Tomorrow I'm enlisting in the Marine Corps and was told by my recruiter, who doesnt seem to want to get his fangs out of my neck, that the only way to get into a Recon position is to enlist as infantry; and can only volunteer after Infantry School when they come recruiting.

How hard is it to be accepted and what the hell is this 03XX on my contract? does that mean I could be Rifleman, Assaultman, Mortarman, or Machine Gunner depending on what **** happens? (I'm not able to choose?)

thanks

You are enlisting for the 0300 field Infantry. The Marine Corps does not enlist for specific MOS only the field. This means you could be trained as an 0311 rifleman, 0331 machine gunner, 0341 mortar man, or any Mos in the field. It's the Corps choice based on their needs and their requirements.
You cannot enlist for 0321 Recon Marine. You may apply for Indoc .

You will need to kick ass in everything you do in order to try for Recon. They dont let just anybody apply. Yes, the xx means you will be whatever a The Corps needs you to be at the time. No matter how you look at it you will still be infantry and it sounds like that is what you want.

Sooners right. To even apply you need to be 1st class Swim Qual and 1st Class PFT (SCORING AT LEAST 275). With exceptional pro and con marks. Then they might let you take INDOC.

In '85 you could not go through screening out of infantry training, you had to be in a unit, have a SQ1, 1st Class PFT, the appropriate ASVAB, and a recommendation letter from your CO and, usually, your 1st Sgt. That was JUST TO GET A SPOT IN THE SCREENING! Then you need to perform near perfectly in the screening. Be prepared to swim, be extremely cold, swim some more and be able to perform under longterm stress.

If you get through the screening you have another year worth of cycling through the different training cycles, some are tough. Alpine Warrior was nasty, but worth while, NJT was messy, but fun, etc....then you are a "Recon Man". You will get the title once you start the cycles, but all I have to say is LISTEN to the Cpls and Sgts that are there, listen to everything they teach you...

It was fun, was able to go with some RoK Army and Marines through their Ranger school which was interesting, especially if you like KimChi.

You now can get a screening spot right out of infantry school, but you better be near perfect through the training and hope that your instructors recommend you.

Good Luck....