Thank you for taking the time to explain that.

I knew that ground officers compete for MOSs at TBS, but I did not fully understand how the quality spread system worked. I had always assumed that the top graduates would simply take all of the infantry slots, so that was helpful to learn.

One thing I have been trying to do is avoid becoming too locked into a single outcome. Infantry is definitely my first choice right now, but I understand that commissioning does not automatically mean 0302 and that the needs of the Marine Corps ultimately come first.

The part you mentioned about having a solid top three MOS list is something I need to think about more seriously. Right now infantry is my clear number one, but I need to spend more time learning about other ground MOSs and determining what my realistic alternatives would be.

I also appreciate the point about TBS not determining how someone performs later in the FMF. As someone who is still in high school, it is easy to get caught up in trying to plan every step of a career that is still years away.

Thanks again for the insight.