USMC + The Russian

[The_Russian]

I've posted on the military section a few times now asking you guys questions. First, I would like to thank you guys for the good advice. So now I have an "interview" with an officer recruiter on thursday to fly in the Marines. Any thing you guys can think of that I should prepare ahead of time? Maybe a resume or something on paper?

 

[USMCAirWinger]

I would say that a resume wouldn't be bad. The USMC recruiters aren't very hard to impress. Just be yourself and make sure you let them know how much you want to be a Marine before anything else.

Last, make sure that you really want to do this. It will happen fast and I can tell you that chances are you will be in the June class. As long as you pass the ASTB (very easy as long as you study).

Oh...yeah...almost forgot. Do you like running?

 

[Huggyu2]

Advice: get a haircut.... high and tight.

 

[MarineGrunt]

The USMC recruiters aren't very hard to impress.

Uuum.... enlisted recruiters, yes. Or maybe it was just every OSO I have ever met has been the devil. Marine Officer recruiters will take an extremely hard look at you and they will make you prove to them that you are worthy of being an officer in the Corps. Don't expect them to give you the sales pitch. You should show up expecting to put the sales pitch on the OSO. Expect some OSO's tend to be a bit tense and have the attitude of "why should I let this deuchebag be a Marine Officer?"

But once you sell yourself to them, you're golden......... just as long as you can run the 3 mile in 21:30....... AT LEAST.

 

[Jafar]

Uuum.... enlisted recruiters, yes. Or maybe it was just every OSO I have ever met has been the devil. Marine Officer recruiters will take an extremely hard look at you and they will make you prove to them that you are worthy of being an officer in the Corps. Don't expect them to give you the sales pitch. You should show up expecting to put the sales pitch on the OSO. Expect some OSO's tend to be a bit tense and have the attitude of "why should I let this deuchebag be a Marine Officer?"

But once you sell yourself to them, you're golden......... just as long as you can run the 3 mile in 21:30....... AT LEAST.

I agree wholeheartedly with the above. If I were you I wouldn't mention anything to the OSO about wanting to fly. (Except in the very unlikely event he happens to be a pilot himself.) The two who I have dealt with were both grunts and didn't give a danm about airplanes or people who want to fly them. Running 21:30 3 mile will put you in the last 10% of the cats running at Quantico. I speak from personal experience. I was an enlisted Marine for 8 years and graduated from the PLC junior course in Quantico. Then I came to my senses and decided I probably ought to go to the service that actual mentions the AIR in it

Bottom line, you want to be a Marine Officer, go to OCC. (Or OCS, depending on your circumstances.) If flying is the number one priority... Well... Just think about the mission of each individual service.

 

[Huggyu2]

Russian,
What's your status with the Makos?

 

[The_Russian]

Thanks for the advice guys. I still have a lot of work to do to get into shape. It seems to me that you guys think the Corps is not the best choice for flying. Is there any way they can screw you even if all the paperwork and contracts are in order? Can I take the Class I before signing?

Huggy,
My status with the Makos is in limbo. I have talked to them but I don't know anyone in the unit itself. I have two guard units that like me, but I am trying for active duty first.

Thanks guys!

 

[inthewind]

Russian,
They cannot screw you as long as you pass the AQT/FAR and ASFAB exams. Once you have a contract it's up to you. Don't worry about mentioning that all you want to do is fly. I did, made through and loved every minute, if I could waive my disability retirement I'd be driving Snakes in Iraq right now. My only suggestion is to invest in a pair of raquetball goggles for night nav at TBS. You'd hate to lose an eye running through the woods. (One guy in my company did) I loved the Corps and I would have never traded my Dress Blues in for a skirt just to have the word Air in my name. It is a great experience and once you survive PLC and TBS you won't regret it. PM me if you have any questions.

 

[MarineGrunt]

Russian - One thing I forgot to mention, which was touched on above, is DO NOT join the Marines because you want to fly. It is likely you will end up very unhappy. In the past, I wanted to fly for them because I wanted to be a Marine and serve my country. Flying was a distant third from those two. When my first child was born, family trumped the Marine life, so I went guard. Don't join unless you wouldn't mind ending up as an infantry officer some day. Not saying this will happen, it's just the attitude you need to have.

If you just want to fly, don't go military. If you want to serve your country first and do some flying while you're at it, go AF or Guard.

Good luck in whatever you decide. If you want to go guard and need some help with your application(s), feel free to PM me.

 

[inthewind]

Marine Grunt is right, don't join the Corps to be a pilot. Join to be a Marine, if you get to fly that is gravy. And whatever you do, when you are at OCS/TBS don't mention the air contract. The instructors will make your life hell if they think the only reason you are there is to fly.

