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Hi VegasGrace! I am only sure about the Air Force but I'd imagine that all branches have more or less the same policies. There should be a chart with every MOS that the branch of service has. I would imagine that every recruiter has one. Certainly the personnel office on a Marine Corps base will have one. The Air Force version lists EVERY specialty code ("Air Force Specialty Code" or "AFSC" for the Air Force; MOS for the rest, I believe) that Airmen are classified under. In addition to all of the normal jobs, they have codes for other status, as well. "Prisoner", "On Administrative Hold", and other unusual cases are listed. The USAF even has at least one specialty that involves boats! (There's a squadron at either Eglin or Tyndall AFB, FL that maintains aircraft targets out in the Gulf of Mexico, if it hasn't been contracted to a civilian company since I retired...) All of the services have "special duty identifiers" for very unusual jobs like couriers, recruiters and other jobs that a military member may do for a few years and return to their "normal" MOS.
Additionally, there may be MANY jobs within a particular MOS. For example, you might have the "Services" MOS and at one assignment you may work in the base hotel. At the next assignment, you could work in the base gym. Even though my military specialty was Aircraft Maintenance, I served in several staff jobs away from the flight line once I became a Non-Commissioned Officer.
Hope this explaination helps!
(P.S. After re-reading your post, it may be that the recruiter only had openings in the MOS's listed when you visited. The needs of a service continually change and you may find a different set of job vacancies the next time you visit. It may be possible for your daughter to be put on a "waiting list" for a guaranteed job that would allow her to wait at home until an opening in her preferred job comes up...)
Last edited by Crew Chief; 09-27-2008 at 06:05 PM..
Reason: Add more info
Marines and Air Force have as much in common as Rambo and the Girl Scouts.
Yeah, but we Blue Suit-ers have cooler aircraft!
When my F-15 squadron deployed to MCAS Yuma, Arizona back in the 80's we needed to have an engine bleed air duct crack welded. When our Engine troops took the duct to their welding shop, they were told by the Shop Chief: "We don't follow the technical manuals as much as you guys in the Air Force do. Maybe that's why we crash more airplanes"... True story
When my F-15 squadron deployed to MCAS Yuma, Arizona back in the 80's we needed to have an engine bleed air duct crack welded. When our Engine troops took the duct to their welding shop, they were told by the Shop Chief: "We don't follow the technical manuals as much as you guys in the Air Force do. Maybe that's why we crash more airplanes"... True story
On Okinawa I saw USMC f-4 suuadrons cosistently maintain much higher availability rates than AF ones with half the personell.
...
I know there are Marines who care for the horses...that's all they do.
There are Marines who work in the uniforms...making changes and updates. ...
I was not in the Marines. I do not know exhaustively how the Marines do things. I did 20+ years in the Navy, I know how the Navy does things.
The Marines keep a few horses for ceremonial units. If it were a Navy ceremonial unit stationed at a Navy base, those people would be supplied from an 'awaiting' company.
Each Navy school has an 'awaiting' unit, made up of seamen who are waiting for their class-up date. Maybe their security clearance hit a snag, or there is some detail in their personnel file that causes them to wait 3 months before they can continue their career. Those seaman go into an 'awaiting' company where they each wait before they can go on to school. Each Navy base has a ceremonial unit, and draws bodies from the 'awaiting' company to provide those bodies. They practice drill each day. They are issued chrome helmets and chromed rifles. They are expected to maintain their own equipment and uniforms, and they do ceremonies at funerals.
The Navy has a long list of NECs, being on a ceremonial unit is not a NEC. It is the job of E1 to E3 seaman who are awaiting to get into a school, to learn their assigned NEC.
If the Navy had a horse-drawn hearse, the ceremonial unit would maintain the hearse and any horses.
Each Navy base will also commonly have a half-dozen E6s or E7s, who are on Lumdu assignment. Sailors of mixed rates and NECs, who can not go to sea, due to medical reasons. Those Limdus will commonly work outside of their rate, on base, and they will be put in charge of the 'Awaiting' company, or the 'X' division, or the Base Quarterdeck. Individually they may have to wait on Limdu assignment for 6 months or as long as 4 years in some cases.
You mentioned: "work in the uniforms...making changes and updates. ..."
In the Navy, at the Pentagon, there is one office that does address uniform changes / updates. Under an Admiral, will commonly be like a Captain with a group of staff officers, and a dozen enlisted sailors who clean the offices, answer phones and pour coffee. Those sailors will be from a variety of rates, and will each have completed one sea-tour. They each took that assignment, as a method of getting shore-duty. Among them will be MMs, ETs, RMs, whatever, all working outside of their training, as office wienies.
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Marine MOS
