Artillery, Armor, or Infantry?

[ChknSanwch]

Those are my top three MOS postions I want when I enlist. Im on the fence about which one I want though.... With Infantry, I don't want to be the goalie for the hand-grenade team. I want to be in on the action, but not just a grunt. Artillery and Armor are the ones I'm thinking about the most. Would I want to be firing a 155mm cannon at the enemy, or firing a 120mm cannon at the enemy, concealed in 70 tons of armor and weapons? For Artillery, I would want to be an Artillery Cannoneer. For Armor, eitheir the Gunner or the Loader.

Could any Marines that have been there give me some words of wisdom and some insight on these jobs. I've searched the Internet, but all I find is job descriptions and duties, I want to hear personal experiences and thoughts from Marines who have been there.

Thanks,
Matt

[maverickmarine]

My first job in the Marine Corps was 1812 Tank Crewmen prior to moving over to Infantry. As far as that goes it's an outstanding M.O.S. As you said you are armored and have a hell of a lot of firepower. You do have to consider you are also a primary target when it comes down to it. As far as your job on the Tank, that will be assigned to you and more than likely you will be in each position during your time there. I started as a driver and then moved in the turret and became a loader for a short time and then moved up to Gunner. The Gunner is the second Marine in charge of the Tank after the Tank Commander. I don't know much about Arty though except we sure liked having them available to us when I was with Infantry and Recon. Also, I wouldn't put it as "just a grunt". The grunts are the freakin' backbone of the Marine Corps and they get the job done for us everytime. That being said it comes down to a personal decision, it's about what you are looking to be about. Do you want to be right in the middle of the action putting rounds down range? Then I would look at Infantry or Tanks. Do you want to do your part to support the units that are engaged but be further back away from the primary fighting? Then go with Arty. Hope that helps.

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

Any Marine that does not have the MOS of 0311 exists for the sole purpose of supporting the 0311's. Just a grunt kind of offends me, and I am not, nor have I ever been a grunt.

My opinion. A tank is a giant target. When one appears on the scene, every goblin in the world wants it dead. They will do everything in their power to get it off the field of battle. Not my idea of a good time. If I wanted to invite people to shoot at me I could do that somewhere more comfortable.

Arty rules the traditional battlefield. But, the conflicts we are in are not traditional. When you can't afford to miss a target by a few meters, arty is out of the question. Plus, you're isolated from the action. You sit far away from the battle and pull a string, never really knowing if you're helping or not until you get a call on the radio. Again, not my idea of a fun time.

A grunt is in the thick of things. You are the one taking control of the scene and winning the battles. It is what being a Marine is all about. Marines that aren't grunts tend to be jealous of them. In short, unless you have a desire to perform a specific skill, the infantry is the place to be.

[ggyoung]

Echo-four-bravo I was a 0811/0812 in Vietnam for 2 tours. We done a lot of grunt work, we had to patroll our close in perimiture(sp) do our own OP's and LP's. One of worst situations to be in is when a arty pos. is over run. Also when you start geting incoming arty or mortars the grunts take cover. Not so with arty, you are firing counter fire. So ther can be and is a lot of action if you are arty. Also during this action we are in now a lot of arty people do a lot of convoy duty. Grunt Work

[WSSI Sgt]

I was an 0331, it's all I wanted to do when I enlisted. It's all I could comment on with any experience. But I can tell you this, in Desert Storm it sure was awesome to see our tank brothers coming, and hear those arty rounds going out! Just remember, every Marine is a rifleman first! Good luck with your choice.

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

ggyoung, I didn't mean to imply that arty Marines didn't do those things. Marines of just about any MOS will be called upon to do patrols and to be in situations where contact with the enemy is probably. Counter-battery fire can be a very dangerous mission, and isn't something I would really want to do. But, the fact remains that the guns are removed from the front lines (in traditional combat) by some distance, that is all I was getting at.

On a side note, watching arty fire the FPF is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Everyone should get to see that at least once.

[ggyoung]

Echo-four-Brovo===== I know you that you were being honist(sp) about it. No harm done. S/F

[ChknSanwch]

i didnt mean grunt as a bad thing, and im aware that the infantry is the backbone of the Corps. my bad if I insulted any of you

thanks for the help everyone

[Arty0811]

There's some bumper stickers from Sgt. Grit.com, "Marine Artillery, the Grunts 911 Force," and there may be three or four others. Remember, if it's on a bumper sticker, it's got to be true.