Gunslinger and other Marines or former Marines.

[Silat]

Originally posted by Slurpee
Silat -

Portland, Oregon huh? Im down here in Redmond near Bend, Central Oregon. Went to portland for MEPS.

Yes Portland. Born and bred. Let me know if you come to town and you can meet the OLD MAN ( That would be me ).

                           

[Curval]

I watched Full Metal Jacket again this weekend.  Are the DIs like R. Lee Ermey?  I could not keep a straight face if I had him yelling at me.  No doubt I would have been choking myself regularly.

[Pongo]

Once that movie came out every NCO in every basic course in the US and Canada became like that. I went through in 83 and they were still reciting it word for word.


Do the oposite of everything everyone said here. The harder you make it on yourself the better soldier you will be for it in the end.
I think I set the world record for making it hard on myself.

[wrag]

Went through SD boot in 1966.

If you get through boot and the DI has trouble remembering your name you did well.  

At least the DI's aren't allowed to hit you now LOL.

Weren't allowed to then but.....

M.P.'s were fairly cool back then.  If you were reasonably cool they knew where you were going and usually looked the other way re drinking under age etc..

Guess things have changed abit since then.

But hear they will still ride certain types pretty hard.

As to the mail thing.  I hated it!  If it had perfume on it you had to do pushup over it, taking a deep breath at the bottom of every rep.

Had to carry the M14.  Up and on shoulders I think they called it.  Geeeze my arms would get tired.

[GreenCloud]

my brother is a marine...


HWen he was in boot camp..my dad got a call from soem collection agency.."Your son Brad has over due charges"..


Well pops..a retired Col in the AF..calls the boot camp..

somthn liek this..he has to use his rank to get the message to his boy quickly

"Hello..Im Col. Keller ..my son owes money to so and so..please let him know"


well his DI gets the message...and gets brad...'WHAT THE HELL DO YOU NOT TELL ME YOUR DAD IS AN 06!!!..thsi goes on for awhiel..the last thing the DI says is...DO YOU LOVE YOUR FATHER!!!!...Brad says..rigth now sir ..I dont know"

[LePaul]

I went thru Air Force boot camp the summer of '88.  I was really disappointed in the training, it was more mental than physical.

The Confidence Course was about 3 levels easier than the playground you might take your kids too.  Just add a big puddle.

The marksmanship stuff...man, we had those terrible .22LR converted M-16s that jammed every round.  My front blade site was wobbling around.  Accurate?  Pfft.  This in the era of RAMBO?  Man...

We had some Air Force cadet kissing the TI's rear end.  One day he didnt have his pass to get into the dorm, threw a really big tantrum as the TI wasnt there to save him.     I'm sure he's an accomplished officer now.

Anyways, enjoy the corp.  Sounds like a great challenge.

[Charon]

Went through OSUT single unit training at Ft. Knox in 1986 for 19D/Cav Scout.

Sleep and food become the focus of your life. You will be able to fall asleep on a concrete slab in a minute if given the opportunity. Of course, you will seldom be given such a wonderful opportunity.

I was about to write something sentimental, but I just remembered the promise I made to myself in the middle of it all -- at no point will you allow yourself to look back on this with sentimentality It is a tough, grinding, exhausting *****, but something that will carry with you all your life afterwards. I can remember the first time I had an honest laugh after getting off that bus in the middle of the night -- it was about 8 weeks later or so.

It will be hard, but worthwhile. You will appreciate that you can do things beyond what you thought possible. My advice (given current world events) would actually be to stand out by excellence. Drive hard, learn your stuff and take it very, very seriously because you will very likely have to use what you have learned for real. You may have to use your training soon after leaving basic, and may not have much of a chance for your active unit to get you up to speed. So, by all means get every ounce of knowledge and skill you can up front, ask questions, help your buddies and receive help in return. Good luck and kick ass.

