Contracting question

[Gerg007]

Alright, so I spoke to my recruiter yesterday, and told him I would prefer a job in 03XX (trying for 0321, dunno that it matters.) and asked him what the chances of me being sent infantry with an open contract is. He told me that as of recently I can't get infantry with open contract, and that if I want that job field I would have to wait around for 10 months. He seems mostly sincere and said that they most likely wouldn't send me infantry anyway if my line scores were up to par with my unverified AFQT (97). I'm a patient man, but for certain personal reasons 10 months is a tad bit of a wait. So my question is, can anyone shed any light if I am missing something, or is there potentially another way out?

Thanks for any input,
Greg

[Vulture6]

Sounds like your recruiter is being straight with you. Open contract means just that - open - and you will be assigned an MOS at Boot Camp based upon the needs of the Marine Corps. It is possible that you may get infantry, but it is more likely that you'll get something in the Combat Support or Combat Service Support areas. Since we are at war, and with the current attitudes of folks enlisting (such as yourself) the Marine Corps has no issues filling infantry slots. On an open contract you are much more likely to find yourself in communications, logistics, supply, motor-t, maintenance or some other field.

Combat arms MOSs are more in demand and therefore more competitive.