# .Questions about Marine Raiders (MARSOC)



## scee_1 (Apr 24, 2017)

Good morning, afternoon, or evening to those currently taking the time to read my post. For myself I am very intrigued by the Marine Raiders (MARSOC), and I want to know the "best way," to get into the pipeline, and have a better understanding. From what I've read in the past is that you need to be atleast a Lance Corporal in order to "tryout." Secondly, I would appreciate a Raiders input of a MOS to get into before getting into MARSOC. Right now I'm a Poolee and the new MOS contracts won't be coming until Fall. The MOS that I'm looking into is 0311, 0352, and 0861. Is it beneficial to be prior Infantry, or is it best to be in a different field in order to avoid conflicting habits in MARSOC. I understand that I'm all over the place in this long post, it's just that I have so many questions regarding MARSOC, and I just want to have a better understanding. Thank you to those who have read this post I greatly appreciate it, and especially those that leave a reply.
Thank you,
Sean​


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## BloodStripe (Apr 24, 2017)

I see you like the tag feature of this website.  How about the search feature?


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## scee_1 (Apr 24, 2017)

NavyBuyer said:


> I see you like the tag feature of this website.  How about the search feature?


Yes, I was excited to post first.


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## Ooh-Rah (Apr 24, 2017)

scee_1 said:


> Good morning, afternoon, or evening to those currently taking the time to read my post. For myself I am very intrigued by the Marine Raiders (MARSOC), and I want to know the "best way," to get into the pipeline, and have a better understanding. From what I've read in the past is that you need to be atleast a Lance Corporal in order to "tryout." Secondly, I would appreciate a Raiders input of a MOS to get into before getting into MARSOC. Right now I'm a Poolee and the new MOS contracts won't be coming until Fall. The MOS that I'm looking into is 0311, 0352, and 0861. Is it beneficial to be prior Infantry, or is it best to be in a different field in order to avoid conflicting habits in MARSOC. I understand that I'm all over the place in this long post, it's just that I have so many questions regarding MARSOC, and I just want to have a better understanding. Thank you to those who have read this post I greatly appreciate it, and especially those that leave a reply.
> Thank you,
> Sean​



I was never Recon or MARSOC so I cannot answer your questions, but we see these questions here often. 

Genuinely curious, what do your recruiters tell you about this stuff?


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## AWP (Apr 24, 2017)

This has been covered ad nauseum. Our MARSOC members are active when their schedule allows and very helpful. Some may not like their answers, but their posts are honest to a fault and you can take them to the bank.


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## scee_1 (Apr 24, 2017)

AWP said:


> This has been covered ad nauseum. Our MARSOC members are active when their schedule allows and very helpful. Some may not like their answers, but their posts are honest to a fault and you can take them to the bank.


I greatly appreciate the reply. Is there any way to search for MARSOC Members? I just signed up today, don't really know the ins and outs quite yet.


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## scee_1 (Apr 24, 2017)

Ooh-Rah said:


> I was never Recon or MARSOC so I cannot answer your questions, but we see these questions here often.
> 
> Genuinely curious, what do your recruiters tell you about this stuff?



To be frank, they tell me a lot, and are brutally honest. They have told me some things about MARSOC but even they have told me that they don't know as much, and to do my own research.


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## AWP (Apr 24, 2017)

scee_1 said:


> I greatly appreciate the reply. Is there any way to search for MARSOC Members? I just signed up today, don't really know the ins and outs quite yet.



No. You can dig through the Marine SOF forum and will find where they posted. Of course, in doing so many of your questions will be answered. Fair warning, do your due diligence before asking them questions covered elsewhere because I'm 99% sure they're already answered.


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## 81FO (Apr 25, 2017)

scee_1 said:


> I greatly appreciate the reply. Is there any way to search for MARSOC Members? I just signed up today, don't really know the ins and outs quite yet.



I'm not MARSOC or RECON, but know enough that you should start by following the link below..... scroll through and Read, after that post MARSOC questions in that sub-forum.

US Marine Corps Special Operations

Your OP in the eyes of those in the know is like asking how to turn the lights on when you should already have that part figured out.

Desire & Intensity is admirable, but Self-Reliance is a necessity.


