Recon School

[Valdyr]

My recruiter thinks he may be able to get me a recon contract (I believe it's called UZ, but I'm not too sure). I have a fairly high first class PFT and have gone and bought a recon prep course and am working now to get in better swimming shape, so I will do everything possible to prepare. That said, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Recon Marines and what they do, and coming straight out of SOI into Recon School and passing seems a little unrealistic.

I was curious as to what the Marine Corps' policy is on those active duty Marines who have been through ITB but fail BRC? I had a friend of mine who is a Marine told me they might try to change my MOS, while another Marine told me I'll go back to being Infantry. So is there a specific principle/rule that this decision is based on, or is it somewhat on a case by case basis? Any help is appreciated.

Also, I realize there's another thread about this but it unfortunately had to be closed before more than a few Marines could weigh in.

[josephd]

If you come into the Marine Corps with a recon contract and you fail or drop out of BRC the Corps can put you into any MOS that they need new Marines into. If you go in as a regular 03xx contract, get into BRC, and then fail/drop out you will just be put back in as a regular 0311.

Think about it...by failing BRC you didn't honor your end of the contract you signed. They should have the right to put you wherever they want, whether it be for numbers/man power reasons or for punishment purposes.

[Valdyr]

Thank you, Lance Corporal. I guess I better not fail then :P. I wanted to go in with an 03xx contract but there are none open for my ship date. I'm still hoping for an Infantry spot to open up so I can ship early, but if need be then I'd rather take the recon contract.

Edit: Rather than ending up having to take a non-combat MOS

[thewookie]

Also, I realize there's another thread about this but it unfortunately had to be closed before more than a few Marines could weigh in.

You are willing to take your recruiters words on him getting you a specific contract but you won't for "what if" you fail? Or you thought by typing the question differently that you would get different results? Or did you feel the responses in the other thread were not sufficient enough?

[Valdyr]

I trust my recruiter to tell me the truth. He told me that most likely I would end up being Infantry in the event that I fail (which I don't plan on doing, but should be prepared for), but I wanted to get a few opinions from other Marines who may have direct experience and to see if there is an actual policy with certain stipulations regarding new Marines who fail BRC, which apparently there isn't if I understand correctly. That's all I wanted to know really.

[Zulu 36]

You might end up infantry, but don't hold your breath. That takes a slot from recruits who are enlisting as infantrymen.

Based on my experience here on LN.com, no one who failed or dropped from BRC while on a UZ contract ended up in infantry. Be prepared as the fail rate is high even for Marines with experience and time to work up prior to going.

[thewookie]

an actual policy

I don't think you are going to find a policy on it. But good luck, and let us know if you do.

[Gunstream]

These questions are starting to irritate me.

Look, I serve a support MOS in a recon battalion, and there are plenty of recon Marines when I go to drill. Not a single one of them ever considered failure an option. If you're wondering what your backup plan is if you fail BRC, you're going to fail BRC.

[patolcott]

Agreed Gunstream, when i was in BRC there were so many times i wanted to quit you just gotta push through. i will say though back in 07 when i went to BRC all the people who got dropped went to I wanna say 1/5 which is infantry. that is probably changed now though with all this drawdown talk.

[Quinbo]

It is my understanding that there is a BRC prep course called MART in which you spend a certain amount of time preparing for the course. Unless I am mistaken a UZ contract is by default an infantry contract. I would conclude from that that if you fail BRC you would go to line infantry. We have seen some exceptions where Marines have been injured and could neither perform as recon or infantry in which case they were placed in another MOS group.

It is good that you have a plan and a back-up plan because there is a certain level of attrition at BRC, but keep a mindset for success.