I am torn between whether I should go through an AROTC or NROTC - Marine Option progam. Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of the programs and life after I graduate (I plan to be career military and the goal is to be infantry in either branch)?
Thank you!
Infantry is tough to get in both services, but it's obviously doable. You'll need to have a high OML ranking in both to get it.
I know we all think of Infantry as a land force but in the Marines it's also a sea force as part of an MEU. With the wars winding down and a change of emphasis to the Pacific this will once again become the predominant role for the Marines. I can't speak to how much time at sea, or odds of sea duty... just want you to keep in mind that in the Marines, Infantry can serve aboard ship.
Marine PFT is in some ways more demanding than Army. Pull-ups vs push-ups (just different really). The run is what separates them. A max score Army PFT
2 mi run time is 13:00. A max score Marine PFT
3 mi run time is 18:00. So Marines run a mile further at a somewhat faster pace to get a max score. If you're a PT stud you'll love Marines. BTW No disparagement to Army is intended here. They're just different and I wanted to point out how.
If you end up being interested in aviation, the Army is (only?) a rotary wing force... helos. Marines fly all types of aircraft, but fixed wing is primarily a tactical support force as opposed to a strategic strike force in the Navy and AF.
Marine force is much smaller than the Army and there might be more "opportunites" in the Army as a result. Also, many more opportunities to get a ROTC scholarship, just by the numbers (which I don't know exactly). AROTC looks like its beginning to care what your major is. NROTC MO doesn't care. Many Marine Option MIDNs major in Criminal Justice (not that there is anything wrong with that, but it's not Engineering).
Finally, and its probably neither here nor there, but the Army is it's own Service. The Marines are a department of the Navy, their sister service... the Men's Department!
Edit: Oh yeah. Army says Hooah and Marines say Hoorah. If you have trouble with R's you might want to go Army.
Hope this helps some. Semper Fi.