Is 0341 (Mortarman) a Good MOS?
United States Marine Corps · Military Occupational Specialty
Quick Facts — 0341 (Mortarman)
AIT / Training
8 weeks
Training Location
SOI, Camp Geiger, NC / Camp Pendleton, CA
Career Field
Ground Combat
Verdict: Not enough data
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Score Breakdown
About 0341 Mortarman
Operates 60mm and 81mm mortars in indirect fire support missions. Provides organic fires capability to Marine rifle units at the platoon and company level.
8 weeks
SOI, Camp Geiger, NC / Camp Pendleton, CA
Ground Combat
Recruiter vs. Reality
What the Recruiter Says
Operate one of the most powerful indirect fire weapons in the Marine Corps infantry arsenal. Mortarmen provide close fire support for Marines in contact, working directly with forward observers to deliver precision fires when ground units need it most.
What It's Actually Like
You signed up to drop rounds on the enemy and what you will actually spend most of your time doing is baseplate math and ammunition resupply and carrying a weapon system that comes apart into pieces that each weigh more than your will to live. The M252 81mm mortar system plus a basic combat load of rounds is the kind of weight that makes chiropractors genuinely excited to meet you at your EAS appointment. Mortar platoons in the Marine Corps are perpetually underutilized and perpetually over-employed in the motor pool. The close fire support mission is real and when it works — when your rounds are on target and the radio crackles with "good effect" — it is deeply satisfying. Getting there requires mastering mathematics, communication procedures, and crew drills to a standard that leaves no margin for error. The accuracy requirement isn't academic. Grunts are standing fifty meters from where those rounds need to land.