[e92justin]

Im 17 years old and have always wanted to join the Marines. I plan on going in the DEP this month and leaving next year after high school. I know for sure i want to be an Infantryman. However I want to jump out of airplanes so damn bad too (Army Airborne)! With that said I dont know whether to go Marine infantry or Army airborne. The Marine recruiter told me that their training would better prepare me for battle and that the army is full of shit. Any suggestions on which route i should go and why?

[ghosthi32]

inb4aonarch

[sb335is]

Neither. Wait till you're 18 and before youre out of high to decide - pick which one, take their ROTC program, and come out an officer. basically go to college.

[e92justin]

Well the reason im joining is so i dont have to go to college. I plan on being a police officer after the military and feel that joining the marines and taking college courses there would better prepare me for a career in law enforcement.

[ghosthi32]

why dont you want to go to college?

[CollinsE90]

Originally Posted by e92justin

Well the reason im joining is so i dont have to go to college. I plan on being a police officer after the military and feel that joining the marines and taking college courses there would better prepare me for a career in law enforcement.

i remember being 17, do you know what a police officer makes a year?

Do research before you make a career choice

[Schm]

College= more BMWs later in life. Priories dude

[e92justin]

Originally Posted by CollinsE90

i remember being 17, do you know what a police officer makes a year?

Do research before you make a career choice

$70k+ minimum your first year in. Increase in salary with a college degree, also an increase in salary for military veterans. But thats in my area.

http://www.sjpd.org/JoinSJPDBlue/SalaryBenefits.html

[CollinsE90]

70k in cali is like 25k

[ideliver]

Originally Posted by CollinsE90

i remember being 17, do you know what a police officer makes a year?

Do research before you make a career choice

do yours...plus a FULL GOVERNMENT PAID PENSION...this is something that you will never get in the private world...

My friend is a 55 yrs old...just retired as a teacher (superintendant) and was making $118,000/yr....he gets 80% of that pay for life ($94,400)...not bad for a guy that doesn't work...

Oh...and his wife was a teacher too...she was making $85,000 when she retired...(you get the point)

Also, the school pays their health insurance at 100%...no deductible, no copays, no nothing

[e92justin]

Yeah i know for a fact college would = more bmws. And it would, or could make me more money in the long run. But joining the corps is just something ive always wanted to do. I know for a fact im going to join for sure. As for being a cop most likely, but man i love cars... i wouldnt mind going to UTI after the military and giving the BMW step program a shot. On the other hand i look at my cousin whos a mechanic and he makes jack shit...

[CollinsE90]

Originally Posted by ideliver

do yours...plus a FULL GOVERNMENT PAID PENSION...this is something that you will never get in the private world...

My friend is a 55 yrs old...just retired as a teacher (superintendant) and was making $118,000/yr....he gets 80% of that pay for life ($94,400)...not bad for a guy that doesn't work...

Oh...and his wife was a teacher too...she was making $85,000 when she retired...(you get the point)

Also, the school pays their health insurance at 100%...no deductible, no copays, no nothing

with what degrees? you cant become a Superintendent with no diploma...and his wife must have a good degree too for 85k

[lambtron]

Originally Posted by e92justin

Im 17 years old and have always wanted to join the Marines. I plan on going in the DEP this month and leaving next year after high school. I know for sure i want to be an Infantryman. However I want to jump out of airplanes so damn bad too (Army Airborne)! With that said I dont know whether to go Marine infantry or Army airborne. The Marine recruiter told me that their training would better prepare me for battle and that the army is full of shit. Any suggestions on which route i should go and why?

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS. Marines can go to airborne school too I hope you know. Reasons why you should join my beloved Corps:

1. It is the United States Marine Corps
2. We are the best
3. The brotherhood that lasts forever: active, reserve, retired, etc., no matter where you go in the world if you run into another Marine, you're bound to at least exchange a handshake, maybe some beers.
4. It is the United States Marine Corps
5. The benefits afterwards: yes, all service members are entitled to the same general benefits, but in the Marine Corps, we have things like Marine4Life, which is a program transitioning Marines can go to for help with almost anything - it is a great program
6. The discipline - a quote from my best friend who joined the Army infantry (got out as a Sergeant) at the same time I joined the Marines would always tell me that he would prefer a platoon of Marine privates over his current platoon because of the discipline of Marines
7. You're a "Marine" - not a cook, infantryman, medic, etc; you are a Marine and when people hear that they associate the name with 234 years of badass
8. We are the best
9. The training
10. The pride - after getting your ass kicked for 13 weeks in bootcamp and then receiving the beloved Eagle, Globe and Anchor, you get a rush of pride and fulfillment unrivaled by anything
11. It is the United States Marine Corps
12. In the Army Sergeants are usually Squad leaders, sometimes Corporals if they're good enough - in the Marine Corps Lance Corporals and Corporals are Squad leaders because, well we're just that good.
13. We have the best damned uniforms out of any of the services. You can go don a set of Dress Blues and women will flock - even if you're one of the guys who hit every branch on the way down, Dress Blues are in the words of borat "pussy magnets."
14. We are the best
15. Who does this nation entrust our embassies around the world to? United States Marines. You can go on embassy duty and live like a king in any country where we have an embassy. No other service gets to do that.
16. The Silent Drill Platoon - google it, you'll see what I'm talking about
17. Chesty Puller - google him
18. Carlos Hathcock - google him
19. The Army is an occupying force - if you want to go into theatre kick back and sit around for 15 months, so be it. The Marine Corps are the shock troops of the US Military - we get in, kill everything, get out and let the army occupy the land
20. Unmatched leadership skills
21. Adventure - The Army deploys when there is a war, or you can get stationed overseas. The Marines deploy all the damn time, you will see more of the world in the Marine Corps than any other service guaranteed
22. The Honor of being called "Marine"
23. The physical fitness - also unmatched by any of the other services
24. Becoming "One of the few, the Proud."
25. Did I mention that it is the United States Marine Corps and we are the best?
26. Marine Corps Martial Arts Program
27. Your Vietnam Marine veteran neighbor across the street giving you his service Ka-Bar before you deploy.


