Going Open Contract To Get Infantry

[MontanaDevilDog]

I don't really feel compelled to defend my MOS.
If and when he finds himself dirty and dog-tired in the rain in that field environment as a big bad infantry Marine, he'll come to appreciate what I do all on his own when my HMMWV shows up with hot chow.

Well, I for one am extremely grateful for when you guys show up, and I certainly appreciate what you all do Beltayn. Thank you.

[Lupo22]

Holy Crap, Beltan, is that the best you have after he called being a cook a crap job?


Listen here, kid. There are no "crap jobs" in the Corps. Absolutely every MOS/job is critical and essential to complete the mission whether it's on the front lines or in the rear.


You want to be an 03? Who in the hell do you think feeds them, makes sure they get paid, ensures they have supplies, provides transportation, etc. Get the picture yet?

So I would be very careful what you consider a crap job because those of us in "crap" jobs can seriously f*uck up your life.

I appreciate what POGs do, and most grunts hate them because we're jealous of their 9-5 hours and air conditioned office space, however, with all due respect SSgt, we never get to eat chow during working hours. Most of the time they're civilians serving us. Supply? Well, we usually do most of the work in the shop ourselves, including clean up and issue. And when we do get issued gear, its usually incomplete or 2 sizes too big or small. Admin? Everyone knows going down to admin to "fix" anything is a nightmare!

I'm one of the grunts who hates POGs out of envy. Nothing but love for them. But if you want infantry, you won't be happy with anything but.

As for the original poster: Don't go. You will NEVER get infantry open contract. Now, you may go POG and join on MARSOC or Force Recon or something. Most of those guys are POGs who have enough time to PT when they please and work out everyday and get jacked. But as far as being a grunt, it won't happen open contract. You could go Comm or Combat Engineer and hope to get attached to an infantry unit. Our Comm guy does every single thing we do but still is labeled a "POG"...

[Beltayn]

I appreciate what POGs do, and most grunts hate them because we're jealous of their 9-5 hours and air conditioned office space, however, with all due respect SSgt, we never get to eat chow during working hours. Most of the time they're civilians serving us. Supply? Well, we usually do most of the work in the shop ourselves, including clean up and issue. And when we do get issued gear, its usually incomplete or 2 sizes too big or small. Admin? Everyone knows going down to admin to "fix" anything is a nightmare!

At 0330 in the morning, I am up and working to make breakfast chow.
At 1900 in the evening, I can be found at my post long after most Marines have gotten off, continuing to feed Marines hungry after a hard day's work.
While frequently such days are divided into a back and forth two-day shift rotation, depending on personnel, in my short time as a cook there have been multiple periods where the mission required a "one watch", in which I came to work at 0330 and worked constantly until 1800-1900. That is an approximate 17 hour work day. Every day. Sometimes for extended periods (which mostly would occur on a MEU).

I work weekends, holiday 96s, and when bad weather shuts down most sections. The sun shining on a national holiday or what for every single other Marine in my unit is a good-behavior 96 does not mean that no one will be hungry or need to eat. I have waded through waist-high snow in my cook whites to get to the chow hall to cook on a morning I was supposed to have off, because a mission had to get accomplished.

I too do not have the opportunity to eat chow during working hours. There is not normally time for sitting down, let alone sitting down to eat. I still have pay deducted for it however, even though 75% of my meals I provide with my own money.

Except in the dead of winter, the galley is regularly above 100 degrees, and I have seen it as high as 130. That is barely lower than the temperature pork has to be at to be considered fully cooked. Every single day I come home there are visible salt stains covering my uniform shirt from the amount of sweat I produce in a day's work.

At no point do we close. Snowstorms, electrical black-outs, and chest-high flooding have all failed to prevent my chow hall from accomplishing our mission in the past year alone.



I am not sharing all this to aggrandize myself, or because I was in any way offended. I simply want to educate you a little bit. Share some perspective.

I am a combat cook. It is not a glorious job, nor one that gets any real thanks, but it is a job from which I can feel a good bit of pride. It has certainly made me grow quite a bit as a man.
What other MOS is inspected in it's proficiency hundreds or times a day?

I praise and thank you and your fellow grunts for what you do, and the sacrifices that you make.
Just take from this that any cook who hears you waxing envious about the hours POGs work and their chairs and air-conditioned offices will chuckle. Not every POG works at IPAC.

Semper Fi.

[Beltayn]

An afterthought in response to tdrt;
I suppose I don't take issue with cook being called a "crap job" if by "crap job" the op means "difficult". It is a crap job. However, grunt is also a "crap job", for some of exactly the same reasons.
At the end of the day, my attitude is still an unconcerned "Oh, he'll learn once he hits the fleet."

