Would like advice on these options (Army, AF, Navy, boot camp)
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I am pretty much decided that I am going to join a military branch. It will be either Army Rangers or Marine Recon. Based on my ACT scores and GPA I believe I can qualify for either one. I just wanted to know if anyone had an opinion over one or the other. Physically I can get through either one's training. But I've heard some negative things about Marine Recon from a friend in the military. Any advice would be nice, this is a major decision for me.
***full disclosure - I am a Marine Corps Recruiter***
Watch the surviving the cut episodes on Recon and Rangers and see which appeals to you more. They are bost the best at what they do and do a lot fo the same things. my personal interactions have been with Marine Recon guys. I know in addition to Recon school they also attend Ranger Jump School, Navy Dive school, AF SERE school, and Marine Sniper School.
I know it will probably be easier to get the initial opportunity to do Ranger, just b/c the Army enlists more Rangers than the Marines. On average every Marine Recruiting Station has around 10 or less recon spots for an entire year. By station I'm not talking aout your local chicago office, but more or less the entire state of Illinois. That said, one of those spots could be yours, and there are always opportunities to try out for recon at anytime in your career even if you don't enlist for it. I know someone who gradauted boot camp at the end of January and is already headed to basic reconaissance course.
What negative did you here about Marine Recon and from who?
FYSA (For your situational awareness), as a new Ranger, you have only 3 realistic duty stations: Fort Lewis, WA; Hunter Army Airfield, GA (near Savannah); Fort Benning, GA (near Columbus).
Let that help inform your decision. While you will be training a lot in a Ranger battalion and deployed fairly often, everybody has downtime, and it is always nice to be somewhere that appeals to you. I have no idea where Marine Recon is stationed.
Also, it is *extremely* rare for someone to make a career as a "Ranger". Usually they do 1 or possibly 2 tours in the Ranger Regiment (assuming they pass the assessment and eventually Ranger school) and eventually transition to their normal job-Infantry, Signal, Cook, etc., at a normal unit, or take the plunge and try out for Special Forces.
Playing RAMBO might seem like fun to watch, but it's more than running around in the woods. Think long term...yeah..there is that "challenge thing", but still, think long term...
I'm in the Army, but I have spent some time with both Rangers and Marine Recon. I was more impressed with the Recon guys. They were incredibly cool... elite peformers but not elitists. Rangers are good too, but I would try to go Recon if I were you.
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