Leaving August 24th. Have some final questions

[dunn2517]

I am as of now a 0331. However I would like to get the opinions of some people who are in these MOS on If I should stick with this or go for 0311? Also I was told I can volunteer for deployment out of my MOS school, is this true? my unit is set to deploy in Nov. of 2010, I would like to go sooner than that. Thanks in advance for clearing up my ignorant questions. I look forward to being a part of the Corps.

[rufio14]

Are you a reservist?

[dunn2517]

Are you a reservist?

yes

[Alisium]

You can always move to another unit that's deploying sooner. And UNITAS is always looking for bodies.

I'm partial to 0311 since I did both in active duty and reserves. We simply get to do more stuff. Despite the fact that weapons guys call us "crunchies" they are still infantry support.

I'm sure Pete0331 will be around to tell you differently.

SF and good luck.

[dunn2517]

thats good to know. What routes do I take to go with a unit thats leaving sooner? I know it might sound stupid but I really don't wanna be in a supportive role.

[dunn2517]

Bump for some more opinions.

[dunn2517]

im going to talk to my recruiter and see if I can change it 0311 I think

[dunn2517]

I have talked to them , and there are no 0311 spots open, are there any other routes I can go down?

[Lupo22]

I have talked to them , and there are no 0311 spots open, are there any other routes I can go down?

Just wait, or go active duty. Either way, i would much rather be active duty than a reservist...i used to think reserves was the way to go, until i went to boot camp and realized that its bad ass being on base and being around your buddies. Civilians are strange...you'll realize this once you get out of boot camp (well most civilians)

[StoneTheWeak]

Just wait, or go active duty. Either way, i would much rather be active duty than a reservist...i used to think reserves was the way to go, until i went to boot camp and realized that its bad ass being on base and being around your buddies. Civilians are strange...you'll realize this once you get out of boot camp (well most civilians)

I disagree, blanket statements like that simply don't work. It depends on what kind of person you are as to what will work for you. Personally I'm active duty and would have benefited more from going reserves and gone to college, its the kind of person I am, and my ability to learn is hampered. Some people like/need the rigidity and structure of active duty. It's all dependent. Heres one tidbit though....


You can switch from reserves to active duty, you can never go from active duty to reserves.

[MLMonk]

You can switch from reserves to active duty, you can never go from active duty to reserves.

Unless your at your reenlistment.


Only choose reserves if you absolutely want to be one, and have a good reason to do so, like going to college full time (all ready accepted and everything), have a GOOD paying job (McDonald burger flipper doesn't count), or a combination of the both, or some other personal issue, but still want to be a Marine. I blame myself for going reserves, nearly everyday, at least I enjoy my MOS, so I don't complain about that.

The thing about reserve units and MOS's, is that unit is paying YOU to go through schooling and to have YOUR MOS in their unit. All of that comes out of their funding, so they will want the most out of you. My unit needed a 3536, so they contracted me into it (yeah sure, it took me a little over a year to go through the whole thing).

[CarolinaMarine]

Any reasoning behind not waiting and going with your unit? Beyond just wanting to get in on the fight? Being a reservist myself and currently activated, I'm very glad i went with my unit instead of going sooner/later. These are of course the guys you are going to be working with once you return, why not deploy with them.

I'm glad i went reserves, being on active duty now waiting to ship overseas it fully supports my decision, I can't stand active duty. I used to think my I&I and Reserve Unit was screwed up to no end.....then i got activated and it makes my unit look like heaven on earth. You can definitely tell an active duty Marine from a reservist here. Not to mention all the Active duty guys get ****ed that you make more $ then them and constantly tell you how they should of gone reserves. Active duty is filled to the brim with BS and NO common sense. I could list more reasons but i don't think its relevant.

[0331 2 0369]

Any reasoning behind not waiting and going with your unit? Beyond just wanting to get in on the fight? Being a reservist myself and currently activated, I'm very glad i went with my unit instead of going sooner/later. These are of course the guys you are going to be working with once you return, why not deploy with them.

Very good reasoning. Go with your unit. Not only does it give you more time to prep yourself as far as training but it will give you a chance to build a fellowship with your unit.

As for being an 0331, there is absolutly nothing wrong with that. As my ID shows, I was born an 0331 and loved every minute of it. If you are in a wpns plt then it can be a b!tch sometimes but it is still fun. I spent most of my time in a Wpns Company in, what started as a Heavy Machinegun Platoon years ago, to what it is called today.... some refer to those platoons as CAAT (Combined Anti Armor Team) or MAP (Mobile Assault Platoon).

And we never refered to the 0311's as "crunchies". We called them "speed bumps".

[dunn2517]

I have been accepted to UCONN, I am an honor student and want to go to college and also serve my country. I got accepted into the physical therapy program so I may want to do that in the Marine Corps. further down the road. My own personal opinion is that we are in a war and just because I am a reservist doesn't give me the right to sit home for 8 months after SOI while Marines are dying. Also it happens to fall when I come back in March which is in the middle of a semester , I am schedualed to leave in NOV. which is in the middle of a semester so I will enevidably be wasting time if I come back and wait to deploy.

[rufio14]

I would say deploy with your unit..you haven't lived the life yet, you don't even know
if this is truly for you and unfortunately you can't really ever know that until your
actually in...you don't know if you're going to want a nice break after going through SOI, you might welcome the time to be home and relax a bit before deploying to WAR, cause thats what it is. Just remember you still have to earn the Title, you still have 3 long months at MCRD, things may look different to you in 6 months so you can truly make you decision then. Good luck and let us know what happens.