MOS 0811 question

[wiley]

if you wanna see combat, go be a grunt

[MicMarine]

I think you misunderstood, Ssgt. That whole comment was directed towards the original poster. I didn't even read what you had said.

You should have quoted the poster or made sure that your post was directed at him. SSgt is the correct abbreviation for Staff Sergeant. One bit of advice, only post with first hand knowledge. Your instructors are there to prepare you for the works. I have heard all kinds of BS out of instructors. You are not out of MOS school yet and you are trying to dish out advice like a salty Marine.

[Beltayn]

Let me give my perspective.
It's very easy for a poolee looking in to get overly focused on the different MOSs, and not understand the true reality. As important as it is to be doing something you like to do, being a Marine with job X verses job y is not the same as having one particular job verses another particular job in the civilian world.

Reading these forums I see a lot of people really overly concerned about "what jobs see combat?", "will I see combat?", "is this a desk job?", "does my MOS suck?" etc.

The reality is that as far apart as many of these MOSs seem, at the end of the day, all Marines have pretty much the same lifestyle. We all get up early in the morning, have a couple formations for accountability, word gets passed, we PT hard every day, we check gear and do maintenance on gear, maybe do a little paperwork, we clean our areas that we work in, and we train for combat and do continuing education via MCIs or college when we have down time.

It honestly doesn't matter as much as it may seem what MOS you have because once you finish with all the annoyance that is being in "student status" and in a training environment and actually HIT THE FLEET, your experience being a Marine is going to be pretty much the same. It doesn't matter whether you're a grunt, a post man, a explosive ordnance disposal technician, a water purification specialist, or a cryptological linguist. One of the biggest things that brings Marines together is that shared experience.

The main things that MOS really affects are:
-your marketability once you get out of the Corps and are looking for a high paid job in the civilian world
-how quickly you pick up rank
-how big your reenlistment bonus is

The MOST IMPORTANT factor in how good or bad your experience with the Marine Corps will be how motivated you keep yourself to be the best Marine you can be, no matter what crappy situation you may find yourself in.

I am a Cook.
I cook chow for the Marine Corp in the station mess hall of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. I didn't plan to be a cook. Nor did I choose it. But to my surprise I actually found that I like what I do, even if it is nothing like what I would have imagined doing in the US Military back when I was a civilian.
It doesn't matter what you do, because if you apply yourself to it with your heart and soul and be the best Marine you can be, you will be rewarded. It might not be quickly, but it happens. The Corps is a small place, and everybody knows each other, and things get around. I can go on Marine Online right now and do a search for other Lance Corporals in my MOS field in the entire Corps and will probably recognize a good quarter of them. And people will recognize you as you go through your career. Word gets around. People make phone calls. The reputation of how you carry yourself as a Marine will follow you wherever your career takes you, and the opportunities you are presented with will stem in great part from that.
As an enlisted Marine you are judged formally and informally by your Proficiency and Conduct, literally on your score to pick up rank your Pros and Cons.

I was just recently selected to do Marine Security Guard duty and serve with the elite force that guards our embassies in foreign countries.
I earned that right because I carried myself as a good Marine, and excelled at both my job and the other, more important things that are part of being a Marine.

Cooks PT just as hard as Grunts. We don't do as many field exercises, but we know how to operate in the field. We Don't get as many opportunities to fire our rifles, but we can fire our rifles just as well. We have our issued gear and do our combat readiness training and in the combat zone we stand post at the gates and go on patrols outside the wire.
If you recall back in Operation Iraqi Freedom 1 there was a female Marine who was captured by insurgents when her convoy was ambushed, and who was later rescued by a group of Marines and returned home to her family in the states in a highly publicized story.
When the news crews went to go interview the Marines who rescued her and asked them what elite ScoutSniperForceReconDeltaGreeBaretSealTeam6NinjaA sssasin Special Ops group they belonged to to have accomplished that mission, the Marines looked confused and explained to the news crews "Err, no. We're all cooks."

So, despite what I said earlier about how sometimes people get stuck with MOSs they didn't plan for, and believe me EVERY Marine has a "I got screwed by my recruiter" story (Whether they are true or not, no disrespect intended to any recruiters. It's simply the truth that every Marine I've met has "that story".), I want you to know that you WILL get to do what you want to do if you show the Corps that you deserve to be there. If you are all about the bang-bang and the high-speed-low-drag night-vision metal gear solid crap, you can make that happen by being the best Marine you can be. If you end up being in that desk job being a power point commando at first, don't worry about it. I know of Water Purification Specialists that were hot sh*t and applied for and were accepted into MARSOC (Marine Special Operations Command). I know Comm guys that went on to be Drill Instructors. As I mentioned before, I am going to be an Embassy Guard, representing our country and my Corps to the world.

