Son is interested in marines

[Ducman]

18 year old good student, good athlete, good kid just not exactly sure what he’s looking for in career. We’ve been planning on any number of solid colleges.

Then he started investigating Marines....which I supported thinking ROTC (I know very little about this) might help him clarify what he’s interested in. But he’s now talking to recruiters about joining reserves...now. Recruiters seem overly interested in him - why? He’s telling me he can do reserves while college. Recruiters are telling him there’s advantages vs rotc?

Of course my wife and I are making appointments with both recruiters (it seems reserves and rotc are different entities) but just trying to get a foundational understanding.

Anyone with first hand experience?

[Ryan_Cunningham]

If he wants to be a Marine officer, do not enlist as a Marine enlisted Reservist. Have him talk to a local OSO and he can sign up for PLC which consists of two 6 week summer sessions that he completes after his sophomore and junior year at college and the he will commission as an officer after he completes his degree the following year.

There is certainly nothing wrong with enlisting, but he will be in a far better position post-Marine Corps career if he joins as an officer.

For your reference. https://www.marines.com/becoming-a-marine/officer.html

I am currently a Reservist USMC Major and spent 11 years active duty as a Marine Corps F/A-18 instructor pilot. Shoot me any other questions you have.

[Seahawk]

First of all, congratulations.

I personally know a lot of Marines, some friends of mine, others my sons age...early 20's.

PM me your email address and I can get you guys hooked up with current and prior Marines, enlisted and officers.

A few observations: Recruiters are salesmen and women and they often do not have the recruits best interest in mind...they have slots to fill, etc.

There is no advantage of being in the reserves over ROTC, trust me. My son was Army ROTC and the program is the business - very hard to get into.

If he can get a ROTC slot, jump on it.

Lastly, depending on where you live, there are often slots for the service academies, etc.

[jhynesrockmtn]

Congrats. Sounds like he is a solid kid. My son is an infantry officer in the Army. He is 5+ years in after going through ROTC. Depending on the school, he could get his college education partially or up to fully paid for. ROTC prepared him well. My son didn't really have a solid idea of a career going into college. He wanted to serve and wanted the option of a military career post graduation. His wife also went through college on a ROTC scholarship and graduated with her nursing degree. The structure of ROTC served both well.

[beatnavy]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

A few observations: Recruiters are salesmen and women and they often do not have the recruits best interest in mind...they have slots to fill, etc.

100% agree. Not bad people (not all anyway), but they are incentivized and are, as said, in fact salesmen.

If he serves, no matter his path, he will gain tremendous amounts of maturity and strength, both physical and mental, to last a lifetime.

God bless the USMC!

(and all the services, including, yes, the USCG)

[DonDavis]

Navy Vet here, fantastic info already. Paul was extremely helpful with my children's military questions.

And congratulations to your son. Sounds like an outstanding young man.

[aigel]

While I respect everyone who enlists and doesn't go the ROTC route, that is NOT the preferred route if you have the grades to get into an ROTC program. Get a degree with ROTC and then join as an officer.

Is he a senior in HS? Then he is late for ROTC for starting college in 2020. If he is a junior, timing is great and he should do his research on how too apply for the scholarship(s) and get going this summer.

While it is geared for the service academies here is a lot of good info on ROTC as well (which is often the plan b) for service academy applicants).

https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?forums/rotc.27/


Best,

G

[aigel]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

First of all, congratulations.
A few observations: Recruiters are salesmen and women and they often do not have the recruits best interest in mind...they have slots to fill, etc.

Worst is that they know how to get into the kids head and work around parents concerns and advice. They will make all sorts of promises - it will sound so much better and easier - instant gratification - to go enlist. The recruiting office that's always close to the big high schools is NOT looking to sign up anyone for an officer's path. Their goal is to fill their slots.

G

[shadowjack1]

All of the above is true and good advice.
If he joins the Marine Corps, be advised. He joining the biggest brotherhood in the USA.
I don't know Ryan_Cunningham in the above post, but he knows I have his back and he has mine. No questions asked,
Never ask a man if he's a Marine, if he is he will tell you. If he's not you will embarrass him.
Simper Fi.

[gsxrken]

Can’t add anything here navigation-wise but I wanted to congratulate you on raising a fine young man. And every Marine I’ve ever met has always said their service was the best time of their life. (I still am not sure how to react to that... lol). Best of luck to your son!

[Rikao4]

former Army myself....
can be hard to guess which branch someone served when in civvies..
Marines don't have that problem..
you can always tell..

Rika

[pitargue]

Originally Posted by Rikao4

former Army myself....
can be hard to guess which branch someone served when in civvies..
Marines don't have that problem..
you can always tell..

Rika

Agreed. I used to work at the Naval Postgraduate school in Monterey, CA many many years ago. Everyone wore a coat and tie, except one day a month, where they wore their uniform. Even when not wearing their uniforms, you can tell who the Marines were. The hair, the extra sharp creases on their civvy clothes, the brilliantly shined shoes, the look in their eyes.

But most impressive to me, when the Marines walked in a group to go somewhere, they were always in cadence. Always. Their command presence and brotherhood, to the man, always projected the warrior ethos. Impressive.

[wilnj]

Originally Posted by pitargue

But most impressive to me, when the Marines walked in a group to go somewhere, they were always in cadence. Always. Their command presence and brotherhood, to the man, always projected the warrior ethos. Impressive.

And if you happen to bump in this group at a bar don’t let your drunken mouth write checks your body can’t cash.

AMHIK


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ducman]

Thanks all for the info and offers to help!

I’ll spend some time with the links provided. We’re in Michigan btw. Son is a HS senior this year so maybe we’ve missed the window for ROTC....

[jhynesrockmtn]

Originally Posted by Ducman

Thanks all for the info and offers to help!

I’ll spend some time with the links provided. We’re in Michigan btw. Son is a HS senior this year so maybe we’ve missed the window for ROTC....

Best of luck. If my memory is correct, there were students who were part of ROTC where my son and daughter in law went that were not on scholarship that then earned a scholarship during their freshmen year. There may also be slots that aren't filled depending on the school.

[DavidI]

Your son sounds like the type of young men we want to join our brotherhood, the Marine Corps. If he plans on pursuing the Commissioned Officer route, do as much research as you can prior to meeting with the recruiters. That way, you will have a pretty good idea of the potential paths he could follow.

If he plans to pursue the Enlisted route, make sure he studies the ASVAB material and understands the testing content. This way, he will score higher and may have more MOS (jobs) available as a career. I suggest he selects something he is passionate about and translates into a career after the Marine Corps.

I would be more than happy to talk to him or PM him as well.

Semper Fi, David

[aigel]

Originally Posted by jhynesrockmtn

Best of luck. If my memory is correct, there were students who were part of ROTC where my son and daughter in law went that were not on scholarship that then earned a scholarship during their freshmen year. There may also be slots that aren't filled depending on the school.

This is correct. Look up "college programmer" on the military forums. I think there is a route to join while in college.

I would push him towards the NROTC route hard. One thing you need to find out is if he has the grades and standardized test scores to be eligible for the scholarship. Not sure if this is the best resource but this is what I found in a quick search:
https://www.nrotc.navy.mil/eligibility_requirements.html

I would also tell him to go pick a school and a degree that has the ROTC program he wants to be in. Don't dwell on the degree but there are preferred degrees by ROTC, you should read up on that. I.e. engineering vs. art history.

G