Careers in the United States Marines

CAREERS IN THE

UNITED STATES MARINES

Institute Research Number 626 ISBN 1-58511-626-2

CAREERS IN THE

UNITED STATES MARINES The Few. The Proud. The Marines. CHOOS ING A CA REER IS NOT A DECISION TO BE MADE CASUALLY. YOU

could spend the rest of your life pursuing the goals you choose today. You owe it to yourself to gather as much information as you can about the career choices that interest you. Reading this report will get you off to a good start. A career is more than a succession of jobs. A career should come with a paycheck, but it should also come with deep personal satisfaction and the knowledge that your efforts are leading

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somewhere worth going. Feeling that you are making a contribution to something larger than yourself is an excellent motivator. The fact that you have chosen to read a report on careers in the United States Marine Corps says very clearly that you want a career that will definitely lead you to places worth going, and that you don’t mind overcoming a few challenges to get there. Whether you commit to a long-term career or just stay in the service long enough to learn valuable skills and have an adventure or two, the Marine Corps may be the place for you. The smallest of the four military services (the smaller Coast Guard is the lead agency in the Department of Homeland Security and only falls under the Department of Defense in time of war), the Marine Corps has the most enviable reputation. The reputation is so unassailable that the Marine Corps is the only service never to have trouble gaining new recruits, even in time of war. To be a US Marine is to be part of one of the world’s truly elite fighting forces. This reputation is fostered in part by the catchiest recruiting slogan ever used by a military service: “The Few. The Proud. The Marines.” Created in the 1960s by advertising firm J. Walter Thompson, the slogan was conceived as a way to turn the relatively small size of the Corps into an asset. The slogan has proven to be so durable that Advertising Week, the largest and most prestigious annual gathering of advertising and media industry leaders in North America named it one of the top 100 advertising slogans of all time. There is much more to the Marines than a catchy recruiting slogan, however. Much more. Trained as assault troops, Marines specialize in a form of warfare known as amphibious assault. The word “marine,” means “from the sea.” What Marines have traditionally done in wartime is invade hostile territory from the sea. In the miliary, this is known as “kicking down doors” or “grabbing a bit of beach.” It is a critical part of the continuum of warfare. Today’s Marine Corps counts nearly 200,000 active-duty Marines and 40,000 reservists. Although the smallest of the US armed services, the Corps is still much larger than most of the rest of the world’s fighting forces. Officially part of the Department of the Navy, the Corps functions as an independent service led by a commandant who serves on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Together, the Navy-Marine Corps Team can put more power in more places than any other force in history. Think you have what it takes to be a part of it?

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WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW DON’T THINK THAT YOU SHOULD WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE GRADUATED FROM HIGH

school to get a start on your career in the US Marine Corps. You can get started right now. The modern military needs troops who are smart, well-educated and able to make decisions on their own. If you join the Marine Corps you will spend much of your career in training and education programs. If you think you will be able to put formal education behind you after high school, think again. If you don’t like learning, the Marines is not for you. Study hard while you are in high school. The more you know, the more valuable you will be to the Corps and to your country. Marines are tough. The Corps’ physical-fitness requirements are the most demanding of all the armed services. When you get to boot camp you will be expected to do push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups, and run at least three miles without stopping. That’s just to start. Physical training, known as PT in military lingo, gets more and more strenuous as the weeks go by. At first you will do push-ups in sets of 20. Then 25, then 30. Eventually you’ll be doing sets of 50 push-ups, and you could do a dozen or so sets per day. That’s 600 push-ups a day. Don’t let this number intimidate you – you will do it. Boot camp inspires people to do things they never knew they could do. But you owe it to yourself to be prepared, so put your all into athletics and physical training while in school. There are many ways to learn more about the Marine Corps. Subscribe to Marine Corps Times, a privately published newspaper that covers the Corps. Read Leatherneck Magazine and the Marine Corps Gazette. Movies about the Marines can be valuable, too. For starters, check out Flying Leathernecks, starring John Wayne, and Flags of our Fathers, directed by Clint Eastwood.

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HISTORY OF THE CAREER THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS WAS FOUNDED IN A PHILADELPHIA TAVERN ON

November 10, 1775, making the Corps older than the country it serves. The new Marine Corps was authorized by the Second Continental Congress to serve aboard vessels of the new Continental Navy with the aim of ejecting the British from the American colonies. In 1783, shortly after that goal had been achieved, the Marine Corps was disbanded. America’s founders had an innate distrust of standing militaries. Their experience in Europe taught them that militaries paid to exist in peacetime were too eager to start wars. All US military services shrink following wars, but only the Marine Corps completely ceased to exist. The Marine Corps was reconstituted in 1798 in order to fight a naval war against France, the same country that had helped the United States to beat the British in the Revolutionary War. After repulsing the French, the Marines went on to play a major role in the Barbary War of 1801-1805, named for the Barbary pirates of the Mediterranean Sea. The effort by seven Marines and 300 mercenaries to capture the port of Tripoli, Libya has been immortalized in the Marine Corps Hymn, which starts with:

From the halls of Montezuma, To the shores of Tripoli; We will fight our country’s battles In the air, on land, and sea; First to fight for right and freedom And to keep our honor clean; We are proud to claim the title Of United States Marine Although the Corps has participated in every American war, its existence has been under threat almost from the beginning. This has been due entirely to broad misunderstanding of what the Marine Corps does. In the 1820s the Corps narrowly escaped being incorporated into the Army because President Andrew Jackson thought it was redundant. Congress saved the Corps in 1834 by declaring it to be a sister service to the Navy, with both services falling

