|
Uroboros posted:Oh cool, Marine thread is back up, still with Reserves, not XO, going to 29 Palms for ITX this summer, not thrilled. Reserve officer? any chance I could get in contact with you to pick your brain about that life? e-mail or w/e
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2016 20:00
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 8, 2024 02:24 |
|
|
Yeah, RO, I could fill up a thread. Ask here or try me at armorofcontempt1985@gmail.com if you want to talk in person later we can try that, but lets get the initial stuff done here because talking about the reserves makes me launch into rant mode and you surely have better things to do with your day.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2016 20:56
|
|
|
Uroboros posted:Yeah, RO, I could fill up a thread. Ask here or try me at armorofcontempt1985@gmail.com if you want to talk in person later we can try that, but lets get the initial stuff done here because talking about the reserves makes me launch into rant mode and you surely have better things to do with your day. Where exactly do you all vanish to during the day, and what are you doing that a gunny couldn't do?
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2016 22:22
|
|
|
Uroboros posted:Yeah, RO, I could fill up a thread. Ask here or try me at armorofcontempt1985@gmail.com if you want to talk in person later we can try that, but lets get the initial stuff done here because talking about the reserves makes me launch into rant mode and you surely have better things to do with your day. I'd actually like to hear about this too. I'm thinking of switching from E to O and staying in the reserves. I see it as a lat move opportunity and a chance to change to a better unit, but my gut tells me that I'm an idiot and that no such thing exists. DaNerd fucked around with this message at 23:08 on Mar 3, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2016 22:54
|
|
|
I sent an e-mail, I'll post it to this thread when I get the info back. It's pretty specific but could answer some of the questions.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2016 23:02
|
|
|
The New York Daily News posted:Wannabe Marine discharged for his ugly role in Donald Trump rally in Louisville, where police are investigating assault complaints  Dude in DEP does white supremacy poo poo at a
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2016 00:50
|
|
|
Uroboros posted:Oh cool, Marine thread is back up, still with Reserves, not XO, going to 29 Palms for ITX this summer, not thrilled. If you need read ahead stuff or want contacts for ITX let me know. I am in Japan now but I still know lots of coyotes and can probably link you up with whomever you need to talk to.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2016 03:11
|
|
|
Yarville posted:Where exactly do you all vanish to during the day, and what are you doing that a gunny couldn't do? I usually try to spend my weekend productively, but yeah I've noticed everyone loves to hide during drill. Officers, they end up in the same place as enlisted, some office, bullshitting. I'd say on active a Gunny should be able to handle anything an Officer can but in the Reserves it is such a crap shoot of the quality of the Marine. I've got Sgts who out perform Gunnys and 1stSgt that makes any I've met on active look like a useless boob. Then I have a legion of people who gently caress off and do nothing... DaNerd posted:I'd actually like to hear about this too. I'm thinking of switching from E to O and staying in the reserves. I see it as a lat move opportunity and a chance to change to a better unit, but my gut tells me that I'm an idiot and that no such thing exists. I sent a big wall of text to the other guy, hopefully that will answer a few questions. TheArmorOfContempt fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Mar 4, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2016 21:11
|
|
|
Anything in bold is my writing, the rest is Uroboros response. Lets preface this whole thing that I have had 4 years active, and now 4 years in the reserves. I have spent the entire reserve period at a Headquarters and Service Company for an Infantry Battalion, and 3 years of that time as the XO. I am now the Motor-T Officer, because frankly I was sick of the XO spot and it showed in my rather lovely attitude, and because the Bn XO is trying to move people out of the unit that have overstayed their welcome. So keep in mind this all comes from a rather jaded perspective, and only one slice of the reserves, maybe there is some magical perfectly run reserve unit that is the opposite of all this. -I guess first things first: what are the big negative factors associated with being a reserve officer that really stick out, which would be important for some guy to know before going in. *Experience - Being prior you have a bit of a leg up, but frankly if this isn't prior SNCO experience you're in trouble. The years on active as a 2ndLt can be a pretty brutal but important learning experience, and not having that can suck quite a bit. You really won't have a clue what is going on, and depending on your unit you are still expected to complete all the annual training BS that active units are required. *Unpaid Work - Our unit expects atleast 16 hours(or two full work days) of time to invested by their staff between drills, whether it is addressing issues by e-mail, being on conference calls, or whatever else. I've long stopped doing this, but as a 2ndLt you might feel significant pressure from whoever your boss is to make times that conflict with your work and family life. -Time commitment, I work full time in the healthcare field, I never had a problem with the army's time commitment, as we were pretty set by the schedule ofSaturday/Sunday drills once a month with the occasional Fri-Sun drill here and there, plus of course 14-20 days in the summer or thereabouts. I have a friend who is an army reserve officer, and reports that it's been incredibly difficult for him to hold down a full time job, as he at his unit doing poo poo 2-3 days every other week leading up to drill, and it doesn't seem like there's any way around it. Is it a common trend or something that's not unheard