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.