# Want to go spec ops? Here’s how



## Polar Bear (Mar 28, 2007)

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/03/marine_marsoc_eligibility_070327/
*Want to go spec ops? Here’s how*




By Trista Talton - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Mar 28, 2007 10:34:08 EDT



JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command has taken some of the guesswork out of what kind of leatherneck qualifies for the job.
A Corps-wide message released Monday lists some of the criteria grunts must meet to be considered by the command. MarAdmin 221/07 directs commanders to “allow eligible and interested” volunteers to be screened and, if qualified, participate in a final assessment and selection process.
Lt. Col. Craig Stephens, a MarSOC manpower official, said the intent of the message is to identify eligible Marines and direct commanders to allow their qualified leathernecks the chance to volunteer.
The Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based command has more than half — roughly 1,450 men — of its goal of 2,600, he said. Many Marines from the reconnaissance and other infantry fields have joined the command since it was created in February 2006, but this is the first time the command has published specific information on what it takes to join the ranks.
MarSOC’s focus is on recruiting, screening, assessing and selecting Marines to serve in operational billets within Foreign Military Training Unit teams and Marine special operations battalions, Stephens said.
The command is focusing on the following military occupational specialties and ranks:
*8007 unrestricted ground officer, lieutenant to major
*0302 infantry officer, lieutenant to major
*0311 rifleman, lance corporal to sergeant
*0321 reconnaissance man, lance corporal to gunnery sergeant
*0331 machine gunner, lance corporal to sergeant
*0341 mortarman, lance corporal to sergeant
*0351 infantry assaultman, lance corporal to sergeant
*0369 infantry unit leader, staff sergeant to gunnery sergeant
*0621 field radio operator, lance corporal to sergeant
Female Marines are excluded from eligibility because of these operational billets.
The message also states that interested Marines must meet the following initial screening prerequisites:
*A minimum General Technical score of 105 on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. MarSOC will waive a lower score for exceptionally qualified candidates.
*No nonjudicial punishments within the last year, with no more than two NJPs during your current contract.
*Achieve a combat water survival qualification, 2nd class, which has been modified to include treading water for 30 minutes.
*Obtain and maintain a secret clearance. This automatically eliminates any Marine who is not an American citizen.
*Pass intelligence testing and psychological MarSOC evaluation.
MarSOC’s target population will be Marines nearing the end of their first term or those nearing the end of their standard 36-month tour obligation, according to the message.
Ideally, the Marine will have made two deployments within that time with his present unit and/or have spent three years on station and be eligible for permanent change-of-station or permanent change-of-assignment orders.
MarSOC is the Marine Corps’ contribution to U.S. Special Operations Command, the joint command that oversees Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs and Army Rangers.


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