I want to make the right decision

[BrandonLehr]

First I want to say, Thank you Marines for your service to our country and the sacrifice you are making for all of us Civilians to be able to live life without having to deal with road side bombs, mortar fire, etc. Thank you for defending this country.


The title I put on this thread reveals my major concern right now, when it comes to joining the Marines. Basically, I am wanting to join the Marines as an 0311 Infantry Riflemen (seems like I hear a lot of people say that). However, the problem is: How do you know an MOS, such as this, is right for you if you really have never experience infantry life?

I have been doing a lot of research on the 0311 MOS, but reading something can be a lot different then actually doing it. I mean I can read how to clean the hooves out on a horse, but when you actually do it.. its different...

Basic information about me:

Age: 21

Height: 5'8''

weight: 160pds

College: About to complete my Business Associates degree

Drug usage: never

Marital Status: Single

Law violations: None

interests: I like shooting guns, being outdoors, and other stuff (hard right now to think in detail of my interests)....

Also, I am trying to fiqure out how to get Mentally ready.. I am working right now to get as much in shape as I can before boot camp.. but regardless I know boot camp will be very tough mentally and physically.

I am open for advice!

Thanks again for your service!

[usmcmsf]

If it's in your heart, and you truley want to do it, then go for it. If you're having doubts, then it may not be the right thing to do. Life will not easy as an 03, or any job in the Marine Corps for that matter, and doubting your decision will only make it that much worse.

[Tennessee Top]

Having never been a grunt, there is no way I am qualified to give any advice concerning that MOS. I am sure there will be some along who may offer some advice.

As far as knowledge goes (preparing mentally), if you join the Delayed Entry Program (DEP), you will become a poolee and attend poolee meetings at your recruiting station. The poolees study essential subjects and PT together.

Also, on this site, is a preview of the material covered on the two written exams you'll take in bootcamp. The more of this material you learn in advance, the easier those exams will be for you. On the home page, look for:

Marine Corps Recruit Forum
-Marine Mentor
--Recruit knowledge

Good luck.

[BrandonLehr]

@USMCMSF: I definitely have the desire to join the Infantry, and I believe the reason that I have doubt is because I am hearing everyone say it sucks. I don't know what they mean by "it SUCKS!" because they don't really say why it sucks. Basically I need to understand what infantry life is really like.. I have been searching the internet for hours, and I can't really find anything.. I mean if its PT, Field drills, formations, work parties, and tactics training and implications of those tactics... then that sounds really fun to me..

@Tennessee Top: Thank you!!! I will most DEFINITELY dive into those exams!

[Sgt Leprechaun]

They say it sucks because...well, it does. LOL. However, this is the thing. I can describe to you all day long the mechanics and operations on how to ride a mountain bike. I can tell you about balance, gear shifting, body weight, mass, tire pressure, pedaling, etc. You can look at a power point presentation, watch it on youtube, and see all sorts of TV (and even movies) about riding a mountain bike. You can learn the specs of each bike, the technical details, what to wear and how to wear it.

But (and this is key) until you actually GO OUT AND GET ON THE BIKE...it's all just talk.

If this is what you want to do, then DO it. Sure, investigate the possibilities of it...but until it's YOU humping a 120 pounds worth of gear up and down some godforsaken mountain and you are alternately freezing and sweating, your nutz are rubbed raw and your shoulders ache to the bone and your spine is tingling all the way down to your hips, which you can hear cracking with each step, your feet are bleeding in your boots, your head hurts from the davmn brain bucket and your hands are going numb....

You won't know. You CAN'T know.

[TazMatt]

I understand that we are in a different time now than from when I enlisted but what is wrong with just signing up for the amount of time you wish to serve per the years obligated to do and don't worry about what MOS you would get just wait until you get out of boot camp and then just get assigned whatever the Corps wants you to have. I know that is to simple for the modern day Marine.

