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Plans, installs, operates, and maintains tactical communication systems. Leads communication Marines and manages the communication networks that enable command and control.
“Communications Officers lead the Marines who build and maintain the tactical networks that connect the entire Marine Corps in combat. You'll master satellite communications, cybersecurity, and network operations, developing IT leadership skills that make you a top recruit for Silicon Valley and defense technology firms.”
You are a Communications Officer in the Marine Corps, which means you're personally responsible for every radio, satellite system, and network connection in the battalion, and personally blamed when any of them stops working, which is constantly. Your 'tactical communication systems' include radios from three different decades, satellite terminals that require alignment that borders on astrology, and a help desk that is you, forever. You'll attend meetings about connectivity while your Marines actually fix the connectivity, and your OER depends on networks that depend on weather, terrain, and the good graces of whatever satellite happens to be overhead. But when comms work and the whole battalion can talk, you're the reason. When they don't, you're the reason for that too.
MOS Intel
- 1Stay current on emerging communications technology — the Marine Corps is modernizing its networks rapidly and your value is in bridging old and new systems.
- 2Build relationships with the commercial telecom industry. Your military communications experience translates directly.
- 3Document every system you manage and every network you build. Civilian IT employers need to see specifics, not just "managed communications."
The 0602 Communications Officer (Warrant) is the Marine Corps' technical expert in communications systems. You don't get recruited into this MOS — you earn it after years as an enlisted communicator. The reality: you are the person who makes comms work when nothing else can. Commanders depend on you in ways they don't fully appreciate until the radios go down. The warrant officer lifestyle is the Marine Corps' best-kept secret: you have technical authority without the command burden, and your expertise is always in demand. Post-military, the telecommunications and IT industries actively recruit former military communications professionals. The TS clearance and network engineering experience are highly marketable. The downside: WO promotions are slow and billets are limited.
What this actually is in the real world
Your skills translate. Here's what civilian employers call this job — and what they pay.
Computer and Information Systems Managers
Strong matchManagers
Strong matchNetwork and Computer Systems Administrators
Related fieldComputer Systems Analysts
Related fieldSalary data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, retrieved Feb 2026. BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.
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