# Life as an officer?



## suckitup (Jan 10, 2016)

Hello, I'm a student at Duke and a mid in NROTC.  I'm currently a Marine option, but I'm considering attempting to switch to Navy in order to pursue SEAL.  Before I even think about beginning to make the switch, I was hoping to get some insight into the life of an officer in MARSOC.  My dad was an officer in the Marine Corps for 28 years so I'm familiar with general aspects, but I'm interested in life what life is like as an 0370.  How long from commissioning would one be able to put in a package for A&S?  Is the new MOS for officers truly a closed loop like this article claims (http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/sto...fficers-get-their-own-career-path/16978397/)?  I've heard that officers are still being rotated back to normal infantry command roles after a few years, but I was hoping maybe a CSO on here could validate/invalidate it.  I talked with a verified SEAL over on www.reddit.com/r/navyseals and he said as an O, one would be better off in the Teams.  I'd be interested to hear your guys' opinions.  This might be the wrong place to post this, and if so, I apologize.  Any advice/inside is greatly appreciated, thank you guys for your time.


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## TLDR20 (Jan 10, 2016)

I am local to you and have a few good friends who are SARCs in MARSOC, but I don't know any officers. 

There really aren't that many, may be hard to track some down.


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## AR04 (Jan 15, 2016)

Suckitup, I am not a 0370, however, I can speak to a few of the officer requirements for A&S from research. First, career designation is a must, per the MARADMIN was released almost 18 months ago. For officers, this occurs after a career designation board. You become eligible after 540+ days documented through observed fitness reports which translates to approximately twoish years in the fleet. The current selection rate is 80%. Regardless, you're not eligible per the order until you become a first lieutenant.  As for the loop, it is closed, if you desire. Officers can either serve four years as a 0370 and transition back to their original MOS and the FMF, or stay as a 0370. I'd imagine the majority stay.

CONVENING OF PRIMARY MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY (PMOS) 0370 SPECIAL OPERATIONS OFFICER SELECTION PANEL > The Official United States Marine Corps Public Website > Messages Display


Best of luck.

S/F,

AR04


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## suckitup (Jan 15, 2016)

AR04, thank you that was extremely helpful.  Do you think SEAL officers get more actual field time vs. a MARSOC officer?  Most MARSOC officers seem to be O-3s which is where SEAL begin to get rotated to staff/command roles.  I suppose I should also consider, as a Navy option, I'd have a slim chance of getting service selected for SEAL.  For MARSOC, I'd have an almost guaranteed shot, as they seem to be hurting for personnel, but it'd be down the line.  Still, it's hard to shake that desire to go for SEAL.


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## Devildoc (Jan 15, 2016)

I reached out and this is what I was told:

If he's still in college he's got a ways to go. They won't even consider him until he's a Captain or very senior 1st Lt (Captain select). I would advise him to do his PltCmdr time in the infantry as a 2nd/1st Lt then go to one of the Recon Bn's as a PltCmdr or Company XO, S-3A etc.. Any information given now regarding the MARSOC Officer track will likely change in the 5 or so years til he pins on Captain bars. He needs to focus on the 5-10 meter target (graduating school AND passing IOC). Hope this helps.

Also have this:

The phone number for MARSOC east coast recruiting is: 910-451-2191


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