Honestly it is a blast if you really want your MOS.

Good luck. Always remember: Keep you head down, shoot straight, conserve ammo, and never ever make a deal with your DI.



-D

I chuckled at the last one.

Good luck becoming one of Uncle Sam's Misguided Children, Neraph!

What's a MOS?

Military Occupational Specialty. Pretty much all the branches in the military use a similar system for classifying different jobs. Generally speaking you are sent after boot camp to a school where they teach you everything you need to know to perform a certain specific task, or group of tasks. You generally get further training OTJ (on the job), further enhancing your skills related to your specialty.

Yes, your MOS is chosen partly due to your ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) test scores, showing a general scoring of math, science, english and english comprehension, and separate scores are kept for general mechanics, automotive mechanics, mechanical comprehension, and other subjects.

In other news, I can't track down the composite numbers. When I took it I was given a main score and then four other numbers, and I'd like to know how I ranked with those other scores.

Armericans, what's up with your love for abbreviations?

That's interesting, I wonder if our military have something similar. Atleast they make some pretty awesome ads

Military in general has a love for abbreviations ^^.

One exception is - or was, twenty years ago; I dunno if they still have this - "OSUT", or "One station unit training", whichmixes your BCT (Basic Combat Training, "boot camp") and AIT (I forget exactly; Advanced _____ Training). You just train continually, with the same instructors and fellow-recruits, straight through.

Or, well, that's Army. No clue if the Marines, or other services, ever had that sort of thing.

Advanced Infantry Training maybe?

Advanced Individual Training

every military has its own abbreviations and nicknames for those... And those nicknames change between places. It is very hard to follow when you are there and after few years nicknames change ...

AIT: Advanced Infantry Training

For the Corps it works like this;you go to the School of Infantry after Boot Camp, wherein if you are a non-infantry MOS you get a crash course on how to be a rifleman (Marine Combat Training), or to the Infantry Training Battalion if you are of an Infantry MOS. Then, after that, if you're a non-infantry MOS you go to your MOS School, where you learn to do your job. Infantry guys go straight to their line companies (in most cases, there are some exceptions) and then receive OTJ training on the finer points of being an infantryman.

@ OP: Semper Gumby. Do your duty as best you can and don't slack. the hardest route to take is usually the correct one in the Corps.

Incorrect.

Correct.

Infantry is a specific MOS. 13T, I think. Whereas I was to be a Combat Engineer, 12B. So, no, not that.



Aha, yes, this ... thanks. Memory needed to be jogged, there. Gets rusty with disuse and all.

Infantryman is 11B.

Always Flexible?

But yeah, I found out that there's a lot of different scores that the ASVAB turns into. I just don't know which 4 were on my paperwork, or how they're graded (ie: what's my 126 mean? How does that compare with others? What's the max score? ect.).

Possibly and this is just a hunch, that they don't disclose all the relevant information to prevent recruits judging eachother based on test results. Putting a number on your capabilities tend to make some people wrongfully assume a sense of superiority to their peers. Which is very likely an attitude that they would want to discourage.
Mere speculation ofcourse.

They seem to really like their TLAs.

Best of luck, Neraph.

In the Corps, it is 0311. Basic Rifleman.
And in the Corps, it is Advanced Infantry Training School (AITS). At least it used to be.

Other Infantry Designations are:
0313 - LAV Crewman
0321 - Reconnaissance Marine
0331 - Motarman
0341 - Machinegunner
0351 - Assault Gunner/Demolitions
0352 - Antitank Assault Guided Missile man

EDITED LIST

A GT Score of 126 on the ASVAB is really good... IIRC, in the Corps, you can qualify for just about any MOS with a 126.
GT = General Technical (and is a combined score from 2 Subsections). and is the Normal Score that is evaluated.
Percentile was also on there, and is your ranking against all others who took the test. Obviously capped at 100%.

Assuming really good scores on the ASVAB, you will likely be required to take several more tests in Boot Camp. You will retake the ASVAB your 1st or 2nd day (mine was in the early morning after arrival), and any ancillary tests that your ASVAB indicates aptitude for will also be administered atthat time as well. Really sucks, because you really do not get a lot of rest prior to taking these tests. I ended up taking the ASVAB and then an additional 4 Tests afterwards within 16 hours of arrival. Most of them in the early hours of the First morning.

I take it to simulate how well you perform under stress?

Huh. Must be a Marine thing, re-taking the ASVABs. I got a 92% overall - had my pick of MOS, and if I'd had at least a year of college credits would have qualified for OCS. They never made me retake the ASVABS that I can recall.

Probably... I do not remember if the entire Platoon (112 Initially) retook the ASVAB test or if it was just those who scored high (My Percentile was 99, and I had really high Secondary Scores: My GT was 136 IIRC - Thanks Faelan). Too long ago... I do remember a lot of us took it though; and then a smaller number of us took the special tests for specialized training. Not sure why, really, since I was already set for Infantry, and they already knew that, regardless of my scores.