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under the Department of the Navy. That arrangement has remained unchanged ever since. The Corps specializes in amphibious assault. Areas near water are vitally important. More than 75 percent of the world’s people and cities lie within 10 miles of a navigable waterway. More than 90 percent of the world’s commerce moves by sea. The number one job of the Marine Corps is to invade foreign countries, and almost always from the sea. Many people think the Corps is similar to the Army because it fights mostly on land. There are similarities, to be sure, but there are bigger differences. Modern warfare is fought with a continuum of force. A typical invasion begins with a naval blockade to disrupt commerce and break up enemy supply lines. Air power is used to control the skies and bomb key strategic targets like enemy military bases, power stations and other infrastructure necessary for the enemy to fight. When control of the seas and skies has been achieved, the final step is to take control of the land. Contrary to popular belief, war cannot be won by air and sea power alone. A war is not truly over until the winners can run their flag up the loser’s flagpole. This requires putting boots on the ground. Understandably, countries being invaded want to make it as hard as possible for invaders to do their job. This is where the Marine Corps earns its reputation. Marines are trained as assault troops. They kick down doors, literally and figuratively. They land on beaches under enemy fire, fly into combat zones in helicopters launched from ships at sea, and provide their own air cover in the form of F/A-18 jets and the remarkable Harrier jump jet. Marines waded ashore at Normandy on D-Day in 1944, and they flew an astonishing 400 miles from ships in the Indian Ocean to invade Afghanistan in 2001. In every case, the goal is to secure a piece of enemy territory that US forces can use to stage the rest of the invasion. Armies finish wars. But without the Marines to “grab a bit of beach” the Army would have nowhere to land. Counting reserves and National Guard units the Army is four times larger than the Marine Corps. The Army, however, is primarily an occupying force, not an invading force. Soldiers tend to follow Marines into battle because the Army performs occupation functions along the way, like rebuilding infrastructure the other services destroyed, and making peace with the civilians caught up in war. That’s why the Corps of Engineers is in the Army. The Army does a good job of breaking things, but it can also 6

rebuild them. The Marine Corps just breaks things, and keeps on going. The Marine Corps continued to prove itself in spite of the constant threats to its existence. Marines invaded Mexico City during the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848, adding another refrain to their hymn, “The halls of Montezuma.” Marines were deployed around the world during the 19th century, flexing the muscle of the young United States. Accustomed to fighting on foreign shores, the Marine Corps played a relatively small role in the Civil War, mostly fighting from naval vessels on blockade duty. As the Navy made its transition from wooden ships to steel ships, the Marines went along for the ride, intervening in locations like the Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico, China, Panama, Morocco, Haiti and Nicaragua, among others. It was at this time that the Corps authored the Small Wars Manual, a legendary guide to fighting little wars in faraway places. In 1898 the Corps captured Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for use as a naval base. The US Navy, along with a contingent of Marines, continues to use the base today. The Corps fought the mighty German Army to a standstill at the Battle of Belleau Wood in World War I, a galvanizing experience that burnished the Corps’ reputation in the years heading into World War II, where Marines played a pivotal role. This was especially true in the Pacific theater, where Marines island-hopped their way across Japanese-held islands on their way to an invasion of the Japanese mainland. Such an invasion would have been the biggest battle in history, but President Truman’s order to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945 brought the war to a close before it could happen. A move to incorporate the Corps into the Army and Navy was defeated by the National Security Act of 1947. In 1952 the commandant of the Marine Corps was given a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a position that endowed the commandant with equal standing with the chiefs of the Army, Navy and newly created Air Force. The Corps stepped up during American operations in Korea and Vietnam, along with smaller contingencies in Panama and Grenada. The Marines withdrew from Lebanon in 1983 after their Beirut headquarters was bombed, killing 220 Marines. The Corps participated in Liberia and Somalia in the 1990s, classic small wars, and was at the tip of the spear for Operation Desert Storm, the 1991 invasion of Iraq.

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Marines have been especially busy since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. The following month Marines invaded Afghanistan from the sea, not letting a little thing like 400 miles of Pakistan get in the way. In 2002, the Corps set up Joint Task Force Horn of Africa at Camp Lemonier, a former French Foreign Legion base in the African nation of Djibouti. From JTF-HOA, American forces keep an eye on one of the world’s most volatile regions. In 2003, Marines again headed up an invasion of Iraq. Although sent home in 2004, they were called back to share occupation duties with the Army. Today’s Marine Corps is more important to American security than ever. Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have relied heavily on ground forces, leading Congress to order the Army and Marine Corps to get bigger, and the Navy and Air Force to get smaller. The Marine Corps and the Army still overlap in many ways, but the Corps’ special ability to kick down doors remains its greatest asset. The Marine Corps has earned its exalted place among the world’s fighting forces. Do you think you have what it takes to be one of the few, the proud?

WHERE YOU WILL WORK MOST MILITARY PERSONNEL MOVE EVERY TWO TO THREE YEARS. THIS IS

necessitated by the personnel system, which requires all uniformed personnel to move “up or out.” Your career progression will also require you to hold a specific series of jobs, not all of which will be available at any one location. Some people thrive on the constant moving and view the opportunity to live in several places as one of the best parts of the military lifestyle. As the smallest of the services the Marine Corps has relatively few major installations. The nature of Marine Corps-style assault warfare also means that the Corps sets up bases that are only intended to serve for a few years. Most current Marine Corps bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, for example, will probably not be permanent even though they are currently home to thousands of Marines. The Corps also has small facilities and reserve centers across the United States. Small detachments and individual Marines are also assigned to joint facilities operated by other services. The Corps has a major base on each coast of the United States. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton takes up nearly 200 square miles and 17 miles of prime coastline between San Diego County and 8

Orange County, California. Camp Pendleton is home to an air base and enough open space to engage in realistic war games using tanks, armored personnel carriers, helicopters and jet aircraft. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune near Jacksonville, North Carolina is even larger, with almost 250 square miles for training. Camp Lejeune’s 14-mile coastline is also unencumbered by a civilian highway, making it the perfect location to stage amphibious assaults. Camp Pendleton’s coast is home to the only highway between San Diego and Los Angeles, prohibiting its use for conventional amphibious assaults. If you stay in the Corps for any length of time you will do a hitch at one or both of these bases. The Corps also has large installations in Georgia, Hawaii, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Florida, Arizona, Texas, Maryland, Alabama, Washington, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Kentucky and all over California. Overseas bases include Cuba, Djibouti, Diego Garcia, Kuwait and several locations in Japan. You will travel to many of these facilities during your career even if you only live in a few of them. Joining the Marine Corps is an excellent way to see the world.

