Hello

De Wees

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Aug 23, 2018
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I have started my high school freshman year just 2 days ago, and just learned about the Military Academies existence at the beginning of summer break. Becoming an Officer has been a recurring career choice for me, and I am hopefully set on it for once. I want to learn as much as I can about the USNA and the marine option for it. Thank you for the help.
 
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Freshman year of college or high school? NROTC has a Marine Option where, if you're accepted, you will become a Marine Officer at the end of the program. USNA does not have a Marine Option per se. Midshipmen must be selected to go into the Marines. I think, although the numbers vary, about 250 midshipmen in each class joins the Corps. NavyHoops can probably shed more info on becoming a Marine Officer via the Academy, including attending Leatherneck.
 
Freshman year of college or high school? NROTC has a Marine Option where, if you're accepted, you will become a Marine Officer at the end of the program. USNA does not have a Marine Option per se. Midshipmen must be selected to go into the Marines. I think, although the numbers vary, about 250 midshipmen in each class joins the Corps. NavyHoops can probably shed more info on becoming a Marine Officer via the Academy, including attending Leatherneck.
Thank you I will look into other options I didn't know about selection part, and Freshman year of high school.
Edit: I will look more into the Marine Selection part and the difficulties of it.
 
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It's certainly doable as people do it every year. As long as you're physically fit (and I mean fit) you can do it. It's just not a lock like it is for NROTC. You should also look into the Platoon Leaders Class. They all provide a path to commission as a Marine Officer.You can apply for an NROTC scholarship when the time comes as a backup to getting an appointment to USNA. If NROTC is impossible for some reason then the Platoon Leaders Course could be a good backup to that.
 
It's certainly doable as people do it every year. As long as you're physically fit (and I mean fit) you can do it. It's just not a lock like it is for NROTC. You should also look into the Platoon Leaders Class. They all provide a path to commission as a Marine Officer.You can apply for an NROTC scholarship when the time comes as a backup to getting an appointment to USNA. If NROTC is impossible for some reason then the Platoon Leaders Course could be a good backup to that.
Are there any known specific ways to become physically fit enough for marine selection? If not I will make up something myself.
 
It's certainly doable as people do it every year. As long as you're physically fit (and I mean fit) you can do it. It's just not a lock like it is for NROTC. You should also look into the Platoon Leaders Class. They all provide a path to commission as a Marine Officer.You can apply for an NROTC scholarship when the time comes as a backup to getting an appointment to USNA. If NROTC is impossible for some reason then the Platoon Leaders Course could be a good backup to that.
Are there any known specific ways to become physically fit enough for marine selection? If not I will make up something myself.
I had lots of friends including a roommate go Marine Corps and, while fitness is certainly a requirement it is not "super-fitness" by any means. Later on, my second ship was an amphib with
lots of Marines aboard and I often worked out with the Marine Officers and they were fit but again, not more fit than I was.
To answer your question though, the run times and pull-ups, etc numbers are widely available online, work on getting a top score on them as that is how you'll be measured. As a High School Freshman, I'd recommend running Cross Country in the fall - the 5K that High School Cross Country runs is pretty close to the USMC distance. Add in a couple of sets of Pull Ups, Sit Ups per day and work to improve up to USMC numbers. After Cross Country season, shift to Indoor and then Outdoor Track and run the 5K (if offered in your state/conference) and 2 Mile if the 5K is not offered.
 
It's certainly doable as people do it every year. As long as you're physically fit (and I mean fit) you can do it. It's just not a lock like it is for NROTC. You should also look into the Platoon Leaders Class. They all provide a path to commission as a Marine Officer.You can apply for an NROTC scholarship when the time comes as a backup to getting an appointment to USNA. If NROTC is impossible for some reason then the Platoon Leaders Course could be a good backup to that.
Are there any known specific ways to become physically fit enough for marine selection? If not I will make up something myself.
I had lots of friends including a roommate go Marine Corps and, while fitness is certainly a requirement it is not "super-fitness" by any means. Later on, my second ship was an amphib with
lots of Marines aboard and I often worked out with the Marine Officers and they were fit but again, not more fit than I was.
To answer your question though, the run times and pull-ups, etc numbers are widely available online, work on getting a top score on them as that is how you'll be measured. As a High School Freshman, I'd recommend running Cross Country in the fall - the 5K that High School Cross Country runs is pretty close to the USMC distance. Add in a couple of sets of Pull Ups, Sit Ups per day and work to improve up to USMC numbers. After Cross Country season, shift to Indoor and then Outdoor Track and run the 5K (if offered in your state/conference) and 2 Mile if the 5K is not offered.
Ok thank you so much, I'll get right on this.
 