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## scee_1 (Apr 25, 2017)

AWP said:


> No. You can dig through the Marine SOF forum and will find where they posted. Of course, in doing so many of your questions will be answered. Fair warning, do your due diligence before asking them questions covered elsewhere because I'm 99% sure they're already answered.


Thank you for your help, I greatly appreciate it!


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## Hillclimb (Apr 25, 2017)

I meet Marines to this day that don't even know what MARSOC is or what we do, and that's fine. I would suggest just not worrying about it, and to go with an 03xx contract and try to be the best damn infantryman you can. Just read books(about any branch of SOF) to get an idea about the SOF missions and type of men that are attracted to this job. The Only Thing Worth Dying For is a good one to start with.

Short answer is to go infantry, and cross over when you've got some experience. There is no "best way" to come over, as you're not evaluated on your job/experience, as much as you are your character and willingness to be there. A airwing guy who can't do something as simple as be successful in his job or shine ahead of his peers, won't magically do so over here; the same goes for an infantry man. Just do your job and have fun being a junior Marine.


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## Ooh-Rah (Apr 25, 2017)

Hillclimb said:


> have fun being a junior Marine.




   :-"


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## Stanimal (Apr 25, 2017)

I second Hillclimb's assessment.  A solid background in infantry tactics and accompanying weapons systems is not as prevalent in MARSOC as you might think.  That's not to say that there aren't some subject matter experts, but they tend to be exceptions vice the norm.  Becoming well-versed in these things will serve you and your future team, assuming you make it, extrememly well.  As far as other MOSs are concerned, they bring other useful skills to the fight.  Trust me when I say that having a former motor T mechanic, communicator or generator mech on your team can sometimes be a life saver.  Skills like general contracting, framing, electrical, masonry, welding, etc. are incredibly important in the austere environments SOF often work and live.  Learn as much as you can about everything you can, if you think you can apply it somehow in the future.  Avoid MOSs that are typically high demand/low density.  These are jobs that are almost always in need, and there are never enough people to fill every position.  If you find yourself in one of those billets, you may have difficulty getting the monitor, or your CO to agree to letting you Lat Move to MARSOC.  I've heard horror stories from some guys who had difficulty even getting permission to attend selection.


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## Gunz (Apr 25, 2017)

scee_1 said:


> To be frank, they tell me a lot, and are brutally honest. They have told me some things about MARSOC but even they have told me that they don't know as much, and to do my own research.



And while you're at it, read up about Raider history: Evans Carlson, Red Mike Edson, Makin, Guadalcanal, Tulagi. What @Hillclimb and @AWP and your recruiters are telling you is to show initiative, dig in to the wealth of information available about the Raiders. If nothing else the stories will inspire you to perform at your highest level no matter what MOS you end up with. And good luck.


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## The Hate Ape (Apr 25, 2017)

Stanimal said:


> Avoid MOSs that are typically high demand/low density.  These are jobs that are almost always in need, and there are never enough people to fill every position.  If you find yourself in one of those billets, you may have difficulty getting the monitor, or your CO to agree to letting you Lat Move to MARSOC.  I've heard horror stories from some guys who had difficulty even getting permission to attend selection.



This, honestly, should be your most important and stressed takeaway from an exhaustive topic and once again - a thread with great responses. Other general skills and experience is almost always a lifesaver from elevator mechanic to general contracting. We had a guy on my first team who ran his own contracting company before coming back into the Marine Corps to do a few overseas trips; to put a longer story short, we were short on our guy who normally handles building shit and he was able to pick up the slack on a split operation scenario. He did really well too.

The infantry tactics familiarity / comfort are as stated, not as prevalent as you would think - there is a large conglomerate of dudes in here and some of their most relevant and sometimes only training in this is from ITC and doing workups under the guidance of guys who were in the same boat two or three years ago. My numero uno advice to you is to reiterate the high demand, low supply job dangers and monitors. Do not join Recon thinking it will be great to get into MARSOC - take up a combat arms unit and learn your craft. 

I usually advise dudes to go into the Counter Intel realm instead of CSO/0372 but I've never had anyone actually listen.