YOUR WORK DUTIES MARINE CORPS JOBS ARE KNOWN AS MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTIES, OR

MOSs. MOSs are categorized according to Occupational Fields, or OccFlds, and then broken down into specific MOSs. All Occupational Fields have MOSs for both officers and enlisted personnel. You should choose an MOS before you sign your contract if you enlist, and should at least have one in mind if you apply for a commission. Officers choose MOSs during The Basic School. There are hundreds of MOSs within the Occupational Fields, from pilots to musicians, from intelligence specialists to communications officers. Several websites maintain lists of currently authorized MOSs, including www.wikipedia.org (search for List of United States Marine Corps MOS). The Marine Corps recruiting website does not routinely publish this information, preferring that potential recruits come to the recruiting station where a recruiter can provide the most up-to-date information. You incur no obligation by talking to a recruiter. If you want the latest information, a recruiter is your only reliable source.

Marine Occupational Fields

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Personnel and Administration Occupational Field includes MOSs for administrative professions for enlisted Marines and officers. Intelligence OccFld includes jobs related to intelligence, including surveillance, counterintelligence and tactical intelligence. Infantry includes riflemen, machine-gunners, snipers and infantry officers. Logistics is home to jobs that support Marine operations, including parachute rigging and landing support.

Marine Air-Ground Task Force OccFld, known as MAGTF, covers the growing field of civil affairs specialties. Communications includes a huge variety of MOSs with impressive titles like satellite communications operator and strategic spectrum planner. Artillery includes MOSs that bring big weapons to the fight, like fire support and target acquisition. Range Operations is where marksmanship instructors call home. Utilities includes electricians and refrigeration mechanics and the officers who lead them. Engineer, Construction, Facilities, and Equipment covers mechanics and fuels personnel. Tank and Assault Amphibious Vehicle personnel have MOSs to operate rolling weapons. Ground Ordnance Maintenance personnel repair and maintain them. Ammunition and Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel are very, very brave. Signals Intelligence/Ground Electronic Warfare includes personnel who listen to enemy electronic signals, and the cryptologists and linguists who figure out what’s being said. Linguist field includes MOSs for dozens of languages for the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Western Europe and Eastern Europe. Data/Communications Maintenance MOSs keep everybody in touch. 10

Supply Administration and Operations personnel, like contract specialists and ground supply officers, make sure that Marines in the field get the things they need to do their jobs. Traffic Management personnel do exactly that. Food Service personnel make sure everybody gets fed. Financial Management OccFld is home to financial management technicians and officers. Motor Transport Marines operate and maintain motor vehicles, while Data Systems Marines do the same for computers. Morale, Welfare and Recreation personnel run recreation programs. Public Affairs personnel make sure that the Corps’ internal and external audiences always know what they’ve been up to lately. Legal Services includes all legal personnel, including Judge Advocate General officers, or JAGs. Combat Camera get to work for one of the greatest photojournalism organizations in the world. Music OccFld includes all of the musicians who serve in Marine Corps bands. Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense personnel keep their fellow Marines safe from weapons of mass destruction. Military Police and Corrections personnel are the Corps’ cops. Electronics Maintenance Marines keep sophisticated electronic equipment up and running. Aircraft Maintenance personnel get to work on some of the most advanced aircraft in the world. Avionics personnel tend to the systems aboard the planes. Aviation Ordnance Marines take care of bombs and missiles associated with aircraft with help from their peers in Aviation Logistics. Meteorological and Oceanographic personnel keep an eye on the weather so that Airfield Services personnel can do their jobs.

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Air Control/Air Support/Anti-air Warfare/Air Traffic Control Marines support aviation-related activities. Navigation Officer/Enlisted Flight Crews ride shotgun with Pilots/Naval Flight Officers. The Corps also includes numerous other MOSs under the broad OccFlds of Enlisted Category B and Special Education. Among these are recruiters, martial-arts instructors and many professions, including engineering and law specialties. The vast category of Identifying and Reporting MOSs includes everything from general service Marines to foreign area officers, to the director of the President’s Own, US Marine Band.

You would be well-served to find a list of all current MOSs and study them to see where you might fit in.

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MARINES TELL YOU THEIR STORIES I Am an Intelligence Specialist “I don’t do what you think I do. I am not a secret agent. I don’t do espionage. What I do is gather, analyze and disseminate the critical information necessary for my commanders to make good decisions. That can be something as exotic as a classified human intelligence report from a foreign embassy or something as simple as making sure the boss has an up-to-the-minute weather forecast. Whatever is needed to support the decision-making process. I earned a top-tier score on the ASVAB [Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test], which qualified me for pretty much any MOS I wanted. I chose intelligence, or intel, as we call it, because I was intrigued by the idea of digging into interesting topics and learning everything I can about them. I got exactly what I wanted. My follow-on training consisted of six months at the Navy-Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center in Dam Neck, Virginia. We covered an amazing amount of territory. We learned to work all manner of complex computer systems and networks. We learned where to look for certain kinds of information and how to treat intelligence marked confidential, secret and top secret. We also learned to give briefs, the short presentations that are the standard method of sharing information within the Department of Defense. I should point out here that information and intelligence are not synonymous. Information is raw data that has not been analyzed by an intelligence professional. Intelligence is information that has been subject to analysis. You’d be amazed at how little true intel comes out of a typical mountain of information. The intelligence summary we put together every day is never more than a single page long. We glean a surprising amount of intelligence from open sources like newspapers and websites. We can usually get about 80 to 90 percent of the intelligence we really need from open sources. It’s the sorting through it that’s the hard part. Nobody 13

