My Chosen MOS: 0203 Ground Intel
Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2008 7:14 pm
See, I don't get to pick an MOS (Military Occupational Specialty - my job basically) until week 13 of The Basic School (quite awhile from now). I also don't get my choice with absolute certainty... I have to prove through merit that I excel in the skills required for a Ground Intel Officer.
However, I need to have a good idea of what my number one goal is. I think have decided on Ground Intelligence because it is a mix of the "fun" and exciting and grueling training of an Infantry Officer, with roughly the same assignments for the first 12-18 months, but then it transitions into a batallion officer position. I don't know as I'd want to be a grunt officer the rest of my life, so it transitions into intelligence and that way I think I'd get to use my education and my head. I think that's something I'd enjoy doing if I decided to stay in the Marine Corps for awhile. For anybody interested, here is the MOS description:
However, I need to have a good idea of what my number one goal is. I think have decided on Ground Intelligence because it is a mix of the "fun" and exciting and grueling training of an Infantry Officer, with roughly the same assignments for the first 12-18 months, but then it transitions into a batallion officer position. I don't know as I'd want to be a grunt officer the rest of my life, so it transitions into intelligence and that way I think I'd get to use my education and my head. I think that's something I'd enjoy doing if I decided to stay in the Marine Corps for awhile. For anybody interested, here is the MOS description:
0203 Military Occupational Specialty (MOS)
INTRODUCTION:
If you are attracted to the infantry occupational field and the intelligence field, the ground intelligence MOS may offer the best of both worlds. Created in 1994 to improve intelligence at the tactical level in the Marine Corps, this field provides intelligence officers with an opportunity to command at the onset of their careers.
WHAT IS THIS MOS LIKE?
Initially, the ground intelligence officer will serve as a scout sniper platoon commander in the infantry battalion. In this respect, this MOS is much like the infantry for the first 12 to 18 months. Upon successful completion of this first billet, you will probably serve as an intelligence officer on a battalion, regiment or division staff. If you particularly enjoyed commanding a scout sniper platoon, you may volunteer to command a reconnaissance platoon. If selected, following a rigorous screening process, you will command a reconnaissance platoon for approximately 24 months. You must be eligible for top secret clearance with access to special compartmentalized information (TS/SCI) based on a Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI).
WHAT WILL I DO AFTER TBS BEFORE I GET MY FIRST TOUR?
Before leaving Quantico, you will attend IOC for ten weeks along with your infantry contemporaries. Upon graduation from IOC, the ground intelligence officers will attend the SSPC (Scout Sniper Platoon Commander Course) at the Scout Sniper Instructor School at Weapons Training Battalion for two weeks. Following SSPC, you will attend the six-week Ground Intelligence Officer Course (GIOC) at the Navy/Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center in Dam Neck, Virginia. Here you will learn the requisite skills to perform as an intelligence officer on a battalion, regiment or division staff.
WHAT WILL MY FIRST TOUR BE LIKE?
All ground intelligence officers will be assigned to one of the three divisions within the Marine Corps. Those assigned to First Marine Division and Second Marine Division may serve temporarily on the division intelligence officer’s staff until they can be permanently assigned to one of the infantry battalions as a scout sniper platoon commander. The officers assigned to Third Marine Division in Okinawa may serve on the division staff for a longer period of time. In some cases, these officers may be selected to serve as reconnaissance platoon commanders and may receive some of their requisite training prior to departing for Okinawa.
Commanding a scout sniper platoon is a physically and mentally challenging job. Scout sniper platoons consist of 8 two-man teams and a small headquarters section. The mission of these teams is to support combat operations by providing precision direct fire on selected targets, controlling supporting arms, and collecting and reporting information. You are responsible for training the teams and will work closely with the battalion intelligence officer and battalion operations officer in their employment.
Your deployment opportunities are dependent on the battalion to which you are assigned. Like the infantry officers in your IOC class, you can be assigned to a battalion conducting a six or seven month deployment to Okinawa as part of the Unit Deployment Program (UDP), or to a battalion conducting a Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) (MEU(SOC)) deployment.
WHERE MIGHT I GO AFTER MY FIRST TOUR?
Upon augmentation and three or more years of intelligence experience, all Marine Corps intelligence officers from the four specialty intelligence MOSs (MOS 0203, 0204, 0206, and 0207) are redesignated as a MAGTF Intelligence Officer, MOS 0202. This MOS is granted upon completion of the MAGTF Intelligence Officer Course (MIOC) at NMITC in Dam Neck, Virginia. MIOC develops officers who can apply intelligence tactics, techniques, and procedures to support the commander across a multi-disciplined spectrum in a MAGTF and joint environment. After qualification for the 0202 MOS, the officer can be assigned to any level of the Marine Corps, external billets (mostly US Navy billets), joint intelligence tours, and national intelligence agencies. There are several opportunities to command intelligence organizations and other units within the Marine Corps. These opportunities range from command of Marine students in other service intelligence schools, through multiple command billets in the three intelligence battalions, to command of a SIGINT company or battalion.
CONCLUSION:
The 0203 MOS is a challenging profession. You will work with some of the most talented and dedicated Marines in the Corps. Regardless of your MOS assignment, you will find that this is the most rewarding aspect of the Marine Corps. Additionally, your 0203 experience will open up command possibilities in the future.