H/A


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## scee_1 (Apr 25, 2017)

Hillclimb said:


> I meet Marines to this day that don't even know what MARSOC is or what we do, and that's fine. I would suggest just not worrying about it, and to go with an 03xx contract and try to be the best damn infantryman you can. Just read books(about any branch of SOF) to get an idea about the SOF missions and type of men that are attracted to this job. The Only Thing Worth Dying For is a good one to start with.
> 
> Short answer is to go infantry, and cross over when you've got some experience. There is no "best way" to come over, as you're not evaluated on your job/experience, as much as you are your character and willingness to be there. A airwing guy who can't do something as simple as be successful in his job or shine ahead of his peers, won't magically do so over here; the same goes for an infantry man. Just do your job and have fun being a junior Marine.


Thank you sir, I sincerely appreciate the advice and will use it as a guide for me to one day reach that Raider goal of mine. Just one more question, how long would it take me to tryout or transfer over for MARSOC? Once again thank you!


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## scee_1 (Apr 25, 2017)

Ocoka said:


> And while you're at it, read up about Raider history: Evans Carlson, Red Mike Edson, Guadalcanal, Tulagi. What @Hillclimb and @AWP and your recruiters are telling you is to show initiative, dig in to the wealth of information available about the Raiders. If nothing else the stories will inspire you to perform at your highest level no matter what MOS you end up with. And good luck.


Thank you for your input, I greatly appreciate it! And yes, I will go on and read those books!


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## scee_1 (Apr 25, 2017)

The Hate Ape said:


> This, honestly, should be your most important and stressed takeaway from an exhaustive topic and once again - a thread with great responses. Other general skills and experience is almost always a lifesaver from elevator mechanic to general contracting. We had a guy on my first team who ran his own contracting company before coming back into the Marine Corps to do a few overseas trips; to put a longer story short, we were short on our guy who normally handles building shit and he was able to pick up the slack on a split operation scenario. He did really well too.
> 
> The infantry tactics familiarity / comfort are as stated, not as prevalent as you would think - there is a large conglomerate of dudes in here and some of their most relevant and sometimes only training in this is from ITC and doing workups under the guidance of guys who were in the same boat two or three years ago. My numero uno advice to you is to reiterate the high demand, low supply job dangers and monitors. Do not join Recon thinking it will be great to get into MARSOC - take up a combat arms unit and learn your craft.
> 
> ...


Thank you for those words of advice, and will look further into the different MOSs within 03xx.


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## Hillclimb (Apr 25, 2017)

scee_1 said:


> Thank you sir, I sincerely appreciate the advice and will use it as a guide for me to one day reach that Raider goal of mine. Just one more question, how long would it take me to tryout or transfer over for MARSOC? Once again thank you!



Depends on unit tempo: when they have time to let you attend A&S, if they want you to do a 2nd or 3rd deployment, or if they like you enough to sign off on it, etc. Hard to say. It's not really something you have to worry about right now. Once you get to your unit you'll have a good feel for all of that stuff, and have more questions and the MARSOC recruiters/Career planner available to you.


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## scee_1 (Apr 25, 2017)

Stanimal said:


> I second Hillclimb's assessment.  A solid background in infantry tactics and accompanying weapons systems is not as prevalent in MARSOC as you might think.  That's not to say that there aren't some subject matter experts, but they tend to be exceptions vice the norm.  Becoming well-versed in these things will serve you and your future team, assuming you make it, extrememly well.  As far as other MOSs are concerned, they bring other useful skills to the fight.  Trust me when I say that having a former motor T mechanic, communicator or generator mech on your team can sometimes be a life saver.  Skills like general contracting, framing, electrical, masonry, welding, etc. are incredibly important in the austere environments SOF often work and live.  Learn as much as you can about everything you can, if you think you can apply it somehow in the future.  Avoid MOSs that are typically high demand/low density.  These are jobs that are almost always in need, and there are never enough people to fill every position.  If you find yourself in one of those billets, you may have difficulty getting the monitor, or your CO to agree to letting you Lat Move to MARSOC.  I've heard horror stories from some guys who had difficulty even getting permission to attend selection.


