Job-wise, what is the difference between 0313 VS 0321 in the Marines?

Jake Lang — Sun, 21 Mar 2021 22:44:31 -0400

Hello Rallypoint, I hope all of you are doing well. A bit of a question that I've stumbled onto as of late that's really been on my mind. We've heard of LAR Marines, their job is to screen/recon ahead of their regiment, but at the same time, we also know there's the Recon Battalion in that same Regiment, as well. This has me wondering, what is the difference in their jobs? Is the 0313's job more of a vanguard or something, and of course we all know how hard it is to pass BRC. With those said, I gotta ask, what is the difference between the two, other than one is special operations capable and the other is armored reconnaissance? Please do indulge me with a detailed explanation.

Hope you guys are all doing well.

Response by SSgt Christophe Murphy made Mar 21 at 2021 11:22 PM

SSgt Christophe Murphy — Sun, 21 Mar 2021 23:22:36 -0400

They are extremely different MOS's and have different roles all together. LAR is an armor asset. Yes they are recon but they are a lot more.

Recon Bns and Force Recon are another beast all together. They jump, swim and do it all. But they are out pounding the ground with their two feet.

The recon path is long and very comparable to the pipelines for Rangers. You can sign up for LAV crewman out of the gate. Recon requires alot of indoc work and the pipeline is much more indepth.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 21 at 2021 11:33 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 21 Mar 2021 23:33:39 -0400

Talk to your recruiter, but the way to think about it is Reconnaissance Marines go ahead of everyone besides MARSOC to gather and disseminate intelligence to those who need to know, sneak in, take pictures, sneak out. LAR has a completely different mission, they sort of gather intel but on a much smaller scale because what they find needs to be known by the Marines in the area immediately in order to shape the battle space. Long story short, 0321 helps shape a war, 0313 helps shape a single battle at a time.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 22 at 2021 12:05 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 00:05:46 -0400

Haven't you been on here asking crazy questions about the most "high speed" jobs in all the different branches for over a year now? You could have been halfway through your first enlistment by now if you weren't trying to figure out the most cool guy route.

Listen, just find the branch you like the culture of the most. You're probably not going to get the job you want. You don't usually get to pick your MOS in most branches except the Army and in the Army you have to try out and pass a selection for all the special operations jobs you've been asking about. You have to pass the selection for the Recon in the Marines as well. You could just as easily end up being a parachute rigger or a tank mechanic. So, pick a branch you think you'll enjoy serving in if you don't end up anywhere high speed and work your way towards the harder jobs

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Mar 22 at 2021 10:05 AM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 10:05:25 -0400

You've been asking these questions for months now. Just accept that no matter what you read here, your recruiter is going to shove you where he neeeds you, which means you're either going to be a grunt, an MP or a cook. Stop obsessing over these "cool guy" MOS's you're not going to get anyway.