For older Marines

[USNAviator]

Had a thought,I know odd but true, before the MOS selection process started, all Marines were at the mercy of the Fates. Did any of you who went through boot before they had contracts ever think about which MOS you might get? Did you have a wish list? Did you even care?. I suspect the answer to the last one is no. Was anyone disappointed when they didn't get infantry?

[chulaivet1966]

For me at 17, as I'd mentioned in another thread, it NEVER occurred to me that I would get anything but infantry in some fashion especially because I knew the Vietnam war was trucking along.
I never know what MOS meant prior to joining let alone actually thinking I could 'request' a vocation or get some sort of 'contract'.
But, I didn't end up as an 03xx, I got assigned to Whiskey battery 2/11 as 0811 (4.2 mortars) and we chopped with the grunts on Ops.
I never thought of requesting any job function....I was just happy I could get away from my dad and our screwed up home life.
Hence...it is strange for me to read threads regarding 'contracts'.

Hope that is what you're asking....time for a beer.

Everyone have a safe Holiday weekend.

[Old Marine]

With that thread title I thought you had a special on Viagra.

Personally I never thought about an MOS nor did I really care. I never knew what an MOS was or heard anyone mention it until we graduated. I was told I would be basic 3000 Supply. No school, only OJT. Carried the Supply MOS for 20 years wth a secondary MOS of 8511 the last 7 years. I had no desire to have an infantry MOS.

[USNAviator]

For me at 17, as I'd mentioned in another thread, it NEVER occurred to me that I would get anything but infantry in some fashion especially because I knew the Vietnam war was trucking along.
I never know what MOS meant prior to joining let alone actually thinking I could 'request' a vocation or get some sort of 'contract'.
But, I didn't end up as an 03xx, I got assigned to Whiskey battery 2/11 as 0811 (4.2 mortars) and we chopped with the grunts on Ops.
I never thought of requesting any job function....I was just happy I could get away from my dad and our screwed up home life.
Hence...it is strange for me to read threads regarding 'contracts'.

Hope that is what you're asking....time for a beer.

Everyone have a safe Holiday weekend.

Thanks for the info Wayne. What you don't offer a beer to the Navy?

Have a safe weekend!

[chulaivet1966]

Thanks for the info Wayne. What you don't offer a beer to the Navy?

Oh mierda, I am remiss.
Of course!...my refrigerator is open to the forum.
We'll have to live with Heineken tonight....hope that is acceptable.

Back to topic (not going to accuse me of h/jacking this thread because of a cold beer)

[USNAviator]

With that thread title I thought you had a special on Viagra.

Personally I never thought about an MOS nor did I really care. I never knew what an MOS was or heard anyone mention it until we graduated. I was told I would be basic 3000 Supply. No school, only OJT. Carried the Supply MOS for 20 years wth a secondary MOS of 8511 the last 7 years. I had no desire to have an infantry MOS.

I'm working on that Gunny but I need Dave on board to work out the distribution contracts.

[USNAviator]

Oh mierda, I am remiss.
Of course!...my refrigerator is open to the forum.
We'll have to live with Heineken tonight....hope that is acceptable.

More than acceptable. Better than Pearl and Lone Star Billy keeps in his fridge in Texas

[jumpinjack]

When I went in in 68, never knew anything about MOS till almost out of boot, I ended up 1833 amtracks.

[USNAviator]

We had a contract in late 1963 but it amounted to the Marine Corps almost literally owning you. You agreed to serve, for six years, any combination of active and inactive duty, but 6 years was the obligation.
I chose 4 active, and 2 inactive reserves.

We took classification tests at Parris Island and based on those scores, presumably, and the needs of the Corps, we were assigned MOSs, but we had no say in the matter at all, no one asked us, we did not fill out dream sheets or anything of the kind. We could not even choose the general field, let alone the exact job.

The only exception was "Aviation Guaranteed". You could choose that.
Other than that, we had no idea if we would be driving a truck or operating a computer.
And we didn't care. No one ever talked about what kind of job he would end up getting, that I ever heard.

