Should I stick with my MP contract?

[Stephen1376]

First and foremost, as this is my first thread on this forum, I would like to thank you gentlemen (and ladies for those that are present) for your service to our nation.

As of right now, my current ship date is Nov 12 and I was recently slated for a MP contract (4x4). I have been in the DEP for about 2 months now. I recently graduated from NCSU with a BA in criminology. I do want to quickly mention that I know the officer route was available, but for personal reasons as well as not having a near perfect PFT score, which I hear is needed for real consideration I wanted to enlist. I plan on taking advantage of the ECP later on to eventually go to OCS.

When I first enlisted, my 3 main preferences were 1800,0800, and 5800 in that order. Even though I would really rather get it changed to an 1800 or 0800 contract, I understand that the needs of the Marine Corps come before my own so I am pretty open to going 5800 and from everything I've read, it's not a bad MOS.

My main reservations about going 5800 are that I do want to deploy and definitely want to do something more "involved." From what I understand, "Garrison" MPs and those in PRP are the primary ones "guarding fences" right? I feel that being a "field" MP would be a great first enlistment for me, although I'm wary of the actual chances of my getting selected for being a field MP when I go to my MOS school. In addition, the possibility of getting selected for HMX-1 sounds extremely appealing. Although, it does worry me in the sense that from a couple of the threads I have read on this site, I would not gain much useful experience for whenever it should be that I get to the fleet.

Also, my recruiters talk about the possibilities of doing a lateral move if I'm unhappy with my MOS. While the idea seems sound, I'm wary that there would be more hoops to jump through than my recruiter makes out for a lateral move (example: HMX-1 or 5800 to 1800).

Ideally, I want to serve a full 20 years with the USMC. Should something happen in the future that would prevent me from that, I would be returning home to go into law enforcement. Therefore, I'm not too concerned with the applicability of certain MOS's to the civilian job market. I apologize if some of this has been covered in other threads. I have been looking through the site quite a bit to try to find the information I needed. However, the ones I did manage to find did not prove very helpful. Thank you all again for service and any advice you can provide!

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[josephd]

stick with what you got IMO, at this point you are locked in and set to go with something you want. Don't go throw a wrench in the gears and possibly lose your ship date and other things.

As for the field vs. garrison MP thing, you really don't get selected for either, that is based on whatever unit you go to.

LAT moving is a possibility but it isn't really probable. You won't even really be eligible to lat move until you fulfill about 3/4 of your first contract.

My $.02 to you would be to stick with being an MP, after you've been in the fleet for awhile then look into other options. You can look into putting in a MSG (embassy guard) duty and a few other things that can open up more options for you.

[Stephen1376]

Thats the one thing I don't want to do. I really don't want my date pushed back. Now, if my recruiter called me up and said that he could get me a 1800 contract but have to push my date back a month or two then I would look into it. That's what I was thinking was the case with LAT moving.

[josephd]

Thats the one thing I don't want to do. I really don't want my date pushed back. Now, if my recruiter called me up and said that he could get me a 1800 contract but have to push my date back a month or two then I would look into it. That's what I was thinking was the case with LAT moving.

LAT moving isn't something you just up and decide to do, you have to have command approval and is usually given as some sort of re-enlistment incentive. Don't pick an MOS based on your possibility of LAT moving down the road because it more than likely won't happen

[Jersey0311]

Back in 2007, when I entered the DEP, I went in as an 03xx. My long term goal after the Corps was to eventually get into civilian LE. I wound up attempting to get my recruiter to change my contract to an 58xx, but I was too young at the time. Apparently you had to be 19 by the time you graduated MP school and I was still 17.

Long story short I stayed an infantryman, wound up as an 0311, loved (almost) every minute of it, and now that I'm a civilian again, I'm processing with a few LE agencies.

What I've noticed time and time again, is that the agencies don't give a damn what your MOS was while you were in. They're looking for the intangible qualities that being a Marine will give you, like solid work ethic, ability to follow orders, etc due to LE being paramilitary in nature.

I also caution you against saying you want to do 20 years at the moment. After your first or second year in the Fleet, reassess your situation.

You've done a fantastic thing for your country by joining the DEP. Now it's your job to use the Corps to your advantage, and make it work for you, regardless of your goals. You'd be surprised what your .mil status can do for your resume.

I busted my ass and took every school and course I could, and took leave to go to training from outside agencies to boost my resume for when I got out. I took as much as I could from the Corps. It has worked wonders now that I'm out.

Make the Corps work for you, because you sure as hell will be doing work for it.

[ssgtt32]

Back in 2007, when I entered the DEP, I went in as an 03xx. My long term goal after the Corps was to eventually get into civilian LE. I wound up attempting to get my recruiter to change my contract to an 58xx, but I was too young at the time. Apparently you had to be 19 by the time you graduated MP school and I was still 17.

Long story short I stayed an infantryman, wound up as an 0311, loved (almost) every minute of it, and now that I'm a civilian again, I'm processing with a few LE agencies.

What I've noticed time and time again, is that the agencies don't give a damn what your MOS was while you were in. They're looking for the intangible qualities that being a Marine will give you, like solid work ethic, ability to follow orders, etc due to LE being paramilitary in nature.

I also caution you against saying you want to do 20 years at the moment. After your first or second year in the Fleet, reassess your situation.