The best thing you can do right now is figure out if you want to be a MARINE. With all the joy and bull**** that comes with that title. If you have any questions about what it is to be a Marine, I'm sure the Marines here would be happy to answer them for you.

Once you know that, don't stress over your MOS. Don't sign any contracts without doing your research and being sure you have all your ducks in a row about doing that job, but it's not the end of the world if it turns out it sucks. Probably 90% of being a Marine is having the maturity to deal with stuff that sucks.

You're already on the right track by searching for solid information to make a good decision.

[Beltayn]

Disclaimer: You are almost certainly not going to have the opportunity to become the new Rambo right out of MOS school, your first year in the fleet, or even your first enlistment. The rank and career progression is there for a reason. You PROGRESS through it. At a pace YOU set. That is the only point I am trying to make. The Marines who are selected for MARSOC and the ones counting down the days to their EAS and complaining about how the Marine Corps "screwed them" were both given the same opportunities.
I see a ton of threads by poolees asking what contract you sign to become the new rambo or the super secret intel operative. There is no such contract.

[rheinmark187]

No boot I am not under the assumption. All the artillery Marines I know, like the one attached to my Battalion, where serving as "security" or provisional rifle platoons. Anything from the chow hall, ECPs, convoys, and TCN escorting. All Marines can see combat, like a firefight. My cousin is winger, and she had a CAR before I did. She was trying to be one of the female Marines that works with MARSOC but is pregnant.

Anyway, back to the question asked. The only MOS that will guarantee combat, is 03XX. Arty is a support MOS, plain and simple. If they are not making it rain steel they are may do some "security" or provisional rifle platoons. THEY ARE NOT INFANTRY.

This is true. Arty sometimes get used as provisional rifle platoons, but it's normally for an ECP. I would never want to be part of an provisional rifle platoon again after my experience in one. There's not enough adequate training to be able to work like an actual rifle company. They should really change the name to general purpose platoon.

[rheinmark187]

I plan on talking to my recruiter soon, but before I go I would like to have a few thing straight in my head. One of the MOS I am considering is 0811, or Cannoneer. The one thing holding me back on this MOS is if I make it through boot camp(I hope I will) and all other 0811 schools, I will never seen any actual combat. By combat I mean firing my rifle, not just the Howitzer. So my question is if I do choose the MOS 0811, would I ever see and combat? If not would MOS 0861, Fire Support Man or Forward Observer, be a better route to take to see more combat? Thanks!

0861 would be a better bet, plus you actually see the effects of your work. Being an 0811 is like being part of a pit crew, except you don't have much of an idea how well your driver is doing after he takes off.

Artillery is great for a commander but I noticed a lot of people really hated it, it's like setting up a traveling circus. There are a ton of different jobs and components, which means a ton of gear to inventory, clean, fix and move. Very few people besides the battery commander 0861's and FO really know what the hell is going on at one time.

I would personally pick 0861 because it satisfies your purpose, you get a security clearance (even if it's only a secret it's still got some value for the outside world) and if you want to latmove out of the MOS you are more prepared to do others. If you want to do MARSOC or Recon you have a better idea. You can also stay in your MOS and go ANGLICO, which provides fire support for Marine and non-Marine units in combat.

I just wonder why you don't go Infantry?

[rheinmark187]

It just seems that that's all these young men who want to join, want to see combat, and if they don't see combat, then you're not a Marine. They forget about the consequences that can happen in combat.

And Gen Gray was a pleasure to be around, and I'm very gracious that he took the time for pictures. It's a picture that I'll treasure for the rest of my life.

With all due respect, these young guys are joining in a time of War. It's been going on since most of them were little kids and it's constantly on the news. A lot of those people who join to travel and get an education are long gone now. They know they have a very good chance of at least deploying to a war zone within their enlistment and the Marine Corps and Army are most likely to get them there.

There is definitely a peace time attitude and a war time attitude. I remember folks we considered "salt dogs" talking about a MEU deployment being the cap stone to a 4 year Marine career. Those who had been on the MEU had a little something on the "boots." That seems really quaint now and I do remember seeing some odd exchanges where some REMF corporals and sergeants who decided to dig in the ass of Lance Corporals who were fresh off back to back OIFI and OEF deployments.

It wasn't a pretty sight.

Not knocking the Marines who were in during more quiet times, but the priorities are a little different.

[BRV219]

I just wonder why you don't go Infantry?

The reason is my grandfather and my father(Army, please forgive him. ha ha) were both Cannoneers, so I have had an interest in it for a very long time. Thanks for all of the information Marines!

[Flynn]

As an 0811 my second deployment was a Security Detail at the Government Center in Ar Ramadi. anywhere in the artillery field you are bound to deploy as a provisional rifle company at some point. There can only be so much artillery in thearter at one time. Artillery was a blast, and an even bigger rush when we had the M198 vs when we switched to the M777... just know there are lots of games to be played in artillery, more games then Milton Bradley.