Any military Officers out there?

[thescot]

You should join the Corps only if you intend to be a warrior, and that really does mean battle. It's no joke that every Marine has a secondary MOS of 0311--basic rifleman. You should expect to do combat if you join the Marines, but then you will be in the finest fighting force on the earth. (I say that with no little pride and a great deal of obvious prejudice.)

The Coast Guard, on the otherhand, performs a great service, contantly does a real job, and is a very good service in which to serve your country (and you mother, sweetheart, father, sister, grandma, etc.) I have a photo of my uncle's LST on the shores of Iwo Jima when he was in the Coast Guard. It's another great service, just different from the Corps.

No matter the branch, there is nothing finer than serving in the military, and I salute your decision. I personally recommend the Corps because it really is unique and elite. But that's just me.

Just remember that we sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. (George Orwell)

Good luck. Semper fi.

[longhuntr74]

Elijah,
Firstly, let me commend you for examining the military as a career. MoR and thescot have already shared some rather blunt, yet fair, questions/insights.

As the title of my post suggests, I'm a career Army officer. When I decided to do Army ROTC in college, I really wanted to be a Marine Officer (multiple reasons, best uniforms, best esprit de corps, my uncle is a retired Marine Captain, etc.)...but there was no Naval ROTC anywhere near my school...so having the choice between Army and Air Force, I chose Army.

Having worked extensively with all branches except the coast guard (I've only ever known one person who was in the coast guard), I will tell you that all branches have their positive and negative aspects to them. All of them give you great opportunity as an officer, but they all have very different cultures and standards. The Army and Marines are very similar (though the Marines here would dispute the validity of that). As a Marine or Soldier, you are guaranteed to spend a good bit of time deployed and it is a dog eat dog world. If you aren't a type-a personality, hard charging athlete, you will get eaten up and spit out. Intelligence and leadership are things valued by all branches of service. I have seen that the navy and air force seem less focused on physical appearance and ability than they are on technical competence (ie. In the Army or Marines, they make their first assessment of you based upon your perceived physical fitness...if you look doughy...you're already at a disadvantage).

As I said, I can't speak intelligently about the opportunities in the coast guard. The Marines are a small force and tend to be much more selective (because they can). In a sense, that makes them elite (can you tell I still have great respect for the Marines? perhaps some envy?) The downside to that is that there is less opportunity for Marines and it is much harder to pick and choose. As someone mentioned, only the cream of the crop will get their top choice and intelligence tends to be a much sought after specialty...this was true in Army ROTC too when I got commissioned 12+ years ago. In general, the bigger the branch of service, the more specialties, locations, and choices you will have to choose from. It's a simple law of numbers.

I will freely admit that I'm ashamed to wear the same uniform as some of my fellow soldiers. As I said, physical appearance is a huge emphasis in the Army that varies in importance depending on your unit type, etc. I have chosen a career in a Special Operations field because we have an esprit de corps similar to that of the Marines and we just have a better quality of Soldiers across the board...and we get to be selective too. If you don't meet the standards, you go elsewhere...it's that simple.

Ok...enough rambling...let me wrap this up. If you want to be a military officer consider your attributes, desires, and commitment. Don't make your decision lightly. Don't get fixated on a certain future....if you are that type of person the military is not right for you...trust me on this. A career in the military means you don't control your own destiny. You will have many disappointments in assignment location, extended deployments, not getting selected for special training, etc...but at the end of the day you still do your job to the best of your abilities...you can't just quit like you can in the civilian sector. The benefits include honorable service, the best leadership training in the world, the best job security anywhere, multiple family support benefits (health care, housing/allowance, etc), and the ability to teach and mentor some of the best young Americans on a daily basis. As a military officer I've been a lawyer, a judge, a teacher, a counselor, a contracting/procurement officer, an administrator, a ditch digger, a professional athlete, and the list goes on and on..... The profession gives you a huge range of skill sets and I can't think of a more rewarding career.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions...I apologize for the long post.

[Jock Scot]

Different country, different army, same advice as above.

[thescot]

longhuntr74 is a fine man who gives excellent advice. Read his post repeatedly and carefully, and then give your final decision the consideration it deserves, not only for yourself but for the good of the service.

All kidding and esprit de corps aside (not to mention good natured interservice rivalry), he said it best: being an officer (or in my own lowly case, a lowly NCO) in either branch is fine calling and one which is open to only a few of the finest men.

Keep us posted and rest assured that you will be in our prayers as is longhuntr74.

[Sir William]

...or in my own lowly case, a lowly NCO...

No such thing!

NCOs are the backbone of any decent military force! History has proven that armies without good NCOs don't fight as well (courage of the individual soldier aside).

