A few questions about the Reserves and Officer programs.

[Shakespeare]

So, I've been talking to a recruiter and my parents and I are heading down to sign papers for me to enlist in the Reserves through the DEP.
My overall goal here is to become a Marine Infantry Officer. I've wanted to be a Marine since I was a small child, and this path seems to be the best one for me. The recruiter laid out two plans for me to consider: Reserves and Platoon Leaders Class, or NROTC - Marine Option.
The NROTC program is the more beneficial of the two programs to me-it pays for the whole four years, except room and board, in addition to summer programs. I like the idea of it, except I feel that my chances of admission to the program are limited-I am pretty competitive academically, but physically, I am a bit behind the curve, because I didn't play sports in high school. I'm working out heavily now, but there is a good chance I will not quite meet the selection boards standards. The recruiter told me if I am accepted to NROTC, it will supersede the Reserves contract.
The Reserves and PLC are in a way, a back up plan. The recruiter intends to set me up with a 6/2 contract, which offers limited GI Bill support in addition to regular pay. This, in addition to PLC tuition assistance, should render enough financial aid to see me through college and into a commission with the training I need.
Is this plan solid?
Should I seek an infantry MOS in the reserves if I want to be an infantry officer? The main reserve battalion in my state is the 6th Engineering Support Battalion...what kind of MOS would I be looking at if I wanted to stay in-state?
I'll probably think up more questions before I sign tomorrow.
I hope I followed proper protocol regarding an introductory post.

[SgtPetty]

You popped a lot of smoke here Shakespere! Basically, I went with a mix. I signed a 6/2 in DEP went to boot then did a six week bulldog at Quantico the next summer plus I was in ROTC at Norfolk State. It burned me out and was 19 years old a football player, track, and Baseball, So I was in hella shape so I thought! It sounds to me NJROTC is your best bet, But you will have some serious physical challenges coming if you don't get a regime going yesterday! Obviously I did not do the second Bulldog, so I became Sergeant of Marines!:devious:

In the reserve you would propably have to travel to the nearest Infantry unit which will get on your friggin nerves!

[03Mike]

Your reserve MOS will have no bearing on your MOS as an officer. There is a "sticky" thread on how officer MOS selection works at The Basic School - so that ought to give you an idea.

You reserve MOS is based upon your unit and your unit's needs. When considering whether or not to join an in-state reserve unit I'd recommend that you consider your "commute" - you'll have to make drills while you are in school and while you are home over the summers.

You say that you are "a bit behind the curve" physically -- regardless of which commissioning program you seek, you'll need to be in top shape to even be considered. From the people I've spoken to recently, a 280 on the PFT is considered a minimum to ship to OCS for PLC or OCC -- I'd imagine that it's the same for serious consideration for NROTC. This is July, so unless you start college this fall, you have time to work on your PFT scores, so make sure that you are PTing every day.

You say that you are competitive academically -- you'll need to be admitted to the college that has the NROTC program before you can be considered for the scholarship. One advantage of PLC is that it really doesn't matter which four year, accredited college you attend.

[Shakespeare]

As far as the physical challenges, I'm lucky in that I wouldn't ship to boot camp for almost a year (June 2012), as I have to finish my senior year first. My DEP works out three times a week, and I will be doing workouts either on my own or with a friend from the DEP who lives near me in the other days. As I understand it, standards for Marine officers are very high physically-leading by example. It is best to shoot for excellence, not meeting standards.
The recruiter told me that a minimum competitive score on the PFT would be about 15 pullups, doing the 3 mile in under 20 minutes, and doing all 100 crunches in two minutes.
This sounds about right to me, a good challenge.
I will definitely be applying to NROTC and colleges, but I'll also be working out with the DEP to finish preparing. One benefit of the Reserves and PLC is that I would certainly get some help getting prepared physically in boot camp ;)
If I were to go Infantry in the reserves, I would have to attend college in a different state. The commute would just be too much. I should be okay for a commute from my intended college, it would be less than two hours to either of two different duty stations.
I'm off to sign papers later today...wish me luck!

