thanks JJ. I thought he was a little slow. but then again I wasn't the one doing it.

I was looking and it looks like the army has a ranger contract. all you have to do is be tough enough. but the federal government just announced that the army and marines will be letting go over a 100,000 people. I imagine that it would hard to get where you want with all the changes in these branches.

On the running side, I would say run 4x a week and would build up to 6-8 miles. From wherever you are at now, add 5-8 minutes for a week on the longer run. Have one day be a speed/strength day...hills, sprints, up your speed for like 2 lengths of telephone poles...slow it down/speed it up again.

For strength I like super-sets myself...body weight and plyometrics are nice. If you have a rope set up for climbing, that will build some sweet upperbody strength that's useful.

The Army and the Marines are shrinking. I know last year we recruited 40,000+ young men and women in to the Marines. That has been the standard for the last decade. This year the goal for the Marine Corps is 22,000. That is a nearly 50 percent cut. They are making it harder to stay in as well. If you do not reach staff sergeant in rank (E-6) by your 10 year mark, you can not re-enlist. This is a big reason I requested to come to this training. I need to stay competitive. If not, the Army will take me and let me keep my rank <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

They also implemented a new retirement plan to shrink the numbers. You can now retire at 15 years instead of 20. You would receive 35 percent of your pay for the rest of your life if you elect early retirement at 15 years. They add a few percentage points for every year after that until you reach 20 years and get the full retirement at 50 percent.

That said, we still need to keep the junior ranks fresh. As people inevitably get promoted past pvt., pfc and lance corporal we have to replenish the stock of worker bees. It is the same in the Army.

So, you can join the Marines if you don't have any serious criminal records and a high school diploma or just a GED for the Army. You will likely be put on the Delayed Entry Program until there is a spot for you in boot camp. This is a good thing as the recruiters hold weekly functions to prepare you for basic training. They do physical training and general military knowledge classes. At least that is how the Marine recruiters do it. I am not sure about the other services.

thanks JJ. I can run 2 miles with ease and four with some effort. The book i just read also talked about DEP. I have NO criminal record and a home school diploma that the recruiter said would be fine. I am continuing to research and read everything I can find.

I am looking at several branches but the three I am interested in are the Army, Marines, and Air Force. I cant find out online about the MOS options with the Marines though. I am trying to find time to go see the Air Force and Marine recruiters but my construction jobs keep filling in my schedule.

Here you go.

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjo2/a/marinejobs.htm

thanks JJ. I am no running a minimum of 2.5 miles if I don't have a construction job that day. and I am adding the push ups and setups to the workout.

Is the Marine MOS 72 similar to the Air Force combat control position?
I am looking into the Air Force SOF jobs and most of them sound good.

Never worked with either. As far as I know the 72 field has air traffic controllers and stuff like that. I can ask around tomorrow, we have Marines of all makes and models at this course. I will see what I can find out for you.

Our MOS is defined by four numbers. Mine is 4341. The first two numbers define the field. 43 in mine means I am in the public affairs field. The last two numbers define the specialty within that field. The 41 in mine means I am in the combat correspondent (photojournalist) specialty. There is also a 13 or broadcast journalist specialty in my field.

That said, which specialty in the 72 field in the Marine Corps are you talking about. If you follow that link I post and click on the field you are interested in, you can find out more about each specialty by clicking on the ones in the list.

Weapons tactics instructor looks like it might be what you are interested in. It is the 7277 MOS.

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjo2/a/7277.htm

However, after a second look, that is a job for the experienced. You can not enlist in that. You must work your way up too it from another job in the 72 field. It is a very specialized and expert job.