Originally Posted by
gamerbro65
So my dad's been worried that I'm not fully aware of what I'm getting myself into with the Marines, and so he had me call a friend of his who knows a little bit about what's really going on with the Marines.
That friend said that he knows a guy with a flight contract who has been to OCS and TBS, and he was waiting to go to flight school. Well, because flight school was so backed up, they just sent him to Afghanistan as an Infantry officer. What this friend wanted me to get out of that story is that you're a Marine first, and then a pilot, and that basically it's not what your contract says.. it's what they need you to do.
What can anyone tell me about this?
How often do you think this happens to air contracted marines?
The marines really do have the attitude that you are a marine first, an officer second, and a pilot third.
In all branches, if the flight training pipeline is backed up you can be assigned to do something else in the interim. My roomate (navy) was sent to a ship (CVN) for three years as a surface officer before being allowed to go to a squadron. But the ship-driving experience helped him out in the long run...he will take command a carrier next year.
In the marines it only makes sense to get some ground experience since marine pilots exist to support ground troops. If that's not for you, better try another service.
Also any flight contract is nowhere near as airtight as a civilian contract...they basically offer a good chance that you will be granted the opportunity to prove yourself in flight training. Exactly when, well who's to say...