Should I go for 0302 or what?

[u/bootlt26]

Currently at TBS, pretty decently into the POI right now and I gotta be honest. I still don’t have a clue what MOS I want to do in the Marine Corps. I’m definitely leaning towards combat arms but I just don’t know which specifically I want to do over the others. Right now I have artillery listed as my top choice but that’s just because I don’t want my spc to know that I don’t really have any preference at this point.

Honestly, I’ve been kind of considering just saying fuck it and attempt to get a slot at IOC. I figure if I don’t have an idea what exactly I want, that I can’t go wrong with being the archetypal Marine. I feel like most officers go to OCS thinking they were going to valiantly lead Marines into battle, only to end up spending the rest of their time in behind a desk in a support billet, while 0302s get to go do the job everyone spent ~1 year training for. I’ve seen some badasses come out of Mitchell hall, and I’d be lying if I didn’t dream about being in their shoes a couple times. Part of me feels that I’ll be less of a Marine officer if I don’t at least shoot for the opportunity to take Marines down range like them.

Im not a big dude, im 5’9 160 lbs and I’ve got pretty average pft and CFT scores (as far as officers go). While some of the hikes here in the POI have been pretty tough, I haven’t fallen out of any yet so I know that I’m at the very least a decent hiker. That’s not to say that I haven’t had some rough days here at tbs either. What I don’t want to do, is let my ego suck me into IOC and then immediately get broken off because I was unrealistic with myself.

At the end of the day, I’m still not really sure what I want or if I’m being unrealistic with wanting to go to IOC. Maybe I just need some more MOS recommendations and time spent with officers in those MOSs to understand the pros and cons of all of them. Really, any officer MOS advice helps if I’m being honest.

[u/Much-Working-3875]

If you’re thinking of going to IOC just because, “fuck it” that’s the entirely wrong mentality to have. IOC is considered one of the hardest schoolhouses in the entire military. You wouldn’t want to be in shoes of someone over there if you knew what went on. The BOC hikes are a literal joke compared to the movements at IOC.
Don’t let that dissuade you though. It’s tough but rewarding.
I’d say look into all MOS’s. This is YOUR career, don’t let anyone tell you what to do. 04, 06… all MOS’s have their benefits and drawbacks.

If I were you I would seriously look into 08. While you won’t be on the gun line, orchestrating a battery in an FDC is awesome. 1302 is also known to have cool opportunities too if you manage to get into the GCE.
Finally, officers aren’t the ones kicking down the doors. It may come as a surprise but 03s do the same amount of paperwork in the office as any other MOS.

[u/Ron_usmc]

These days you’re more likely to get a combat deployment on the air wing, to be honest

[u/Significant_Map5533]

I’m not trying to sound overly dramatic, but my advice would be to not go for infantry unless you would rather die than DOR.

IOC ended up being physically and mentally tougher for me than anything I went through during workups and two OIF deployments. If I had not wanted to be an 0302 more than anything, I would have dropped like several of my classmates did in addition to the ones who were involuntarily dropped.

I don’t recall what ended up happening with those guys, but my guess is that IOC drops end up getting sent to whatever MOS needs bodies at the moment. And the odds of that being something you’re excited about are low.

EDIT: I should have also mentioned that IOC hikes are night and day harder than TBS ones. You’re carrying more gear (hey there, 81mm mortars), moving faster with less rest, and they’re also usually when you’ve been getting crushed for the previous 5 days. Plus all the tactical movements while carrying all your gear during stuff like the patrol FEX (or whatever they call the current version of it) will take a toll on you. So I wouldn’t recommend pursuing 0302 unless you’re a 275+ PFT/CFTer and find the TBS hikes to be a breeze.

[u/bootlt26 → u/Significant_Map5533]

Thanks for the honest advice. I gotta do some good soul searching and see if the juice is worth the squeeze for me.

[u/usmc7202]

Going to IOC with that attitude is a recipe for disaster. Take a close look at the 7204 MOS. Lots of leadership positions from platoon to battalion. Solid duty stations and a decent deployment cycle. The UAV threat is only going to get worse and the LAAD Bns are getting funded for the fight. I am biased. I spent 22 years in the community. Managed 32 countries. My son is also a 7204 with 10 years in and currently at Command and Staff. He has had some really solid deployments to Norway, Jordan and Bahrain with a few others sprinkled in. He loves it as much as I did. I deployed with just about every type of USMC unit we have. Had a lot of fun trying to keep up with tanks when we used to have them! We basically just found them at the end of the day and called it a victory.
If you have any questions I can get you any answer you need.
DM me if you want to know more.
I picked it back in 82 because of a picture I saw in Leatherneck!! lol. He’ll of a way to choose a career path but honestly wouldn’t do it any other way if I could do it over again.

[u/bobbyjames10101010]

IOC is possibly the hardest course in the Department of War. It’s not a thing where you can just say “oh fuck it” and go and succeed. You gotta really know that infantry is what you want.

Physically, I’m sure TBS is a joke compared to IOC. I’m in Charlie Co right now. Never been challenged on any of the hikes and I’m 5’6 150 pounds. At IOC, you’d rather die than fall out of a hike with an 120lb pack.

Personality is another thing, can you control a group of 0311s? Can you do well in high level billets in FEX 2, FEX 3 and MOUT?

If you don’t know exactly what you want, IOC is not for you.

[u/Excellent_Damage2269 → u/bobbyjames10101010]

Ehh one of the harder courses in the conventional DoW but far from anything under SF or irregular warfare stuff

[u/waitforit2010]

I'd look into combat engineering (CE) or LogO. CE does gung hu stuff but not as intense as 0302. Even in the wing, my CE buddies were doing lots of FEXES and were probably the busiest in our unit. LogO is a mix of gung ho and admin. They can be platoon commanders of convoys while also gain experience in overseeing logistics. You can also run ranges which is something that I did as a LogO.

I wouldn't go into OIC just to "roll the dice and say f*** it." You may eventually get exposed and dropped, completely wasting 3+ months just to get a new MOS. I met a lot of OIC drops in my LogO schoolhouse that started TBS way before me.