I could go on forever, but you get the point. You can't go wrong joining the Marines, everyone I know who was in any other service (Grandpa in the Army, Grandpa in the Navy, best friend Army, Dad Air Force, Uncle Army) all said they wished they had joined the Marines instead.

Just because the Marine Corps doesn't have a dedicated airborne division anymore, does not mean shit. You can still go to airborne school, you can go Recon or MARSOC and get your army jump wings and your naval jump wings. There are a ridiculous amount of schools you can go to.

Lastly, if you want a challenge, and don't want to settle for second best - join the Marine Corps.

[ghosthi32]

you should be a recruiter...

[lambtron]

Oh, and you can go to college while you're in. In fact, I'd recommend enlisting, and doing some college work while you're in and apply for the Naval Academy - there are programs for that in the Marine Corps. The cutoff age for getting into Annapolis is 22 I believe, and all it takes to get in through the program offered is superior physical fitness, dedication, and you'll earn the recommendation letters that will make you look good to the guys who decide who gets to go to Annapolis. Of course, you can't be a rock either, haha.


I saw you're in Tracy, you should head down to the Livermore recruiter, they'll hook you up. :-D

[just4kickz]

go to school. do ROTC. not going to college is a mistake.

army or marines... i think i'd go with marines. i might join the army after med school tho... seems like more opportunity to do overseas relief work.

[e92justin]

thank you lambtron, appreciate a solid answer.

The USMC it is. I never really did have a care for the army, i just wanted to jump out of planes. Not just that but ive heard most "soldiers" cant shoot for shit, They say no one can handle an m16 better than a marine and thats exactly what i want. Not some half assed shooting techniques thatll get you killed in combat, provided by the army.

[lambtron]

Originally Posted by just4kickz

go to school. do ROTC. not going to college is a mistake.

army or marines... i think i'd go with marines. i might join the army after med school tho... seems like more opportunity to do overseas relief work.

I agree, not going to college is a mistake, but he doesn't have to go right away. I did a year of college before I joined the Marine Corps. It wasn't for me right out of high school, I wanted to get out and see the world, so I joined the service that would allow me to do that.

During my 5 years I was able to knock out a good amount of courses, although I could have knocked out even more (I was "lazy" the first 18 months) and after getting out last august, I will be graduating this year and starting my graduate course work. I can thank the Marine Corps for giving me the discipline and drive to focus on school, set my sights high and accomplish everything I set out to do.

The decision to join was tough at first, but it was hands down the best decision I have ever made in my life. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

[benton0311]

Either way you go I would highly recommend doing college one way or the other. Whether you go there first and join as an officer or whether you do your four years and get the GI bill and go to college for FREE with some spending cash.

If your parents are willing to help with college all the better, that'll be just that more spending cash you have while you attend college. With that and the new, post-911 GI bill you could go to college more or less for free and live comfortably while you do it. Absolute win-win.

As for Army or Marines I guess it all depends on what you want to do. I was a USMC infantryman for 5 years plus reserve time. I've spent about 6 years working as a government contractor after that both in the States and overseas. For the past 5 years I've worked with guys from all branches of service and with current and former members of the special operations community.

Basically, if you just want to do your 4 years (maybe a little more) and be done I say go with the Marines. If your looking to make more of a career out of it and move into specialized programs then I'd say Army.

The Marines will flat out give you the most experience that you can get as regular infantry in a four year enlistment. You'll travel the world, not just Iraq and Afghanistan but the Mediterranean, Asia, South America, all over. You'll train for ALL environments and you'll do it regularly. You'll basically do everything you can possibly do except jump out of an aircraft. If you're sqaured away physically and mentally you can try out for Recon or Marsoc and at some point they will send you to jump school.

As for the Army, it's a little easier to get into and life will be a little bit easier through your enlistment. Over time though, the Army seems to have some career perks over the Marines. Much faster promotion, a lot of schools and formal training, higher retention bonuses, and nice career paths for senior enlisted (lots of warrant officer programs).

