Are Marines still assigned to sea duty?

[FacFortia]

Good morning Marines,

I'm not sure if this is a ridiculous question to ask or not, because I've gotten a different answer from every Marine I know personally, but do Marines still get assigned to sea duty? One of the things I've always loved about the Marine Corps and a significant factor in my decision to enlist in the Corps is your (our?) history and naval tradition. The vast majority of the men in my family were Sailors and I've always been fascinated by naval vessels and their "sea stories", but I know that every fibre of my being is gung ho, and I belong in the Corps.

That said, is there any particular MOS that would allow me to spend a considerable amount of time at sea? As of right now, I have a 6-year 03xx contract.

Thank you for your time, Marines.

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[Tennessee Top]

No. No more Sea Duty (nor Barracks Duty on Naval Bases). Thanks to sequestration (mandatory budget and troop reductions), there are not enough bodies to spare for those types of assignments. Civilians run our messhalls now for same reason, not enough Marines to do it (like we used to). Same with gate guards at our bases - most are contract civilians and not Marines.

Majority of the time Marines spend on Navy ships today is aboard amphibious ships for deployments (normally around 7 months depending on the mission).

Marine Security Forces (MSF) are assigned to specific Naval Bases to guard nuclear subs. Fleet Antiterrorism Security Teams (FAST) spend some time aboard ships protecting merchant ships against international pirates, etc. Talk to recruiter about this. They are all grunts (03XX) but require a specific contract (not a regular 03XX contract).

Good luck.

[USMC 2571]

Interesting. Good info from Tennessee Top as usual!

[Tennessee Top]

Civilian servers at the messhall (and yes, that is CAKE on that recruit's tray!):

[Tennessee Top]

Breakfast meal:

[Tennessee Top]

[USMC 2571]

OHHHH what a change from 1963. LOL

[USMC 2571]

I always thought it was just an expression: "A picture is worth a thousand words". But not when it comes to this. These photos show about as much difference from the olden days til now as the Iron Age to 2016.

[USMC 2571]

And, OP, I was going to say that there is no such thing as a ridiculous question, but we know better here. YOUR question, however, is far from ridiculous, in fact it is very interesting, and I had no idea that Sea Duty was long gone from the Corps. So it was a great question.

[FacFortia]

Thank you for the info, Top. Your response was rapid and informative, as always. The wealth of wisdom and information from you Marines on this forum has aided me immensely so far in my journey to earning the title. Whenever another Poolee in my RSS platoon has a question that I myself or our recruiters couldn't answer, I always refer them to this site.

This is off-topic, but Sergeant spoke of the vast difference between boot camp in the 60s as opposed to now. Do you think Marines aren't as well prepared for entering the Fleet nowadays?

[madsox]

OHHHH what a change from 1963. LOL

Oh, it's a big change from 1984 too, Dave - I guess I'm Old Corps now too!

I'd heard that the last shipboard detachments were gone, I think it was just last year - What would Admiral Farragut say?

A ship without Marines is like a garment without buttons.
— Adm David G. Farragut, 1862

[USMC 2571]

Post 10---oh no, they are as well prepared or MORE so nowadays for entering the Fleet. I was referring to the many changes both in the Corps and in society since the "old days", which, after all, was at one time "the present".

We were mainly talking about the meals nowadays, 5 star hotel compared to yesteryear, and I don't think any sane person could argue that boot camp is harder now than 50 years ago. Apples and oranges.....but getting back to PREPAREDNESS, no doubt that today's Marines are certainly as well, and even more so, prepared than in my day.

[USMC 2571]

Just by the way, to give you some idea of the enormous changes wrought both in society and in the Corps, see Andy's post (Madsox) about the changes since 1984, TWENTY years after my time in the Corps, and STILL tremendous changes observed. So we're just comparing then and now, but that's all it is. How can the Corps or anything else possibly be like it was in 1963?? Who would want it to be like it used to be? Just reminiscing, is all. LOL......prepared? Yes, nowadays, Marines are extremely well prepared.

[Tennessee Top]

I agree. Boot Marines are prepared to continue through the training pipeline to Marine Combat Training (MCT) or Infantry Training Battalion (ITB). Grunts move on to the fleet, and POG's go onto their MOS schools. Todays's Drill Instructors may go about it in different ways, but they still accomplish their mission and turn out basically trained Marines. Have confidence in your DI's and trust they want you to earn that title (as long as you do your part).

[USMC 2571]

Just to digress a bit---a couple of people have told me that they lost some motivation between boot camp and MCT, due to going home on leave after boot camp and before reporting to MCT---in my day we went straight from boot camp to ITR (the equivalent of MCT) without stopping. They gave us leave after ITR (Infantry Training Regiment)------so I wonder why they split it up like that, giving you leave after boot but BEFORE MCT, so you can relax at home and then go thru the rigorous MCT training.....but, this has no effect on Marines being prepared for the Fleet---they are----but two or three people so far have commented on their own diminishing of motivation prior to reporting to MCT from home. Something to watch for, that lessening of motivation.