Appointment With Recruiter...

[lit-on-fire]

I've been seriously considering joining the Marine Corps as an officer, using either NROTC or the PLC class. I'll be meeting with a recruiter tomorrow to get all that sorted out. But he told me to write down any questions I might have. What should I ask? Anybody with experience in the military want to give me some pointers, or let me know what they did wrong, so I can avoid it? Signing my life away is something I'm really not taking lightly. I'd like to make it as sweet a deal for myself a possible. I AM going Marines though, so don't try and tell me that Navy or Air Force is better. I don't settle for anything but the best.

Also, if there's a user here that's actually in the marines, your advice would be very valuable to me.

[TheSouthernTower]

Don't. Military is a total scam.

[Finalfina]

The only benefit from the military is that you can get insurance with USAA.

[Light]

Perhaps you should disregard what TheSouthernTower said...

I'm not a member of the Armed Forces, but I think I can still help you here...You should ask the recruiter certain questions about being an officer in the Marine Corps. Examples may include:

1. Pay rate at each rank.
2. How difficult it is to ascend through the ranks.
3. Where you may be deployed, and if you can have any say in that as an officer.
4. Whether it'd be a good idea to make a career out of the job, as opposed to being in the Corps for 4~8 years.
5. If you're not willing to go to combat, then you should ask the recruiter about your chances of being deployed in combat zones. It'll depend on your Military Occupation Specialty.
6. If you're more focused on the financial aspects of the military, you should compare the allowances that you can receive as a Marine to those of Airmen, Soldiers, and Sailors. Are Marines the worst off? Are they the best off? Perhaps your recruiter will try to deceive you since he'll want you to join, so he'll try to get you to join any way he can.

I don't know if you had questions like these in mind. I hope this helps.

[LostFaceInTrain]

1. What percentage of the Marine Corps. is gay
2. How many Privates get raped a year
3. Why can't America win a war anymore
4. Can I drive a tank

[wwwyzzerdd]

At 6/28/11 04:03 AM, lit-on-fire wrote: I AM going Marines though, so don't try and tell me that Navy or Air Force is better. I don't settle for anything but the best.

First off, I'd like to tell you that if that's your logic and you actually believe that there's a "better" branch, you're probably not fit to serve in the military (especially judging by if you join the Marines, you will probably wind up in the Naval Academy serving with those that you feel are so inferior). You haven't done shit yet, so don't feel entitled to bash anyone else.

Second, I always love asking this because so many people here seem so eager to join the military for very loose reasons on this site. Why exactly do you want to join? More specifically; why aren't you going to college?

Since it seems that you want to go officer (I will actually say that's a smart decision; you'd have to be stupid or ineligible to opt to enlist), do realize that you will need a degree. Therefore, you need to establish yourself as someone who is taking this very VERY seriously. Again, judging by the fact that you're referring to Newgrounds for pointers to ask a career servicemember who is specifically trained to weed out non-hacks from quality candidates and has to meet stringent quotas (of which, he's probably a reference point for information regarding joining the military as an officer, and there's a specific recruiter that deals with officer candidates), again I'd question that you're ready for military service, especially to be a commissioned officer. You should really find out about the ways in which you can become an officer, qualifications you'll have to meet to even be considered, and what fields you can go into so you'll have a clear path (which also shows that you're rather serious about serving in the Marines).

I was an enlisted nuclear electrical operator in the Navy; I have no experience with Marines other than the stupid branch-bashing jokes everyone use to spout ("MARINE" stands for Muscles Are Required; Intelligence Not Expected), or the time we had a Marine company on security detail during a reactor defueling on one of the subs I was stationed on. They're very serious people compared to our climate (although I'm sure most prison yards are more professional and politically correct than a submarine crew). My experience with recruiters though (I actually worked for my old recruiting office for a while) is that they're taking time to speak with you individually rather than walking around a campus and getting more people to sign up that way. You should have more questions and be able to explain the Marines to him better than they could to you.