can read all the world’s newspapers every day. For starters, nobody can read that many languages. It’s a big job. We get other intelligence from classified systems like satellites and human intelligence sources. Contrary to popular belief, very few human intelligence sources are spies. Most are well-meaning individuals who find ways to share pieces of interesting information with the United States. They drop by US embassies and volunteer information because they know we’ll do the right thing with it. We don’t even have to recruit them. We classify intelligence for several reasons. Often, we don’t want to reveal the source of the intelligence because that could put the source in danger. We may not want to reveal the capabilities of a particular intelligence-gathering system. Mostly, we don’t want to tip our hand. The other side may know we’re monitoring their news outlets, but we don’t want them to know what items we think are most important. I spend most of my time sitting at a desk in an office on a Marine Corps base. Except when I get to go into the field. Because I’m a Marine, “the field” can mean anything from a pretty normal business trip to slogging through a jungle on the other side of the world. I look forward to deployments and field exercises because they’re where I get to prove that I have what it takes to be one of The Few.”

I Am an AV-8B Harrier II Pilot “I fly one of the most interesting jets ever created. The Harrier is the only mass-produced, fixed-wing fighter aircraft in the world to be able to take off and land vertically. It is also one of the best all-around fighter planes in history. I feel lucky that I have been able to make a career out of flying it. I became interested in the Harrier when I was a kid and watched them on television during the Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina in 1982. I saw news footage of these muscular-looking airplanes rising straight off aircraft carrier flight decks and thought I was watching a science-fiction movie. Then when I saw them come to a complete stop in midair, and even fly backwards, I knew I had to find out more about them. By 14

the way, Harrier pilots did not lose a single plane in air-to-air combat in that war. The Argentine Air Force, however, was pretty much wiped out. The US Marine Corps took notice, too. It bought a lot more Harriers from their British manufacturer after the Falklands War ended. I opted for the Marine Corps after completing Navy ROTC in college. ROTC was a pretty good deal. In exchange for a partial scholarship I minored in military science and spent a few weekends per year and two weeks over the summer doing very awesome things. I also knew I would have a job when I graduated, which was great to look forward to. It is very difficult to make it through pilot training. For starters, all sorts of things can disqualify you. Less-than-perfect vision, for example. Or a heart problem you never knew about because it’s only a problem if you’re pulling four times the force of gravity in a fighter plane. Many would-be pilots never even make it to the training phase because after months of tests they find out that they don’t qualify. I qualified. Then it got really hard. Harrier training takes longer than conventional fixed-wing jet training because the Harrier adds another stick to the usual one-stick arrangement in most cockpits. That second stick can be used to vector the engine’s thrust while in flight, enabling the Harrier to fly straight up or down like a helicopter, take off on very short runways or very rapidly change direction in flight. Harrier training is also the most dangerous pilot training offered by any branch of the US military. Harriers were designed to do things no other plane can do. There are a lot of accidents. We Marines love ‘em, though. We take a squadron of Harriers aboard the amphibious assault ships we ride into combat. Basically a small aircraft carrier, an amphib is like an invasion in a can. They come with landing craft, helicopters, a squadron of Harriers and a couple thousand Marines. Harriers are the only fixed-wing aircraft that can take off and land on an amphib, and they are critical to providing close-air support for our Marines on the ground. With Marines hitting the beach in landing craft and helicopters, I can cover them with my guns and take on enemy 15

aircraft with my missiles. It’s a dangerous job that has to be done. I’m thankful we have the right tool for the job. The Harrier will be replaced in a few years by a version of the F-35 Lightning, sometimes known as the Joint Strike Fighter. The new plane is a joint effort between American and British aerospace companies to upgrade the Harriers currently in use by the forces that proved their worth in the first place: the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and US Marine Corps. I’ll miss the Harrier, but I can hardly wait to take my first flight in its new-and-improved replacement.”

I Am a Tiltrotor Mechanic for the MV-22 Osprey “I work on one of the wildest aircraft ever built. The MV-22 Osprey is the only fixed-wing cargo aircraft in the world that can take off and land vertically, like a helicopter, but then fly with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. The Corps is still in the early stages of deploying the Osprey to task forces and expeditionary strike groups, but when the Osprey comes out in force it will be a huge force multiplier for us. I chose this MOS because I’ve always been interested in mechanics. I custom-built a 700-horsepower sports car when I was in high school. Very cool. I wanted to really broaden my horizons and do something I couldn’t possibly do on my own. Jets are always cool, so I thought I might learn to work on those, but then the tiltrotor MOS opened up after the Osprey was approved for full production. There were plenty of billets, so I signed up. The Osprey is a little like the Harrier in that it was designed to do things regular aircraft can’t do. Like the Harrier, the Osprey has had more than its fair share of accidents. That’s what happens when you try something so radically new and different. Nobody knew how to build or fly these things. They had to learn as they went along. The Osprey will add a huge new capability to our force-projection power. The Marines have always used helicopters extensively because we can land them anywhere we need to insert 16

