View Full Version : Can "Headquarters" request a Poolee to have a certain contract?
I texted my recruiter today to see if I got accepted for Security Forces or not and if I didn't then my second choice was Infantry. He texted me back saying "Infantry and Security Forces are not available and accounting was requested from headquarters just for you."
Does that actually happen? If it does, then does that mean that I will be turned down for any transfers that I put in for?
Thanks Marines.
josephd
11-24-10, 02:26 PM
HQMC doesn't request anything specific for anyone, you might have got thrown into it based on your ASVAB score and the need for accounting Marines.
Your recruiter is probably trying to make you feel better about a MOS that you didn't choose/want. Go back and talk with him and tell him you won't ship until you get the MOS/contract you want.
Ya, I figured that it was more of just how he worded it to make me seem special like I am 5 years old or something. Its stupid if you ask me, I don't really like accounting and I don't want my experience in the Coprs to be a bad one, because if I like it I have definitely considered staying in....but I dont want to be a pain in anyones ass either... and my ASVAB score was only a 75.
Gunny V0231
11-24-10, 05:19 PM
You need to be a pain in the ass. I can't begin to tell you how many Marines have a bad experience and wind up hating their time in because they were not doing something they wanted to do. This will generally be your only shot to get what you want until re-enlistment.
Can I really say I am not shipping until I get the MOS I want? I didn't think it worked like that...
SGT7477
11-24-10, 06:48 PM
quote=ALF 87;719356]Can I really say I am not shipping until I get the MOS I want? I didn't think it worked like that...[/quote]
The Marine Corps can easily put you where you are needed, Semper Fidelis.:flag:
Up until the exact second you sign the last paperwork and swear in before going to boot camp, you can back out. The contract to DEP in isn't binding in anyway. Just say you'll go somewhere else or to another branch and your job that you want will most likely magically open up.
Gunny V0231
11-25-10, 09:30 AM
Yes you can ask for a more suitible MOS. I'm not saying push it to far, but you need to get IN WRITING something that you want or are willing to accept. If you have no interest in accounting chances are you will not enjoy your time in. The Marine Corps is difficult enough, you don't need to be in something you don't like on top of it. That said you also have to strike a balance. The Marine Corps is on the verge of drawing down to somewhere in the 170-180,000 number. All I can tell you is what I've seen during 22 years in. I started off in a MOS that I really didn't want, but was acceptable. I left active duty for a year. When I applied to come back in I was told take it or don't come back in, again didn't really like the MOS but it wasn't all that bad.
It sounds like you want a combat arms MOS, tell him so. There are several options available; tanks, LAV, Amtraks, Arty, engineers. I no longer have the numbers in front of me to see where the cuts are going to be. Look up the SRB message, high bonus = high need.
Gunny V0231
11-25-10, 09:31 AM
Can I really say I am not shipping until I get the MOS I want? I didn't think it worked like that...
Forgot to answer. YES
Old Marine
11-25-10, 10:32 AM
Needs of the Corps Sonny. needs of the Corps.
DontTreadOnMe
11-25-10, 10:41 AM
ASVAB score only a 75??? your kidding me right that's a very good score. You need to push for something you would like.
Thanks, I guess thats a compliment and I realize that the Corps needs more people in some areas then in others, and my recruiter told me from day one that there is a waitlist for Infantry, but I wasn't worried about it at the time because it wasn't my number one choice. The Accounting MOS isn't completely out of the blue though, when I first went in I wanted MP, but found out I can't because of my vision. My first day I said if I couldn't do MP then I don't think I would mind an Admin job because I will be getting my Associates in Business Administration in 3 weeks. Since then however, I have learned about the Security forces and decided that either Security Forces or Infantry would best prepare me for life AFTER the Corps, if I don't want to stay in. So I really would like to so something associated with Infantry, now that those MOS's aren't available, per my Recruiter, I am thinking of telling him to see if there will be any better luck with Field Artillery?...or maybe that I want to take the next slot that opens up for SF or Infantry. After I graduate college, I don't care when I leave...the sooner the better. Do those two options seem realistic or no?
Beltayn
11-28-10, 08:25 AM
Just curious, what exactly is it you plan on doing after you get out that infantry or security forces would, you believe, best prepare you for?
Unless you are a CPA it is highly unlikely HQMC by name requested you into a certain MOS. At this point you are a name on a roster, and a number on a dry erase board.
Infantry isn't all its cracked up to be.
Yeah I instantly felt that I was being fed a line when I read that on my phone, but whatever I guess. I just hate being lied to about this kind of stuff. I mean no, I am not a Marine yet but I am taking a step in a direction that millions don't have the balls even think about. I think that deserves atleast honesty. To answer the other question, after talking for years with my brother (who is a Police Officer himself) about law enforcement, I would like to become a Police Officer or a CO. Although I don't think that anyone would look over an applicant with USMC on the resume because for the most part the public respects every Marine regaurdless of MOS but everyone also knows that Infantry isn't for everyone and Police work also isn't for everyone. Truth be told, I love a challange, physical, mental and love being forced to push myself to see how much I can take. I have heard alot of different stories about the Corps but I could see myself staying in so I am not terribly concerned with using the Corps to get a head after my contract is up.
Just tell your recruiter that accounting isn't acceptable and you would like to see the other options available for your ASVAB score. If he can't offer you anything else...then your choices are either accept it or walk away until a more suitable time. Nothing is etched in stone until you sign the final contract and swear in.
Find something that you will like/can tolerate or you will spend a miserable tour.
Well, a miserable tour is kind of a given. It'll make it slightly more bearable to have a job you like doing in theory. In the end, we're all janitors though.
By Headquarters, he didn't mean HQMC... Jumping in late, here's some suggestions:
1. Don't tell your Recruiter if you don't get what you want, you'll jump ship, because it is likely that we'll throw you off the ship. The Marine Corps isn't hurting for applicants.
2. Sit down with your Recruiter, or his boss, and take a look at what's available to you, not necessarily what you may want to do. You already knew Infantry wasn't available, Security Forces is gone too, I'm sure.
3. A cook in the Marine Corps would be an in demand applicant for any law enforcement agency. MOS matters not, so take a look at a real skill that you can use as a back-up if things don't work out the way you currently plan, or you change your mind don the road.
As a SNCOIC of a Recruiting Office, the quickest way out of my DEP, is making demands. Some may take that the wrong way, but this is why I say that. Earning the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor is what being a Marine is all about, not what job you get. Join the Marine Corps to be a Marine, not for a job! S/F
Thanks for the advice Marines, I agree with GYC, what you have to say in Number 1 is what I am worried about, esp with all the talks about shrinking the Marine Corps. I texted my recruiter today asking if there was any Infantry or SF slots that have opened up and he said he will check for me when he gets back into the office. I simply said thank you and told him that getting a SF or Infantry contract is really what I want and I am even willing to change ship dates if that will make it easier. I hope this is the best way to go at it, just keeping on him.