I am toying with the idea of joining the Marines, and was considering possible MOSes. Two that struck me as interesting were 2111, Small Arms Repair Technician, and 5711, NBC Defense Specialist. I was wondering if anybody that currently or formerly had these "jobs" or the Army equivalent swould be willing to post your thoughts on what it was like, what a typical day consisted of, pros/cons, etc. Anyone who has served in the military or has relevant second-hand knowledge is very much encouraged to shed some light on this for me. Your info is greatly appreciated.

Quoted: I am toying with the idea of joining the Marines, and was considering possible MOSes. Two that struck me as interesting were 2111, Small Arms Repair Technician, and 5711, NBC Defense Specialist. I was wondering if anybody that currently or formerly had these "jobs" or the Army equivalent swould be willing to post your thoughts on what it was like, what a typical day consisted of, pros/cons, etc. Anyone who has served in the military or has relevant second-hand knowledge is very much encouraged to shed some light on this for me. Your info is greatly appreciated.

I am a Recruiter now for the National Guard, but my Primary MOS is 54B/74D NBC NCO. I was working with a Marine Joining the National Guard and he and I compared NBC Training. It was identical at Ft. Leonardwood, MO. You will train common task most likely but right now there is no NBC threat to deal with so you will most likely be out on patrol or pulling security. I have CST's in the National Guard in each state, and it leaves another option to join the WMD Team. The CST gets a whole new level of NBC training. It is an MOS that gives you a unique specialty if your pursuing a Law Enforcement career outside. Alot of the WMD/Hazmat is moving to LEO away from Fire dept.

About once every couple weeks someone asks a similar question.  Although I am neither MOS, I have worked extensivly with those MOS in the Marine Corps.

2111's generally are custodians who do limited weapons repair, they are not true "gun smith," those are 2112s.  Most of the day consists of opening the armory, inventorying, issue weapons, inspection of and intake of weapons.  Normally there is 1 per Company sized unit and a couple at the Battalion level.  2111s are the feeder MOS for 2112, you will have to do a tour in the fleet and apply, get accepted, go to a 18 month school and than you will get posted to Quantico, a Range facility, a higher level maintenance facility, or to a deploying unit to maintain sniper rifles.  

As a 5711 you will either go to a unit like CBIRF or a Battalion sized unit.  At CBIRF you will practice for an incidence response, which in itself sucks because you are in MOPP 4 or in a contamination suit.  Or more than likely you will go to a Battalion or storage facility.  In a battalion you may be responsible for the units annual NBC training, which amounts to classes and a few gas chambers a year.  But the bulk of your days is accounting for the Battalion's NBC defense gear which is thousands of items.  You will have to make sure the if the gear expires it is removed from the stocks.

I work on the civilian side of the Army's NBC shop, my group develops all the sensors the joint services use.

It used to be that the 74Ds were pretty low on the ASVAB scale (thats why their school is co-located with the MPs and the engineers, it didnt take a genius to do those jobs; you'll do both Basic and AIT at FtLW, 140 miles from St. Louis, MO, nothing around for miles but strip clubs, bars and lemon lots trying to sell cars to new soldiers), but within the last five years they've started looking for much smarter people due to the level of technology we're going to.

If you go 74D, do absolutely whatever it takes to get Lima-5 certified (Fox vehicle crewman), or Lima-6 (Stryker NBCRV qualified, not yet operational). Riding around in an air conditioned (not many Army vehicles have air conditioning) armored vehicle in an over-pressure environment (so you dont need to wear your mask inside it) sure beats doing chemical searches on foot with hand-held detectors.

The NBC field is rapidly changing, several new items are coming on-line within the next few years for both the USMC and the Army.  Its the bleeding edge of technology at the moment.  But yes, for the time being, you will be doing patrols like everyone else since there's not much of an NBC threat.

Kharn

Not an NBC, or CBRN as the current trend seems to be heading into a new designation,  guy by MOS but I am the appointed NBC NCO for my company. I'm a 42A (Human Resources Specialist, 75B for the old folks) in the Army thats been to the CBRN Defense course. As an appointed duty it isn't too bad. I went to a two week course to learn how to run the equipment and train others to do so, the various reporting formats, and how to assess threats and the impact of actual attacks. Good for some promotion points and a few good bullets on the NCOER (When I finally make SGT, CPL for now).

My unit does not rate any more than a single E-7 54B at Battalion level, however in my last unit, HHC to a brigade sized element as opposed to the stand-alone battalion I'm in now, we had three 54Bs. As an MOS it seemed to be a pretty crappy field to get into.