The only regret I had about the whole thing was a few days later. I was pulled into the Office/Room of my Senior Drill Instructor (Staff Sgt. Joyner... OohRah) the 2nd day we had our Training Platoon assigned and was offered the chance to go to Annapolis. I turned them down, because I did not want to be an Officer, and because I was done with school at that time (Did not want another consecutive 4 more years). Some days I regret that decision, as I am sure the Education I would have gotten there would be better than the one I got at the University of Texas 9 years later. *shrug* If they give you the CHance Neraph... You might want to consider it.

OVerall, though, I would not change anything. The Marine Corps is a great organization. Semper Fidelis and Semper Gumby Neraph.

So that I understand this, when someone introduces themselves as having served in at 351st, you know they're demo guys? Or how are those designators assigned meaning?

It's usually a specific point in media, that gives a character some credibility with whoever he's introducing himself to, but I can't follow why it would always be significant. =\

There is no 351st in the Marine Corps to my knowledge. That is an Army Designation.
Marines identify by Company, Battalion/Regiment/Division

SO, FOR ME. Corporal Mahon, Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division.
Typically shortened to Echo 2/7. Sine any Marine knows already that the 7th Marine Regiment is in the 1st Division.

The MOS designation is just that. It assigns Specialty. For a while (about 3 Years while I was assigned to the Weapon Platoon), I held designation as an 0621 (Field Radio Operator), and every one of the Infantry Designations EXCEPT 0321 (Recon), 0313 (LAV Crewman) and 0352 (ATAGM). However, My primary MOS was 0311. That tells anyone that asks that I was a Rifleman.

Still lost. When you shake hands and tell someone you served as Echo 2/7, what does it mean to them? That's the part I don't understand. It's not telling someone just what group you were with, it also explains your job in the military to some capacity...?

The maximum score on the ASVAB in all categories is 136. Similarly I had a 99 percentile with a 136 GT, and I chose to go Infantry. The admin Gunny at MEPS did not appreciate my explanation of why..."Well I want Infantry, because if you are not infantry you are not a real Marine." Needless to say the career pogue made sure I got my 0311 MOS instead of the Avionics MOS they wanted me to have. Loved it, but wished I could have moved over to Intel after my first 6 years.

That sounds right... 136, not 139, Been to many years ago.
What is it about Intel. Tried to move there after the Gulf War, but my MOS was frozen for transfers, so I opted out instead at 8 years.
As for a Real Marine, you are absolutely correct. The ONLY Marines are Infantry Marines.

Introductions do not include MOS, generally. Your unit is often enough to suffice in such an instance.
Because I introduce as Echo 2/7, the knowledgeable Marine knows that I am Infantry (It is an Infantry Unit). If they ask for more detail, the Appellation "Grunt" usually suffices.

No, no no no.

When someone says "I served in/with the ___", they're referring to a unit designation. Like the Army's "181st Airborne".

...


For example, I might say that I trained with "the 189th" or "the 132nd" (depending if I wanted to call out the Battalion or the Brigade). But I was a 12B (or would have been, had I completed training, anyway).

Hah. I dunno which service or rankthe guy processing my paperwork at the MEPS was, but he liked my explanation of why I wanted to go with Combat Engineer: "If my career plans for the next forty years don't work out, it gives me a completely different skillset to fall back on. Since I'm only seventeen, having a backup plan sounds like a good idea. Best laid plans of mice and men, and so on."

(I was personally inclined to computers and other academia-esque fields, but the demo and construction skills I'd get from that primary MOS should have guaranteed I could at least find SOME work, if the entire economy didn't just go belly-up for good.)

The 126 was my lowest, and there were four composite scores in my file. Also, ASVAB caps at 99, meaning that you scored higher than 99% of other people who take the test (as, obviously, you can't score higher than yourself).


The 351st would actually be what platoon/unit the person served in. They all have their histories and some of them are very prestigious (the Big Red One, for example - which my mother was attached to during Desert Shield/Storm as PsiOps back in the day).


Not true. I have a 139 on my file.

I knew it! They have psychics in the military!

My recruiter was Field Radio Operator who was attached to a Recon squad. Working out with him is always fun. Flutter kicks for the win, yo. One day we made him upset with us so we did 30-min abs and started with 150 Marine-count flutterkicks. Towards the end we did another hundred.

You're focusing on the exact scores a bit much, Neraph, anything over 120 GT is gravy, and ASVAB does indeed max out at 99, but that's an administrative number, not a comparison. (At least used to be that way, might've changed) as the exact score is largely ignored once you actually begin your service. (My experience, at least. I had 120-something GT IIRC, and that was the breakpoint for certain opportunities that are presented to you during Boot. After that, though, never heard it referenced by anyone ever again)

And yes, Semper Gumby/Always Felxible. You'll learn to truly appreciate that phrase.