It's certainly doable as people do it every year. As long as you're physically fit (and I mean fit) you can do it. It's just not a lock like it is for NROTC. You should also look into the Platoon Leaders Class. They all provide a path to commission as a Marine Officer.You can apply for an NROTC scholarship when the time comes as a backup to getting an appointment to USNA. If NROTC is impossible for some reason then the Platoon Leaders Course could be a good backup to that.
Are there any known specific ways to become physically fit enough for marine selection? If not I will make up something myself.
I had lots of friends including a roommate go Marine Corps and, while fitness is certainly a requirement it is not "super-fitness" by any means. Later on, my second ship was an amphib with
lots of Marines aboard and I often worked out with the Marine Officers and they were fit but again, not more fit than I was.
To answer your question though, the run times and pull-ups, etc numbers are widely available online, work on getting a top score on them as that is how you'll be measured. As a High School Freshman, I'd recommend running Cross Country in the fall - the 5K that High School Cross Country runs is pretty close to the USMC distance. Add in a couple of sets of Pull Ups, Sit Ups per day and work to improve up to USMC numbers. After Cross Country season, shift to Indoor and then Outdoor Track and run the 5K (if offered in your state/conference) and 2 Mile if the 5K is not offered.
I seem to be having difficulties finding the numbers for the run times, pull ups, ect. If you know any sites I could go to find them or you know them let me know.
 
Search for Marine PFT scoring for the Corps. For Army there is a different test for the application and another when you arrive at the unit. I'll leave some Army guru to comment on that... but if you're fit enough to do well on the Marine PFT you'll be good for Army.
 
If you get into the USNA there will be groups there training specifically for PLC / Bulldog or whatever it's called these days.

Needs of the Service come first, last and always. This year several mids were voulentold into the Nuke Power program.

There are a couple ways to absolutely be certain of placement into the USMC. One is enlist, got to boot camp and become an enlisted Marine and from there get to an officer program. Not a bad way to go. Another would be to complete college on your own and apply for Officer Candidate School. There might be a few other ways I hadn't thought about.

Good luck
 
If you get into the USNA there will be groups there training specifically for PLC / Bulldog or whatever it's called these days.

Needs of the Service come first, last and always. This year several mids were voulentold into the Nuke Power program.

There are a couple ways to absolutely be certain of placement into the USMC. One is enlist, got to boot camp and become an enlisted Marine and from there get to an officer program. Not a bad way to go. Another would be to complete college on your own and apply for Officer Candidate School. There might be a few other ways I hadn't thought about.

Good luck
ROTC Marine Option and PLC guarantee you will commission as a Marine if you successfully complete the program.

For USNA midshipmen it's called Leatherneck. I think it's 4 weeks.
For NROTC MO midshipmen it's called Bulldog and is 6 weeks.
For PLC I believe it's called PLC juniors and PLC Seniors, generally split over 2 6 week periods in subsequent years, although there are other options. PLC Seniors is done right alongside their ROTC Bulldog bretheren.
 
If you get into the USNA there will be groups there training specifically for PLC / Bulldog or whatever it's called these days.

Needs of the Service come first, last and always. This year several mids were voulentold into the Nuke Power program.

There are a couple ways to absolutely be certain of placement into the USMC. One is enlist, got to boot camp and become an enlisted Marine and from there get to an officer program. Not a bad way to go. Another would be to complete college on your own and apply for Officer Candidate School. There might be a few other ways I hadn't thought about.

Good luck
Thank you for telling me this because, that would be a killer of motivation if I were to be placed into something I have no passion for.
 
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If you get into the USNA there will be groups there training specifically for PLC / Bulldog or whatever it's called these days.

Needs of the Service come first, last and always. This year several mids were voulentold into the Nuke Power program.

There are a couple ways to absolutely be certain of placement into the USMC. One is enlist, got to boot camp and become an enlisted Marine and from there get to an officer program. Not a bad way to go. Another would be to complete college on your own and apply for Officer Candidate School. There might be a few other ways I hadn't thought about.

Good luck
Thank you for telling me this because, that would be a killer of motivation if I were to be placed into something I have no passion for.
The military might not be for you then. The thing that you MUST have passion for is to serve the US. The needs of the Navy/Army/AF/USMC sometimes dictate that you'll serve in a way that you had not envisioned but the military isn't about you, its about the mission and the nation. I've been involved with USNA and the Navy for well over 40 years now and what I've seen is that people's views and desires change and they can change radically.

My son was a diehard wanna-be fighter pilot and that is what motivated him to work his butt off in high school and once in USNA, to major in Aeronautical Engineering. A funny thing happened on the way to Service Selection and by the time he was a Second Class midshipman he wanted subs and got a large bonus ($$'s) right away as a second class mid when he was accepted into subs A YEAR BEFORE SERVICE SELECTION. One of my roommates was all about the Marine Corps from the time he was a child. He commissioned and at the 10 yr point he went into the reserves. When the Corps retired the type airplane that he flew, he took the opportunity to switch to the Navy and completed 30 yrs of service by the time he retired. I could go on and on with things like this.
I don't want to talk down to you but you're a freshman in High School and its still pretty early in your life. Don't start closing doors yet, life will do that for you on its own over time.
 
+1 to OldRetSWO. DS got his third choice during MOS selection, and he didn't really want it at all. However, he's grown to love his field of endeavor, and the thing he is passionate about, and motivates him every day, is taking care of his Marines. If you want to make sure you work in a particular field, enlist. If you're willing to serve in any capacity and care for your brothers in arms, then become an officer.
 
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