 

[MarineGrunt]

I loved the Corps and I would have never traded my Dress Blues in for a skirt just to have the word Air in my name.

Ouch man............ :laugh:

 

[AD SUPT Hopeful]

If you just want to fly, don't go military. If you want to serve your country first and do some flying while you're at it, go AF or Guard.

I might be wrong, but I don't believe his ambitions for military service are in question. While we're on the topic, though, I thought http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?p=814150#post814150 was a pretty good read, especially for those currently in the application process.

 

[semperfido]

I might be wrong, but I don't believe his ambitions for military service are in question. .

you missed his point. jarhead officer recruiters are a bit gung ho and not too impressed with zoomey wannabees and officers in the marines are pilots 2nd.

 

[payola]

First off, Russian, there is no resume you need to take to the OSO's office. You will during the course of your application have to fill out a length application, which the OSO will help you with. Taking a pre-resume, however, will not serve any purpose.

Secondly, Jafar's advice should be stricken from the record. An applicant has to tell the OSO if (s)he is interested in flying. You can get into a Marine Corps commissioning program as a 1) ground contract, 2) SNA contract, 3) SNFO contract, 4) law contract. So by not mentioning that you want to fly, you could apply for and possibly be accepted for a ground job.

If you're joining only because you want to fly, yes, you're making the wrong choice. If you want to be a Marine, then being able to fly is a nice byproduct. As far as keeping your air contract a secret, it's not a secret, if you try to hide it you only bring your character into question. At OCS we were required during inspections to say "Good time of day, sir/ma'am. Candidate Name, Some University, Air (or ground) contract" when the inspector stepped in front of us. Don't lie about it. At TBS you will have to fill out rosters and all manner of paperwork with your MOS on it. Student pilots have a different MOS from ground officers. You will have meetings for air contracts. Your SPC will want to talk to air contracts.

You got more questions, shoot. I've been in 11+ years. Went from enlisted to officer through MECEP. I'm in Pensacola now in training.

 

[Jafar]

Secondly, Jafar's advice should be stricken from the record. An applicant has to tell the OSO if (s)he is interested in flying. You can get into a Marine Corps commissioning program as a 1) ground contract, 2) SNA contract, 3) SNFO contract, 4) law contract. So by not mentioning that you want to fly, you could apply for and possibly be accepted for a ground job.

Oh no! Don't strike me from the record! Seriously I should clarify my statement. Of course they need to know you wish to be an air contract, the point I was trying to make is don't go in there with your logbook telling them all about your hours and how bad you want to fly Hornets. I had an air contract myself and I got it by passing the ASTB, passing the flight physical, and signing the air contract. 7 months after my flight physical, the OSO called me and said that I was now going to be an NFO, because Pensacola said I had a slight astigmatism on my left eye. Now again this is 7 months after the physical, the very same physical in which it was determined I had 20/20 vision near and far in both eyes. Apparently the cycloplegic determined my "cylinder" measurement of my left eye was out of range. I promptly took myself down to the local lenscrafters, NAMI regs in hand, and had a full cycloplegic exam done. They determined my left eye was close to, but still within standards. I took the results back to the OSO, had them sent up to NAMI, and was given more run-around. After a couple more months I decided to move on. My enlistment contract was over, so I decided I'd try out another service. I don't regret it. Now If you hard chargers don't mind, I've got to get back to ironing my skirt.

 

[MarineGrunt]

you missed his point. jarhead officer recruiters are a bit gung ho and not too impressed with zoomey wannabees and officers in the marines are pilots 2nd.

Correct. That was the point I was after.

 

[payola]

the point I was trying to make is don't go in there with your logbook telling them all about your hours and how bad you want to fly Hornets.

Now that I agree with. Only pilots like pilot talk. OSOs only like to hear "pilot" when it involves an air contract. That skirt remark, however, should be stricken from the record.

 

[USMCAirWinger]

As stated before. The Marines are looking very hard for pilots. I'm prior enlisted and as of 3 months ago I was set to go to OCS until I turned it down and took a Guard Viper slot.

When I went for the physical I had 5 other dudes going through the process and let me tell you that:

a: Their ASTB scores just met the minimums.
b: They had absolutely no flying time at all.

Some will argue that the Marines are looking for leadership qualities rather than other things but let me tell you that as long as you are willing to play the "I want to be a Marine first and foremost" game they will work with you.

If you meet the minimums scorewise and can get around a 270 PFT I can almost guarantee that you will get the job. Thats just how it is right now...may not be tha case in a couple of years. Just ask the Navy and Air Force.