What is the best duty in the Military? For Marines one that is high on the list is Embassy Duty...

The best duty in the military is being in a platoon, then a company/battery/troop, then a Squadron. The closer you are to a line the better. The closer you are to where the man with the rifle is taking it, the better it is. The further away you are...the more distant you are to where steel is forged in the furnace...the worse it is. Give me a rifle and let me be with the Troopers. Having brothers and sisters you know you can count on in a place where it really matters. That's the best duty in the military. Hell...in the whole damned world.

For the Army, I submit it's being a Tomb Guard (or Sentinel). It's not easy to get that job, but if you can get there, I think it's one of the best jobs (if not THE best job) in the Army.

And I know what I'm talking about. I served in the Old Guard (where the Tomb Guards are assigned) in 1978-1979. And I tried out to be a Tomb Guard. I didn't stay/pursue it, but I got a taste of it.

https://tombguard.org/

SSgt Kevin Chavez
For the Navy I would have to say special duty onboard the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) and military liaison duty in Belgium.

My personal experience has been a three month, TDY in Abu Dhabi, UAE attached to a Mobile Training Team. My team and I mentored the Emirate Air Force on various maintenance, supply, and admin tasks to support their Squadron of fighter aircraft.
That was in 2008, and the recent news stories regarding the UAE assisting with strikes against ISIS brought a sense of accomplishment and pride knowing those were the aircraft that my team and I helped support through training.

Recon Marine, living amongst the bugs, in the mud, master of cover and student of camoflauge. Insert by air, by boat, by sea, by foot, by helo, by rappel, by vehicle...extract when the job is done. Dirty, dirty living. Cammo paint, easy to put on, impossible to take off. Boonie cover, modifies cammies, snivel gear optional, this is a life for a country boy. Embassy duty is a far cry from the life a embassy guard, the shit - polished life of Guard to the Tomb....we all have our preferences...and a field Marine was much more desirable than a garrison Marine. I'm not a Dress Blue wearing type, I'm a ripped cammies wearing face painted, this - is - my - rifle type. Not a life for everyone. Ironic as it may be , I came in guaranteed contract for embassy duty/security forces, needless to say, I'm glad my life took a turn. Is it the best job in the military....NO, was it the best for me? It was for a season. I think flying a fast mover dropping 500 lb bombs would be way more exhilarating. I'm not going to try and be so arrogant and systems I had the best job in the Marines, but it was dang close.

Jumping from perfectly good airplanes.

I have to say, the U.S. military has a reach like no other. I can't think of a single country where America does not have a service member on the ground, whether it be a SEAL team on a secret mission, security guard at an embassy, or a regular fleet assignment at a permanent base overseas. I think there are always benefits (and downsides) to every branch, rank, job, and position. In the end, we truly have a lot to be thankful for. Most foreign militaries simply do not have the opportunities that we do.

My first assignment was with the 1st Marine Division Band out of Camp Pendleton as a musician. That was great because I got to be close to home, march in the Rose Parade, and do gigs in places like San Francisco and Estes Park, Colorado. I was also fortunate enough to deploy to Afghanistan and gain a little experience there.

For the past couple years, I've been on embassy duty, and have been assigned to the U.S. embassies in Singapore, Brunei, Turkey, and the USINT in Cuba. Out of all those, my favorite would have to be Havana for numerous reasons. Being able to improve my Spanish and meet some of the warmest people, it was exciting to be there this past year, especially with all the changes that have been happening. It was great to be able to get off work, and go for a run down the Malecon, looking north out to the Caribbean Sea knowing that I was in "enemy territory", 90 miles from America, in a communist country. Also knowing that service members were not allowed to visit, and the Marines were the only DoD personnel in country made it exciting (the only other military peeps being a Coast Guard rep and the troops down south in the prison....but they can't leave the base or interact with locals). While I loved my other assignments, being able to have a mojito in Old Havana on a Friday beats a night out in Oceanside every time by a landslide.

While embassy duty has a lot of rules fleet Marines don't have (no drinking in rooms, 3 am curfew, having to sign out with another Marine before going anywhere, etc), the benefits make me believe it is the best duty in the Corps. Meeting other people in their homeland is something I wouldn't trade for anything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emslsV358Sw

Ft Buchanan, that was a rough duty station. Why anyone would want to be stationed in a Caribbean island, as a single guy, going tdy to south central American countries for three weeks at a time, as a single guy, when they be somewhere fun like ft Polk or Minot AFB, is beyond me.
It's a good thing they removed active duty units from there, because the effect on morale was very noticeable.

Don't get me started on the navy guys on the other side of the island, how they could stare at the sapphire blue water day in and out with the mountains at their back without wishing to be back at Norfolk, I'll never know.

I have to say that in my time as a Comm POG 2841/2862 (Lord and Master of Electrons and all Comm Equipment & Communiques that Transition my Area), that I never had a bad assignment.

I had a bad time with one supervisor and thought another was somewhat unfair, but the work, the glorious work was amazing. Even any glorious nights of Mud and Snow, I was still in the Corps, so how horrible could it be? If they'd let me I could pick any of the assignments and go back and do them again.

I fell from Bed of Roses into Bed of Roses, with the possible exception of Student time where I seriously had to buckle down. And even then, getting paid to go to School!!!

All that said Embassy Duty did look fairly cool, those Marines in the Cairo Embassy had it sussed. Probably the 2nd Best Marine Corps Ball I ever went to. Sorry, the Wife invited me to her Units Annual event and that one was pretty awesome ;)

And LtCol Robert Halvorson has the truth of it. Shortened - (sic) It's in the being where it matters, and that you are doing what matters, that adds the sweetness to the doing.