You can jump out of planes but you have to remember: these are all low altitude static line jumps. As regular infantryman you won't be doing free fall jumps which I know is what you're thinking. 1000ft on a C130, stand up, face the back, and march out the back of the aircraft. The static line pulls the cord for you pretty much as soon as you exit. It's still pretty cool but probably not what you're thinking it is.

In order to do the cool stuff you probably have in your head you're going to need to get into the special operations community. That is another benefit the Army has over the Marines: a huge special operations community. There are simply a lot more ways to get under the umbrella of SOCOM through the Army than the Marines.

However you can't just join the Army and expect to get right into the special operations community. You can enlist with a special forces selection option but it's highly selective and a decent chance you'll wash out. So you can try for it but there's no guarantee and it will be harder than anything you can possibly imagine.

So again, for the short term bang for the buck you will do a lot more in the Marines in the span of four years than the Army. But if you're looking to make a career out of it the Army just has better perks for the long term.

As for future career, nothing against Police but I'd recommend setting your sights a little higher. Get into some kind of Federal LE, whether it be DEA, FBI, USSS, DSS, Marshalls, etc. In the end you will get treated better and make a LOT more money, like ~100k or more with shift differential and overtime and benefits. But you will need both military and college to really be competitive for hiring.

[lambtron]

Originally Posted by benton0311

Either way you go I would highly recommend doing college one way or the other. Whether you go there first and join as an officer or whether you do your four years and get the GI bill and go to college for FREE with some spending cash.

If your parents are willing to help with college all the better, that'll be just that more spending cash you have while you attend college. With that and the new, post-911 GI bill you could go to college more or less for free and live comfortably while you do it. Absolute win-win.

As for Army or Marines I guess it all depends on what you want to do. I was a USMC infantryman for 5 years plus reserve time. I've spent about 6 years working as a government contractor after that both in the States and overseas.

For the past 5 years I've worked with guys from all branches of service and with current and former members of the special operations community.

If you just want to do your 4 years (maybe a little more) and be done I say go with the Marines. If your looking to make more of a career out of it and move into specialized programs then I'd say Army.

The Marines will flat out give you the most experience that you can get as regular infantry in a four year enlistment. You'll travel the world, not just Iraq and Afghanistan but the Mediterranean, Asia, South America, all over. You'll train for ALL environments and you'll do it regularly. You'll basically do everything you can possibly do except jump out of an aircraft. If you're sqaured away physically and mentally you can try out for Recon or Marsoc and at some point they will send you to jump school.

As for the Army, it's a little easier to get into and life will be a little bit easier through your enlistment. Over time though, the Army seems to have some career perks over the Marines. Much faster promotion, a lot of schools and formal training, higher retention bonuses, and nice career paths for senior enlisted (lots of warrant officer programs).

You can jump out of planes but you have to remember: these are all low altitude static line jumps. As regular infantryman you won't be doing free fall jumps which I know is what you're thinking. 1000ft on a C130, stand up, face the back, and march out the back of the aircraft. The static line pulls the cord for you pretty much as soon as you exit. It's still pretty cool but probably not what you're thinking it is.

In order to do the cool stuff you probably have in your head you're going to need to get into the special operations community. That is another benefit the Army has over the Marines: a huge special operations community. There are simply a lot more ways to get under the umbrella of SOCOM through the Army than the Marines.

However you can't just join the Army and expect to get right into the special operations community. You can enlist with a special forces selection option but it's highly selective and a decent chance you'll wash out. So you can try for it but there's no guarantee and it will be harder than anything you can possibly imagine.

So again, for the short term bang for the buck you will do a lot more in the Marines in the span of four years than the Army. But if you're looking to make a career out of it the Army just has better perks for the long term.

As for future career, nothing against Police but I'd recommend setting your sights a little higher. Get into some kind of Federal LE, whether it be DEA, FBI, USSS, DSS, Marshalls, etc. In the end you will get treated better and make a LOT more money, like ~100k or more with shift differential and overtime and benefits. But you will need both military and college to really be competitive for hiring.

Very good point my friend. Especially out here in CA with the LEAP and cost of living bennies, Federal LE makes 100k+ after about 3 years of service out here.

[benton0311]

My recommendation since you sound pretty gung-ho and you want to fight:

Join the Marines. Do your four years and kick some ass. After that, leave active duty and go to college and let the government pay for it. They'll even pay you (I believe as an E5) while you're there so it simply doesn't get any better than that. While you're there join the nearest reserve unit so you can still play with tanks and guns a few weeks out of the year.

After you get your degree you can go anywhere you want with both that and the military background. You can go back in to any branch and become an officer and get paid a lot better. You can go federal LE and pull in six figures after a couple years on the job. You can even go local police if that's your thing but you with so much experience and training you will probably be captain and eventually chief material.

[shawshank772]

Marines. Did it for 13 years. I have worked with every branch of the Military and each serve their purpose. However, the Army is full of clowns. I actually currently work on an Army contract and am on a base in Afghanistan with 95 percent Army. CLOWNS all CLOWNS!!