or extract Marines. But helicopters aren’t very fast, have limited range and can’t fly very high. Fixed-wing aircraft need runways but they are fast, can fly at a high altitude and can go long distances without refueling. The Marine Corps has been at the forefront of combining the best attributes of both kinds of aircraft, because such a capability would really enhance our style of fighting. The Harrier solved that problem for fighter planes, and now the Osprey is solving that problem for transport planes. Over the next few years we’ll be deploying Ospreys to all 11 of our amphibious assault ships and selling a few to allies with aircraft carriers. France has already ordered them for use by their naval infantry. Once everybody becomes accustomed to flying them I suspect we’ll find new uses for them, too. I love my job because it puts me on the cutting edge of technology. Better yet, I get to serve my country at the same time. Honestly, I wasn’t too sure about the ‘serving your country’ part when I enlisted in the Corps. I thought it was a good thing, but I can’t say I had any strong emotional reaction to the idea. I just wanted to learn some skills and qualify for the GI Bill so I could go to college. But now that I’ve been in for a few years and had some experiences I could never have anywhere else, I get it. One percent of Americans make it possible for the other 99 percent to live their lives in peace and security. I’m very proud to be part of the one percent.”

I am a Food Service Specialist “Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the greatest military commanders of all time, once said that ‘An army marches on its stomach.’ Boy, was he ever right. Food has a bigger effect on morale than any other aspect of day-to-day life in the military. When it’s good, people are happy. When it’s bad, people get grouchy. It makes sense, especially in field conditions. When you take a thousand Marines and put them in the desert in a temporary base a long way from civilization, they tend to work all day, every day. There are no weekends or days off. There aren’t even regular working hours. If they’re lucky they’ll work 12 hours on and 12 17

hours off, seven days a week. Meals are the only times they have to look forward to. Three times a day they can take 20 to 30 minutes to get together with their buddies and have a little grub before heading back to the grind. That makes those meals very important. Commanders talk about establishing a ‘battle rhythm.’ Actually, it’s all about meal times. We have a lot of guests come through our chow halls. Reporters, politicians, VIPs, celebrities on USO tours. They are always surprised by the quality and variety of food we serve. We make omelets to order every morning for anybody who wants them. We do pizza nights. We always have a soft-serve ice cream machine. We have actual pastry chefs on our staff to prepare desserts. Anything less would actually degrade our ability to fight. I chose this MOS because I want to get into the foodservice business someday. I love cooking and would like to go to a top-notch civilian culinary school after I get out of the Corps. The schools the Corps has sent me to have given me an excellent foundation in culinary arts, and my daily routine has made me an expert in high-volume kitchen management. When we go on 12 on, 12 off, my staff has to prepare six sittings per day. When we have 5,000 Marines to feed that’s 30,000 meals per day. I would recommend this career to anybody who wants to get serious real-world experience in the foodservice business. This is about as challenging as a foodservice job can get. I almost had a mutiny once when we ran out of hot sauce to put on the tables. It literally required a C-130 cargo plane to bring me more. If I get a civilian job as a restaurant manager I’ll probably be bored because it’ll be too easy.”

I Am a Rifleman “I am the person you think about when you think about the US Marine Corps. I am a rifleman. I have been in the Corps for less than two years and have spent more time crawling through mud than I ever thought possible. I have become a warrior in the truest sense of the word.

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In boot camp every Marine is required to memorize the Rifleman’s Creed. You may have seen this in movies, where Marines shout the creed in unison during training. This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will... My rifle and myself know that what counts in this war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, nor the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit... My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage as I will ever guard my legs, my arms, my eyes and my heart against damage. I will keep my rifle clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will... Before God, I swear this creed. My rifle and myself are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life. So be it, until victory is America’s and there is no enemy, but peace! Sounds pretty heavy, doesn’t it. It’s supposed to. Our business is about killing people and destroying things in order to protect the people and things important to us. This is not an easy job and should not be treated like one. The Marine Corps is not an occupation force. If you want to occupy a country, call the Army. We are an assault force. We must be used wisely. I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into when I joined. Some people don’t. They get too wrapped up in the hype of being a Marine and forget that it’s about more than just wearing a flashy uniform. It’s a deadly serious business. Literally. As recently as two years ago I was in high school, worrying about stuff like grades and dating. Since then I’ve been in two different combat zones. That’ll grow you up fast! My friends from back home don’t understand why I chose to do what I do. Most of them have boring desk jobs, too. I’ve never been so challenged by anything I’ve ever done. But you know what? I’ve never been happier.” 19

PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS THE IDEA THAT THE US MARINES ARE “THE FEW” IS NOT JUST ADVERTISING. BEING

a Marine is a job most people admire, but it’s also a job most people can’t do and wouldn’t want. To be a Marine you should be utterly dedicated, physically fit and willing and able to take initiative. Being a Marine can be fun, exciting and adventurous, but it’s never easy. The entire notion of dedication takes on a whole new meaning for Marines. Marines train harder than anybody. “Every Marine a rifleman” is not only a popular saying in the Corps, it’s also policy. The lowest-ranking enlisted personnel are riflemen, and spend time crawling through mud and shooting things. Senior officers do that too. Even if your MOS puts you behind a desk most of the time, you will have to maintain the skills that make you a Marine. You may not spend as much time in the mud as some of your comrades, but every once in a while you’ll be called upon to prove that you still know how. None of the other services maintain such unity of purpose throughout their ranks. In the Navy, scoring 295 out of 300 in a marksmanship test earns you a medal, and even taking the test is optional. In the Marine Corps that same score is the minimum requirement to graduate from boot camp. Think about that for a few minutes. Are you dedicated enough to make the cut? It should come as no surprise that physical fitness is an important part of military life. Military personnel often have to work long hours under challenging conditions, with little sleep and in truly rotten surroundings. If you’re not fit you won’t last very long. This is doubly true for Marines. Amphibious assault is an extremely violent form of warfare that relies upon time-tested tactics combined with brute force. Marines don’t call amphibious assault “kicking down the door” for nothing. You will have to prove your ability as a Marine rifleman from time to time no matter what your MOS. This should be all the reason you need to stay physically fit. But you should be ready for some serious peer pressure, too. If you join the Marines you will be surrounded by extremely fit people who think nothing of pumping iron at five o’clock in the morning. Fitness is an indelible part of Marine Corps culture. As the smallest of the armed services the Marine Corps values the ability to think on your feet. All Marines wear more than one hat, no matter what their MOS says. If you are part of a small detachment assigned to a desert combat zone, for example, you will not have the luxury of focusing exclusively on your particular job. Your commanders 20

