Posted on Apr 5, 2014
PO1 William Bargar
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Myself having served in the Marine Corps and Navy I look back at my MILITARY CAREER and wonder......."What if....."  I believe it costed me way too much in my career switching branches even though Marine Corps Aviation and Navy Aviation are practically the same!  Two pay grades......really?  Even though I made 3rd Class Petty Officer and 2nd Class Petty Officer first time up.......I believe I LOST FOUR YEARS in my career which SEVERELY HURT my chances of making Chief Petty Officer.  I believe to this day "IF" I would have stayed in the Marine Corps for my career I would have made "Gunny"  On the other hand "IF" I would have joined the Navy and made a career I would have made Chief.  My question is:  "Are other service veterans (OSVETS) treated fairly"?  Is there a need for a change to the program?  And why are OSVETS penalized for being in another branch in the first place?  Are we NOT ALL MILITARY/VETERANS?  Thoughts and comments please..........
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SFC Michael Hasbun
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I believe I made the right decision. While I still remember parts of my time in the Corps very fondly, the Army is a much better fit for me. I get to do a lot more mentoring, teaching, and outside the box thinking. Plus the Army is much easier on families than the Corps was.

 

Are there some things the Corps did better? Sure. But there are a lot of things that the Army does a lot better too (I'm leaving this purposefully vague). In the end, every service has it's pros and cons, it's just a question of which better fits your personality and career goals.

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SSG Felix Najera
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I believe that some of the respective services need to re-vamp their OSVET/Prior Service programs. Some of their programs are not up-to-date as to which MOS/AFSC/Rate with convert over.  I do not see the point of the reduction of rank when switching branches. 
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SSG Operations
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I think it is a disservice to demote someone just because they switched branches. They might have been a senior E6 and not they are a junior E5.

Maybe a temporary probationary period at a lower rank to get their feet wet? Say 6 months after enlistment and re-training. The service member is renstated at the former rank, barring adverse action.
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PO1 William Bargar
PO1 William Bargar
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I like that IDEA! That would have helped me so much in my career......My career is "What if"......
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