You've done a fantastic thing for your country by joining the DEP. Now it's your job to use the Corps to your advantage, and make it work for you, regardless of your goals. You'd be surprised what your .mil status can do for your resume.

I busted my ass and took every school and course I could, and took leave to go to training from outside agencies to boost my resume for when I got out. I took as much as I could from the Corps. It has worked wonders now that I'm out.

Make the Corps work for you, because you sure as hell will be doing work for it.

well said jersey.....well said

[josephd]

well said jersey.....well said

I concur

[Tennessee Top]

Besides the security clearance, don't know how beneficial HMX-1 duty would be. All you're doing is guarding the president's helicopter squadron and hangers at Quantico (doubt you'd ever even see him). The Marine you see on TV saluting the president when he steps off the plane is the unarmed crew chief and not a MP.

Lateral movement into a new MOS is rare and should not be planned on (regardless of what your recruiter says).

Right now, all you have are certain perceptions about life in the fleet. Some of those will be accurate but most are not. When it comes time to reenlist then it will be time to consider career options. Whether the USMC will allow you to stay for 20 years is a totally different conversation involving myriad factors (many out of your control).

Consider yourself lucky you got one of your MOS choices (does not always happen). I agree with your decision to stick with it. Good luck.

[Stephen1376]

Thank you Marines for all of your advice. It is much appreciated.

I was curious to know if any of you Marines might be able to share some information with me on the 0600/1100 DB contract? I missed out on getting a 0300 contract yesterday and could really kick myself over it however, 0600 has begun to interest me. This is specifically relating to the possibility of becoming a field radio operator. I have only begun to scratch the surface on examining the other MOS's in these fields and was just curious if any of you gentlemen could provide some MOS ideas for me to look at specifically. Thank you again Marines. I really appreciate the work you all have put in to this site. I may be a new member but have regularly consulted this site for information on anything pertaining to the USMC.

I forgot to mention, I also found out yesterday that 1800 and 0800 are not really an option for me as it would push my ship date out to March 2014

[Jersey0311]

We can't say what MOS you should go for because none of us are you.

We don't know your interests. We don't know your eventual goals. We don't know your abilities.

Only you can decide what path to take in the Corps. Think about your long term goals, where you want to be, and how the Corps can help you get there.

Arguably, the most important thing you can take from the Corps, employment wise, is an Honorable Discharge. Emphasis on honorable. Without that, you'll find that employment is hard to find, if not impossible except from some minimum wage fast food jobs.

Also the intangible qualities I mentioned in my post earlier will be an important takeaway.

The Marine Corps molds their Marines the way they do for a reason. The Marine Corps sets you up for success, if you let it. There's a reason for everything. Take it for what it is and go with it.

Again, I can't emphasize this enough, most civilian jobs (outside of government or contractor jobs) do not care what MOS you had. They want the intangible qualities that you'll gain from being a Marine. They can teach you whatever job it is you're trying to do. They can't teach someone to show up to work, do it right the first time, and not quit when the going gets tough. That's where veterans shine through as applicants, not because of their MOS.

I would look at something that has a civilian counterpart on the outside. Don't kick yourself over missing out on an 03xx contract. Being an 03 gets old real quick and we're a dime a dozen. There's no direct civilian job for infantrymen for obvious reasons. The closest thing would be armed security or LE, and even then, that's only close because of the fact that you're armed. Don't limit yourself.

Now that I'm out, I went back to working as an EMT (got it before I went in). That's the exact opposite of being a grunt. It's a placeholder until I get hired as a cop somewhere.

It's also important to note that I got hired at all my jobs because I was a veteran. I currently have 4 jobs. 1 full time and 3 part time. Most people are hurting for work, and here I am hurting for days off. I attribute this to my veterans status.

I also have an interview lined up with a federal agency in a few weeks. This particular agency has only hired veterans for all entry level LE positions for the past number of years. It's a government job, so they are looking for specific experience requirements, but it shows just how helpful veterans status is.

Better yourself while you're on active duty! I took leave to go to extra outside law enforcement schools and it's really helped me out. Networking is also huge. Network network network! Nobody is going to hold your hand. You can be as successful and as marketable as you want to be when it's time for EAS. You can either be like that Marine that does the bare minimum and gets out with an honorable discharge, or you can EAS with an honorable discharge and a number of extra schools that makes you stand out to the crowd, and then some.

The Corps, and undoubtedly, your life, is what you make of it. You reap what you sow. Don't get so hung up on what MOS to pick, just realize you're in a good position right now to affect positive change in yourself.

You'll make the right decision. You'll know when it comes. Good luck,

[Stephen1376]

Mam, thank you for the edit. I apologize for missing that.

I thank all of you for the replies you have given. I have recently changed my contract, after doing a good deal of contemplation, to an 0600/1100 contract. My projected ship date is now Aug 26th.

HOWEVER, I'm still awaiting the final ok from the Master Sergeant of the recruiting district. I'm really hoping that I get an answer soon to make everything completely official, as I have begun to greatly desire 0600. All I know is that the paperwork has been filed and needs certification from the Master Sergeant.

I'm already starting to get a few jitters and I'm liking it quite a bit. I'm anxious to get back with the title and start my service to the Corps and our country.