I had a real tough time in a summer job when I found out that I'd been hired to write a computer program. Hello!!! Nowhere on my resume did it say "computer programming". I did this job in about 4X the amount of time that someone who was a programmer could do (I had to teach myself the language and how to program, then apply it). I did the job but it purely sucked. I found out halfway through the summer that I was put in the job my (intern) friend had been hired for and vice versa. We both would have been much better utilized, not to mention happier, had we been given the job we were qualified for. I agree that this situation of making an MOS person into a truckdriver (to offset high casualties) is a waste of resources.
Also, when you have a volunteer army, I think there should be some respect given to what people chose when they signed up. Signing up to be in the military does not always mean signing up to be cannon fodder. There are reasons someone might go air force instead of marines - having a lot to do with mortality. Yeah, you don't always get what you expect, but to be trained for a job that isn't in the front lines then given a truck with a target on it and told "good luck" is not really on my list of reasonable expectations. Of course, it's the military and the lack of reasonable expectations in it is why I'm not in the military. At one time, I actually went so far as to get a senate recommendation for admission to the air force academy.
Ok, this is rambling and nearly pointless.
I think I'm going to go to Nate Ficks booksigning now that I'm feeling all riled up and anti-military establishment.