It's not that I'm focusing on the scores too much - I just want to know how well I did. Knowing the maximum score would certainly help figure out how awesome well I did (look at my quote in my signature). As for the ASVAB main score: on the page I linked earlier it says the test is actually a comparison ranking between you and everyone else who takes the test.

Good luck, and come back to us.

Just looked it up apparently the max GT and max subscores have shifted over the years. Basically if you got a 99% percentile you should be maxing or close to maxing either your GT or at least one of your sub categories. I know when I was in 136 was max. In 09 it was apparently 160. It may have changed again. Regardless at 126 you should pretty much qualify for any MOS. It may even have to do with how many people take the test, I'll look into it since it's bugging me now, but I could never find anyone who could actually explain how the scoring worked.

Well, the main ASVAB score is the percentile score which caps at 99, and there's a laundry-list of composite scores. I've memorized my four composites, but I don't know what abbreviations they were under, so I don't know what's going on with them. I bet my 126 was something like Automotive Mechanics, and my 139 was probably like Mechanical Comprehension or Assembling Objects.

I'm not sure if anyone actually knows how the scoring works. It's been 26 years since I enlisted, but my scores were similar to Neraph's, and I could have been just about any AFSC (Air Force Specialty Code, their version of the MOS) I wanted to in the USAF. Faelan's right, though, with a 126 and a 99% score, you should be able to do just about any old thing that you please.

One guy I went with on my "dry run" for shipping out got an ASVAB in the mid-80's and his highest composite was 124 and he qualified for everything. He's doing Intel and then switching to Counter-Intel, if memory serves correctly.

EDIT: Has anyone else noticed how many of the top 10% of intelligence people are playing SR?

And the answer is dependant on branch, which line scores they use, and what they are composed of. Each testing section has a number of questions. You get a point apparently for each right answer. Those points are added together in different ways for different services to arrive at your line scores GT, EL, MM etc. Over the years the number of questions has fluctuated, and entire sections have been dropped or added. So really good luck figuring out what the max is. The one that really matters is the AFQT percentile, everything pretty much goes off that. If you score in the 95+ your line scores are not going to affect anything for the most part. They are there to provide access for borderline cases.

Already getting in shape... That will pay off...
12 Count Body Builders for the Win, though...

AS for the ASVAB... With a GT of 126, you can get any MOS in the Marine Corps. Highest Requirement from the Site, for Marine MOS, is 105 (don't know how to link it). Above that and you qualify for any MOS that references GT. It does not surprise me that the scores change over the years. The Percentile is pretty telling, but MOS availability is usually based upon the GT composite Score, at least in the Corps.

AS for the Top 10% playing Shadowrun... Makes sense to me.

This.

I've maintained for years that Roleplaying is a really good learning experience for people. I actually have it written on my CV under interests, and say that I believe that it builds social skills, problem solving skills, critical thinking etc.
Contrary to it's geeky world view, the majority of roleplayers are intelligent and quite normal people. Well, I suppose the world view is of intelligent people, just socially stunted.
As past-times go, roleplaying does a lot more for character growth than computer games (which I also enjoy), builds teamwork, debating, it's a whole rounded skillset. Plus as the rules are quite complex a group needs at least 1 intelligent individual, normally the majority.

There was a guy on the View from the Edge forms I used to frequent who was a teacher, Polish I think, and he used to use it in lessons as a learning tool and play with his class.

Shadowrun specifically I think relates to a more gun-loving, militarily minded person.

Bit of a ramble there, but I think I got my points across. If we could agree on anything we could rule the world!

Interestingly enough... my favorite games while in the Corps were Twilight 2000 and AD&D. I even loved Champions. Never heard of Shadowrun until a few years after I got out of the Corps. Actually started playing Shadowrun in 1993. It quickly became one of my favorites, outpacing my love of Cyberpunk 2020..

Talk about Military oriented, Gun Loving preferences, Twilight 2000 was very popular with the guys I played with in our unit.

I only started playing SR a few years before the release of 4th Ed, and even then it was due to a MUD - I'd only browsed a guidebook in Barnes & Noble very briefly. As for other gaming - I continue to assert that successfully running a guild in WoW and other MMOs is a sign of good leadership skills and thinking under stress. I personally took a guild from falling apart to successfully raiding heroic raids in under two weeks (before ICC released). It's a small feat when compared to, for instance, being a security supervisor when there's a fire alarm at a multi-billion dollar company (did that one too), but leadership traits are the same regardless of where that leadership comes into play, and any avenue that hones those traits is beneficial in my opinion.

EDIT: As for gaming in general: it sharpens mathematical skills, critical thinking, social skills, imagination, and the aforementioned leadership abilities. I think, in the not-too-far future, more companies will start seeing the benefits of RPG play among their employees. I know the military currently has their own form of tabletop game, used as a device that enhances strategy. Sounds a lot like WH40K to me.

Let's just hope they're not using the Orks as a guide for anything. "Sir, they're overwhelming us in 3 quadrants!" "WAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!"

Da red 'unz go fastah!

I'd be more worried if commanders like the IG too much