and your buddies will need help. Conditions will be challenging. You may not have all the equipment you’d prefer. Stuff breaks. The detachment’s job still needs to get done in spite of such challenges. You won’t get very far if you complain, “That’s not my job” whenever the going gets tough. If you have an idea, say so. If you prove you’re not a knucklehead you’ll be amazed at how closely your superiors will listen. They may even start coming to you first.

ATTRACTIVE FEATURES IF THERE WEREN’T SO MUCH TO LIKE ABOUT BEING A MARINE, THE CORPS

wouldn’t have such an easy time meeting its recruiting goals. The benefits are hard to beat. So is the opportunity to serve one’s country. Even members of the other military services are envious of the reputation enjoyed by the Marine Corps. The military benefits package is great. Basic pay, housing allowance, cost-of-living allowance, special pays and bonuses, tax-free combat zones, 30 days of leave per year, medical and dental insurance for yourself and your family, access to low-cost commissaries and exchanges, and free air travel, are just a few of the perks that come with serving in the military. The opportunity to see the world is another great benefit, both on- and off-duty. On-duty you will see parts of the world that few Americans know. You may see them under less-than-ideal circumstances, to be sure, but you will get to know them in a very intimate way. Off-duty you will be able to take advantage of the travel opportunities that come with being stationed in faraway places. Do a hitch in Europe and you can practically guarantee you will get to London, Paris, and Rome. Serving one’s country is a great honor. The United States is defended by men and women who care enough to take great risks in faraway places week after week, month after month, doing important jobs that few people want to do. Less than three million people serve in the military in one way or another at any given time. That’s less than one percent of the US population. That tiny cohort of dedicated Americans make it possible for other Americans to pursue their happiness however they see fit. That’s something to take pride in. If you are inclined to serve, there’s no greater reward.

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UNATTRACTIVE FEATURES THE MARINE CORPS ISN’T ALL HONOR AND DAZZLING DRESS UNIFORMS, HOWEVER.

It’s a very hard job. The system will drive you crazy. You will be required to make significant personal sacrifices. And lest anybody forget, being in the military is dangerous. The military is an enormous bureaucracy that can’t do anything very efficiently. The simplest tasks can take days or weeks to get done. Inefficiency is so much a part of military culture that there is a phrase to describe it: “Hurry up and wait.” This means that you will often find yourself making a great effort to get somewhere only to be told to wait after you have arrived. You will spend a large amount of time standing around, doing paperwork and redoing paperwork that gets lost, which it will. Fighting the system will only make it worse. The rules are often contradictory. Taking out your frustrations on the people charged with carrying out the rules won’t get you anywhere. The system will grind you down. Never forget that the adventures you will have as a Marine will almost always come with corresponding sacrifices. You may not notice it when you are a young Marine without a family of your own, but as you get older it will become more and more difficult to spend long periods of time away from home. Six months in Africa is a wonderful learning experience when you’re not leaving anybody behind and all your buddies are going with you. It’s another thing altogether when you have to say goodbye to a spouse and children. If you go on a year-long deployment you will miss an entire year’s worth of family traditions. Veteran military personnel say things like, “I missed third grade.” You also can’t forget that military service can be very dangerous. Military personnel get paid to put their lives on the line in order to protect the lives of others. That’s the bottom line of military service. This is especially true for Marines, who earn their living taking the fight to the other side. There is little solace for Marines aboard ships or aircraft. Their rightful place is on the ground, in the thick of things. It’s no coincidence that most of the casualties suffered in recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have been soldiers and Marines. Freedom is not free, and neither is glory.

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EDUCATION AND TRAINING BECAUSE THE MARINE CORPS IS THE ONLY ARMED SERVICE TO ROUTINELY SURPASS

its recruiting goals it can afford to be selective about whom it lets in. Although the Corps is allowed by law to accept as many as five percent of its recruits without high-school diplomas, it rarely has to dip into this pool of less-qualified applicants. If you want to become a Marine the first thing you must do is to graduate from high school. With a high school diploma you can enlist in the Marine Corps. If you earn a bachelor’s degree you can apply for a commission to become an officer. This is the primary distinction between personnel in the armed forces. Enlisted personnel are the military’s technical experts; the doers who carry out the tasks that make the military go. Officers are the military’s leaders. They establish policy and direct the efforts of enlisted personnel. Officers, who make up about 11 percent of the Corps, are paid more than enlisted personnel and have more authority. They also shoulder more legal burden for the consequences of their actions and of those under their command, and they have substantially greater managerial and administrative duties than enlisted personnel. Do not assume that being an officer is inherently more desirable than being enlisted. If you want to manage projects and lead people, earn a bachelor’s degree and apply for a commission. If you want to become, for example, an expert commando or jet-engine mechanic, enlist. There are opportunities for enlisted personnel to apply for commissions later in their careers. If you enlist you will be required to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB. A standardized test similar to the ACT or SAT, the ASVAB will measure your competence in several key areas. Your score will determine which career paths you qualify for. Career paths are known as military occupation specialties, or MOSs. If your ASVAB score qualifies you for an MOS that interests you, make sure that your enlistment contract says that’s the career path you will enter after you finish basic training. Not all MOSs are available all the time, so be prepared to have a Plan B if you can’t get your first-choice MOS. You can always wait for an opening. Don’t sign the contract until you’ve got the job you want.

