Considering Enlisting. Would Appreciate Advice/Insight

[redsox1804]

Despite having my college, in essence, already paid for, I have been considering enlisting in the Marines. My interest in the Marines stems from my desire to improve who I am. Truthfully, I enjoy drinking and partying as much as anyone, but right now (19 yrs old) I feel more compelled to learn the intangible skills the Marine Corps has to offer (discipline, honor, commitment, ect). Of course I also would be proud to serve my country and be a part of the history of the Marines, but to be absolutely candid, my main interest lies in self-improvement, and probably a bit in adventure/comradery ect.

I'd like to pursue a career in medicine and one day perhaps be a physician, but I'm not in a hurry, and as I said above, I'd rather work on who I am, than what I am. While I would not rule out a career in the Marines, in all honesty, should I have the privilege, I would most likely only serve one active duty enlistment.

I would like to sign up for infantry, because of various posts I have read, and also because it is what piques my interest the most. Would I be able to take SOCMAR classes while not deployed? Also, with President Obama's planned withdrawl of combat forces from Iraq, would I have any realistic chance ever being deployed to an actual war zone as opposed to deployment to an ship/training area in the next four years? Once again, to be honest (hey, now's the time to be honest right?) I don't want to train, train, train for four straight years and never get the opportunity to utilize what I trained so hard for. I guess I just want to feel fulfillment in that I actually preform the duties I was trained for. I realize it might be immature, but I'm sure I'm not too entirely unlike many Marines (especially infantrymen) out there who feel this way.

Are my motives for wanting to enlist (for lack of better term) "good" or are they too self centered? Is it acceptable for a pool-ee to go into boot camp/MOS training ect. with the mindset that he will only be doing this for four years? Would this mindset prevent me from really bonding with my fellow recruits/Marines? Would I have a fair chance to utilize my skills as an infantryman with the Iraq withdrawl? Apologizes for the length and many questions, I'd appreciate any answers to any of them very much. Its getting time to choose college or Marines and I just want to make certain I make the right choice. Thank you.

- Mark

[KawiGunny]

Despite having my college, in essence, already paid for, I have been considering enlisting in the Marines. My interest in the Marines stems from my desire to improve who I am. Truthfully, I enjoy drinking and partying as much as anyone, but right now (19 yrs old) I feel more compelled to learn the intangible skills the Marine Corps has to offer (discipline, honor, commitment, ect). Of course I also would be proud to serve my country and be a part of the history of the Marines, but to be absolutely candid, my main interest lies in self-improvement, and probably a bit in adventure/comradery ect.

I'd like to pursue a career in medicine and one day perhaps be a physician, but I'm not in a hurry, and as I said above, I'd rather work on who I am, than what I am. While I would not rule out a career in the Marines, in all honesty, should I have the privilege, I would most likely only serve one active duty enlistment.

I would like to sign up for infantry, because of various posts I have read, and also because it is what piques my interest the most. Would I be able to take SOCMAR classes while not deployed? Also, with President Obama's planned withdrawl of combat forces from Iraq, would I have any realistic chance ever being deployed to an actual war zone as opposed to deployment to an ship/training area in the next four years? Once again, to be honest (hey, now's the time to be honest right?) I don't want to train, train, train for four straight years and never get the opportunity to utilize what I trained so hard for. I guess I just want to feel fulfillment in that I actually preform the duties I was trained for. I realize it might be immature, but I'm sure I'm not too entirely unlike many Marines (especially infantrymen) out there who feel this way.

Are my motives for wanting to enlist (for lack of better term) "good" or are they too self centered? Is it acceptable for a pool-ee to go into boot camp/MOS training ect. with the mindset that he will only be doing this for four years? Would this mindset prevent me from really bonding with my fellow recruits/Marines? Would I have a fair chance to utilize my skills as an infantryman with the Iraq withdrawl? Apologizes for the length and many questions, I'd appreciate any answers to any of them very much. Its getting time to choose college or Marines and I just want to make certain I make the right choice. Thank you.

- Mark

There is nothing wrong with wanting to obtain personal gains from your service. There have been a lot before you and there will be plenty more after you. Everyone joins the Corps for personal gains in one way or another. As far as bonding with your fellow Marines even if you are only staying in for 4 years, it will happen. Thats just the way it is. We are a close knit family.

My advice to you..... If you do come in with the plan on just doing 4 yrs and getting out, don't think about that to much once you earn the title. The reason for that is simple. If all you are thinking about is serving your time then moving on, you won't be trying to advace as far as you can. You can do a lot in 4 yrs if you put your mind to it and work hard. I joined with the plan on doing 4 yrs and getting out. After 20 plus years I finally decided to move on. Like they say, "Time flys when your having fun".

[KawiGunny]

Oh yeah..... Don't worry about not deploying to Iraq after you have done extensive training. If you do become a Marine, you will deploy to Afghanistan. If you are a grunt.... expect a couple of deployments in your 4 yrs.

