My 17 year old wants to join the marines to be in the band. He's being heavily recruited.?

Randy R

Big Mamma,

Prior to you son joining the military band, he will need to take the ASVAB and a physical. You will need to sign a parental consent form for the test and physical. This does not put him in the military, it's just your permission because he is a minor.

The recruiter will schedule an audition. They do not give auditions every day and they are VERY difficult. Most band members are recruited at normal 4 year state colleges.

In order to be in the military, your son WILL attend boot camp or basic training.

When he completes this, he will attend the school of music, it is a VERY good school!

BUT, before anything know this. He must aduition, if he cannot get a full ride in a normal 4 year college, his chance of passing the audition is not very good.

You son MUST decide why he wants to join the military. What he wants to get out of it. If it's just for college money, then the job doesn't really matter and neither does his grades.

dee

Any recruiter who gives the impression your son will not have to go through boot camp is a liar. All Marines have to go through boot camp. All Marines are trained to be infantry and that is their first responsibility. If they are chosen to be in another field and it becomes necessary for the Marines to call someone up for combat duty anyone in the Corps can be called as all are trained to be Infantry Marines in boot camp. Tell your Son to stay away from the Marine Recruiter, he is lying to him.

Hmmmm

i know personally a marine who is in the marine band and he is right now in iraq and he ain't playing his saxophone.

Annie

Most of the members of any of the military performing ensembles..be it the Marine Band, the AF choral group or the Fife and Drum gaurd tend to come from four year schools, most have already finished thier degree in music. It is extremely competitive..just as competitive as audtioning for any other top level music program such as Julliard. If your son could not reasonably expect to audition for those programs and do well, he most likely is not the level of perfomer the military would want. Additionally, anyone in these groups is still a military member. He will go through basic..that is a given. While he may not deploy, he will most certainly spend the majority of the year travelling and the military bands do perform overseas to boost moral. The practice and performance schedule is rigorous and can be difficult to build a home life. I would advise your son to talk with another recruiter to get more accurate info..much of what this other recruiter said is suspect.

âŒ¡MacâŒ

Michaels info from Wikipedia is correct, and generally a Masters in Fine Arts is necessary to get asked to audition. The typical Marine recruiter is lucky if he has one prospect get invited to audition in the course of a recruiting tour of duty. In the Navy MUs are also given advanced rate (up to E-6) and generally have a Masters.

Given the large number of MFA holders looking for a full time gig with retirement at thirty years versus the number of slots which open each year none of the services is going to need to provide funding for college for Musicians.

Beaz

He will have to go to boot camp. As far as what he wants to do it isn't as easy or exciting as they might say. Tell him that they are very strick on what they can play so pretty much they play the same 8 ish songs over and over for 4 years. Not fun. He won't get deployed though you are correct but school is also difficult for those individual because they perform at random times and random places. That means that he will have to do most of his school online and for a "C" student that can be a hard task.

Michael

The following is from Wikipedia and it sounds like what the recruiter told your son:

"Selection process

Musicians in the Marine Band are selected through a rigorous audition procedure. Candidates who satisfy the musical audition must meet security and physical requirements, and then are enlisted into the Marine Corps with four year contracts. Since the Marine Corps band has no combat mission and members are non-transferrable, musicians are not required to attend boot camp. Musicians are given the rank of Staff Sergeant upon joining. Officers are drawn and commissioned from the band, but Drum Majors are career Marines and are selected from Fleet Marine Force bands (as they are responsible for the military development of the band's members)."

Wikipedia isn't always the best source and this information seems highly suspect. I've never heard of a Marine that didn't go through boot camp. It's only at the completion of basic training that one earns the right to call themselves a Marine.

Also, if for some reason, he doesn't get into the band... well, he's already in so they'll find another job for him. Hmm... let's see... the list says we need trigger pullers in Iraq...

Due May 1st!!

He will have to go through boot camp, just like any other recruit. As for not going overseas, I'm not a 100% sure on that. My suggestion would be to go online and do as much research as possible. There are some good websites out there that detail the different MOS (basically what his job would be) and what would be involved in those.

Talk to the recruiter yourself if possible to see if he/she is telling you the same stuff that your son was told. Find out as much as you can! Good luck and I hope this helped.

DietrichVonQuint

I wrote something else before I cheecked out the Marine Band website, so I deleted the wrong information that I had here before.

** Well I went to the Marine Band Website and was shocked to the core. I had no idea that Marine Band personnel did not have to go through Boot. I guess it pays to do research. Here is what they have to say
About the Enlistment

The enlistment process is completed at the applicantâ€™s local Military Enlistment Processing Station. A standard four-year enlistment contract is signed "for duty with the Marine Band only." Marine Band musicians are permanently assigned and may not be transferred to any other unit or location. Upon enlistment, new members are appointed to the rank of Staff Sergeant (pay grade E-6) in the United States Marine Corps and receive all pay and benefits commensurate with that grade. They are also subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the rules and articles governing the discipline of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Following enlistment, new members report directly to Washington, D.C. Official travel and shipment of household goods are conducted at government expense
Marine Band members are the only members of the U.S. Armed Services not required to undergo recruit training.

The Marine Band's mission is "to provide music and perform such other functions as are directed by the President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps." Unlike other Marine Corps musical units, the Marine Band has no assigned secondary combat role, and its members are exempt from all such training. Marine Band musicians report to Washington fully trained to perform their primary duties in the accomplishment of the bandâ€™s unique musical mission. Therefore, there is no requirement for band members to undergo recruit training.

New band members are instructed by the Drum Major in appropriate military and band-related subjects. This ongoing process of instruction gives each musician essential knowledge about his or her role in the U.S. Marine Corps

This is at http://www.marineband.usmc.mil/career_information/learn_more/about_enlistment.htm

Tammy W

He will still have to do bootcamp and mct. All Marines are riflemen. Once he gets done with those he will be part of one of the best bands in the world. The 1st 6 months will be tough but after that he will really enjoy being in the band that plays for presidents.

brundagebassoon

To join The President's Own Marine Band, Washington DC, you do not have to attend boot camp. It is very difficult to win an audition for this group. The Marines have other bands for which you do have to attend boot camp. They are a little easier to get into, but still very competitive.

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