PROTRAMID

Don't Give Up the Ship said:
I’m not sure of the path-probably steps to take.
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I admit I do not understand the steps.

But my kinda understanding is that you have to graduate USMC basic school, receive a mos of some type that is not Recon, then take an after basic school tryout for Recon at some point later.

And if I understand how a Marine officer receives a mos the top grads don’t always have a first choice of mos over lower graded grads (this is the part I really don’t understand)

At one time I read you had, as an officer , to wait a few years before trying out for Recon.. Have no idea if that is true today or not.

Its an important thing to understand if you are thinking of NSW vs USMC and maybe a tryout for Recon at some point.

If someone wants to be an operator on small spec ops or recon teams it always looked to me that Navy offered a more direct route than the USMC.
 
Small Team Bacsi said:
I admit I do not understand the steps.

But my kinda understanding is that you have to graduate USMC basic school, receive a mos of some type that is not Recon, then take an after basic school tryout for Recon at some point later.

And if I understand how a Marine officer receives a mos the top grads don’t always have a first choice of mos over lower graded grads (this is the part I really don’t understand)

At one time I thought you had, as an officer , to wait a few years before trying out for Recon.. Have no idea if that was true or not.

Its an important thing to understand if you are thinking of NSW vs USMC and maybe a tryout for Recon at some point.

If someone wants to be an operator on small spec ops or recon teams it always looked to me that Navy offered a more direct route than the USMC.
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Officers list their dream MOSs 1-33 or how many ever at TBS. The class is divided into thirds with each third receiving an equal proportion of officers regardless of class rank or pre-TBS pedigree. Each third has hard chargers at the top and lower ranked officers toward the bottom. This is their load-spread or talent-spread method so that no MOS is overly populated with the best and the lesser MOSs are left with the bottom feeders.

My son graduated in the top 10 percent and got his second choice. He listed infantry, 0302, as his number one.

Officers are selected to the Recon and MARSOC (Marine Raiders) communities from the 0302 MOS. MARSOC has billets for non-infantry officers but they are not operators.

Surely an officer will come along and provide a better explanation.

Edit: MARSOC might take non-infantry officers to try out but I haven't looked at their requirements lately.
 
THParent said:
Raise your hand if your MOS doesn't exist, anymore. ✋
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Raise your hand if your mos or rate did not exist at the time you did it. (Hand up)

Devil Doc , based on your understanding of the process , all things being equal, someone who wanted to be a small team operator would have a more direct , less complicated , and quicker opportunity , to try the indoc or tryout, by going Navy rather than USMC?

It seems to me USMC is a more luck of the draw——-for a tryout——than the Navy is?
 
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Small Team Bacsi said:
Raise your hand if your mos or rate did not exist at the time you did it. (Hand up)

Devil Doc , based on your understanding of the process , all things being equal, someone who wanted to be a small team operator would have a more direct , less complicated , and quicker opportunity , to try the indoc or tryout, by going Navy rather than USMC?

It seems to me USMC is a more luck of the draw——-for a tryout——than the Navy is?
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yes, based on my understanding of the process, what you wrote sounds about right. The route to NSW can start while still a midshipman while the route to green side snake eating has to wait until TBS, MOS assignment, and then a certain amount of time in that MOS which you mentioned above.
 
Here's the link to MARSOC officer requirements and it appears an O can lateral transfer from any MOS.

Special Operations Officer - Marine Raider Recruiting

As a Special Operations Officer (SOO), you'll carry out the Commander's intent across the entire spectrum of special operations.
www.marsoc.com www.marsoc.com

Edit: As far as I know, the former Force Recon as we knew it doesn't exist. It is now MARSOC, the Marine Raiders which is a whole nuther animal. Division Recon however still exists. They have the usual letter companies, H&S of course, and a Force Recon company. How the FR company would differ from the other line companies is a mystery to me but I have a few guesses.

 
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LT360 said:
So is protramid “firmly” in place between 4/C and 3/C year now? Whats in between 3/C and 2/C. I know that summer school is an option. I thought I had seen a summer schedule somewhere on USNA website but now can’t find it.
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Summer school can be mandated if a MIDN fails a course. Our DS requested and got two blocks of summer school to make his schedule more doable for his major and minor. Whether or not that request is authorized can be dependent on available seats in the summer course, and summer training requirements.
 
Devil Doc said:
Here's the link to MARSOC officer requirements and it appears an O can lateral transfer from any MOS.

Special Operations Officer - Marine Raider Recruiting

As a Special Operations Officer (SOO), you'll carry out the Commander's intent across the entire spectrum of special operations.
www.marsoc.com www.marsoc.com

Edit: As far as I know, the former Force Recon as we knew it doesn't exist. It is now MARSOC, the Marine Raiders which is a whole nuther animal. Division Recon however still exists. They have the usual letter companies, H&S of course, and a Force Recon company. How the FR company would differ from the other line companies is a mystery to me but I have a few guesses.

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Doc, in my day at least in VN, we had a force company, and they were a letter company within 3 Recon Bn.

And that may have been more than an administrative issue.

”A jump club mentality” early on was one quote I read to justify them being in Bn and not a stand alone Unit.

Absolutey no difference in the missions . Other than the two jumps Force made. (They are still looking for a missing 8404 who made the 2nd jump) But the Force guys might have been older better trained?

One thing I am sure of——-whatever Recon set up we see in the Corps today——it will different in the not to distant future.
 
Small Team Bacsi said:
Doc, in my day at least in VN, we had a force company, and they were a letter company within 3 Recon Bn.

And that may have been more than an administrative issue.