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All applicants for a commission must possess a bachelor’s degree and be a US citizen between 18 and 28 years old. Applicants for aviation commissions also have to pass the Navy and Marine Corps Aviation Selection Test Battery. The Marine Corps selects its officers based on the “whole person” concept. There is no single qualification that will reward you with the offer of a commission. Your college major, grades, test scores, civic involvement, leadership potential and physical fitness will all be weighed and assessed. Be warned that the Marine Corps has by far the lowest ratio of officers to enlisted personnel of all the armed services. Whether you enlist or apply for a commission you won’t get very far if you’ve had trouble with the police or a history of substance abuse. The Marine Corps can pick and choose from among its applicants. It has the highest rate of rejection of the armed services, both for officer applicants and enlistees. If you want to shoot for a commission there are three ways to go about it. You can go to college and apply for a commission after you graduate. There will always be greater demand for mechanical engineering majors than for music majors, so give your major some thought. You can also apply for a Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps, or ROTC, scholarship. The Marine Corps is part of the Department of the Navy. Many Navy ROTC cadets choose commissions in the Marine Corps upon graduation. The ROTC program, which is offered at universities across the country, is a minor concentration in military science. ROTC cadets typically wear their uniforms to class once a week and spend several weekends and one two-week period per year doing military-related field exercises. Most ROTC cadets also receive a full or partial scholarship. The other option for earning a commission is to attend the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The academy accepts only about 1,200 students per year. Entrance requirements are very high. Your grades, classes, extracurricular activities and volunteer work will all be taken into account when you apply to the academy. You will also need a nomination from your US senator or representative. If you are accepted you will receive an excellent undergraduate education without any cost to you or your family, and be obligated to serve for at least five years after you graduate. Additional details can be found on the academy’s website. Whether you enlist or accept a commission you will have to complete initial accession training before you can get started on your 24

career in earnest. Enlisted recruits are sent to nine weeks of boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depots in San Diego or Parris Island, South Carolina. Because the Corps is only about five percent female, the lowest percentage of all the services, all female recruits go to boot camp at Parris Island. After boot camp, enlistees go to follow-on training to learn their MOS. Officer training is quite lengthy. Officers attend 10 weeks of Officer Candidate School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, followed by 26 weeks at The Basic School at nearby Camp Barrett. During TBS, officers are selected for an MOS, and move on to that training after finishing TBS. The process can easily take a year or more. Do not let an irrational fear of boot camp or OCS put you off joining the Marine Corps. Both programs are challenging and intended to be intimidating. The Marine Corps doesn’t want to attract people who cannot commit their all. Initial training is hard. It should be. It is not, however, superhuman. You will not be flogged to within an inch of your life by a crazed drill instructor. You will, however, be challenged in a way that few people are challenged, and you will have every right to be proud of yourself when you have completed the training.

EARNINGS NOBODY GETS RICH IN THE MILITARY BUT EVERYBODY DOES PRETTY WELL. THE

compensation package is designed to make servicemembers feel secure in the knowledge that they, their families and their futures are being looked after. It’s very difficult to get people to deploy for months at a time if they feel their loved ones won’t be able to get by. In all military services your paycheck is actually composed of several different kinds of compensation. The largest portion of your paycheck is base pay. This is your salary without benefits. A new enlisted Marine in the rank of E-1 (private) is paid $1,400 per month, or $16,800 per year. This may not sound like much, but keep in mind that most E-1s are in boot camp where they also get free housing, three meals a day and almost no opportunities to spend money. Base pay jumps to $1,569 per month for E-2s (private first class) and $1,588 for E-3s (lance corporal). As a young Marine, most of your needs will be provided for, so your rather small paycheck will actually go pretty far. When you rise to 25

E-4 (corporal) your base pay will jump to $1,921 per month if you’ve been in for at least two years, or $2,025 per month if you’ve been in for three years. An E-5 (sergeant) with four years in earns $2,335 per month. After that, your base pay will increase every two years all the way up to $5,928 per month for an E-9 (sergeant major or master gunnery sergeant) with at least 26 years of service. The highest-ranking enlisted personnel can, under certain circumstances, serve for as long as 40 years. You could top out the pay scale at $6,830 per month in base pay for an E-9 with at least 38 years of service. At some point you will probably move off-base and into a house or apartment of your own. When you do, you will be entitled to a housing allowance. Housing allowances are calculated based on your rank, location and whether or not you have dependents. The housing allowance for a single E-5 Marine living in a rural area, for example, would be substantially less than the housing allowance for a married E-5 Marine living in an expensive metropolitan area. Housing allowances for some areas, especially overseas, can be as large as or larger than your base pay. Typically, however, a housing allowance will account for about one third of your paycheck. After your base pay and housing allowance there are additional entitlements. The cost of living allowance, or COLA, adds to your base pay when you are assigned to an area with a high cost of living. Hazardous duty pay adds more money when you deploy to a dangerous area. Your paycheck will be tax free if you are deployed to an area declared a combat zone by Congress. Marines who can prove their fluency in certain languages may be eligible for a monthly bonus. The list of ways to boost your paycheck is quite lengthy. Nothing comes for free, however. All of these bonuses will require hard work on your part. Want to earn an extra $600 per month? Learn Chinese. Pay scales for officers are higher than those for enlisted Marines. Most other allowances are higher too. Base pay for a new O-1 (second lieutenant) starts at $2,655 per month and rises to $3,483 for an O-2 (first lieutenant) with two years of service. From there the pay scale rises to a maximum of $18,061 per month for an O-10 (general) with at least 38 years of service. Note that there are only four four-star generals serving at any given time.