[jp2usmc]

Brandon,

If you join up as an enlisted Marine with the 0311 MOS, your peers at your first duty station are going to be 18 and 19 year old Privates and PFCs. You will be showering with them, bunking with them, sharing cleaning duties with them, and hanging out with them. They can't drink, and they are going to be talking about how cool high school was.

If you get your Business Degree, you should go into the Officer's Program. I'm guessing an officer in the infantry does not have the 0311 MOS.

[Quinbo]

Brandon,

If you join up as an enlisted Marine with the 0311 MOS, your peers at your first duty station are going to be 18 and 19 year old Privates and PFCs. You will be showering with them, bunking with them, sharing cleaning duties with them, and hanging out with them. They can't drink, and they are going to be talking about how cool high school was.

If you get your Business Degree, you should go into the Officer's Program. I'm guessing an officer in the infantry does not have the 0311 MOS.

After completing TBS infantry officers attend Infantry Officers Course and upon graduation their primary MOS is 0302. A bachelors degree is necessary to take the officer route.

[03Mike]

I am hearing everyone say it sucks. I don't know what they mean by "it SUCKS!" because they don't really say why it sucks. Basically I need to understand what infantry life is really like..

Okay, from my personal experience

Two reasons why Marines will say that life in the infantry sucks:

1) It isn't what they expected.

and/or

2) It actually does suck.


It's hot, dusty, tiring, muddy, cold, wet, boring, terrifying, heavy, thirsty, hungry, underappreciated, nauseating and it'll kick your ass at some point.

What does an infantryman do every day? Well, as an infantry leader I'd say that we are either training for combat operations or other potential missions, conducting those missions, or doing some mundane or required task that keeps us from training for or doing those missions. The only other thing that you'll do, and then only when time allows, is take some time off and blow off some steam.

Why do people think it sucks? Well, your pack and your war gear is always too heavy. You never have enough water (and the water you have usually tastes terrible). You'll always have to walk further than you want to. Same thing goes for running. You'll rarely get enough to eat. You'll almost never get enough sleep. You'll be so bone weary tired that you'll fall asleep on your feet (literally, not figuratively). You'll be bug-bitten, have skin rashes, have cuts and sores that won't heal. You're feet will hurt. Your back will hurt. You'll stink from sweat and dirt. Your breath will be so bad from ketosis it'll peel paint. You'll have to crap into a hole in the ground or a sawed off 55 gallon drum. If you're not constipated you'll have diarrhea. If you're not sleeping in the mud and rain then the dust will clog your nose and ears. You'll be so hot you'll think that you'll never stop sweating or you'll be so cold that your fingers, toes, ears, and nose will hurt and ache for months or years after you leave cold weather. When you take off your boots the smell of your own feet will be enough to make you gag. You'll discover levels of misery that you never thought existed. And when you finally get back to base, some knucklehead in a clean and neatly pressed uniform will tell you that you can't come into the chow hall looking and smelling like that. You'll train, train, train and then train some more and then when it comes time to go execute your mission, you'll spend most of the time just sitting aroud waiting for something to happen - or waiting for "the word". You'll live in very close and intimate quarters with your fellow infantrymen, and they'll smell like a baboon's ass too (just like you do). You'll have virtually no privacy, and - at least in training - your performance isn't ever good enough.

Then, when the shooting starts, it really starts to suck. When you lose friends, it sucks even more.

In the end, it sucks so much that for most of us, it's the greatest thing we've ever done and we would never trade it for anything in the world.

For others, they can't wait to put it behind them and never look back.

[jp2usmc]

@03Mike: I could never explain it as eloquently as you did. Fantastic description. A+.

[BrandonLehr]

Wow... Thank you so much Marines.. especially 03Mike.. even after reading the replies, I still have the desire to go infantry.. I am pretty confident thats what I want.. I will keep thinking about it, and continue to pray about it.

Thanks again!

[Sgt Leprechaun]

And there you have it.