[MOS4429]

As far as the physical challenges, I'm lucky in that I wouldn't ship to boot camp for almost a year (June 2012), as I have to finish my senior year first. My DEP works out three times a week, and I will be doing workouts either on my own or with a friend from the DEP who lives near me in the other days. As I understand it, standards for Marine officers are very high physically-leading by example. It is best to shoot for excellence, not meeting standards.
The recruiter told me that a minimum competitive score on the PFT would be about 15 pullups, doing the 3 mile in under 20 minutes, and doing all 100 crunches in two minutes.
This sounds about right to me, a good challenge.
I will definitely be applying to NROTC and colleges, but I'll also be working out with the DEP to finish preparing. One benefit of the Reserves and PLC is that I would certainly get some help getting prepared physically in boot camp ;)
If I were to go Infantry in the reserves, I would have to attend college in a different state. The commute would just be too much. I should be okay for a commute from my intended college, it would be less than two hours to either of two different duty stations.
I'm off to sign papers later today...wish me luck!

Good luck with this Shakespere. You actually sound like you have a solid plan but are worried about your physical shape. A year to prepare is adequate time if you go about it in the right way.

I think you said you do not or had not played sports. That's not an end-all to physical fitness. The internet is replete with workout plans and running plans. I would recommend getting into the weight room and lifting weights for upper body strength. Repeating cycles are best where you lift on 8 to 12 week cycles, and at the end you break down and start over at a slightly higher weight than when you started the previous cycle.

Do core work. There are a lot of programs if you google core exercise or similar words.

You might consider also joining your school's cross-country and track program to improve your running. I do not want to make light of your goal of 20:00 for 3 miles, but with structured training, you can easily get below that, unless you have other physical problems or are way overweight, in which case you would have that challenge too.

Keep your grades up, take college level courses.

[Shakespeare]

Thank you all for the words of encouragement. I think that if I stick with it, I will certainly be fit to fight for boot camp at least!
My coursework should be fine. I'm taking college level coursework, as I did junior year, so as long as I fight off a nasty case of "senioritis" I should be fine.
03Mike, can you give me a link to the MOS thread? I looked and looked but I cannot find it.

[03Mike]

03Mike, can you give me a link to the MOS thread? I looked and looked but I cannot find it.


http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103440

Officer MOS's are assigned at The Basic School (TBS) and are based upon the needs of the Marine Corps. Lieutenants will fill out their "dream sheets" of their desired MOS's in order. Basically, the class is broken into thirds based upon your performance so far (academic average, PFT / PT scores, land navigation, leadership, peer evaluations, etc). MOS's are assigned considering the individual's placement in their respective third (ie, top of the top third, top of the middle third, and top of the bottom third), individual's desired choice, quota availability, and staff recommendation / veto. In most cases, the TBS company staff will not intervene in a lieutenant's MOS assignment, but occasionally they will cast a "veto" if someone is way out of their element.

Bottom line, as an officer, your profession is "Officer of Marines" and your MOS is you primary job. Regardless of MOS, if you stay in, you'll spend time doing all kinds of different jobs. In my 10 years active and 10 years reserve as an 0302 infantry officer, I filled the billets of MOS 9999 - unrestricted ground officer, public affairs officer, mobilization officer, - hell, I even commanded a chow hall for a while -- but the majority of my time was spent in an infantry billet.

[Shakespeare]

Am I right in thinking that if a candidate is doing an exemplary job, they will likely receive the billet they request?

[03Mike]

No.

Candidates who do an exemplary job are commissioned as second lieutenants and sent to The Basic School, where, 4 or 5 months in, they go through MOS selection. Performance at OCS has zero bearing on MOS assignment.

As a lieutenant at The Basic School, everyone is striving to do an exemplary job - and to stand out you have to excel at just about everything. Then, of course, there is "the needs of the Marine Corps" -- if there are a limited number of slots for the MOS you want, then it all depends on how well you do, and how well your competition for those limited slots do.

[Shakespeare]

Okay, sounds good. I think I have a basic handle on it now, thank you very much for your help.
I just signed papers for the Reserves! Thanks again for all your help.