Open contract question

[frady2001]

Hello all, older brother of a future marine.

First I would like to thank all the marines here for your service to our country and for the help you provide here. I have a question about the contract process, but first a little background. Its a bit long, so if you dont have the time you can skip to the bottom for the question.

I am 25 and about a year ago my brother (just turned 19, our mother died 8 years prior and he lived with his dad) reached a point in his life where he knew he was going to end up dropping out of school and ending up in jail. His father didn't care about things like school or graduating and did nothing to set any goals for him.

He called me one night and asked to move in with me. I was fresh out of college and in my first year of teaching with a wedding being planned so I was hesitant. I told him if I was going to take him in that we had better have a goal and be ready to work. He had been a pothead and narrowly escaped serious trouble a few times.

After some discussion he had said he had wanted to be a marine, I told him to give it some thought and he felt the same. We had a few problems however, He was about to begin his last 9 weeks of his Junior year with a 1.6 GPA. He had little to no work ethic or motivation and he was clinically depressed. It was a rough 9 weeks and I had to ride his ass like a 7th grader but he came home w/ great grades and turned around.

We are now in the middle of his 3rd 9 weeks of his senior year (about 1 year later). He has had only 1 C on each report card (he struggles w/ math) and the rest evenly split between As and Bs since moving in with me. He is on track to graduate, was part of the baseball team and is involved in several after school clubs. I no longer have to ask him about schoolwork as he just gets it done and he has not missed a single day of school since moving in with me. We had our fights and I nearly threw him out on his ass a few times, But he is almost there and I am very proud of him.


Now to my question.

We are at the point where he is talking to recruiters and talking about contracts. He goes with the recruiter Monday to have his physical and then he is ready to sign the contract. I have done a bit of research and found people saying that if a person knows what they want to do then they should not sign an open contract.

He wants to be infantry and his goal is to make it into recon. This goal is what we have been using to motivate him to graduate and get his life together. His recruiter is telling him that he has to sign up as open contract but that if he waits until August he could get him in as infantry.

2 problems.
1) I dont want him getting screwed by the marines right off the bat (he'll have at least 4 years after this to get screwed) with his MOS

2) He REALLY does not need 4 months after graduation to sit around with nothing to do.

So, is the recruiter BSing him or can he get an infantry MOS before signing anything?

[Rains]

FILL OUT YOUR FUGGING PROFILE OR NO ONE WILL HELP YOU. ONLY HURT YOU.

[frady2001]

OK, now that you know my favorite color and movie....

[Rains]

OK, now that you know my favorite color and movie....

NO ONE GIVES A SHET ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE COLOR AND MOVIE.

IT IS ASKED, OR SHOULD I SAY COMMANDED, OF ALL POOLEES AND WANNABES TO FILL OUT A PROFILE BEFORE POSTING.

THERE IS NO NEED TO MAKE A SMARTASS COMMENT WHEN BEING TOLD TO FOLLOW RULES.



NOW CONCERNING YOUR QUESTION. TRY USING THE SEARCH FUNCTION (WHICH IS ANOTHER RULE).

[frady2001]

I have used the search function but have had trouble finding the definitive answer to this question. I have seen a lot of people advise not going in with an open contract but from what I can gather a recruit is required to do so.

[thewookie]

The Marine Corps is what you make it, any Marine MOS is better then the alternative.

I went in open contract and finished my eight years with 6 MOS's. Count em - 3531, 0411, 8531, 8152, 9962, 8154

What does that tell you, nothing. Your MOS numbers are only where your Marine education begins.

[0231Marine]

Ok, well since you want to cop an attitude before one of us Marines even has an opportunity to help you, then I am inclined not to even bother with you because you already assume that...

1) You know what it takes to be a Marine and what we encounter during our enlistment

(I dont want him getting screwed by the marines right off the bat (he'll have at least 4 years after this to get screwed) with his MOS)

2) That you brother can't stay out of trouble for 4 months over the summer but you think he can be a Marine? I'm not saying he can't but it doesn't sound positive and he may be a little immature if you think he has issue just living as a civilian.

He REALLY does not need 4 months after graduation to sit around with nothing to do.


You don't like the rules of the site, then go somewhere else!

[frady2001]

Ok, well since you want to cop an attitude before one of us Marines even has an opportunity to help you, then I am inclined not to even bother with you because you already assume that...

1) You know what it takes to be a Marine and what we encounter during our enlistment

(I dont want him getting screwed by the marines right off the bat (he'll have at least 4 years after this to get screwed) with his MOS)

2) That you brother can't stay out of trouble for 4 months over the summer but you think he can be a Marine? I'm not saying he can't but it doesn't sound positive and he may be a little immature if you think he has issue just living as a civilian.

He REALLY does not need 4 months after graduation to sit around with nothing to do.


