Signing up 11b only to lat move into 35M/35L is this a waste of time/unneeded?

[JimMCpog]

Okay I'm very close to reenlisting into the Army after the last 4 years spent earning my degree . I've made it and I'm pursuing the MOS that I should have when I first joined the Marines in late 2000.

Why join as an 11B? Well I went to MCT (support MOS combat training) back in 2001 before it was reformed and expanded. The instructors were mostly pulled from infantry battalions who had little use for them. A lot of the time there was no ammo or range time for us to shoot the weapons we were meant to be familiarized with. The size of the classes were huge and we spent more time on logistics than actual training, be it formal or "hip pocket." The training schedule seemed haphazard and even the instructors apologized to us at the end, saying that we didn't get the training we needed or deserved.

Luckily I got to attend a few interesting courses over the years and during the MEU workup.

With that said, I was woefully unprepared for the situation I encountered when I had to lead a squad of Marine reservists, active duty Marines and Iraqi soldiers for a short period of time. It was a massive cluster&%#* and I'm lucky the insurgents we did encounter appeared to be high on heroin.

I really had no idea what I was doing and I don't see how I could be any better 4 years removed from the military.

Would it make sense at all for me to get an 11b contract and then make a lat move into 35M or 35L a few years down the line? I think I would feel a lot more prepared after that. Does this sound ridiculous to you all?

 

[ritterk]

If you don't mind me asking, why would you enlist in the Army to obtain a 4 year degree?

 

[JimMCpog]

I have a 4 year degree already, I graduated a few weeks ago. I want to enlist because I'm only interested in Human Intelligence and Counterintelligence. I don't want to become an Officer and get stuck in a branch I don't like.

 

[pardus]

Enlist into the branch were you want to serve.

 

[ritterk]

Sorry, I miss read your last post. I thought you were joining the Army so you could obtain a four year degree.

 

[car]

Enlist into the branch were you want to serve.

x100. There are no guarantees after you're in.

 

[Marauder06]

If you want to be 35-series, then enlist 35-series. Sounds like you've already got a grounding in small unit tactics, not sure what enlisting 11-series would do for you other than delay your ultimate goal.

 

[JimMCpog]

If you want to be 35-series, then enlist 35-series. Sounds like you've already got a grounding in small unit tactics, not sure what enlisting 11-series would do for you other than delay your ultimate goal.

That does make quite a bit of sense. The problem is that I don't have a grounding in small unit tactics that I feel is even comparable to a fresh soldier out of AIT/MCT. The boots coming into the fleet after 2004 seemed to be a lot more prepared than we were in 2000 and I'd like to put my best foot forward.

I don't feel I got a solid "foundation" to start with and a few years out doesn't help. If this means paying out of my own pocket for something offered by a government contractor, I'd go.


I want to apologize if this doesn't fit US Army SF, but I would like to work in SOF support down the road and the thread doesn't seem to fit neatly in the other sections.

 

[Marauder06]

The more training you get as an MI professional, the better MI professional you're going to be. Go straight into MI, learn your trade, work hard and earn a spot in a SOF unit. There are lots of good ones out there.

 

[FNULNU]

If you're good at your intel job, there will be plenty oportunities for tactical training. You have to become good enough at your intel job to warrant being let out of your cubicle first though. Probably not going to happen right off the bat.

 

[pardus]

Every dumbass coming out of Army basic training is being taught Infantry stuff, and as you pointed out yourself, you came out in 2000, your boots in 2004 had alot more skills etc... than you. We are in 2010 now, where is that going to put you??? ;)

You can always ask your branch (35 series) to send you to 11B school as a secondary MOS or ask them to send you to a civi course (my recommendation) to improve your skills before you deploy.

And if like you said, you don't mind paying yourself then there is zero excuse for not being up to speed before you go. There are a thousand mofos running schools out there. You want names? Ask here and you'll get them.

 

[JimMCpog]

Roger that.

 

[moobob]

Your profile says USARNG hopeful 35M? If that is so, not all of this applies.

The Army needs 35M/35Ls that know 35M/35L stuff. Enlist as a 35M or 35L.

If you come in as an 11B, it is likely you will not be able to reclassify to another MOS without specifically reenlisting for it. You can only do that with pretty much no strings attached on your first reenlistment. Being a prior service enlistee, I am not sure what category you'd fall under. After your first reenlistment, you are subject to In/Out Calls, which is the MILPER Message that DA puts out periodically pertaining to the manning levels of MOS's. 11B is ALWAYS understrength, and understrength MOS's are generally not allowed to reclass except for application only MOS's and SF.

35L actually is now one of those by application MOS's, but there is no guarantee you'd be picked up 4 years from now.

You can always ask your branch (35 series) to send you to 11B school as a secondary MOS or ask them to send you to a civi course (my recommendation) to improve your skills before you deploy.

With few exceptions, any specialized training/schools you will get to attend as a 35M or 35L is going to be MOS related. Tactical proficiency is important for reasons, besides the obvious, I won't get into here... Unit training and pre-deployment train-ups are probably what you are going to get, and generally enough for you to do your job and survive.

I'm no master of analogies, but being an 11B to prepare for being a 35M is like being a dentist in preparation to be an optometrist. You do share some of the same basic medical knowledge, but if your end goal was to be fixing peoples' eyes, you just spent years getting good at something when it's going to take more years to get a grasp of fucking with peoples' eyes. Pick something and roll with it.