Again like I said; look into the different ways you can become an officer and how to become one. If you haven't already done ROTC, then I doubt you'll be able to join that way. If you're planning on going to the Academy, then you're essentially applying for a private college, and you should hopefully have a compelling enough background to warrant acceptance. I PROMISE you that they'll tell you that the easiest way to become an officer is to enlist, then go through OCS. That's the biggest crock of shit ever, and just an easy ploy to get you to fill his quotas.

Lastly; I'll only suggest to you as someone who just left a federal government job recently, to consider ALL your options. There's a lot of people in the military right now, and there's not a whole lot of need for any more people. It's fairly hard (for the first time in a while actually) to join. Like I said; you probably should look like college material if you plan on becoming an officer. In that case, I would just go to college instead. It's just as much a patriotic duty to obtain a job and pay taxes, and there's much less a chance of being a cog in a highly political and ideologically-minded diplomatic slush fund.

Eitherway, good luck I guess.

[wwwyzzerdd]

At 6/28/11 04:14 AM, Jedi-Master wrote: 1. Pay rate at each rank.

http://www.militaryfactory.com/military_
pay_scale.asp

2. How difficult it is to ascend through the ranks.

You'll get a textbook answer of "depends on how hard you work," which actually isn't far from the truth. Essentially you're judged on your performance with your first assignment, and you'll be promoted as assigned to other tasks. Sadly, a large part of promotions is who you know and how they know you. It's almost too political of a system unfortunately.

3. Where you may be deployed, and if you can have any say in that as an officer.

Another textbook answer of "depends on where you're needed." I can promise you that they hear that a thousand times, and it's not a good marketing tool to be honest and say "you'll probably go to Afghanistan." You should know that joining the military will entail being sent to warzones. I would highly suggest not asking this, because it makes you look like you're avoiding going to Iraq/Afghanistan, and besides it's not like they'll actually tell you (or would know) where you'll go.

4. Whether it'd be a good idea to make a career out of the job, as opposed to being in the Corps for 4~8 years.

Recruiters aren't going to suggest this as a "temporary" job. And they probably only want to hear from career-oriented people.

5. If you're not willing to go to combat, then you should ask the recruiter about your chances of being deployed in combat zones. It'll depend on your Military Occupation Specialty.

If you're not willing to go into combat, then don't join.

6. If you're more focused on the financial aspects of the military, you should compare the allowances that you can receive as a Marine to those of Airmen, Soldiers, and Sailors. Are Marines the worst off? Are they the best off? Perhaps your recruiter will try to deceive you since he'll want you to join, so he'll try to get you to join any way he can.

Every branch gets paid the same in terms of officers and enlisted. Only certain job specialties earn certain bonuses for signing up, or special pay while you serve. Deployment in a combat zone also earns you combat pay, and tax-free pay for that duration. And the recruiter is only concerned about you joining their branch. I can't tell you how many fights almost broke out when the Navy recruiters stole people from the Marines recruiter at my office.

[Light]

At 6/28/11 04:50 AM, wwwyzzerdd wrote:

4. Whether it'd be a good idea to make a career out of the job, as opposed to being in the Corps for 4~8 years.

Recruiters aren't going to suggest this as a "temporary" job. And they probably only want to hear from career-oriented people.

Recruiters stand to gain from getting people to join; whether or not they stay in the service as a career matters little to them.

5. If you're not willing to go to combat, then you should ask the recruiter about your chances of being deployed in combat zones. It'll depend on your Military Occupation Specialty.

If you're not willing to go into combat, then don't join.

Many people join the military despite being unwilling to go to combat. Many of these people never see combat yet they do their noncombat jobs very well.

[SubparTony]

At 6/28/11 04:14 AM, Jedi-Master wrote:

5. If you're not willing to go to combat, then you should ask the recruiter about your chances of being deployed in combat zones. It'll depend on your Military Occupation Specialty.

You can't be soldier,marine or anything else that has to do with military and war and ask if you could not join in the combat.This won't make a good impression to the recruiter

[satanbrain]

Ask where you will be stationed and how long the basic training is. Useful for later.