of? *This hits on the previous point. Depends on your unit, and how involved the active duty staff is, but in my case they couldn't give two shits about what we do on drill or how successful we are until its at the last minute, and how not involved they have been threatens to make them look like the incompetent mooks they are. Basically, our Bn CO and XO constantly harp on us for being a bunch of lazy fucks who don't put in enough time between drills to get things going, which of course does wonders for morale. Honestly, you don't have to do anything extra if you don't want to, legally they can't make you work in between drills if they aren't paying you, so all their threats can really amount to is poor evals and hot air. If you aren't concerned with receiving awards and getting "command" at some point then go right ahead and don't worry about this. -What are the chances of a 29 year old actually making it all the way through TBS without being broken as gently caress. I'm in good health, good PFT score and fit in general, no real joint/bone/muscular injuries and the worst thing that has happened was a separated shoulder 8 years ago playing Rugby, which has healed. *I don't know what constitutes a good PFT in the Guard, but I will say a certain amount of youth can really help. I am in better shape now than I was when I went through OCS/TBS and I would hesitate to try them both at 31. First off, OCS is way harder on the body than TBS. TBS is longer and has it's fair share of rough physical tests like the Endurance Course, but OCS was much rougher, and has a much higher attrition rate. I don't know what your MOS is, or what terms you might be able to work out in terms of keeping it, but we had plenty of enlisted guys who received officer MOSes completely different than what they had done before. If you end up getting infantry, the Infantry Officer School breaks people left and right. At 29 I'd suggest ensuring you have a high Marine Corps PFT (275), I would go the extra mile in ensuring you can run 8-9 miles at a decent pace since running and crossfit style functional fitness is a regular, and practicing hiking in full pack couldn't hurt. I can't remember if the final hike was 15 or 20 miles at OCS. Anyway, keep in mind I was 22, and I was pretty much a skinny wimp goon who got it in his head that he would join the Marines, PT'd my rear end off to get the first class minimum, and went on nearly 4-5 hours of sleep the entire loving time eating at every chow time like a starving animal. I twisted my ankle at least once, and thought I was going to get booted the entire time, in fact over 50% of a 50 person platoon dropped or were kicked out. This isn't the standard, in fact the standard is set by the Company Commander, who ultimately decides who gets kicked out and who stays. Ours was not very forgiving, so every Platoon lost a lot. Our sister Company however had hardly anyone dropped. This was 2008, and thus during the war, so with manpower requirements being what they are I would assume you can fully expect high attrition rates, and little tolerance for any failure to meet standards. -How do billets work with reserve officers. I have the choice of either selecting an MOS or a city/location, to which they stated a "100% certain" placement in a marine unit within 300 miles. I had plans on moving up to Washington, where I know they have at least 3-4 units within that 300 mile bubble. Is this some recruiter magic or do they honor the whole "drill where you live" ordeal? *I would have to answer in the typical, "if it isn't on paper" then don't trust it. In the reserves you have several classifications to understand. First off: IRR(individual ready reserve), SMCR(select marine corps reserve), Active Reserves, and I&I(inspector instructors). SMCR dudes make up a vast majority of everyone you meet in the reserves. These can either be individuals who have spent their whole careers in the reserves, or like myself signed up after their active duty time ended. These an be further separated into "Obligated" and "Non-obligated", basically obligated guys are people that have to show up to drill, and non-obligated guys associate with their unit voluntarily, and can basically leave whenever they desire as long as they check-in and check-out appropriately. Most SMCR Marines are obligated, and as a Reserve Officer who just joined up this is the category you are likely to fall in for likely 8 years(I assume this can change). If your contract doesn't state that you must drill within 300 miles of your home location, then you can pretty much be sent anywhere. The Marine Corps will pay for your travel, but we have more than a few Officers who fly all the way to St.Louis from Colorado and some from the East Coast. The Marine Corps will try to get you somewhere close to your home, but if there isn't a billet opening don't be surprised if they send quite a ways away to fulfill your obligations. Maybe your recruiter has some special magic, but I'd definitely pry into this claim more thoroughly, because it sounds like bullshit to me. -Even with the draw down in Iraq and Afghanistan, what's a usual deployment tempo for reserve units, or at least for officers in humanitarian/activation to fill billets for active duty units? *4 years now and not a single deployment. There plenty of deployment opportunities you can however take advantage of, which I am sure you are familiar with in the Guard. There is always a spot somewhere that needs an officer or SNCO that meets their billeting requirements.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2016 21:34
|
|
|
Follow up: Last question. I'm thinking about a massive EGA on my pubic area with the eagle nose being my cock, you think I should wait before or after TBS? Before, definitely, in fact. Maybe have something like "Death before Dishonor" engraved in the anchor. Maybe some titties on the eagle, no reason be generic.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2016 23:00
|
|
|
That answers most of my questions, thank you.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2016 20:01
|
|
|
overdesigned posted:
lol He would've been a perfect fit, kinda dumb to ditch him because he's a little racist imo
|
|
#
?
