OCS Reserve 0321 Questions

[WRTIV]

I am attending OCS at the end of May. I am contracted for 0321 as a Reservist. I am confused why the USMC allows reserve officer candidates to contract for a MOS that is so coveted. My understanding is that if I were active duty I would have to compete at TBS to get Infantry(not easy), complete IOC, and after 1-2 years of active duty I could then compete again for a chance at recon(again, fairly difficult).


1. Assuming I successfully complete OCS, TBS, IOC, and BRC, is there any chance of me ending up in a different MOS?

2. How difficult is it to overcome the stigma of not having competed for my MOS if I were to ever transfer to active duty?

3. How difficult is it to transfer active duty?

4. Assuming I get 0321, spend time in the reserves or on active duty, how difficult is it, or is it possible, to then transfer to MARSOC?

I had a contract PFT of 286(soon to be 300) and I am an excellent swimmer. Thank you for your advice and guidance.

Respectfully,
WRTIV

[MotorT3533]

The reason you have a MOS assigned is because your contract includes an assignment to a specific Reserve unit; therefore, you must have an MOS that fills the T/O for that unit.

[rvillac2]

You are profoundly misguided. You will either be a Reservist heading down the BRC track or you will be an officer candidate heading down the OCS/TBS track.

You better get squared away on what you're actually going through.

[stein07]

Sgt,

There are reserve officer programs now. I don't know about for 0321's, but you can go straight from OCS, TBS, MOS to the SMCR. I would expect it would be awfully tough to be a "reserve only" officer, though, when all of the other officers have active duty experience and a lot of times more rank than their billet requires.

[rvillac2]

Yes, I know about the reserve officer programs, but most of them are designed to promote Marines into the officer billets. I did not know they were taking fresh LTs and putting them directly into Reserve units.

Either way, 0321 is an enlisted MOS and this kid is confused about his career path.