friend in the marines and 2 of them think its the worse choice they had made in there life and the other one agree it being a poor decision. i have friend in the navy who doesn't like it. i do however have 2 other friends who serve full time in the air force national guard and love it.

so each his own

i guess some of them sign on bonuses must be really good....lol

 

marines=infantry bottom line

 

I have about 7 marines working in the same office area as me and we are great friends and they LOVE it, my grandfather was a marine and my little brother is actually in Boot camp in San diego right now, he graduates on March 13th the letters I got from him actually say he doesn't think it's nearly as bad as he thought it would be... But I do have one friend that went in and got out when his 4 years was up and hated it.

I guess it all depends on you, but if you have any questions any of the guys I work with would be more than happy to answer them for you.

 

Dont do it! WW3 is coming I hope you know... Dontcha feel it???? lol but seriously. DONT DO IT! I wanted to and everything worked against me not so I took that as a sign.

 

You do realize the Marines fly aircraft as well, right? My brother serves as enlisted, and while he didn't like the Marines enough to re-enlist, he doesn't regret the decision. It got him out of the house, into a structured environment, allowed him to go places and see things he wouldn't have an oppurtunity to do otherwise, and after he got out he used the GI bill to pay for a college education.

He was stationed with VFMA-312, a marine F-18 squadron out of Parris Island, SC. He did spend time in the Persian Gulf, but it was abord the USS Enterprise, NOT on the ground in the desert. They also employ logistics, intellegence, maintenance and support personal. Every Marine gets rifle certification, but not everyone gets issued a rifle in their duty assignment. If you speak a foriegn language, that will also greatly benifit your ability to choose where you want to go. This does not apply to Spanish. If you do go rotor wing or infantry though, expect to be in the desert at some point.

For the naysayers, don't blame the military, and especially the enlisted personnel for the mess we're in, the decision makers were in the executive branch and the civilian Secretary of Defense. The commanders on the ground do care about their troops and put their safety as top priority, though they still need to meet their mission objectives and it is a hazardous line of work.

 

whatever branch of military you go for, make sure you look for a job in the service you'll want to enjoy for a future career. im in the process of doing the national guard, just for my personel reasons. theAir force is an "elite" service. and you may not even fly a plane even:-P

but the marines near me (i live an hour from Camp Lejuine) are dicks. their all head strung and are dicks. dont be a dick.

have you studied your ASVAB's yet? do that. it isnt a pass or fail test but it will put you in a better job bracket and a better pay bracket.

but again whatever you serve in, be proud your serving the United States of America, protecting you country and you'll have the respect of millions.

 

Definitely support the troops (minus the ones killing civilians and loving it) but why would you want to work for the most evil leaders? Nevermind im not gonna question you. Im just going to tell you not to do it and thats it. Best of luck in your decision.

 

Just curious...why are you choosing the Marines?

I am not against any branch of military, but if it's work/life experience you're looking for I'd look into the Air Force. Right now it's probably not a good time to join the Marines, unless you are going in as an Officer or really REALLy like the desert.

The Air Force has a ton of other jobs than working with planes, which are a lot similar to civilian jobs, and they are still an Elite group but a little more normal

 

But if you are really gung-ho about the Marine Corps, then I support you! My boyfriend was a Marine and I am soooo happy, cuz he is so clean! lol, he even irons his t-shirts lol

 

well if anyone decides to join the air force and has to go to basic, which is lackland air force base here in san antonio, hit me up when you get a off post pass

 

i dont like the airforce... and i dont care to be an officer its more just to say im a marine, and plus i have a great shot with a rifle. i dont mind being in combat. but thanks for the input, i need to seriously consider this

 

And touching on what the guy up there said about Marines flying too, my buddy is a 1st Lt in the corps and he's a pilot any questions about that program I can shoot him a text

And I have to agree with what everyone says about the AF, if I was joining I'd go AF but that's me and for my own personal reasons I once had a friend of mine describe it to me this way

say all the air force guys and the marines and the navy and the army are getting ready to go to _______

the air force guys, we'll fly there in a passenger air plane, the rest of the guys will come by ship or in the back of an over crowded cargo plane and when they land the air force guys will go check in to the nice hotel, the army guys into the seedy motel down the way, army guys will set up tents, marines will sleep on the ground and call everyone else sissys.

made sense to me...

 

^funny and TRUE, LOL

 

Lol, always nice to do some friendly AF bashing. I work for the Navy so we have a lot of them. One of the choice ones,

They build the golf course first then ask Congress for more money to build the air strip.

If you follow the academy games too, this year Navy had a very nice prank @ the AF Academy. During Navy week, they built a mock submarine at the Air Force Academy parade grounds. As the cadets went by for morning chow, it looked like the sub was surfacing mid-field.



http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/1...my_sub_100208/

 

That's fantastic haha

 

um dont go straight right outta high school!!!! go to college go through the MARINES OCS program please DO NOT ENLIST OCS is the way to go. please do that ive saved some of my friends because of that...!!! my brother is a officer in the marines and that is the way to go OCS look into it