Chesty Puller said it best: "I'd rather be a private in the Marine Corps than a general in any army in the world!"

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ar...15cab7ab&ei=69

Update in post #41. Captain to PFC.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

This will rise the hackles: I have two (2) brothers in the Marine Corps; only two fools my mother raised.

Mind you; they don't talk to that dang idiot what spent twenty (20) years in the Coast Guard.

We've been teasing each other like this since 16 May 1969. They started it.

Semper Fi Doggie LOL

Doggie? I thought that was Coastie. Oh well, same thing,.

My father was and my son is in the Air Force. I guess the hands in the pockets thing skipped a generation. Sorry Dad, sorry Son. I could not help myself.

My Dad used to say of course we need the Marine Corp.

Someone has to guard the Navy's ammunition.

Back in my day we refereed to soldiers as Doggies. Come from the term Dog face

Not to be confused with Devil Dogs or Jar Heads.

You mean to tell me there are other armed services besides the Marines, huh, who knew...

Semper Fi.

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Smith & Wesson Novice

Why is the dachshund the state dog of Texas?


Because all the cowboys sing "Get ALong Little Doggie."

Don't forget to tip your waitresses.

Interesting. The Marines recruit officer candidates separately from the regular recruiters. I'd have expected if he'd found one of them, they'd have placed him into an OCS slot.

Have to wonder if the recruiter is snickering at how he suckered the Army officer. Or maybe he needed to make quota.

The way I read the article, he wanted to go enlisted first for the challenge.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

My dad was a Marine, so naturally we had lots of fun discussions.

One of my favorite things he said to me was, "Did you know that the security force on an aircraft carrier is made up of the Marine Corps? The Navy can't even guard their own ships!"

I wonder what rank he will have after graduation. E-3? E-4? Certainly being a prior service O-3 counts for something.

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Only a cold warrior

If he was the Honor Man in his Platoon, he would be a PFC on graduation. If not he will be in the regular promotion cycle. Yes, the prior service will help a bit. His best bet is once he gets to the Fleet, then try for a commission as a WO, then go the LDO route. Or at least that is how it use to be. Nowadays it is possibly different.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

When I was in basic, two Marines were E-3 (Lance Corporals) out of boot camp. We had a lot of contract PFCs (E-2).

Chances are he'll be a squad leader or a guide in basic and leave as an E-3 and will pick up rank fairly quickly due to his experience. I expect he'll be at least an E-4 Corporal within a year and a half.

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The Last Standing Knight

I was a contract E-2 based on the number of college credits I had when I enlisted, so I guess being a prior service Army officer should get at least that much. My recruit platoon had a prior service Army NCO among the recruits, he was our platoon guide by the end of first phase. He was a contract E-2, and got a well deserved meritorious promotion to E-3 at graduation. My platoon also had a CPA who enlisted because he decided he hated paperwork. He was made our platoon scribe.

I think over half our platoon were contract E-2’s, between the college student reservists like me and the special cases like the NCO, the CPA and a few others who selected hard to fill MOS’s.

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Wheel guns are real guns.

Last I had heard they had stopped the Contract promotions. I know the Corps and the Navy had stopped them as it was screwing up the normal promotion process.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I don't know about these, but my son enlisted in the Florida National Guard and because had an MBA, he went thru basic as an E4. Of course he took a little grief from the DIs over it. They nicknamed him "Dictionary" and made him introduce a new word to the platoon on a regular basis.

He tells me about being on the firing range with the Beretta, and it was hitting to the left. He asked the sergeant if he could adjust the sights, and the sergeant said, "Just shoot that pistol soldier." So son adjusted his point of aim. Then someone from the pit looked at his target and yelled back to the sergeant, " We got someone doing surgery over here!" Son is a good shot.

He enlisted instead of OCS because the loan repayment for enlisted was better that for officer candidates. He is still in the guard, he's an E6. Did two tours, one in East Africa and the other as a door gunner on a Chinook in Iraq.

