Posted: 8/30/2007 5:15:55 AM EDT
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If any of you can remember when filling out the paperwork to go to MEPS, there was a paper that you had to sign (for the Infantry folks) that said "INFANTRY" in the middle of the page? Well, right after that one, there was one that said "Open Contract"? I told the recruiter "Uh, yeah, I'm not going to do an 'Open Contract'." He said that that wasn't the "Open Contract" that fucks people over, he said that the paper I was looking at was to say that if my MOS isn't available, that I will remain in DEP as a poolee until that MOS becomes available. He said that it's mandatory for every Poolee/Recruit of the Marine Corps to sign it to even begin recruit training. Now, I was suppose to leave for MEPS last night, but they were too full, so I have to wait until next week to go. At MEPS, I'll be taking the ASVAB, getting the medical/physical stuff taken care of, signing the contract and then swearing-in. Now, the BAD "Open Contract", the one that just throws you into a shit job in a shit field to do shit work wherever they need you, that comes when you are presented with it at MEPS right? |
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He was lying his azz off. What Mos are you joining up for? If you did not swear in I would just go home and not hang around. If you are at the meps station there should be a Marine officer there who can help you out wth more information on MOS's. But like I said if you haven't sworn in you are off scott free. |
That is not how I remember it, but's it been over 21 years since I decided to go enlisted  & 3 1/2 years prior to that when I had a PLC contract in college. You are either guarunteed a job field for a given MOS or you enlist on open contract. Not both. Keep in mind that you are not guarunteed a MOS (at least in 03XX) within a job field in most cases when you enlist in the Corps...unless something's changed since my active duty time. For example...you enlist into the 03XX MOS field...once you get to SOI you can request 0311, but that doesn't mean you will receive 0311 training...you may get assigned to 0331 instead. Usually the smarter 03XX's get assigned to 0341 training due to the math that's involved, etc. It appears from your user name that you want to go grunt & then try for Recon. I would suggest not signing anything with open contract written on it. The only examples I know of where a boot Marine is forced into another MOS after having been guarunteed a MOS prior to shipping is when the boot gets to their MOS school & fail to pass that particular training. THEN that Marine is sent to another MOS school that he/she is qualified for dependent on the Corps needs at that time. Many deppers or poolee's do not know this, but you are not obligated to ship after "swearing in" the first time in the DEP. Once you arrive at MEPS the second time...the day prior to your entrance into active duty or entry into SMCR prior to shipping to PISC or Sandiego, you will swear in again just hours before you get on the bus. This is the official swearing in that obligates you, along with your contract, as a Marine Corps recruit & you are not then free to leave without being subject to punishment by the UCMJ or administrative discharge on the Marine Corps terms. If you feel you are getting screwed then tell the recruiter to pound sand or request to speak with the recruiting station SNOIC or OIC for that station or district. If the MOS you want isn't available then you must choose another (or agree to open contract if you wish) BEFORE you get a contract unless you want to wait the estimated time frame the Corps predicts that your MOS will become available again. It's that simple. If you're not happy then please do not sign anything until you get the MOS you want in writing & READ EVERYTHING THUROUGHLY...TWICE! I seriously doubt that 03XX would not be available for you. Recruiters have a hard job to do & many are crunched for numbers or are under pressure from their OIC's to keep the bodies coming. They have a quota that needs to be met or they can receive a negative fitrep if E5 or above. ETA: What part of Indiana are you in? I may know your recruiter if you are in NW central Hoosier land or Boilermaker Country. |
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WARPIG is right. thats how i remember it too. I actually went on a contract to be a C-130 Navigator. lost it when i broke my ankle at parris island and went through a hearing to stay on PISC. one of the things i had to do to stay on and not get discharged was to sign an open contract. if you have a GOOD asvab (every kid says they got a 98% but it doesnt work that way) but if you really truly have a top 10% GT score an open contract isnt horrible. you will be able to talk to job counselors at Parris Island. they are in Recruit Admin. every one gets sent through recruit admin towards the end of recruit training to tie up loose ends. they arent DI's they are very helpful. moreso then the guys at MEPS because they dont have a vested interest in what slot you fill. I left Parris Island without a job. despite the counselors best efforts, pickens were slim. i arrived in april but from the leg break i wasnt in recruit admin about to graduate until august and PI was awash in recently graduated teenagers. not many GOOD jobs to be had so i elected to roll the dice and go to MCT without an MOS. at Camp Gieger you can still get a job from the Student Admin shop. if you want to pick of the best jobs i recommend you wait until winter time to ship out. What do you want to do? The Marine Corps is all about 0311. its part of the culture. choosing to pack my trash and go across the street for 03 was one of the best things i did in the Corps. it especially recommend it if you are young and intend to do 4yrs and get out. i also think its especially good if you intend to go to college afterward and you dont really need the job training. when i got off active duty and went to the reserves i ended up in the air wing. there was an "03 mafia" in that command. fromm fighter pilots down to LCpl's. If you needed something from a particular shop you would go and talk to the former grunt who worked there and he would take care of you because "wingnuts jsut dont get it". I dont support that philosophy but it was nice to have people around who came from the same place you did. dont let someone convince you that infantry is where the dummies end up. not true. the smartest Marines i know are/were 03. dummies end up in bulk fuel, Motor T, MPs, admin, wireman etc. If you get a small niche job like linguist, C130 navigator, combat camera and something happens to you in bootcamp you could miss your slot. the only way to stay in is to release them from the contract promising you that job and agree to a new job or open contract. thats what happened to me. this was in 1997 so things might be different |
