StillThinking
10-30-14, 05:59 PM
I got involved with OSO about a year ago and have gotten my pullups and crunches down but I can't get my run to break 24 min (I've been running track since 7th grade but always did short sprints and was never good at distance + speed) and haven't been given a contract because my SSGT said he wouldn't give me one until I got my run under 24 min. For vacation over the summer I went to the Marine Museum at Quantico again and ended up chatting with a guy who worked there and said he was an officer back in Vietnam. Long story short he told me that with a college education there's no reason why I shouldn't be an officer and if I can't make it into the Marines then I should go after the Army or Air Force. Well I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and I realized I'd rather enlist in the Corps than be an officer in another branch.
This morning I was talking to a couple of gunny's at my office and they raised the idea of joining the reserves. They said if I did then I would just go through boot camp/specialty schools and then I could re apply for college, join up with OSO, and then I'd be in great shape from all the training so my PFTs should be damn near perfect so I could contract and being a reservist I'd also have a little edge over other applicants. I've tried to talk to one of my old buddies who enlisted and was getting shot at in Afghanistan while I was going to my classes in freshman year of college and he's always told me to go officer but he'd hit me if I went infantry. I tried to ask him about this reserve stuff but no response.
I'd appreciate any advice on whether I should just keep trying for OSO plain and simple or choose to go reserve for one reason or other (I think I can apply for active out of the reserves (?) if I go reserves but don't make the cut for PLC then I want to be active duty enlisted). I've given a few pluses for reserve but one big downside is that the way my college is organized I need to be in classes all year round (yes, summers too) so no matter when I'd go to boot camp/specialty schools I'd lose at least two quarters of school and would have to probably graduate a year later.
Random opinions outside of what I've specifically asked for are also welcome because if there's something someone else knows from experience that I haven't heard or thought of myself I think I'd be stupid to not listen.
Thanks.
This morning I was talking to a couple of gunny's at my office and they raised the idea of joining the reserves. They said if I did then I would just go through boot camp/specialty schools and then I could re apply for college, join up with OSO, and then I'd be in great shape from all the training so my PFTs should be damn near perfect so I could contract and being a reservist I'd also have a little edge over other applicants. I've tried to talk to one of my old buddies who enlisted and was getting shot at in Afghanistan while I was going to my classes in freshman year of college and he's always told me to go officer but he'd hit me if I went infantry. I tried to ask him about this reserve stuff but no response.
I'd appreciate any advice on whether I should just keep trying for OSO plain and simple or choose to go reserve for one reason or other (I think I can apply for active out of the reserves (?) if I go reserves but don't make the cut for PLC then I want to be active duty enlisted). I've given a few pluses for reserve but one big downside is that the way my college is organized I need to be in classes all year round (yes, summers too) so no matter when I'd go to boot camp/specialty schools I'd lose at least two quarters of school and would have to probably graduate a year later.
Random opinions outside of what I've specifically asked for are also welcome because if there's something someone else knows from experience that I haven't heard or thought of myself I think I'd be stupid to not listen.
Thanks.