Between Two Worlds: Department of State or Department of Defense

I have been asked in many occasions, which is better to work for the Department of State (DoS) or the Department of Defense (DoD) as a Marine. I have never been able to decide on this subject in question to date. There are many aspects of these departments I am inclined to discuss. First are the living conditions that are endured between to the two branches. After will be the travel of journeys that are taken overseas. Last is the work schedule and free time acquired by most individuals.

When working with the DoS for a Marine live in very lucrative accommodations. Per agreement between the Marine Corp and the DoS, the houses that are occupied by Marines are referred to as “MSG (Marine Security Guard) Mansion”. Most residences look just as the sound, like palaces or mansions. All have the basic requirements: one plus rooms for the amount of Marines living there, in-house bar, and they reside in a roomy and chic locations. The houses are not limited to the basic, in Tallinn, Estonia there is an indoor pool that’s heated, the property sits on a football field of land, and in both living rooms there’s a projection screen system connected to a pricey Bose surround sound system for real movies-like interaction. As for the DoD, there are most likely three places a Marine will be located at. For instance, indoor housing it will be either an open Squad Bay or the 2-3 manned barracks rooms. There are times when it is required for a Marine to live on a ship. The most important is the time spent out in the “field” on actual or training missions.

The love for travel I believe both departments are excellent in insuring that it happens, but in very different ways. For the state department it is required for a Marine to perform at three posts in the capital cities for every country that the U.S. has diplomatic relations with. They are mandated to stay in country for no more then a year time. Between posts Marines are afforded Consecutive Oversea Tour (COT) leave. This is, travel paid for, leave that is from the country residing to your home of records to your next post. By choice a cot leave ticket may traded in for an ‘around the world’ ticket. This allows a Marine to travel to various countries with no