Found out a week before I ship I can't get infantry. Related MOS's?

[Jake5409]

I've been in the whole enlisting process since last April and have been in the DEP since November. The reason it has taken so long is I was fairly out of shape. I have now lost 50lbs and met the requirements to ship out. The first time I met with my recruiter I told him my goal was to ship with an infantry contract. He talked to me about some other jobs to see if I'd be interested and I told him I was still set on infantry he says "that's understandable just making sure there's not anything else that may interest you". So later that week I take the ASVAB and my AFQT was a 69 and my line scores ranged from lowest being electrical at a 105 to my GT being a 118 which I was happy with because I wanted to eventually try for Recon. He's pretty pumped and starts talking to me about other jobs telling me that I have several options other than infantry. I try to keep an open mind so I listened to what he had to offer and afterwards I told him I was still set on infantry. He says "not a problem man I understand. I'll get you an infantry contract before you ship out". Cool. Fast forward to a few weeks ago I asked him if he'd applied for me to get infantry he says "no not yet" I said ok are there any slots open? He says "only one but you need to be able to do 8 pullups to get infantry and you're at 7". I'd never heard of that requirement but if that's what he says I need to do then that's what I'll do. So I get the 8 pullup requirement only to find out a week before I ship that there are no infantry slots left. He tells me he can get me an electrical maintenance job with a signing bonus. I told him I respect the offer but that's not something Im interested in. He said "well you can pick a technical MOS and then do a lateral move to infantry" From what I've read on here that's fairly difficult to do. Now im set to go to MEPS tomorrow morning for my final inspection and to select an MOS.

Now after this long backstory my questions are: What other MOSs are there relatable to infantry that could help prepare me for Recon? I've asked about Combat Engineer apparently that's full as well.

And is my recruiter trying to force me into selecting a different MOS due to my ASVAB scores? I've told him that I'm willing to wait until an infantry slot opens up but he just brushes that off and says "see what they can offer you at MEPS"

I understand that the Marine Corps doesn't NEED me and I respect that but I feel like there should've been more than enough time to ensure I got an infantry contract. But I'm not an expert and would like some insight into why this could've happened?

I'd appreciate anyone who's willing to help me out with this. I'm trying to keep an open mind with the MOS's they may have to offer but still a little bent out of shape about not getting the infantry contract after putting in the work to get myself in the physical shape I needed to be in for it. Still glad to no longer be out of shape lol. Thanks again for anyone's help.

[irpat54]

03xx fill up fast,, the only other thing you could look into is the relatively new Military law enforcement platoons,, or as we use to call them MP,,there may be other MOS that would be close to what you are after, other then that the only thing i would say is keep motivated and keep putting in for that lat move, take as many M C I courses in infantry as you can, that will show you are still insistent on getting into the infantry..

[Jake5409]

That's what I've seen after trying to do a little research on here that the 03xx field fills up quick after they're posted in October? Do they only post open slots once a year and then once they fill up that's it? Or do they get updated regularly? He mentioned that at MEPS they may have slots open that he can't see but he was still trying to convince me to do a technical job. He said he tries to steer people away from infantry but he understands "some guys like yourself are hard headed about it". And I hope that's not the case here.
Say I do end up with a technical job or something unrelated to infantry would Recon still be an option for me? Is a lateral move really that hard to get to Recon? I dont want to be stuck doing something that wont allow me to achieve my goal with the Marine Corps. Just looking for advice from people that don't benefit one way or another from what I do that way I feel like I have an honest answer.

I will continue to be insistent but I don't want to ***** myself by coming off with a "my way or the highway" attitude. I thought that by the effort I'd put in by meeting and exceeding the physical requirements my recruiter set for me I was proving how motivated and dedicated I was to this. I just don't want to roll over and accept defeat if there are other options available for me. Thanks for the advice

[LCPL1341]

Recon takes Marines mainly from the infantry community. However, MARSOC takes Marines from a wide variety of MOS'. Have you looked into MARSOC? It seems like you're in a tough spot, and realistically, you probably wont get that 03xx MOS before shipping.

[Jake5409]

I have looked into MARSOC but not as much as I probably should with the situation I am in. I will be looking into it more now. He mentioned it and again brought up if i do a technical job I'll reach Lance Corporal faster than i would in infantry. A he said you have to be at least a Lance Corporal for MARSOC. Him always pushing so hard for me to do a technical job kind of makes me feel like this situation was intentional. It is a tough spot and ***** considering a month ago there was a slot available but my recruiter wouldn't reserve it for me over one pull-up. Now being 2 pull-ups over what he set for me to do just makes it that much more frustrating. It's not the first time he's had me meet requirements past the Marine Corps basic requirements. While I'm thankful that hes pushing me to do better than the Marine Corps basic requirements to ship out its disappointing that it has ****** me out of the MOS I wanted when I had the opportunity for it.

[jab116]

If you really want infantry and absolutely nothing else, and you're 100% sure of it then tell them tomorrow that you will not ship without an infantry MOS either UH or UW. Make sure your RS NCOIC knows this and MEPS knows this. If they see you're serious about wanting the MOS then they will get serious. MEPS can make manpower adjustments that others can't . Also, It seems to me from what you said that your recruiter has a quota he's trying to fill, which is screwing you over. Remember, this is the next 4 years of your life, so make sure it is what you want.

[Jake5409]

I'm 100% sure infantry is what I want to do. It's been my goal since before I stepped in my recruiters office and I've told him that since day 1 and haven't doubted that choice since. I just want to be sure that it's a reasonable option to tell MEPS I won't ship without an infantry contract. I don't want that to **** me over entirely. As for the filling a quota that's the vibe I'm getting from this whole situation. It's kind of insulting that someone would possibly try to control someone else's career path for their own personal reasons. I could understand this situation if I came in with a month to ship and said I wanted infantry and there wasn't anything open. I even told him about two months ago when I started having doubts that "I'm not trying to be a ******** but I don't want to leave without infantry on my contract and I'll wait until it's available if necessary".

[Rocky C]

Jake ! Watch your language on an open forum that all can read. I will go in and fix it this time.

[Jake5409]

Yes sir! Sorry sir. I know better than that just didn't think about it when I typed that message. Ended up with good news today. I went into MEPS and told them i didnt want to ship without an infantry contract and after going back and forth about other jobs I ended up getting an infantry slot. Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.