MOS Mess

My son is sworn into DEP with a tentative ship date of 06/04/11; he was 17 when he signed in July, but turned 18 at the end of September. My dilemma is this: he originally wanted to be a linguist, and with ASVAB scores of 98 and no line item less that 122 (electrical was the lowest) and a DLAB score of 114, he was right on track for that once jobs were released on Oct. 1. Somewhere along the way, he decided that he wanted to be a sniper. After PT one day, he asked a recruiter (not HIS recruiter) how to go about that, and was told he'd have to be infantry to go to sniper school. Nathan then proceeded to choose infantry as his first choice with linguist as second. I asked him that night what his choices were, knowing that they were going to put in top 3 requests that night, and was floored when he said he picked infantry. I asked him if he knew anything about sniper school, qualifications, etc. and he said no. After doing some research, we discovered that he is practically disqualified because of color blindness. He was pretty devastated since the only reason he wanted infantry was the possibility of getting sniper school down the road. The next day, we called HIS recruiter, explained the situation, and he said he'd change to choices back to linguist as first and infantry as second. Surprisingly, when Oct. 1 rolled around, infantry was the MOS he got. We called his recruiter who informed us that he did not remember the phone call when he said he'd switch the MOS's, but he would put in a request to get them changed.

My question, I guess, is what is the likelihood that this request will be approved, and what is a suitable time frame to wait to find out if it was approved? I called his recruiter yesterday, and he said he was going back to the office in half an hour and he would check on it and call me but (shock) he did not. Please help if you can provide any insight...Nathan would prefer not to be infantry if he can't be a sniper.

Before anyone thinks I'm just some scared mommy, I'm prior service Army and a service connected veteran. I know the things that can happen when a young person enlists in any branch of the service and we still gaveour consent for my boy to swear in. My concern is that he will spend 4 years doing something he hates, watching troops around him doing things that he would be doing if it weren't for MEP's diagnosis of colorblindness.

Why are you blaming MEPS for a genentic condition given to your son by his father or grandfather? Work with the recruiter on another MOS or maybe college and a different vocation .

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Originally Posted by DanM

Why are you blaming MEPS for a genentic condition given to your son by his father or grandfather? Work with the recruiter on another MOS or maybe college and a different vocation .

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The only reason I'm upset is that when he came back from MEPS and we talked with his recruiter about jobs, they looked up the qualifications for linguist and made sure that the colorblindness wouldn't be an issue. Nobody did that when he said that he wanted to be a sniper and made career choices based on that desire. When I spoke with Nathan's recruiter about the mess, he said that he was shocked when he saw that Nathan had chosen infantry, but did he bother to talk to anyone about it? No. We are working with the recruiter, but he doesn't seem to be too interested in helping us. Obviously, Nathan will do whatever unfolds for him because he really wants to be a Marine, but I've seen people who went into the military without choosing a particular job and hated life for their entire enlistment. I just don't want Nathan to end up being one of them.

Nate's mom,

I know it must be frustrating to have had this mix up occur and I know the tendency for all parents is to want to help our children unravel or mend any unwanted situation, but I would suggest that Nate deal with the recruiter and situation on his own. Perhaps the reason why you have not gotten a prompt return call is the fact that you called.

If he is indeed disqualified to be a sniper because of color blindness, I would assume that the issue will be dealt with in its own time and that Nate would be assigned to another MOS anyway. But assigned to another MOS or not, now is a good time for him to learn to not lean on a parent to help him resolve an issue. I know he is young, but let him use on his own strengths and abilities to attest to a problem and resolve it.

My son also had some problems before boot camp. He worked it out and to be quite honest he would have been mortified if I had in anyway tried to help or contacted the recruiter.

The very best to you and your son.

Thanks, Jeanne, my first inclination is to have him deal with it (he did, after all, make this totally uninformed decision on his own!), but when I ask him if he's heard anything, he tells me that he doesn't want to "bother" his recruiter. He feels like if he keeps calling, he's going to make is recruiter PO'd and then he won't get anything he wants.

