7051 vs 7316
Expeditionary Firefighting and Rescue (EFR) Specialist (USMC) vs Small Unmanned Aircraft System (SUAS) Operator (USMC)
Two Marine MOS codes that went through the same boot camp and have agreed on absolutely nothing since graduation day.
A typical day for a 7051: building and maintaining an expeditionary airfield — FARP operations, AM-2 matting installation, FOB strip preparation, MOGAS and AVGAS fuel point setup — is the engineering-adjacent, aviation-supporting work that enables Marine air to operate forward of established installations. A typical day for a 7316: the tech is genuinely cool and the mission is real. It gets better. The 7051: fOD (foreign object debris) walks — walking the runway looking for things that could be ingested by an engine — are the defining meditative experience of this MOS. The 7316: you'll spend more time on pre-flight checklists and sensor calibration than actual stick time. Same paycheck. Same rank structure. Different universes.
After the Uniform
The part the recruiter skips: what each job actually translates to once you're a civilian — and what it pays.
Salary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program. A guide, not a guarantee.
Recruiter vs. Reality
The pitch versus what people who actually did the job report back.
“Maintain the airfields that Marine Corps aviation operates from, managing runway conditions, aircraft parking, and the ground infrastructure critical to flight operations. Airfield services specialists ensure that every aircraft can launch, recover, and be serviced safely regardless of operating environment.”
FOL and expeditionary airfield operations are where this MOS earns its existence. Building and maintaining an expeditionary airfield — FARP operations, AM-2 matting installation, FOB strip preparation, MOGAS and AVGAS fuel point setup — is the engineering-adjacent, aviation-supporting work that enables Marine air to operate forward of established installations. The airfield marking, lighting, and arresting gear systems at permanent installations are your domain too. You will work in the wake jet blast of aircraft that are not designed to accommodate the people servicing the areas around them. FOD (foreign object debris) walks — walking the runway looking for things that could be ingested by an engine — are the defining meditative experience of this MOS. The work is physical, weather-exposed, and often unacknowledged by the aviators who depend on it being right. Airport operations and airfield management civilian careers are the natural transition. FAA certifications are accessible. The understanding of how an airfield actually functions from the ground up is a perspective most aviation professionals never develop.
“You'll be flying drones for the Marine Corps — the future of warfare. Every infantry battalion needs SUAS operators, and you'll be the most in-demand MOS in the MAGTF. The skills transfer directly to the booming commercial drone industry, and you'll have a Secret clearance on top of it. This is the cutting-edge job every Marine wishes they had.”
You will fly small drones — RQ-20 Pumas, Skydio X2s, and whatever the next platform is. The tech is genuinely cool and the mission is real. But "operator" means you are also the maintainer, the mission planner, the battery manager, and the person explaining to the company commander why the drone can't fly in 30-knot winds for the fifth time this week. You'll spend more time on pre-flight checklists and sensor calibration than actual stick time. The civilian drone market is real but oversaturated — defense contractor SUAS jobs pay well though. Also: you are a lateral move MOS, which means you already did something else first, and your old unit will never forgive you for leaving.
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