Dear Robert, 

The Marines stand out for their courage, discipline, and heroic sense of duty. It is a very noble thing to train and prepare yourself to give your life if necessary in the most adverse circumstance for the defense of the life and rights of your family and nation. Naturally, men like that will respect their own. But the Marines and ex-Marines that I know are not narrow-minded, and they recognize and respect manliness, courage and willingness to sacrifice no matter where they see it. Ask one what he thinks of the Pope. 

The fundamental thing here is what kind of a man you are going to be. You cannot be a priest without first being a man, you cannot be a saint without first being a great man, courageous, dedicated, persevering. "Good" is not enough if you want to be a saint. 

There are many ways to achieve this goal. 

I would not doubt for a moment if I were you to put my vocation first. And once you start pursuing it do so with your utmost integrity and dedication. Become a man of prayer, practice self-control and mortification, be serious about your studies, wear your clerical shirt with pride, do works of service, pursue healthy recreation and sports, form good friendships... Look for a seminary that will help you do this. 

No matter what God calls you to do, be it as chaplain to Marines or college students or in an old folks home, you will have nothing to worry about. 

God bless.