Mar 8, 2016 16:03
|
|
|
I'd say there is an alarming number of white supremacists in the military, but these days I assume a majority of white men I meet are bigots with views that'd make George Wallace proud. Hell, the entire officer staff at our unit is white and staunchly conservative(shocking, I know). Our CO proceeded to launch into a rant during a staff meeting about how Hillary is going to destroy the Corps. Every CO I've had in the Reserves so far has been frightenly incompetent or idiotic. We had one show up with his fiancé, who couldn't of been much older than 21, for his change of command. He was of course in his 40s, and she had to have been one of the most air headed individuals I've ever met.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 06:24
|
|
|
Uroboros posted:I'd say there is an alarming number of white supremacists in the military, but these days I assume a majority of white men I meet are bigots with views that'd make George Wallace proud. Hell, the entire officer staff at our unit is white and staunchly conservative(shocking, I know). Our CO proceeded to launch into a rant during a staff meeting about how Hillary is going to destroy the Corps. Every CO I've had in the Reserves so far has been frightenly incompetent or idiotic. We had one show up with his fiancé, who couldn't of been much older than 21, for his change of command. He was of course in his 40s, and she had to have been one of the most air headed individuals I've ever met. The supreme race is whatever color your senior lance corporal is good to go?
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 06:44
|
|
|
I used to call my puerto rican friend mexican when he pissed me off.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 08:02
|
|
|
Bolow posted:I used to call my puerto rican friend mexican when he pissed me off. Island Mexicans is the proper term. I don't know if it's more funny when Puerto Ricans get upset at being called Mexicans or when Mexicans get upset that Puerto Ricans get upset at being called Mexicans.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 08:18
|
|
|
We had an Asian dude in Pensacola who liked to wear a mini sombrero and scream "LETS GO TO TACO BELL ESAY!" So triggering, so very, very triggering
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 13:59
|
|
|
"I mean you guys are just island Mexicans anyways right?"
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 17:20
|
|
|
theres only light and dark green marines, rah?
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 19:18
|
|
|
Even more perplexing is the high number of anti-government types that infest the military, had a Maj at a planning meeting go on about the Oregon standoff and proclaim his support for Trump because he will "tear it all down".
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 19:36
|
|
|
I can't recall a single instance where any one gave a poo poo about race, religion or politics the entire time I was in. With the one exception of the crazy rear end evangelical dude in our shop who I'm pretty sure is a serial killer. Our SgtMaj did come around our work center after Obama won the election and went on some tirade saying "If any of you dumb motherfuckers say anything like "I'm not going to follow the presidents orders" or "He's not my president" I'll get your rear end tossed out of the goddamn corps inside the week". Apparently that was a thing people got upset about and needed addressing 
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 20:52
|
|
|
On active, yeah, in the reserves I've noticed it more because a reserve unit draws for local population, so all the lovely predujice that is inherent in a community or area comes with. I can only imagine certain guard units.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 21:17
|
|
|
Bolow posted:I can't recall a single instance where any one gave a poo poo about race, religion or politics the entire time I was in. With the one exception of the crazy rear end evangelical dude in our shop who I'm pretty sure is a serial killer. Our SgtMaj did come around our work center after Obama won the election and went on some tirade saying "If any of you dumb motherfuckers say anything like "I'm not going to follow the presidents orders" or "He's not my president" I'll get your rear end tossed out of the goddamn corps inside the week". Apparently that was a thing people got upset about and needed addressing Haha, yeah, I remember our XO telling three fuckup Lance's the same thing the day after the inauguration, (which those three referred two as the "In****eration, as they were very clever). I was so happy to be getting out, not because of the president or the regular buttfuckery that is the Marines,, but because of some of the retarded poo poo I kept hearing morons spout about the future of America
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 21:25
|
|
|
If there's anyone that hates Obama more it's Marines and they're pretty vocal about it unsurprisingly 9/10 of them support trump
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 21:42
|
|
Uroboros posted:On active, yeah, in the reserves I've noticed it more because a reserve unit draws for local population, so all the lovely predujice that is inherent in a community or area comes with. I can only imagine certain guard units. reserve infantry is at least 30% cops so the prejudice is probably warranted. the first xo at my unit was a prior-enlisted whatever anglico officer and the oldest captain in the marine corps at one point. he was pretty cool. but other than the captain platoon leaders in it for one last deployment, any careerist reserve office is generally terrible.