[0231Marine]

Despite having my college, in essence, already paid for, I have been considering enlisting in the Marines. My interest in the Marines stems from my desire to improve who I am. Truthfully, I enjoy drinking and partying as much as anyone, but right now (19 yrs old) I feel more compelled to learn the intangible skills the Marine Corps has to offer (discipline, honor, commitment, ect). Of course I also would be proud to serve my country and be a part of the history of the Marines, but to be absolutely candid, my main interest lies in self-improvement, and probably a bit in adventure/comradery ect.

I'd like to pursue a career in medicine and one day perhaps be a physician, but I'm not in a hurry, and as I said above, I'd rather work on who I am, than what I am. While I would not rule out a career in the Marines, in all honesty, should I have the privilege, I would most likely only serve one active duty enlistment.

I would like to sign up for infantry, because of various posts I have read, and also because it is what piques my interest the most. Would I be able to take SOCMAR classes while not deployed? Also, with President Obama's planned withdrawl of combat forces from Iraq, would I have any realistic chance ever being deployed to an actual war zone as opposed to deployment to an ship/training area in the next four years? Once again, to be honest (hey, now's the time to be honest right?) I don't want to train, train, train for four straight years and never get the opportunity to utilize what I trained so hard for. I guess I just want to feel fulfillment in that I actually preform the duties I was trained for. I realize it might be immature, but I'm sure I'm not too entirely unlike many Marines (especially infantrymen) out there who feel this way.

Are my motives for wanting to enlist (for lack of better term) "good" or are they too self centered? Is it acceptable for a pool-ee to go into boot camp/MOS training ect. with the mindset that he will only be doing this for four years? Would this mindset prevent me from really bonding with my fellow recruits/Marines? Would I have a fair chance to utilize my skills as an infantryman with the Iraq withdrawl? Apologizes for the length and many questions, I'd appreciate any answers to any of them very much. Its getting time to choose college or Marines and I just want to make certain I make the right choice. Thank you.

- Mark

Mark,

I'm not sure I want to help out a Red Sox fan, but here it goes :)

There is nothing wrong with what you're thinking. Serving 4 years and getting out is more than most 20somethings are going to accomplish in their lifetime. If you go infantry, you'll be deployed in one way or another. With the current operational tempo and in the forseeable future, you'll go somewhere and utilize the training you'll receive.

I'm not sure what you mean by SOCMAR classes? If you're talking about MARSOC, that's a command and you shouldn't expect to go there if you're only doing one enlistment. Those positions are usually reserved for re-enlisters as an encentive and not for first term Marines. You'll receive plenty of training while you're in though and you'll obtain all of the atributes you're looking for, if you work at it.

As Gunny said, the camaraderie is a given and their is a special bond between Marines, no matter what era they served in. It's something only Marines can truley understand but I promise, it will be there once you receive your Eagle Globe and Anchor.

Sounds to me like you're really on the fence about this so feel free to ask anymore questions you have. Just make sure you search the site first to see if they've been asked and answered already.

Semper Fi!

[GSEMarine94]

Gunny is 100% right, I only served 4 years and only planned on 4 years from the start. But I will say this once I left the Corps I have missed it everyday afterwards.

[Pete0331]

Despite having my college, in essence, already paid for, I have been considering enlisting in the Marines. My interest in the Marines stems from my desire to improve who I am. Truthfully, I enjoy drinking and partying as much as anyone, but right now (19 yrs old) I feel more compelled to learn the intangible skills the Marine Corps has to offer (discipline, honor, commitment, ect). Of course I also would be proud to serve my country and be a part of the history of the Marines, but to be absolutely candid, my main interest lies in self-improvement, and probably a bit in adventure/comradery ect.

I'd like to pursue a career in medicine and one day perhaps be a physician, but I'm not in a hurry, and as I said above, I'd rather work on who I am, than what I am. While I would not rule out a career in the Marines, in all honesty, should I have the privilege, I would most likely only serve one active duty enlistment.

I would like to sign up for infantry, because of various posts I have read, and also because it is what piques my interest the most. Would I be able to take SOCMAR classes while not deployed? Also, with President Obama's planned withdrawl of combat forces from Iraq, would I have any realistic chance ever being deployed to an actual war zone as opposed to deployment to an ship/training area in the next four years? Once again, to be honest (hey, now's the time to be honest right?) I don't want to train, train, train for four straight years and never get the opportunity to utilize what I trained so hard for. I guess I just want to feel fulfillment in that I actually preform the duties I was trained for. I realize it might be immature, but I'm sure I'm not too entirely unlike many Marines (especially infantrymen) out there who feel this way.

Are my motives for wanting to enlist (for lack of better term) "good" or are they too self centered? Is it acceptable for a pool-ee to go into boot camp/MOS training ect. with the mindset that he will only be doing this for four years? Would this mindset prevent me from really bonding with my fellow recruits/Marines? Would I have a fair chance to utilize my skills as an infantryman with the Iraq withdrawl? Apologizes for the length and many questions, I'd appreciate any answers to any of them very much. Its getting time to choose college or Marines and I just want to make certain I make the right choice. Thank you.