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Warpig is 100% correct as usual. In my case, I signed at MEPS as an open contract/DEP, and because I was the first recruit on the list for October ( beginning of the new fiscal year, and all MOS open right up ). But recently I signed the contract that guarantees the 03/UH field. If you sign to go after October, you'll get your MOS. Infantry fields go fast just because a lot of kids come in and assume that's all the Corps does, and they don't consider other jobs. You don't have to sign or ship until you swear in the second time. Talk to the OIC or NCOIC of your recruiting station. Also, TRenzr or TRezner ( can't remember the spelling ) on the boards here is a recruiter, and will likely be able to help you out. |
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Thanks for all the help and advice guys, I really appreciate it. Since I haven't sworn into anything, and I haven't gone to MEPS yet, and since I haven't taken the ASVAB or signed the final contract or anything... What can I do if I've already signed the "03/ INFANTRY CONTRACT" (Which the recruiter said would guarantee my spot in infantry, but wouldn't guarantee the MOS), and after I signed that, there was the "OPEN CONTRACT" (Which the recruiter said that this wasn't the 'open contract' that lets the Marine Corps place people wherever they need them, he said that this was if a spot wasn't available yet, that I would be able to stay in the Delayed Entry Program until that spot becomes available. He said that everyone has to sign that, even him.) I read through it and it pretty much said what he told me, but seeing "OPEN CONTRACT" in big font at the top of the page still scares me. I just hope I didn't fuck up, get screwed over, and get hustled out of 03 field. They said that I wouldn't ship out for boot camp until late October or early November. But, seeing as how I haven't sworn in or signed any finalized "contract", and if I DID sign something that fucked me over, am I still eligible to make that go away? |
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I'm a lil confused now...You state you've signed a "contract" but have not been to MEPS or taken the ASVAB yet? If that's the case, you are not in the DEP yet. But, as has already been mentioned, being in the DEP doesn't obligate you to the mil in the first place. You need to make sure your contract is how you want it before you report to MEPS the day prior to your entrance to active service. If it is not, you can get delayed & may not be able to ship on that date, provided you didn't make the official swear in. Being in the DEP means you have up to 364 days to ship after you sign the initial enlistment papers. You can walk away from the program at anytime...again, it's not an obligation until you DEP days are over & you report to MEPS the night before your life is forever changed. You will sign your binding contract at that time & then you are an official Marine Corps recruit. If you are in doubt about anything then don't be afraid to call your recruiter on it. Until you get it figured out please stop signing his documents. |
On the document, both said "Infantry Contract", and then "Open Contract". Those are what really messed me up. I'm going to go by his office in the morning to go over it again with him. |
Very true. Consider this: if every guy that walked through the door wanted infantry, at some point they would have to start telling people no in order to fill the rest of the jobs. To keep all the good jobs being scooped up at the start of the fiscal year (only leaving open contracts/shitty jobs for the rest of the year) the Corps takes all the jobs for any given MOS and divides them up into different periods throughout the year so that there is an even spread. If you are shipping out for boot camp during any given period, that is the jobs that are available to you to select from. It is NOT based upon the jobs in the period for when you signed up/joined the delayed entry program. Since the government fiscal year starts in October, then is when the new job dump (divided up into periods for fiscal year 2008) comes out. They can project out a little ways and guess what some of the job availability will be, but until Marine Corps Recruiting Command comes out with the full job dump in October there simply isn't much in the way of jobs to pick from. In the mean time, your recruiter is correct in telling you that you need to have a job assigned to you in the system while you are in the delayed entry program. That is why you are filling out the open contract. Once October rolls around and the jobs become available again it is five minutes worth of work to switch over to infantry. All you and your recruiter have to do is fill out a statement of understanding with job code UH (infantry). I know it's a little scary, and there's the public perception that recruiters lie/cheat/steal/etc to put people in, but trust me that what you are being told is correct. I hope that all made sense. IM/email me if you have any questions. |
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Dude, you can bail at anytime something isn't right. You can be at MEPS on your ship date and if you don't have the contract you were told you were getting and you don't get that particular contract, you just hold the fucking process until you get what you want. They will windmill around and intimidate, but you don't have to do shit until you get your contract. I remember my buddy and I at MEPS 1995. I got delayed because I got mono a month out from my ship date. So, I couldn't go. My buddy refused to go because they pulled some contract shit on him. So we both got on the trian together and came home. I waited a couple months for the obligatory mono waiting period, and he went back a few days later and got his contract. He might have you lined up for Infantry, bu using the "OPEN contract" as a stand-by. Recruiters have to fill monthly quotas. GET ALL THE COLLEGE FUND BENEFITS! |
Along with the hotel staff, janitors, anyone and everyone involved with the support process "getting thier pound of flesh" trying to act like a drill instructor. I remember as a Marine Sgt going through for OCS candidacy. I asked the buffet attendant, "Why the fuck are you yelling at me, you're hotel staff, don't speak to me again!" |
That's exactly how I used to speak to butter bars as an NCO & SNCO  .
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Your recruiter is not lying. This is how it works now, you sign an open contract which simply gets you into the DEP, then either right after you DEP in or later on before you ship you'll sign your actual job contract. Your recruiter is not deceiving you, it's just the Marine Corps likes to turn something simple into brain surgery and the recruiters bear the brunt of it because potential enlistee's and their parents think the recruiter is BS'ing or otherwise trying to deceive them when they're really not and it's just the Corps has a fucked up way of doing things. All logic ceases to exist, welcome to the Marine Corps. |
| I joined in 1988 in the DEP and had a guaranteed 03 contract. I went to boot camp in 1989 and ended up in "special screening" and the next 2 years at Camp David. I heard horror stories about "open contract", and all the shit talk from the instructors at MCT about them going to be cooks or grunts, however most went to air traffic control or aviation electronics, but it all depended on their ASVAB score. |