Military History | How To Make War | Wars Around the World Rules of Use How to Behave on an Internet Forum
Marines Discussion Board
   Return to Topic Page
Subject: (no subject)
qwertyuiop    11/23/2004 11:24:36 PM
i've been considering joining the corps. I am currently in High School. I can't decide whether to join, serve for 4 years and then go to college or to go to college for 4 years and then join as an officer. does anyone who has served have any advice? I suppose if i really like the corps. and want to continue a career i can than later go back to college and get commissioned.
 
Quote    Reply

Show Only Poster Name and Title     Newest to Oldest
Pages: 1 2 3   NEXT
dudley    RE:(no subject)   11/24/2004 6:06:31 PM
1st enlistment id join for the shortest tour in case you dont like it.Officers do get more perks but you also need to be a step above to be a successful marine officer,they dont hand them out like in the navy,af and army.
 
Quote    Reply

ambush    RE:(no subject)   11/24/2004 7:08:36 PM
"I would rather be a good NCO than just another officer" The best officers I have served under have been prior enlisted. Have you considered enlisting, getting a degree and then becoming an officer?
 
Quote    Reply

horsehead    RE:(no subject)   11/24/2004 10:07:41 PM
I was USMC enlisted for five years and then attended college afterwards. If you can choose, I recommend that you pursue the officer route. There are several reasons why I say that, but I'll share only one: Leadership Training - military officers get the best leadership training in the world, to include politics, presentations, tactics and motivation, to name a few aspects. Don't fall into the trap of being able to go back to school later - there's no support and you actually have to fight with NCO's that not only have no desire to go to college themselves but want you to do the same. Most people don't choose enlisted if given the choice.
 
Quote    Reply

neo_phuture    RE: Joining as an officer   11/24/2004 11:29:03 PM
Hey, qwertyuip, I'm in a very similar situation as yours. I'm a senior in high school and I too have wondered the same exact question. After speaking with my recruiter who, of course tried to convince me to go enlisted, and talking to my dad, who served 20 years in the navy and also got a bachelors degree while serving, I've came to the conclusion that I will pursue the officer rout, and I have many reasons. As ambush has already said, some of the best officers were enlisted prior to becoming an officer. These are what you call mustang officers. Their great because they know what it's like to be enlisted, they know the enlisted culture works and what they think of most junior officers. They know what they’re looking for and so it is easier for them to gain respect. However, you can pretty much expect to cap out at 0-3 going in enlisted and switching to an officer. You can ask almost any enlisted guy, that there are in fact very VERY few mustang officers above the rank of 0-3. I don't mean to stereotype but they are in fact usually on the bottom of the barrel for selection for promotion, while academy graduates are much more preferred. That is not to say that you have to go to the academy to be on top. Colin Powell went the ROTC rout and became chief of staff. Another reason why you may want to consider the officer course is that in the military, it is extremely difficult to attend college while serving in the military. Especially for a branch that deploys so much like the Marine Corps. You need a bit of luck to be able to attend 4 years of undisrupted college. My dad attended night school shortly after me and my sister were born while working fulltime in the navy, and working as a part-time salesman selling kitchen knifes, while volunteering for some community service, and raising a family all at the same time. As a matter of fact, he was deployed for Desert Storm/Shield on his last week of college, and took him another few years to convince the head of the university for the bachelor degree by writing to him from his new station in Japan of his credentials including his, I believe, 3.8 or 3.9 GPA. I hope this helped out a lot, and if you still haven’t seen a recruiter yet, just be careful because they may have no shame in misguiding you. I talked to an enlisted recruiter during the summer because I was sick of school. My grades were low, I just failed algebra II and I have to take it again this year (I’ve been making an A now in that class now lol) and I was fed up and I couldn’t bear the thought of an entire 4 years of college. I wanted to join the Marines, go into the infantry (0311) and get shipped out to Iraq or Afghanistan. However, I decided that the officer rout is the best for me, considering the alternatives. My biggest desire is to become a career officer in the Marine Corps. It’s been so since I was in the sixth grade, and going to college first is the best way to do it for me. I hope this will help you make the right decision for yourself as well.
 
Quote    Reply

qwertyuiop    RE: Joining as an officer   11/25/2004 12:17:01 AM
thanks everyone, especially neo. i'm only in 9th grade so I still have a while to decide. if i go to college first and decide to still go enlisted, am i automatically an NCO because I believe that the army does that?
 
Quote    Reply

ambush    RE: Joining as an officer   11/25/2004 12:44:48 AM
Actually mustang officers can get a little higher in the Marine Corps. I served under a Colonel (O-6) and they have made General, Chesty Puller being the most famous. In ohter services if you have a desire to be Chief of Staff or Chief of Naval Operations it is almost a must that you be a Graduate of the Service Academy for that Service. In the Marine Corps only about 25% of Commandants have been graduates of the Naval Academy or as we called it "The Prick Factory." FYI about 12% of the Commandants have been Medal of Honor Winners. So being prior enlisted is certainly no obstacle to career advancement in the Marine Corps. Where you might find yourself limited is an area they called Limited Duty Officers/LDOs When I was in the Corps these were Senior NCOs and Warrant Officers that they made into officers supposedly only for a short time. The highest rank I have ever seen an LDO hold was Major/O-4
 
Quote    Reply

neo_phuture    RE: Joining as an officer   11/25/2004 1:27:24 AM
Pretty interesting ambush. It would be interesting to see statistics in the percentage of officers at the rank of 0-6 who were academy graduates, college graduates, and mustangs, and also the same statistics for 0-3s. And no problem qwertyuiop. Btw, if you make good grades (unlike me), play sports, currently or plan to be in debate, and community service, you might consider the Naval Academy. At least I once did when I was in the 8th grade. I took debate my sophmore year as well as cross country, and entered a cadet program outside of school, but my academy dreams shattered when I saw the statistics for the people who were accepted as midshipmen to the naval academy. But what is most important to me is to be a leader in the marine corps. As for your previous question, you cannot necessarily go in as an NCO after graduating college. At least I have never heard of this. The highest rank you can go in enlisted is I believe is e-3. That's if you brought in 2 people to enlist with you, which bumps you up to PFC, and if you have achieved the rank of 2lt. in JROTC, which bumps you up another rank, at least thats how it works in AF and Army JROTC.
 
Quote    Reply

qwertyuiop    RE: Joining as an officer   11/25/2004 9:09:53 PM
i get basically all As and a couple B+ so I think i could get into the academy, but I don't know if i would want to go to the academy with a bunch of future navy officers (nothing against them.) How many marines officers actually attend the academy? anyway, serving as an officer i don't know if i would really feel like one of the guys. do officers generally have more social contact with other officers?
 
Quote    Reply

ambush    RE: Joining as an officer   11/25/2004 9:39:52 PM
Actuallly the Marine Corps gets a majority of its officers from Quantico I think I read that the Corps only gets 18% of its officers from the Naval Academy and there was some talk of making Academy Grads going through additional training at Quantico. The only service I have heard of letting people come in as NCOs was the Navy during the 70s (maybe they still do) The basic deal was that if the enlisted for 6 years in a high tech speciality like Crypto maintenance the would be made PO3s after they completed all their training. Let us be honest they were not being promoted due to their leadership skills but technical ability.
 
Quote    Reply

qwertyuiop    RE: Joining as an officer   11/26/2004 12:09:03 AM
who do officers spend most of their social time with, their marines or fellow officers?
 
Quote    Reply
1 2 3   NEXT



 Latest
 News
 
 Most
 Read
 
 Most
 Commented
 Hot
 Topics