Expert: Matt - 5/29/2009

Question
my name is anthony i am 18 and about to gradguate gigh school, i joined the marines dep a while back and am supposed to leave in october, i chose air crew as my mos,i eventually want to be a pilot for the marines. a question i have is what is the day to day life like of a enlisted air crew marine, wat exavtly do they do? also i am planning on becoming a offiecer threw the MECEP program, i scored a 70 on the asvab and get a 300 on the ist and generally have a good attitude, would becoming a pilot threw MECEP be a possibility for me? thank you                                                                                          Anthony

Answer
Semper Fi Anthony and congrats on choosing to join the toughest, most respected, most rewarding service! Also, congrats on the air crew spot...not an easy one to get. For your day to day job, you will find yourself doing incredibly interesting and unique jobs...something different everyday. You might do mechanical repairs one day and then shoot a .50cal machine gun from the back of a huey helo the next day. Also, you could qualify to become a rescue swimmer...very very challenging but respected. As for becoming a pilot through the MECEP program, Ive got several friends who did that. They said it was pretty competitive to get accepted, but it really is an incredible program and I would highly reccommend you pursue it. Having a good attitue, being in good shape and being willing to learn and accept constructive criticism are all necessary aspects of being a good officer - so keep it up. Once you graduate boot camp and get to your unit, they will  have info on the MECEP program...you will have to spend a certain amount of time enlisted before you are eligible for MECEP (could be 2 years) but seeing as how the marine corps will pay for you entire college degree through the program, its a great tradeoff. Once you get started with the MECEP program, you will be able to specify whether you want to be a ground or air contract...at which point you can decide if you  want to be an infantry officer, tanker etc or if you want to be a pilot...best of luck anthony!