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

The Corps and the Navy had stopped the Contract E-4 Program before I retired. The non contract folks had no real respect for them as NCO as they had no knowledge or experience to go behind their rank. We called them "Contract Cpls." and the Navy called the "Push Button Petty Officers". neither term was meant as respectfully.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I would have encouraged OCS if my son had an MBA...That's wasted talent being enlisted from the bottom. I would do enlisted for a while and then immediately went OCS...

He would have breezed through it and at the end of the day, his retirement $ would be far better.

I think he will get PFC automatic. Plus, wouldn't his time in service count towards his cutting score for more promotions.

Apparently didn’t score high enough on the ASVAB to get in the Air Force.

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213th FBINA

I thought they used the ASVAB to get into the MILITARY!

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Have any of you Marines heard of a place called Camp Stuart Mesa? Its where I learned to shoot an M-16, and also where I earned my Expert Rifleman Medel.

When I was stationed in Alexandria, VA I would drive down to the Q on select weekends and shoot at the range. One day I had taken my Peruvian Mauser down to shoot. There was a corporal working with the range master, and he didn't laugh but there was some serious grin on his face. The sergeant in charge was not even smiling. Back then if you brought a civilian rifle on base it had to be inspected at the range by one of the duty range personal. I was thinking the sergeant had seen one before. The Corporal was not smiling when I returned to the range shack with a group that could be covered by a regulation glass coffee cup.

100 yds, open sights and standard 7.65 X 53 ball ammo. That was a bit big, but they were all in the black. That would have been 1980 to 1983. I was transferred to Rhode Island in June of 83.

After that he didn't smile when I brought my M-1 down to shoot, or any of my other rifles.

During WWII, my Dad was in the navy in the south Pacific. His brother-in-law was with the 4th marine division. I heard this banter for 30 years. Dad's ship had UDT teams on board so he always told Uncle Joe that the navy was on the beach first. Uncle Joe was in some ugly places, Tinian, SaiPan, Roi Namur and Iwo Jima . He was wounded on Iwo,and dad's ship was ferrying wounded ..they just missed each other. Dad's ship took a kamikaze thru the bow a bit later and barely made it to port.

Miss them both. Would have loved to hear what they would have had to say about my son joining the army . And my son would have loved to hear more about their experience after his deployments.

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

"He entered the service as a transportation corps officer and left as a logistician." No wonder he didn't feel fulfilled.

He gave up officer pay for enlisted pay? So, he's a trust fund kid, or what? Who does that, really?

Something just seems off about this. Since when does the military care how fulfilled you feel?

Not everyone has a pile of debt to pay off, or a wife that spends it faster than you can make.

My two sons found out the big difference in Marine and Army enlisted pay: The Army son got a uniform voucher every year, the Marine son paid for his uniforms from his slim pay!

Ivan

I went through BCT as an E-4, the result of 4 years of HS ROTC and 3 semesters of military science in college. And yes, I caught grief for it, almost daily.

One time I was passing through the area of another company, and the First Shirt saw me and wondered why a recruit would be wearing Spec 4 insignia. He made me take them off. I complied, and as I entered my company area my DS told me that I was out of uniform. I pinned them back on, and told him what had happened.

I guess there was some bad blood between the two companies, because 30 minutes later I was called to the CO's office. Standing there with my CO, 1st Sgt, and DS was the 1st Sgt from the other company and his CO. He was then forced to apologize to me for not recognizing my rank ( ). Trust me when I say that I never went anywhere near that other company my remaining time at Ft. Dix.

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Only a cold warrior

I never hear of a Marine wearing rank in boot camp. We had 8 guys including the company honor man make PFC, they never got the stripe until graduation day

The real reason the captain joined the Marine Corps is for the lady killer dress blues

I guess it was because you are a Boot until you graduate and then the DI calls you a Marine.
Made my day.

You are right about the Blues, my GF, then wife, loved to see me in mine.

The pic says it all...

Attached Images

markup_1000024522.jpg (49.9 KB, 49 views)

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Smith & Wesson Novice

Back during the SE Asia conflict I was trying to decide which branch of the service to join. The Airforce had a waiting list, the Army offered me OCS but I didn't like the lifespan of a 2nd Lieutenant. The Marine Corps recruiter made boot camp sound like a health club: "They have specialists who will build up every muscle in your body". I picked the Navy. FWIW: We all came out of boot camp as E2's and most were E3's in a few months. I was E5 after 3 yrs.