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OPPORTUNITIES DON’T WAIT AROUND FOR YOUR CAREER IN THE MARINE CORPS TO GET

started. The Marines don’t like people who wait for something to happen. You should start preparing yourself for this career even before you talk to a recruiter. Get fit and learn something about firearms. Physical fitness is inseparable from the larger Marine Corps culture. It is important to your job and it is important to your social standing. Unless you want to be steamrolled in boot camp or OCS, you owe it to yourself to get into the best shape possible before you depart for initial accession training. Hit the gym, but don’t do it casually. Read up on fitness routines or work with a trainer for a few weeks to set you off in the right direction. Get into the habit of doing a well-rounded fitness routine including calisthenics, weightlifting and cardiovascular exercise. Put extra effort into running, sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups, all of which you will be tested on when you get to initial accession training. These four exercises are also the basis of the physical fitness test you will be required to take every six months for the duration of your Marine Corps career. Also make sure that you are within the Corps’ height-weight standards. The chart can be found on the Marine Corps website. Marksmanship is almost as important to Marine Corps culture as physical fitness. Your MOS may or may not require you to use a gun on a regular basis but you will practice shooting during initial accession training and will be required to maintain your firearms skills during your career. People who are familiar with guns tend to use them properly. Get a head start. Seek out a shooting range and make arrangements for lessons. Most reputable shooting ranges will be familiar with military marksmanship requirements and will be able to teach you the basics using the same weapons you will use in the Corps. Once you feel comfortable with a rifle and sidearm drop by the range a couple of times a week, rent a gun and shoot 50 to 100 rounds. That’s how the experts retain their skills.

Marine Forces Reserve If you plan to enlist in the Marine Corps you can pursue a two-track career by joining the Marine Forces Reserve. After completing boot camp, MOS training and an initial 12-week hitch on active duty, you will be obligated to serve one weekend per month and two weeks per year. You will have opportunities to step up for additional periods of active-duty service ranging in length from a couple of weeks to three 27

years. You may also be called up on short notice to support real-world operations. Many Marines pursue fulfilling careers in the military and civilian worlds at the same time. Requirements for officers are much more stringent and typically require active-duty service before transitioning to reserve status. Check with your recruiter for up-to-date information.

GETTING STARTED IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HAVE READ AND THE MARINE CORPS SOUNDS LIKE A

good career choice for you, there is really only one step left to take: Talk to a recruiter. Demand for people with certain skills fluctuates constantly, as some MOSs suffer shortages of personnel and others find themselves with too many. Only a recruiter will have the latest information. Simply talking to a recruiter incurs no obligation on your part. Neither does taking the ASVAB. You will have to do both while negotiating your contract. After you have taken the ASVAB and know which MOSs you qualify for, you will need to pick your top three choices and see if they’re available. If there are billets available in your chosen MOS, ask your recruiter to secure one for you. Get it in writing. Eventually your contract should specify where and when you will attend initial accession training, what your MOS will be, and where you will attend follow-on training. The same contractual arrangements can be made for officer candidates. Listen to your recruiter’s expertise when choosing an MOS but don’t let the recruiter talk you out of what you really want to do. This is your career. You owe it to yourself to step off on the right foot. When you have the contract you want, sign it. There is nothing to be gained from waiting around. Furthermore, most contracts have to be signed within 30 days because billets will be filled in the interim, changing the Corps’ needs. Be prepared! Your first year in the Corps will be the most challenging year of your life. Some days you’ll wonder what you got yourself into. Most days, however, you’ll be having the time of your life. Go for it!

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ASSOCIATIONS PERIODICALS WEBSITES  African Center for Strategic Studies

www.africacenter.org  American Legion

www.legion.org  BAE Systems

www.baesystems.com  Boeing

www.boeing.com  China Defence Today

www.sinodefence.com  Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa

www.hoa.africom.mil  Defense Link

www.defenselink.mil  Defense News

www.defensenews.com  French Foreign Legion

www.legion-recrute.com/en/  Global Security

www.globalsecurity.org  Israeli Defense Forces

www.dover.idf.il/IDF/English/  Jane’s

www.janes.com  Leatherneck Magazine

www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck  Lockheed Martin

www.lockheedmartin.com

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 Marine Corps Association

www.mca-marines.org  Marine Corps Gazette

www.mca-marines.org/gazette/  Marine Corps Headquarters

www.usmc.mil  Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island

www.mcrdpi.usmc.mil  Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego

www.mcrdsd.usmc.mil  Marine Corps Times

www.marinecorpstimes.com  Marine Corps University

www.mcu.usmc.mil  Marine Forces Reserve

www.mfr.usmc.mil  Marines Memorial Association

www.marineclub.org  Marine Parents

www.marineparents.com  Military.com

www.military.com  National Museum of the Marine Corps

www.usmcmuseum.org  Naval Technology

www.naval-technology.com  North Atlantic Treaty Organization

www.nato.int  Northrop Grumman

www.northropgrumman.com

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 Royal Marines

www.royalmarines.mod.uk  Today’s Military

www.todaysmilitary.com  United Nations

www.un.org  United Nations Security Council

www.un.org/docs/sc  United States Air Force

www.af.mil  United States Army

www.army.mil  United States Coast Guard

www.uscg.mil  United States Department of Defense

www.defenselink.mil  United States Department of Veterans Affairs

www.va.gov  United States Institute of Peace

www.usip.org  United States Marine Corps

www.marines.mil  United States Naval Institute

www.usni.org  United States Navy

www.navy.mil  Veterans of Foreign Wars

www.vfw.org

COPYRIGHT Institute For Career Research 2009 CAREERS INTERNET DATABASE www.careers-internet.org

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