They announced MOS in a classroom circle at the very end of boot camp, and they just called out your name, told you what your job would be, period. Then we went to ITR at Camp Geiger on a bus, a nonstop bus from PI, and were there 6 weeks, then some leave, then to our schools.

When I enlisted, took the oath in the recruiter's office with other folks, what I would be doing in the Corps never entered my mind. We wanted to become Marines.

Interesting, so that scene in FMJ was spot on!

There in lies the big difference Dave, you men wanted to be Marines. You didn't care what your MOS was and neither did the generations who came before you like Gunny or Ray Merrill. I hope for the young folks who read this, it will open their eyes. No contracts, no talk of MOS. You signed to be Marines, period!!!

[USNAviator]

Just as an aside----We are really no different from anyone else. We are sometimes irked by the endless questions by younger folks, but if we were young again, and lived in the Internet Age and had a PC right there in front of us, we would be asking some of the very same questions.

Yes but we can't go back again. Our lives were molded by our experiences. We are who we are for better or worse just as their lives will be molded by their experiences. No better, no worse just different

[USNAviator]

Right, but my thought was that we sometimes show impatience when a poolee asks what time of day he will be brushing his teeth in boot camp, and what kind of toothpaste exactly, and how many steps is it from his rack to the head and do they teach you how to shave?-----but if we were their age, and had access to a computer, back then, and every single detail about life was available to US back then, we might be asking the very same things. So it's not the younger folks per se, it's that we enlisted during an era when there was hardly any information about anything, so these things were not the subject of conversations. MOS info included.

In other words, we have to understand that the younger folks are asking so many questions simply because they can.
And the info is out there, so they ask.

Coming up on 4000 posts, Commander. Too bad only less than a hundred amounted to anything. LOL

Didn't we go through this last night? How many times are you going hit 4000 posts?

[chulaivet1966]

No congratulations or anything?? Not even a beer offered to me by Wayne, but he offered you a Heineken. Unbelievable. When he thought it was the end of the world prior to May 21 he was drinking Sam Adams. LOL

Ha...in your zeal you read too quickly weed hopper:
'my refrigerator is open to the forum'....that includes feisty party animals like yourself.

I'm embarrassed that I polished off the Sam Adams....I owe everyone now.
I'm in deep sh!t.

Carry on....

[USNAviator]

I hit 4000 last night, but when Jacob the Jckaz was wiped out, my posts were too, so I was set back by about 20 or so

Dave my heartiest congrats. I know this means a lot to you getting your 4000th post, AGAIN!!. Don't blame Wayne, we already finished his keg of Heini so he felt embarrassed he had nothing to offer you

Your 4000th post lapel pin will be in the mail to you. Wear it proudly with your Dudley-do-right tie bar!

You deserve all the accolades you deserve. You'll probably be getting some word from Prince William and Kate about this

[Marine84]

OK.........I'll bite (meaning I'm answering in an "older" Marine question). I didn't sign up because I wanted to do anything specific - I didn't really give a fat baby's a$$. I wanted to fly something but, back then they only let women fly the slow birds like a C131 or a C5 (I think?) - anyway, it was transport planes only. My Recruiter kept telling me my MOS was Whiskey Juliet - whatever THAT was - I didn't care.

I remember taking the tests and stuff to see if any of us had a brain in our heads or not. I remember the whole platoon being marched down to some building that would hold all of us and some S-1 guy calling us up to come and get our first set of orders.

Mine said that I was going to Millington, TN to NAS Memphis for training to be an Aviation Ordnance Armament Repair Technician. Of course, I had no clue what the hell THAT was so, I asked - "what's an Aviation Ordnance Armament Repair Technician?". Do you know this man busted his gut laughing at my Southern a$$ and told me "you're going to be stacking BB's for the next four years". Hell, turned out, I had a BLAST (no pun intended) for the next 4 years!

Swing with the Wing baby! IYAOYAS!

[sscjoe]

I see the kindler gentler War Room is spreading accross L.N. Thanks Dave and Irish