You don't like the rules of the site, then go somewhere else!

OK, Ill write this and give it up. I didn't mean any disrespect to the marines in here. I filled out something when I made the account and thought that was the profile. My apologies.

The comment about getting screwed was a reference to marines getting the worst equipment and resources in the armed forces and making due.... not a knock on the marines. In retrospect I can see that it was worded incorrectly.

And my brother will be a great marine, he is running and working out every day and doing what is necessary to prepare. He is immature, but then again how many of us weren't at 19.

I'm just trying to figure out if it is worth it for him to wait an extra 4 months to have a better chance at his desired MOS. He is going to join and do whatever is asked, I'm just trying to help him make an informed decision. Thanks for the help to those that tried.

[futuremarine129]

I think that If your brother wants infantry then WAIT. The last thing I want when I sign is to get screwed, and I know it is a possibility, so if my recruiter tries ANY funny business, I'm just going to say thank you for your time, I'll be back when the contract opens, and i think your brother should do the same. If you kept him out of trouble for a year, 4 months shouldn't be too hard. have him do some volunteer work, it will help when he goes for recon because I've heard they look back at what kind of leadership work you have done. So, once again, I would say wait.

[MGarrison]

Same thing happened to me. I signed up for being shipped in June with an 03 contract but finished school early and wanted to push up my ship date. anyways, long story short.... they didn't have any infantry slots open until my actual June ship date, they offered me other stuff, but I said I'd wait. I'm shipping on Feb 09. I got a call, and someone dropped infantry so I got it. Just wait, trust me. What's more important? 4 months or 4 years?

[Knight86]

I know I am just a pool(ee) feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but most of us enter the D.E.P. under open contract this is not the contract you ship to boot with. While you are in the D.E.P. you and your recruiter pick an MOS for you , then your recruiter reserves it for you, then when you go back to MEPS to ship the new contract is written up and signed before you go to boot.
(you can refuse if it isn't what you talked about)


It is also my understanding that for infantry slots you can not pick a specific one before boot camp, because you probably cant be a scout sniper if you shoot a pizza box. I am sure they can guarantee something in the infantry field, but I am not a recruiter or a Marine yet.

[frady2001]

I know I am just a pool(ee) feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but most of us enter the D.E.P. under open contract this is not the contract you ship to boot with. While you are in the D.E.P. you and your recruiter pick an MOS for you , then your recruiter reserves it for you, then when you go back to MEPS to ship the new contract is written up and signed before you go to boot.
(you can refuse if it isn't what you talked about)


It is also my understanding that for infantry slots you can not pick a specific one before boot camp, because you probably cant be a scout sniper if you shoot a pizza box. I am sure they can guarantee something in the infantry field, but I am not a recruiter or a Marine yet.

Thank you very much. This is exactly what I was looking for. I understand the specific slot thing, its just that if he couldn't get infantry then that makes it very hard to even attempt recon training. Again, thank you for the information.

[0231Marine]

Looking back at my post last night, I realize I might have been a little harsh. I was hitting the bottle a little so my apologies to you frady.

If he really wants infantry, then he needs to wait to sign his contract. There is no issue with him being in the DEP but he doesn't need to sign any contract until it says 03XX on it. Since you are his older brother and he lives with you, I would encourage you to be as involved in the process as you can be to ensure he is receiving the best advice possible on life and what his other options are. You seem like you have your sh!t wired tight and want what is best for him so let him know what you think.

I would also recommend you have him create an account on here so he can ask any questions he might have directly as there is a wealth of information in previous threads that may benefit him during his summer.

Again, my apologies if I came across like a d!ck last night...certainly was not my intentions.

[Quinbo]

First off Rains let me say that you are out of line.

Frady your brother can enter the delayed entry program on open contract and then change the contract before he ships. It is kinda cliche that every newby that comes on this site wants to be a recon ranger sniper seal. If that is his goal it is a lofty one but go for it.

That is good advice for him to get his own account on here and ask away. You have been through the meat grinder we call welcome aboard here so you can give him the scoop on the profile and the stickys etc. Many many of his and your questions will have already been asked and answered on here and the search feature is very helpful.

[blackshirts]

Thank you very much. This is exactly what I was looking for. I understand the specific slot thing, its just that if he couldn't get infantry then that makes it very hard to even attempt recon training. Again, thank you for the information.

You seem like a good guy. Just for followup, what the poolie said is exactly right. I had been wondering that for sometime too. On my way to MEPS, I felt like I was being toyed with signing open because I didn't realize you sign another contract that has your MOS in it once you've enlisted at MEPS.

Another thing is, his recruiter might try and tell your brother that infantry is full. Keep at it. He'll get infantry if he keeps working his recruiter.

Good luck to him.