ADVICE: preferably from Marines that have experience in recon, Scout Sniper or MARSOC

[tyrannosaurus]

Good evening Marines, I would like to receive some advice from you guys that have experience in recon or MARSOC or even scout snipers. I am really interested in it, all the stuff that comes with all three types of MOS's, all the training and strenuous activity that comes with it but, the only thing im worried about is dying. I have also been told by my senior recruiter (who was in marsoc before recruiting) that the chances of dying is small because of all the professional training that I will have but im still concerned about it, thats the only problem believe it or not, im not worried about any strenuous PT that is inevitably gonna slay me, none of that. just dying, so the advice that I would like to get is 1.what are the honest chances of dying when you're in one of those MOS's, 2.how long would you have to serve in a recon, raider, or scout sniper division before you can lateral move? 3. do raiders you either get injured or die every mission or something? 4 finally, how would you get into that mindset of going to combat. and I have a feeling that Ill have to start on the yellow footprints first, yes I know that sir, but I am very very well prepared for bootcamp. so putting that aside, Thank you very much to any Marines that give me any advice in advance.

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[crazymjb]

1. Chance of death, injury, or other grievous bodily harm fluctuates a lot based on MOS and mission. In WWII, there were battles where you would be one of the lucky few if you survived. Likewise in Vietnam. In Iraq and Afghanistan, there were units that lost substantial amount of men. In other conflicts, even with units who saw a ton of combat, nobody died. That said, infantry, and moreso the specialized MOS's within the infantry, will give you much more exposure to things that CAN kill you. Whether they do is anyone's guess. You are surrounded by professionals, but professionals can't stop bullets, explosions, and even training accidents. Consider combat arms to be among the most hazardous jobs in the world where you stand a decent risk of injury or death, but in some sense it is a roll of the dice where you end up and what you are doing.

2. If you make it into one of those specialized units, my GUESS is you can get out and back into the regular infantry pretty easily. I don't know of anyone who has voluntarily done so, though I do know guys who got accepted into STA and then opted not to join the platoon. If your recruiter is MARSOC, he should know this. Generally those units don't want people hanging around who don't want to be there and give it their all.

3. MOST missions in current conflicts people are not injured or killed. You can have a mission that goes terribly wrong and tons of people are injured and/or killed. This could be 100% different tomorrow if the US gets itself involved in some other different conflict.

4. Suck it up, buttercup. It frankly sounds like you don't have the mindset for the Marine Corps. Different people deal with the risks in different ways. I always dealt with combat patrols in that I relaxed, knew I was doing my job the best I could do, and what was out of my control was out of my control. It worked fine for me, granted my deployment was boring for the most part. The few moments of excitement I stayed calm and did my job. The people who stressed out the entire time came back completely burned out. There is better insight into this if you read some good war memoirs from WWII where dudes stepped onto beachheads where they EXPECTED to die. I expected to be just fine, that helped me stay relaxed. Your mileage may vary, but you already seem pretty nervous.

Mike

[Tennessee Top]

Don't know the numbers so may be wrong. A lot of military personnel are dying today who are not even in a combat zone. The Navy has lost 17 sailors this year because their ships inadvertently collided with another in congested sea lanes. Planes, particularly helicopters, keep falling out of the sky - too many times full of Marines (including MARSOC Raiders just on training missions). Point is, the military is a dangerous place where injury and death can happen any time/any place. If it really bothers you that much, look into a MOS that will keep you out of the combat zone where you won't have to worry about it (audio/visual technician, public affairs, legal clerk, or journalist come to mind).

Good luck.

[jab116]

I've got experience with the last 2 you listed.

1. While slightly elevated for the MOS's you're inquiring about, especially in country, there is a inherant risk in everything you do in life. I've known guys of all MOS's die in everything from car accidents, to helicopter crashes, to stabbings. So really while in a combat environment you are in fact at a higher degree of risk, you also have a higher degree of training that mitigates that risk drastically.

2. Take MARSOC out of this, you're talking second enlistment to even get in and at minimum third to get out. Thats 9 years down the road minimum. As for the other two, the monitor will not want you to lat move, the Marines spent a lot of money to get you that MOS so they are going to want their moneys worth. The only exception I can see is for a SDA, and that has to do with career progression.

3. No

4. Its your job. Your job is to make sure all your buddies get home to their families and friends. If I have to run through a hail of bullets or kill a squad of ISIS to keep their death off my conscious then thats what I'm going to do.

[tyrannosaurus]

thank you all fine Marines to reply to my post, i am now relieved from reading your posts haha, I might even consider the intel portion of the deal or maybe even scout sniper. hoorah Marines,

SEMPER FI.

[tyrannosaurus]

one last question for jab116. what is it like as a scout sniper as far in missions, would you have to go to the bathroom while laying down? and sort of douchy to say, is it even a slither similar to what it was like in the show surviving the cut?

[jab116]

In the hide you're pooping in bags and peeing in bottles, then packing it all out. To your second question, yeah a more tame and watered down version.

[irpat54]

thank you all fine marines to reply to my post, i am now relieved from reading your posts haha, I might even consider the intel portion of the deal or maybe even scout sniper. hoorah marines,

SEMPER FI.

just FYI, and I'm not trying to be mean, but 1) we are Marines. 2) it is not hoorah, that's Army, it is oorah, that's Marine...lol just a little FYI. it may seem small and petty but it is respect and pride for our Corps...

[tyrannosaurus]

my fault sir. will capitalize it next time

[irpat54]

my fault sir. will capitalize it next time

Thanks, once you go through recruit training you will understand better, best of luck to you,

[TravisS32]

From what i've been told from the MARSOC guys i work with, once you obtain this MOS you are not going back to the regular conventional Marine Corps and you will stay with this MOS until you get out. Mostly because you can not transfer back to the conventional force.

[Hammer]

Travis; for the most part you are accurate in that once you are in a unit like Force, or Marsoc, a person will stick with it until the end or as long as they are physically able to participate or they go into another related MOS that the Corps deems "for the best of the Corps".

A person can move into a conventional force ; however the majority of Marines that I have worked with don't want to be in a conventional unit.

[USMC 2571]

Good questions, good thread.