I have a question out on the open discussion thread asking about how hard it is to get into sniper school if a Marine is technically colorblind, because it is not a total disqualification, it's just discouraged (this info comes directly off the leadership checklist for sniper school qualification).

First and foremost, it's just rude to tell someone you will call them back, even give them an absolute like by the end of the day, and not call. If the recruiter would rather talk to Nathan about all this, then he should have at least called Nathan with what he found out, even if it's nothing yet. I'm just sayin'...

Tell your son to tell your recruiter he simply won't go at this time, and miss his ship date, if he doesn't get linguist MOS. If none is available, tell your son to get a job and wait it out, or pick a different MOS...unless he really wants infantry, which is sounds like he doesn't. And anyone who doesn't want to be a grunt, but wants to be a sniper is going to have a tough time. You need a certain mentality and maturity developed before being a sniper..and that often comes from being infantry for a bit.

Sad to say, but your Son needs to turn loose of the strings and handle his own affairs.

He ain't gonna get to call home, when he is in boot, and one of those mean ole DI's yells at him.

The recruiter has no obligation to call you back. Your son needs to man up and tell him that he wants to be a linguist or he wont ship.

I don't know if he can go to school, but I think he could be in STA plt. STA is a plt that is a part of Headquarters and Service company in an infantry battalion. It is made up of PIGs (primarily instructed gunman or Marines that haven't been to school) and HOGs (hunters of gunman or Marines that have been and passed sniper school). Sniper teams still needs guys to provide security for the guys who actually shoot the long range rifle. He may not go to school, but he still might have the chance to be in STA.

That being said, I have one question for him. How do you go from lingist to sniper...to much call of duty me thinks...

nevermind

Nate,
Let's hear your comments on the situation. You will or will not be the MARINE.

Nates Mom,

I guess I stand alone here but agree with you on most issues. Yes I believe that if anyone tells you that they will call you back that you should expect a return call, it matters not that this recruiter is not signing you but your son, if he told you he would call you back you deserve the call. Shame on him for not doing the honorable thing. Secondly you have every right to help your son get the MOS that he wants and that he has the scores to obtain, some may say he needs to stand up for himself if he wants to be a Marine, this he will learn in time but right now with your experience and knowledge YOU need to make sure this starts off the right way. As prior military you understand how this works there is a chain of command here with the recruiter being at the bottom, climb the chain to make sure your son gets what is best for him. I say this as a Marine who's son enlisted 18 months ago and I went with him to every appointment he had with his recruiter. Because of my experience with the system I made sure my son got what was best for him. Recruiters have a hard job and in my experience I believe they value the parents being involved it makes it easier on the recruit and recruiter if the parents are happy. What happens in the recruiting process stays there and does not affect your future Marines career. My son was 19 at the time he signed and with the support of my wife (his Mother) and I he is having a great time in the Corp that we both love doing the job of his dreams. By the way he stood on his own in Boot Camp at Parris Island and was the Honor Grad for his Platoon, so they do make men and Marines out of boys there. So I say march yourself and your son down to that office and make sure he gets the MOS he deserves.

Josh's Dad

hahahahahahahahaha wow...

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Originally Posted by BigAlHolmes165

Sad to say, but your Son needs to turn loose of the strings and handle his own affairs.

He ain't gonna get to call home, when he is in boot, and one of those mean ole DI's yells at him.

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BINGO!!!:evilgrin:

Marine orders change. MOS can change. No matter what they promise at the time of enlistment.... Read the contract... This is not a job application... it is resignation of your will to the authority of the CO. Non-negotiable. He will learn to say *yes sir* He will learn to make a tight bed...clean his room...run... hike...climb... work as a team.... lose sleep... say * sir, yes, sir* ...etc. Only the few.... THE MARINES :)