You may have been a low-ranking NCO, but you were surely not lowly, especially in the Corps.

I was an NCO before I took a commission. I've always been proud I wore stripes before I wore bars.

[ronstew]

Pretty much my whole life, I wanted nothing more than to be a naval officer. When I was in the ninth grade, my uncle, a lieutenant, took me on a one-week coastal cruise on a destroyer. I was a sea cadet all through high school, eventually becoming a chief petty officer. I was accepted into Royal Roads Military College (sort of a Canadian Annapolis) in 1981, when I graduated from high school.

I was unsuccessful in almost every way at military college. I could not keep my room fit for inspection. I did not keep up with the pace of academic studies (dreadful study habits). My administrative skills were very weak. My physical fitness barely met the standard, and I disliked the physical activity. I was the top in my class in navigation and shiphandling, but under stress, could not make correct decisions rapidly. Ultimately, these issues meant that men would not follow me.

I was miserable, but I wanted so desperately to succeed that I stayed in the system for three and a half years until, with four months before graduation, I was discharged from the Canadian Armed Forces. No commission. No degree. Grades so low that I could not transfer to any university – not even into first year. Several years of dead-end jobs before I could get into a technical college. Humiliation.
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If I knew then what I know now, I would not have entered the military. But I didn’t know, and I needed to learn it. I needed reasonable expectations of myself, and the military taught me what my capabilities are and are not. Maybe there was a less unpleasant way to learn these things – I don’t know.

More importantly, even 25 years later, my best friends are some of my classmates from military college. Had I not been there, I never would have encountered that type of friendship.
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There is a bizarre epilogue that you can read about here and here in which I actually was granted a degree as a civilian by a military college in 2006. Several of my old classmates traveled for three hours to be with me. Best day of my life.
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Elijah, My advice to you is to learn what the washout paths are. What is the window for quitting? (I would have been allowed to quit, with no obligations, any time in the first year.) If you fail, what are your obligations? (I hear that in the USAF Academy, you get reranked as a private (or the equivalent), and have to fulfil your term, but this might be completely wrong).

You have to weigh the personal costs, and I doubt that the USMC recruiter will be of much help there.

The calling to be a soldier is one of the highest callings. If it were me, I would much prefer the coast guard to the army or marines, but I love the sea, and dislike running.



Edit: When I joined, we were not in a shooting war. Even so, we lost a classmate in a training exercise after graduation. And a few years later another classmate spent several days as a hostage in Kosovo, with video of him chained to a pole broadcast all over the country. Nowadays, the risks to your life and health are much more serious. You also need to ask yourself if you support your government's foreign policy, because when you sign up, you lose the right to object.

[Cavebear58]

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[ronstew]

Out of interest, have the (two?) degrees led to any life changes subsequently?

Yes. I teach high school. I'll elaborate in a PM, Graham.

[Elijah B]

Thanks for all the posts. The reason I am currently deciding between the Coast Guard and Marines is because I have a long time girlfriend, soon to be fiance, that is considering joining the CG as well. The Marines appeal to me because I have always wanted to join the armed services and be a warrior. The men I have admired most and sought to be like were nearly always former military. I understand that the military is not for everyone, many of my friends are enlisted and hate it. Having never experienced the hardship of military life, I am not completely sure about it. I am currently working out everyday, because I am shooting for the 300 on the pft, currently I am only at 246, but I still have almost a year of training. The idea of a heavily structured life is also not threatening to me, I am a very clean person, I am never late, and I have a very set schedule. I am doing very well at the university level, I am a dual major with a high GPA that I have worked hard for. I am very confident in my reasons for joining the service, and I am confident I will do well. I have explored the avenues for quitting, and I am still able to not accept my commission after the ten week OCS training. Again, thanks for all the posts, I hope this might explain my reasoning better.

[thescot]

No such thing!

NCOs are the backbone of any decent military force! History has proven that armies without good NCOs don't fight as well (courage of the individual soldier aside).

You may have been a low-ranking NCO, but you were surely not lowly, especially in the Corps.

I was an NCO before I took a commission. I've always been proud I wore stripes before I wore bars.

You, of course, speak the absolute truth, and we both know it. All officers are trained by NCOs, and the really good officers listen to their platoon sergeants--or chiefs-- when they first make their appearance. Not only do they become better officers, but they learn their craft and stay alive.

As a former platoon sergeant, I know that the military is run by it's staff NCOs, and that's as it should be. And since you first wore stripes, I imagine you were a better officer for it. The best officers I knew were all mustangs.

It is the perogative of any man who is self-confident and self-assured to assume a self-depricating posture. While the NCOs are "lower" in rank than the officers, they are not "lower" in standing. But a man need not ring his own chimes.

Thanks for pointing that out to the uninformed.