“The LAVs are amphibious in nature just like the Marine Corps.”
“We’re swimming the LAVs so the entry-level students can familiarize themselves with how to drive the vehicle in water and the capabilities of it.”
Operate and maintain Light Armored Vehicles. Provide mobile firepower and reconnaissance support for Marine operations.
ASVAB GT: 90
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.
Light Armored Reconnaissance Marines fight and scout from eight wheeled armored vehicles that range far ahead of the main force. You are a crewman and a scout at once, so a day may mean driving or gunning the vehicle and then dismounting to patrol on foot. Maintenance is constant, since a vehicle that far forward cannot break, and crews perform their own daily services and repairs. Training centers on gunnery, reconnaissance reporting, communications, and operating in small dispersed teams with no support nearby. Field time runs long and the vehicle becomes your home, your weapon, and your reporting station.
You learn armored vehicle crew duties: driving heavy wheeled vehicles across bad terrain, operating turret weapons, and maintaining the platform in the field. Reconnaissance training teaches observation, reporting discipline, route and zone recon, and the judgment to know when to fight and when to slip away. Communications skill is central because a scout who cannot report accurately is worthless, so radio procedure becomes instinctive. You pick up real mechanical knowledge of diesel drivetrains, hydraulics, and weapons systems through daily crew maintenance. Land navigation, calls for fire, and casualty care fill out the rest of the skill set.
Operating far from any help builds self reliance and an unusual tolerance for risk you have measured yourself. You learn to make decisions with a crew depending on you while the picture is still forming. Living out of a vehicle for weeks at a stretch teaches close teamwork and a sense of humor about discomfort. The maintenance burden builds accountability, because neglect shows up as a breakdown at the worst possible moment. You also develop a habit of situational awareness that never fully switches off, in traffic or anywhere else.
This job has no civilian twin, but the hours behind heavy equipment and a wrench are worth real money. Heavy equipment operating, commercial driving, and diesel mechanic apprenticeships credit military experience, and several union programs count service time toward hours. Law enforcement tactical units and state patrol value the reconnaissance and vehicle background, and veterans' preference points help on federal applications. Defense contractors hire former LAR Marines as gunnery instructors, vehicle trainers, and range staff. Oil, gas, mining, and utility field operations also want people used to working remote, rough, and unsupervised.
Published personal accounts with source links. Each describes an individual experience, not a typical assignment or a guarantee of your own experience.
“The LAVs are amphibious in nature just like the Marine Corps.”
“We’re swimming the LAVs so the entry-level students can familiarize themselves with how to drive the vehicle in water and the capabilities of it.”
“One of the big reasons we still use the LAVs is its ability to maneuver across all types of terrain.”
“Being able to take the vehicle into rivers and lakes is a valuable asset to us in LAR, as maneuver warfare is essentially our bread and butter.”
“Even when we’re not out here on the range, we’re preparing to be able to do this.”
“We use computer simulations to help us train and hone our skills even when we’re not in the seat of an LAV.”
Quotes are from U.S. government public-domain news stories (DVIDS, army.mil and other official sources). Individuals and units are named as reported at time of publication.
Your day starts at the LAV ramp running maintenance checks and services on your vehicle with the crew. Much of the day is spent maneuvering the Light Armored Vehicle, operating its weapons and optics, and conducting mounted reconnaissance for the unit. You alternate between crew drills in the field and turning wrenches in the motor pool to keep the vehicle combat-ready.
No suitable exact-MOS or related career-field video has been verified for this page yet. No unrelated video or search-results page is substituted.
$43,902–$74,948
2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.
Possibilities for serving Marines, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.
Earned skill levels: tan, gray, green, brown and black belt. Applies across combat and support specialties.
Belts require documented training, sustainment and performance testing under authorized instructors. Higher belts have additional prerequisites, including applicable grade and professional-education requirements; neither promotion nor elapsed service awards a belt. Confirm the current requirements for the next belt with your instructor.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For Marines 0313 Light Armored Reconnaissance Marine, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.
Examples of higher service ranks
These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.
Official military rank referenceMarine NCO grades are E-4 and E-5; staff NCO grades are E-6 through E-9. At E-8 and E-9, first sergeant/sergeant major and master sergeant/master gunnery sergeant have distinct leadership roles. Warrant and commissioned officers are separate career tracks. This service-wide structure is not a verified promotion ceiling for this MOS.
Marine Corps ranks and career-track distinctionsService-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing
The FY27 regular warrant program requires technical and professional qualifications for the requested warrant MOS and selection. A listed warrant destination does not establish an enlisted feeder match. The February 2026 deadline has passed; this announcement documents a selection route, not a currently open opportunity.
Marine FY27 regular warrant selection announcementSpecialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.
Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.
Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.
Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.
Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.
Operate and maintain Light Armored Vehicles. Provide mobile firepower and reconnaissance support for Marine operations.
Light Armored Reconnaissance Marines fight and scout from eight wheeled armored vehicles that range far ahead of the main force. You are a crewman and a scout at once, so a day may mean driving or gunning the vehicle and then dismounting to patrol on foot. Maintenance is constant, since a vehicle that far forward cannot break, and crews perform their own daily services and repairs. Training centers on gunnery, reconnaissance reporting, communications, and operating in small dispersed teams with no support nearby. Field time runs long and the vehicle becomes your home, your weapon, and your reporting station.
You learn armored vehicle crew duties: driving heavy wheeled vehicles across bad terrain, operating turret weapons, and maintaining the platform in the field. Reconnaissance training teaches observation, reporting discipline, route and zone recon, and the judgment to know when to fight and when to slip away. Communications skill is central because a scout who cannot report accurately is worthless, so radio procedure becomes instinctive. You pick up real mechanical knowledge of diesel drivetrains, hydraulics, and weapons systems through daily crew maintenance. Land navigation, calls for fire, and casualty care fill out the rest of the skill set.
This job has no civilian twin, but the hours behind heavy equipment and a wrench are worth real money. Heavy equipment operating, commercial driving, and diesel mechanic apprenticeships credit military experience, and several union programs count service time toward hours. Law enforcement tactical units and state patrol value the reconnaissance and vehicle background, and veterans' preference points help on federal applications. Defense contractors hire former LAR Marines as gunnery instructors, vehicle trainers, and range staff. Oil, gas, mining, and utility field operations also want people used to working remote, rough, and unsupervised.
ASVAB GT: 90. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.
This specialty can be pursued through an initial enlistment, subject to eligibility and available contracts. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.
Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
NAVMC 1200.1L, FY26 Military Occupational Specialties Manual (effective October 1, 2025), chapter 1 · reviewed 2026-09-26
Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.
Deployment likelihood: Higher*
* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.
Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.
Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.