- Mark

Dear God!
A grammatically correct post with a properly completed profile!
I am sure Nostradamus foretold this as a sign of the apocalypse.

If you want to be a Marine I completely understand, but if you plan on going to med school I would suggest being a Corpsman.
They still do all the same things as the 03's, but they have a marketable, and applicable to your possible future, job skill at the end of the day.

No, your mindset isn't completely self-centered.
There are Marines who decide on only one enlistment their first day in the Fleet.
They still serve competently.

Afghanistan is ramping up, even if Iraq is slowing.

Personally, I wouldn't have joined if the GWOT wasn't in full swing.

[thewookie]

There's not much for me to say, the advice given is solid. However, I will add - you should be joining for yourself. That's not a bad reason to join. As much as being a Marine is about selfless service and sacrifice of personal needs for the greater good of the whole. If there's going to be any happiness in your life then it must also be about accomplishing your own individual desires within the framework of a team. I might be more nervous of the kid joining because "pop" told him to, opposed to the guy who joined for self-improvement. The later of the two is gonna be a guy that I know I can lean on in hard times, the other guy might be good-to-go also, but if his heart isn't in it from the get go, at the moment of truth he could fail you. But that's anyone so I might be making too much of it, my point is don't feel you're a bad person because you want in for personal reasons.

[Covey_Rider]

It sounds to me like you've got the "bug" for becoming a Marine. The rewards that you seek and the intangibles, as you put it, and that is where your heart should be when making this decision. You've already received excellent advice from fellow Marines so I don't really have anything that I can add on to. I will emphasize though that if you do become an 03, you will definitely have one or two tours to afghanistan during a four year enlistment. That's where the fight is at, so that's where we go.

Just a side note...it looks like you're off to a good start on this site by actually following the rules. You didn't write a post that made you look uneducated and stupid, and that seems to be quite an achievement these days. As you can see, it pays off. You got great responses very quickly. Hope we all helped a little bit.

[redsox1804]

Thanks for the insight. Most everyone in my immediate family believes I'm wasting an opportunity to go to college, and I'm just trying to find some different perspectives. I guess my perspective is: I do not want to waste an opportunity to better myself in unique ways and take part in something that few are able to claim they have been a part of by passing up an opportunity to be a Marine. There is no age limit to join the college ranks... I guess in the end, I just need to decide if its a worthwhile way to spend four years of my life, and that's a not an easy decision. Thanks for taking the time and having patience with yet another undecided wannabe and thank you for your service.

-Mark

[richerich]

If you want to go to college, consider the Reserves. You'll get the best of both worlds, and probably a deployment.


Thanks for the insight. Most everyone in my immediate family believes I'm wasting an opportunity to go to college, and I'm just trying to find some different perspectives. I guess my perspective is: I do not want to waste an opportunity to better myself in unique ways and take part in something that few are able to claim they have been a part of by passing up an opportunity to be a Marine. There is no age limit to join the college ranks... I guess in the end, I just need to decide if its a worthwhile way to spend four years of my life, and that's a not an easy decision. Thanks for taking the time and having patience with yet another undecided wannabe and thank you for your service.

-Mark

[advanced]

Back in 1966 I was going to college, a required course was Air Force ROTC. Though I passed the Air Force Officer test, my heart was not in school as there was a war going on - Viet Nam. Since I was one of the many young patriots at the time I decided to drop out of school for the time being and enlist in the Marine Corps. The Officer teaching the ROTC class said I was crazy, "Why be ONLY and enlisted MARINE when you can be an officer in the air force. He simply did not understand.

Back in the day, most of us young Marines only enlisted for one enlistment, none of us desired to become "Lifers."

There is nothing wrong with enlisting with the intention of only one enlistment. Many fine Marines before you did just that.

Oh, do I have any regrets.... Hell no, I became a Corporal of Marines and it changed my life forever. I was also offered OCS four times. You could be a Marine officer (Mustang) at the time from the enlisted ranks.

Hope this helps

[sparkie]

Perhaps the BEST unfuked thread I have ever read. Excellent Question, Excellent Answers.
I have nothing to add, but for my own experience,,,,,,, I did only 4 years and Once a Marine, A Marine you shall be,,, for the rest of your days. And it will show.

[immaproshooter]

if u decide to go to college look into 92 day reservist, alot of guys that go reserves for school go that route..... it means that the max days youll be away at a time is 92 days for training, youll have to ask your recruiter about it though other wise they wont assume you want that route, it makes it so you can actually keep attending school and not worry about missing too much at a time, that does not apply towards deployments though and with reserves youll sign a 6-2 contract meaning youll enlist for 6 years reserves and 2 years inactive reserves.....and you will still get in at least one deployment in reserves, upto 3 i believe unless you volunteer for deployments and your unit allows you to go. reserves are averaging one deployment every two or three years