|
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 21:54
|
|
|
MassivelyBuckNegro posted:reserve infantry is at least 30% cops so the prejudice is probably warranted. Good point, this is true, we are full of cops, and honestly they run the spectrum. You think the cop Marines would be more disciplined but some of our biggest gently caress ups are cops, while some of our best are. It blows my mind sometimes that the guy from Home Depot is in better shape and more professional than a law enforcement officer. Most of our Officers are prior active/enlisted, they are a good bunch, in that they don't make things worse than they already are. The few Lts we have are pretty grounded and understand they don't know poo poo and act appropriately humble.
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 22:49
|
|
Uroboros posted:It blows my mind sometimes that the guy from Home Depot is in better shape and more professional than a law enforcement officer. why? 'hurr durr im a cop and physical fitness tests are probably contrary to my collective bargaining agreement. i sit in a car all day and write tickets.'
|
|
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2016 23:08
|
|
|
If you have even rudimentary awareness of current events and don't think most cops are human trash I don't know what to tell you.
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2016 02:06
|
|
|
Can we not go down that rabbit hole jfc
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2016 02:19
|
|
Nostalgia4Dicks posted:Can we not go down that rabbit hole jfc this isn't the cop thread. gfy doc
|
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2016 03:26
|
|
|
OCS contract sent/completed, PFT of 293 and I find out the end of March if I go to Noble School.
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2016 03:36
|
|
|
MurderBot posted:OCS contract sent/completed, PFT of 293 and I find out the end of March if I go to Noble School. Nice, I heard summer is easier but I suppose that is entirely based on what you are used to. I went in winter which with multiple encounters with freezing water sucked rear end but I handled it better than people who have never seen snow. I have no doubt I'd have done worse in summer simply due to not bring in the greatest shape, winter air does wonders cooling you off when you are falling out of a hump. The summer will trivialize a lot of the water based team building and obstacle stuff, it is amazing how your ability to reason flees your brain when you jump in ice water and have no method of warming. TheArmorOfContempt fucked around with this message at 15:24 on Mar 11, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2016 05:37
|
|
|
I broke out my old cammies a few weeks ago. I couldn't button the top two buttons. Oh and now I'm dead. RIP.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 11:04
|
|
|
Victor Vermis posted:I broke out my old cammies a few weeks ago. I couldn't button the top two buttons. Someone got an AK in a pistol round,
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 11:08
|
|
|
Regarding the USMC and racial issues:
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 11:16
|
|
|
If that is a real quote, then that is loving hilarious.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 23:40
|
|
|
Uroboros posted:If that is a real quote, then that is loving hilarious. Oh it's real. https://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/marine-corps-quotes Under Moving into SE Asia
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 02:11
|
|
|
There's a lot of good ones in there We make generals today on the basis of their ability to write a damned letter. Those kinds of men can’t get us ready for war. —LtGen Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller - Paperwork will ruin any military force. —LtGen Lewis B. ”Chesty” Puller: “Marine,” 1962 They say “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” In the Marine Corps, you can make that horse wish to hell he had. —Sgt Fred Larson, drill instructor, Plt 343, San Diego, 1965 - See more at: https://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/marine-corps-quotes#quote10 Today I saw a Marine guard on a bridge. He had taken the plates out of his flak jacket to make it lighter. He had a Playboy magazine in one pocket and a bottle of ketchup in the other pocket. This man was saying to the world, “My leaders are fools, and that’s why I’m dressed like this.” —LtCol William Drumright, RVN, 1969 Shoot low. Push the muzzle down. You can see where the first shot hits. You can get him with a ricochet. —LCpl Campbell, RVN, 1970, on quick-kill marksmanship. I had always enjoyed the title of Commander-in-Chief until I was informed … that the only forces that cannot be transferred from Washington without my express permission are the members of the Marine Corps Band. Those are the only forces I have. I want it announced that we propose to hold the White House against all odds at least for some time to come. —President John F. Kennedy, 12 July 1962 during a visit to Marine Barracks, to determine whether President Thomas Jefferson’s desire that a barracks be established “within easy marching distance of Washington” had been properly carried out
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 02:26
|
|
|
Yut, Rah, Kill, Chesty Puller, 15% APR Camaro
|
|
#
?
Mar 27, 2016 03:36
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 8, 2024 02:24 |
|
|
katt williams graduated bootcamp when he was 16
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2016 02:22
|
|