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Beltayn, well said. I would ask you to cut/paste your above statement (18), and make it into a separate posting. Once you do so, I'll make it a sticky. It's THAT good.

[Beltayn]

Unfortunately, I do not have the privs to make original posts in this particular forum.

[Backhaus 1103]

I don't know what chow hall you're working at...

[Backhaus 1103]

I just read the sticky about your job and deloyment. I ate MREs for 7 months and at dwyer and leatherneck no marines at all work at the chow halls, it's all civilans from asia.

[Beltayn]

Circumstances vary, naturally.

[fpdesignco]

Circumstances vary, naturally.

Have you deployed before? or are you speaking third party?

[fpdesignco]

I just read the sticky about your job and deloyment. I ate MREs for 7 months and at dwyer and leatherneck no marines at all work at the chow halls, it's all civilans from asia.

Lol, how about that CLSA...... Before the invasion... good stuff right..

[Beltayn]

Have you deployed before? or are you speaking third party?

I personally have not deployed, being attached to station.
I have close friends currently in Afghanistan, and the Marines I currently work alongside of returned from an Iraq deployment approximately a year ago. In both cases, they were/are in FOBs providing field support to infantry units. This entails cooking chow in a field setup within the FOB, as well as using a mobile unit mounted in a HMMWV. This is exactly the type of mission we train for in garrison, and what we do on our field ops when not deployed.

So, to specifically answer the question, yes, civilians run the mess hall at Leatherneck or Camp Cupcake. If you get out where the work is getting done, however, you'll find food service Marines doing their job.

What else would cooks do on deployment? It seems like every Marine I've met has a notion that cooks have the skatest job ever and all they do is supervise civilians. It's unfortunate to have had to eat only MREs for an entire pump, but that's the nature of the beast. My MOS hurts for personnel. We can't be everywhere at once, and there are a lot of mouths to feed. That is why our hours are such sh!t, why our days are always long, and why they hire those civilian contractors to supplement us in the first place.

[fpdesignco]

Lance Corporal,
Ive deployed, Im in the Infantry, and I realize this. Not second guessing your mos, even know I personally rather eat MRE's than trey rats, (Trey Rat's now are self heating, we made our own, no cook needed), however it woulda been nice to have someone do it for us. BTW, HMMWV are not allowed outside the wire in afghanistan for marines....

I personally have not deployed, being attached to station.
I have close friends currently in Afghanistan, and the Marines I currently work alongside of returned from an Iraq deployment approximately a year ago. In both cases, they were/are in FOBs providing field support to infantry units. This entails cooking chow in a field setup within the FOB, as well as using a mobile unit mounted in a HMMWV. This is exactly the type of mission we train for in garrison, and what we do on our field ops when not deployed.

So, to specifically answer the question, yes, civilians run the mess hall at Leatherneck or Camp Cupcake. If you get out where the work is getting done, however, you'll find food service Marines doing their job.

What else would cooks do on deployment? It seems like every Marine I've met has a notion that cooks have the skatest job ever and all they do is supervise civilians. It's unfortunate to have had to eat only MREs for an entire pump, but that's the nature of the beast. My MOS hurts for personnel. We can't be everywhere at once, and there are a lot of mouths to feed. That is why our hours are such sh!t, why our days are always long, and why they hire those civilian contractors to supplement us in the first place.

[Beltayn]

Just as a quick example, Tuesday is my next day off, and I plan on resting because it will have followed 6 consecutive 12-16 hour days of working. (0330-1900 as a sample) And that does not include collateral obligations like field day and formations and training and taking care of my troops during my off time.

[fpdesignco]

So i have been wanting to get an 03- MOS since i walked into the recruiting station a year and a half ago, now i am set to leave for bootcamp on sept. 13 this year and my only shot at an infantry MOS is if i go as an open contract. Originally i was set to go as a combat engineer because infantry was 150 percent full, but we recently got a new boss at our recruiting station "Gunnery Sgt. Blanco" and he said that i could possibly get infantry if i sign as an open contract and request it when i go to boot camp. I know it is a 50/50 shot that i could get it and he didnt bull **** me about that, but he also says that most people who request it and have good physicall scores end up getting it. Now my question is, is this a legit way i could earn an 03-MOS, and as an open contract am i able to get any signing bonuses, and last if i dont get infantry am i able to request another MOS??

BTW, this post has defintally been sidetracked by the cook for some reason anyway back on topic. DO NOT GO OPEN CONTRACT TO GO TO AN 03 MOS, If you want to be a grunt tell your recruiter that and get him to get you a slot, if not wait for a slot to open up. Do what you want to do not "well you might get it" should not be a answer you accept.