”A jump club mentality” early on was one quote I read to justify them being in Bn and not a stand alone Unit.

Absolutey no difference in the missions . Other than the two jumps Force made. (They are still looking for a missing 8404 who made the 2nd jump) But the Force guys might have been older better trained?

One thing I am sure of——-whatever Recon set up we see in the Corps today——it will different in the not to distant future.
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My first time with the Marines was in the late 70s-early 80s at Camp Lejeune. We had Force Recon all the way out at Onslow Beach in their own little world. They lived in Quonset huts. The head shed was a little block building. Force Recon was a Force asset (task force commander. fleet commander) and not beholden to the whims of the Division. Division Recon was a Division asset and were deployed/employed according to the Division Commander's needs. It was always thought that the Force bubbas were the most bad of the bad dudes but in reality, they went through the same selection and training. It was the mission that made them different.

Of course, according to your screen name, I'm preaching to the choir.
 
Devil Doc said:
My first time with the Marines was in the late 70s-early 80s at Camp Lejeune. We had Force Recon all the way out at Onslow Beach in their own little world. They lived in Quonset huts. The head shed was a little block building. Force Recon was a Force asset (task force commander. fleet commander) and not beholden to the whims of the Division. Division Recon was a Division asset and were deployed/employed according to the Division Commander's needs. It was always thought that the Force bubbas were the most bad of the bad dudes but in reality, they went through the same selection and training. It was the mission that made them different.

Of course, according to your screen name, I'm preaching to the choir.
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A member of the choir only because my indoc consisted of raising my hand.

Thanks goodness they never asked if I could swim :)

In 1965-1966 we were getting Marines in recon straight out of ITR and Docs straight out of FMSS with not one day of any indoc or other advanced training.
 
It is my sense that 2023 have a lot of questions about service selection. Lucky ones confirmed their selection. Fortunate ones figured out what they DIDN’T want. Many are left with lots of questions and must do some real work to figure out why they will do. And 2 for 7 looms a difficult decision for some.
 
If your loved one chooses USMC, make sure they want to be a Marine first and foremost. Plenty of O-1s do not get their first choice. From watching and hearing about it from DS, if you were not on a flight contract at TBS, there was very little that was a sure thing for the folks that wanted a combat ground job. While the reasoning is sound why the USMC picks in 3rds, unless you can figure out how to be at the top of one of the other remaining 3rds you best be Numero Uno or close to it.
 
How does it "work" for Marine air? I'm familiar with the concept of OCS going to TBS with an air contract, but how does the service selection to Marine Aviation work for Mids?
 
WolfPackGrunt said:
How does it "work" for Marine air? I'm familiar with the concept of OCS going to TBS with an air contract, but how does the service selection to Marine Aviation work for Mids?
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TBS is mandatory for all newly commissioned 2LTs in the Marine Corps, regardless of MOS. USNA mids make their warfare community selections in the fall. Those who select USMC are required to have attended Leatherneck the prior summer. They can select either Marine Ground or Marine Air. Either way, if chosen, they’ll all end up at TBS after graduation, alongside those who came through ROTC and OCS.
 
MidCakePa said:
TBS is mandatory for all newly commissioned 2LTs in the Marine Corps, regardless of MOS. USNA mids make their warfare community selections in the fall. Those who select USMC are required to have attended Leatherneck the prior summer. They can select either Marine Ground or Marine Air. Either way, if chosen, they’ll all end up at TBS after graduation, alongside those who came through ROTC and OCS.
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Right, I understand that TBS is a USMC requirement- I was inquiring whether if you choose Marine Air you go Marine Air after TBS, or whether you could be assigned Ground (despite selecting/assignment for aviation)?
 
WolfPackGrunt said:
Right, I understand that TBS is a USMC requirement- I was inquiring whether if you choose Marine Air you go Marine Air after TBS, or whether you could be assigned Ground?
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Yes, after TBS each 2LT proceeds to their respective choice, whether Ground or Air (based on the selection made prior to commissioning).
 
Normally folks who go Marine Air have a guaranteed flight contract through NROTC, OCS, or Academy. After TBS they go off to flight school when a slot opens. There are sometimes a few slots available for TBS MOS selection.
 
kinnem said:
Normally folks who go Marine Air have a guaranteed flight contract through NROTC, OCS, or Academy. After TBS they go off to flight school when a slot opens. There are sometimes a few slots available for TBS MOS selection.
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Just to add to my good friend @kinnem - As of last year, USMC was handing out guaranteed aviation contracts to NROTC-MO contracts who passed the ASTB & physical. The path is that you pass the ASTB/physical, sign the aviation contract, graduate, commission, report to TBS, graduate and report to Pensacola for flight training. FYI - USMC Aviation is an 8 year commitment that starts AFTER you graduate flight school, which could be 2+ years after you commission. So your 8 is 10+...

Just to clarify - my experience is based on NROTC-MO and not USNA...
 
EEBTTF said:
Just to add to my good friend @kinnem - As of last year, USMC was handing out guaranteed aviation contracts to NROTC-MO contracts who passed the ASTB & physical. The path is that you pass the ASTB/physical, sign the aviation contract, graduate, commission, report to TBS, graduate and report to Pensacola for flight training. FYI - USMC Aviation is an 8 year commitment that starts AFTER you graduate flight school, which could be 2+ years after you commission. So your 8 is 10+...

Just to clarify - my experience is based on NROTC-MO and not USNA...
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USNA is no different in that they still go through TBS etc. I do not know how they get the guaranteed flight but I don't believe it can be very different.
 
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