CBRN hasn't been too big of an issue lately and tends to be neglected/over looked in the unit's training plan (at least the units I have been in). As such, the 54Bs tend to be pigeon holed into the supply section who in turn make them into the bitches of the section, ie they get put on all the crappy details so as to spare the S4 NCOIC from being short handed. The army has real trouble retaining junior 54Bs largely due to this. They just don't like to put up with it.  In fact, a year or two ago they promoted all eligible E4 54Bs automatically to E5 whether they had been boarded or to PLDC or not becuase they just couldn't fill the positions they needed to with the available pool of soldiers.

FWIW if you can put up with that, promotions come pretty quick compared to some of the other fields, almost as fast as combat arms MOS's. Don't know if I'd like to do it full time but like I said, its not bad as an appointed duty. This may not apply to the USMC, I'll ask my borther but may have to wait for a while for a response, he's in Fallujah right now and doesn't get to email home very often.

Quoted: CBRN hasn't been too big of an issue lately and tends to be neglected/over looked in the unit's training plan  <snip>

Look for a lot of pressure for CBRNE in the training plan...

i played nbc for da army...i did not like it- responsible for all the NBC crap that the legs did not take care of.  tried to get part for the masks-sorry dont have money for that...get inspected..slammed for not being ready and workable parts on hand.  leaving unit- having to account for all the gear the troops lost.  That and being mopp4 all the time.  I cant say what its like now-probably get decent training- our trainers would not let us in the field because they did not want us to get woodticks. (but its ok to deal with sarin and nuclear fallout)  

If it was a choice between Infantry or NBC (i did both)  I would choose Air Force.  (did that too).

neither one sounds like fun...nbc was always a pain...an d if you ain't the armorer, you ain't shit.

go into something you can turn into a career later (helo or aircraft mechanic is one thought)

Quoted: go into something you can turn into a career later (helo or aircraft mechanic is one thought)

Aviation is not the way to go either. Layoffs, low pay, no respect. I got my start in aviation by joining the Army, been in aviation now for 20+ years and am now looking at a career change, just haven’t figured out what.

A co- workers son just got out of the Navy, he was a ground support mechanic. With his knowledge of diesel engines he got a job as a diesel engine mechanic within days of coming home and makes a lot more $$$$ than me to start with my 20+ years of aviation experience!

Amazing.

Try EOD (Bomb Squad). Good prospects with great money when you get out.

Quoted: I am toying with the idea of joining the Marines, and was considering .......................................... ...............Anyone who has served in the military or has relevant second-hand knowledge is very much encouraged to shed some light on this for me. Your info is greatly appreciated.

Actually, it would be us that offer appreciation!

Good luck, either way it works out for you.

My daughter is in that line of work.  its a hassle.  Mostly paperwork training and planing for stuff that is not likely to be used.  You get to do a live nerve agent gas chamber at Fort LW and you get a fancy certificate.

If like doing nothing but paperwork and planning.  training people who do not want to be there and maintaining training records ---> go for it.

I was in the Navy.  Yes I cleaned lots of toilets and Heads.  I chipped a lot of paint.  But I got to do everything that there is do in the weapons dept.  I also got to do engineering work in the machinery spaces too.

I think you are looking at two boring rates.  I would look higher in the food chain for rates availible to you based on your ASVAB score.

Quoted: You get to do a live nerve agent gas chamber at Fort LW and you get a fancy certificate.

I've still got to arrange a trip out to FtLW the next time that chamber is hot, my guys at the school have been saying I should go through that for the last 10mo.

You enter wearing full MOPP4, they set down a few detectors in the middle of the floor (so you know its the real deal and not just tear gas) and release the nerve agent.  You have to go down the decon line, removing every peice of protective gear in sequence, finally ending with you running buck naked through the shower while holding your breath and stripping off your mask.  If you even stumble, they shove two giant fricken needles in your ass full of antidote and you spend 2-3 days in the hospital for evaluation (due to the antidote's side effects).

Kharn

Thank you all for the help you have provided, I never expected to get this much information. It just occured to me that there is another (fairly stupid) question I should really ask along with my previous info request: what are the chances of me (depending, of course, on ASVAB score, etc.) being able to get one of these MOS's guarenteed in wiriting by a recruiter?

Thank you all again for both your info and your service.

I don't know how well the USMC guarentee's MOS choice, IIRC they only will give you a "field" in writing but not specific MOS, I know several years ago one of the selling points the Army had was that it was the only servce that would give you a specific MOS and not just a job field in every contract. That may have changed.

As for the discussion of marketable skills on the outside, three of the best MOS's on the outside are

52D Generator Mechanic
52C HVAC tech
62B Heavy Equipment Mechanic

All three give you skills that will be gobbled up fast in the civilian world, especially if you go ahead and get the civilian certifications that go along with them.