Hey, i was wondering if i could get some more information on this. i just wanted to know more about what its like in the life of this field. I asked my recruiter, and he told me the truth, he honestly couldn't say because he wasn't in that position. So Im wondering if anyone can tell me more about how often someone in this position would actually see action? Just more about everything you know that could help me decide on if this could be a goal of mine.

Also more information along the lines of infantry men would be helpful. Personal experience when you first started? just the general stuff.

thanks

Edit: I forgot to mention a little bit about me. I'm 17 years old and I'm graduating a semester early in my senior year. So i plan on going to bootcamp soon after graduation which would be around January. So I'm not enlisted yet. But i know this is what i want to do.

Here is some helpful advice for you Ride. This may be your first post, but it would behoove you to do a little research on these forms for the answer(s) you seek. It will save you from having us (Marines) jump your $hit for being lazy and lacking initiative. It's not your fault... however the blame falls on a few useless Wannabes, Never Be's, and Trolls.

here is the answer to your question... Ya Wanna Be Infantry Here is a ROUTINE Day.

Try HERE.

Congrats on graduating early as it shows initiative, drive and intelligence. Use these good traits and do exactly what Hollywood just wrote and you'll save yourself a lot of grief for the exact reasons he listed. Good man.

I was never Air Defense (AD) so what you're going to read is second hand from a Gunny I used to know a couple of years ago.

There hasn't been much of a need for AD since the fall of the old Soviet Union so their career field has had small numbers since the early nineties. This means their man portable air defense (MANPADS/Stinger) teams and Avenger humvee mounted missile/machinegun teams deployed every other seven months with Marine Expeditionary Units (Special Operations Capable).

Then of course there are military operations other than war such as Bosnia so he made several trips there as well as the routine international exercises with NATO, Korea, etc. He said they were pretty tired after awhile but he had a lot of fun going to different places and experiencing new things so all in all he liked the work.

They didn't do much during early Iraq so many were sent to reserve centers and recruiting duty to free up other more critical military occupational specialties (MOS) needed for the war.

That's the tale so if you're interested I'd go over to the Air Wing Forum and ask around if they'll let you.

Best of luck and congrats again on your early grad.

thank you for your help guys. that cleared some things up for me. My recruiter is coming to my house today so that me and my parents can sit down and talk about what to do next.

Hopefully everything works out and i leave for bootcamp asap!

thanks again

So what happened with the Recruiter's visit? Where are you with it now?

I spent almost 3 years in a Lay Around All Day (LAAD) Battalion.

This was back in the 90s though so yeah I couldn't tell you what they are doing in the GWOT.

Back in the day it wasn't all that bad. Go to WTI, sail on a MEU, go to CAX, break Avengers trying to keep up with the tanks you are supporting. Was fun.


I guess the worst part was that LAAD is a small community and we tended to get crapped on alot. Crapped on by the Air Wing because really we were part of the GCE, and then crapped on by Division because we were well, the Air Wing.


Good luck to you.

In regards to LAAD - 7212.

Their role in the GWOT is different than what they are trained for. The MOS is shrinking and being dismantled, essentially, and I doubt you'd be placed into it. The Avengers have been discontinued and the Stingers are so expensive to fire that you'd likely never even fire one in training. The LAAD BN in Oki has already been stood down.

The LAAD BNs are now basically security battalions. Most of the 7212s are trained as Machine Gunners and they provide security in country.

ice_nine is right, though. They're the closest thing that the Wing has to the GCE. You might count the DASC. Maybe.

Does anyone know for sure if this MOS7212 LAAD Gunner requires that you MUST be a male? I have looked at the usmilitary.about site and have searched on google, yahoo, etc, but nothing I have seen actually specifies whether or not you MUST be a male to have this MOS. I know it probably seems obvious to you guys out there, but I would still like to know a definite answer. Thanks.

According to MCO P1300.8R (Marine Corps Personnel Assignment Policy):

5002. CLASSIFICATION
4. Women Marines may be classified in all MOS’s except the following:
0203 Ground Intelligence Officer
0210 Counterintelligence Officer
0211 Counterintelligence Specialist
0251 Interrogation Specialist
2110 Ordnance Vehicle Maintenance Officer
2131 Towed Artillery Systems Technician
2141 Assault Amphibian Repairer/Technician
2146 Main Battle Tank Repairer/Technician
* 2147 Light Armored Vehicle Repairer/Technician
2149 Ordnance Vehicle Maintenance Chief
7212 Low Altitude Air Defense Gunner
7207 Forward Air Controller/Air Officer
7206 Low Altitude Anti-Air Warfare Officer
8152 MCSF Guard
8154 MCSF Close Quarter Battle Team Member

5003. FMF ASSIGNMENTS
1. Women Marines may be trained to provide essential support of combat operations; however, they will not be assigned to any unit within which they will routinely become engaged in direct ground combat operations as a primary
mission. Accordingly, women will not be assigned to the following units or any sub-element thereof:
Infantry Regiment
Artillery Battalion
Force Reconnaissance Company
Tank Battalion
Assault Amphibian Battalion
Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion
Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion
Air/Naval Gunfire Liaison Company
Combat Engineer Battalion
Counterintelligence Teams
Interrogation Platoon
Sensor Control and Management Platoon (SCAMP)
Detachment H&S Company, 3d Marines
Combat Support Company, 3d Marines
Riverine Assault Craft Unit

Thanks. That helps. <3