Thank you sir for your advice and guidance. Would you know how being a 0861 Fire Support Marine could in some aspect be beneficial for overall Team cohesiveness? As much as I still want to do 0311, I still have this mindset of being someone that can be helpful in other fields as well. Because I understand that if a vehicle broke down during a mission it would be very helpful to have a mechanic on deck. I just want to be the most well versatile Marine I can when I reach that goal. Thank you again sir!


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## scee_1 (Apr 25, 2017)

Hillclimb said:


> Depends on unit tempo: when they have time to let you attend A&S, if they want you to do a 2nd or 3rd deployment, or if they like you enough to sign off on it, etc. Hard to say. It's not really something you have to worry about right now. Once you get to your unit you'll have a good feel for all of that stuff, and have more questions and the MARSOC recruiters/Career planner available to you.


You have no idea how much I appreciate both you and @Stanimal for the advice, alongside those that replied to my post. I can't say thank you enough!


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## Stanimal (Apr 25, 2017)

"Would you know how being a 0861 Fire Support Marine could in some aspect be beneficial for overall Team cohesiveness?"

     Let's see....if I were a 0861 who deployed twice, then got selected for service within MARSOC.... How could those skills I learned as a Fire Support Marine be incorporated into my new MOS?

Be a good Marine
Be the best at whatever job I'm given
Be physically and mentally tough
Know my MOS inside and out
Be a team player
Share lessons learned from previous deployments with my new team members
Know the characteristics and limitations of all indirect fire weapons systems
Understand how best to incorporate fires into planning and operations to increase survivability and lethality on the battlefield
Never forget where I came from and that I am a Marine first, and a Special Operator second
Be humble
Always be learning something new, and when the opportunity presents itself, teach someone what I know
Etc, etc,...and the list goes on and on...


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## scee_1 (Apr 25, 2017)

Stanimal said:


> "Would you know how being a 0861 Fire Support Marine could in some aspect be beneficial for overall Team cohesiveness?"
> 
> Let's see....if I were a 0861 who deployed twice, then got selected for service within MARSOC.... How could those skills I learned as a Fire Support Marine be incorporated into my new MOS?
> 
> ...


Thank you once again sir for the words of advice, and I will take them with me throughout my journey within the Marine Corps.


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## The Hate Ape (Apr 25, 2017)

The way you are responding makes me feel like we're about to send you from the gates of our protected city into a vast, unexplored world of mystery and danger.

Relax man. A lot of people have been Marines before you and its not that intense.


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## scee_1 (Apr 25, 2017)

The Hate Ape said:


> The way you are responding makes me feel like we're about to send you from the gates of our protected city into a vast, unexplored world of mystery and danger.
> 
> Relax man. A lot of people have been Marines before you and its not that intense.


Haha I'm sorry, I just want to be as respectful as I can be. Thanks.


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## Teufel (Apr 26, 2017)

I appreciate your enthusiasm and long range planning but I think you're going about this the wrong way. Don't choose your MOS to best suit MARSOC. Choose the MOS to best suit you and go be the best Marine you can be. You will perform better and get higher Pro/Cons if you enjoy your job. That will help you get selected for MARSOC. 

Personally I would push you towards the infantry but I'm incredibly biased. The Marine Corps enterprise is designed to support the infantry and everything centers around our infantry units. Infantry Marines are thrust into leadership roles early in their careers and can experience tremendous professional growth if they have the right attitude, drive, and maturity.


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## scee_1 (Apr 27, 2017)

Teufel said:


> I appreciate your enthusiasm and long range planning but I think you're going about this the wrong way. Don't choose your MOS to best suit MARSOC. Choose the MOS to best suit you and go be the best Marine you can be. You will perform better and get higher Pro/Cons if you enjoy your job. That will help you get selected for MARSOC.
> 
> Personally I would push you towards the infantry but I'm incredibly biased. The Marine Corps enterprise is designed to support the infantry and everything centers around our infantry units. Infantry Marines are thrust into leadership roles early in their careers and can experience tremendous professional growth if they have the right attitude, drive, and maturity.


I can't agree even more, after putting thought into my choices of MOSs, Infantry was always something that was intriguing to me. I just wanted to see how in the eyes of Marines that have been there would have gone about it. But as soon as the new contracts come in I'll be definitely pick a 03xx contract. Thank you again for the insight!


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