Came from a Air Force family.
When I enlisted in '74 some of my friends went Air Force and some went Marines.
We all gave each other grief about our choices.
Just went with the territory.
But in the end we were all Brothers.
Always thought that the Marines stood for My *** Rides In Navy Equipment Sir.

The thing about this is really boils down to the nuts and bolts of his time in training and beyond really...As an Army Captain, more will be required of him beyond a regular recruit and at some point when he acclimates well, it will help him.

It reminds me of a story a friend told about a quiet guy that joined the army around 1980. He was prior service Vietnam, but that was common among E8's and officers at the time that had stayed in.

When he graduated at Fort Benning, he pinned his prior service rack on his uniform and had four rows of ribbons with two bronze stars, (one with "V"), two Vietnam tours, one ARCOM, one Legion of Merit and a host of other decorations. The other recruits' jaws dropped and the DI's were amazed as well that he kept his mouth shut the whole time.

His reasoning was that peacetime DI's might be a little threatened by him during his most vulnerable point...Getting through initial training without being singled out as "you aughta know better.." I thought the story was funny.

carefully going through the article, i gets the feeling that he was pretty much about to get the boot out of the army. And hence went for the marines.

All the officers i have heard of who swapped branches, always STAYED officers if they had the ability to advance in rank again in their original branch of service.

The best company drill sergeant i had in benning in 2008 was a DI with 4 years of DI work, starting immediately after he left the marines after 20 years.

He made captain in 4 years, so I doubt he was fixing to get the boot.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I am not sure how they do it now and how it is done in the Army. But in the Corps all officers start out as Reserves. About the time they have been selected as an O-3, the Augmentation List comes out. Some are selected as Regulars and some stay as Reservist's.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Back in the '70s, the Navy/Marine ROTC midshipmen were either on scholarship or on contract. Those on scholarship received Regular commissions and the contract middies received Reserve commissions.

I think that changed in the '90s, but I'm not sure. Also, back then, ANY college major that led to a BA or BS degree was acceptable. One of my Navy buddies was a music major, who graduated and then went to flight school.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

The former Army captain is now a Marine PFC:

How a former Army captain fared at Marine boot camp

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I thank God that we have men/leaders like him.

That is an impressive guy.

My son decided to join the Marines between his Jr-Senior college year. I told him if he didn't finish college--on my nickel--there would be one dead Marine. He knew I was serious. He did his time as an enlisted Marine but, after graduation, switched to a Navy officer. Said once through Marine boot camp was enough. Retired as a Lt Cmdr (USN Reserve).

Back in the '70s, I knew a number of enlisted Marines who earned their commissions. All of them said that boot camp mostly just broke them mentally and rebuilt them as Marines and that OCS was a lot more physical.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I have a friend that's a Retired Navy Commander (Reserve) That started in Camp Pendelton at a boot.
First enlistment he was a Crypto Ratio operator in an intelligence platoon in Vietnam (left 'Nam in 67). Took his GI Bill and got an Engineering degree, Went OCS and became a Marine Officer in the 5th Marines. After he got his second engineering degree, switched to Navy and climbed up to full Commander with 13 deployments ending in 2018.

While on his last deployment (Bagdad) a Marine Captain took offence at my friends wearing an 8-point cover, and "Respectfully Reminded" him those were reserved for Marine use. The response was to the effect of. "I was a Lance Corporal in Nam before your dad ever (had relations with) your mom!"!

I have several friends and family that served in war and in peace as Marines. The truest statement ever is: Once a Marine, always a Marine!

Ivan

The Navy wears the same Cammie/Utility Cover as the Marines. Just without the emblem.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I did the opposite I was a SSGT E-6 in the Marine Corps. I wound up in a job I hated, and it looked that I'd be doing that for the rest of my 20. I got out with 9 years in.

I finished my 20 as an Army Warrant Officer.

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Paul
Salome, AZ

A friend of mine rose to the rank of major in the Corps. He resigned his commission to become an active duty Army National Guard warrant officer.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Why..........?

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I think it boiled down to that he wanted to stay home in his small Alabama town.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!