Communications Chief

“You've built a career in Marine Corps communications and now you run the entire communications operation for a command — managing systems, personnel, planning, and the endless challenge of keeping Marines connected in environments where communications are never reliable enough. The communications officer depends on you. The commander depends on you. And when something doesn't work, everyone's looking at you.”

You are the person who gets called at 0200 when communications go down, and it is always your fault until you prove otherwise. You've been doing this long enough to know which systems will fail first in cold weather and which ones will surprise you in ways that shouldn't be possible. Managing communications Marines is a specific leadership challenge — the community ranges from highly technical experts to people who couldn't pass a CCNA if they had the book in front of them. The post-military career is strong for senior communications Marines who have built a portfolio of technical certifications alongside the operational experience: IT management, government communications program management, and defense contractor positions in communications sustainment are all realistic and well-compensated.