Charon

[Slurpee]

Thanks for all the help and kind words. Its appreciated.

[Drunky]

Oh yeah, make sure that you 'friends' don't send you a letter with the stamp upside down or calling you "President of the United States Slurpee".  You will push for that.

You had better win at the range (2nd movement or whatever it's called these days) or you will endure the world tour of PT.  Our DI's dumped everyone's footlockers into a big pile and poured water over it.  Then they sent us around to other squad's DI's like red headed step children for them to PT.  The other squad's DI's did the same.

If you arrive early for something.  It's probably planned.  You will either practice marching or will be PT'd.  If you can, find the scribe and he will have the day's events on an index card.  Somewhere it will probably say "planned PT" on it.

If you go to Parris Island then you will learn to hate sand fleas.  I didn't go there but I was told about them.

I went to MCRD in San Diego.  We used to run right next to the ****ing airport...LAX I think it was.  Can't tell you how many times I looked at that fence and a plane taking off and wished sooooo bad.

Funny story, middle of the night during boot camp DI wakes us up for body count.  Right arm up to touch recruit on your right side's shoulder with eyes right.  As you count off arm drops and head forward.  We counted three times.  One recruit was missing.  Next morning early chow (barracks are always open but with someone there...two recruits get sent early to chow and two are sent late, they switch when the platoon is at chow) are returning with a DI and they spot the guy in his underwear trying to sneak back into the barracks.  He wanted to get some clothes and try to sneak into the airport and fly home.  ****ing riot.

Oh yeah, when you are at the range (2nd movement) you will do a ten mile hump that includes the beach (which sucks to march in the sand) and ends with a ****ing big ****ing hill.  I think it was named Mount Mother****er before but I can't remeber what it was called for us though.  It sucks.  It was all hazy and cloudy.  It goes up and levels off.  Then goes up again.   Then levels off again.  Everytime it leveled I thought that was it because I couldn't see far enough with the haze/clouds to see the next incline.

[Gunslinger]

Drunky it's still called Mt. MutherF'er.  There's also the Grim Reaper and First Sgt's Hill.

Mt. MutherF'er is just that.  You keep thinking your at the top every time you turn a corner.  But to your dismay all you see is more hill around the bend.  You just say to your self.....mutherF'er.

You had better win at the range (2nd movement or whatever it's called these days) or you will endure the world tour of PT. Our DI's dumped everyone's footlockers into a big pile and poured water over it. Then they sent us around to other squad's DI's like red headed step children for them to PT. The other squad's DI's did the same.

Ours did much of the same thing but put the guidon right in the middle and re-enacted the Iwo Jima flag raising with it.  These 5 recruits had to sit there for what seemd like hours while all the DI's came to check them out.

Slurpee watch your gear closely.  A DI found my locker unlocked by kicking it (they have this ability even if you lock it to unlock it with the bottom of their shoe.)  He then tossed my crap all over the sqaud bay and they stepped on my tooth paste.

I had cavity fighting crest all over my gear for at least two weeks.

You'll also come to know what a "deck towel"  As there is no mopps in the squad bay the floors are cleaned with a recruit running with his feet while his on his hands on top of a towel.  You even have nascar races with deck towels....ALL DAY LONG.

Ahhh the memories!

[Saurdaukar]

Originally posted by Slurpee
As you may have see in Gunslingers post about moving to Texas. I enlisted with the USMC December17, 2004. I ship July25th for Boot Camp. Any advice any tips about military life, basically ANYTHING you can tell me would be greatly appreciated. Currently rightnow we PT usually 2 days a week. Im not worried about the physical part of bootcamp as much as i am the mental part. I talk with the recruiters quite abit, but they are in fact recruiters and i believe i can gain more knowledge from current Marines or former Marines about the how the USMC really is.

Thanks in advance for all the help guys

1.)  Keep your mouth shut.
2.)  Keep your mouth shut.
3.)  Keep your mouth shut.

Youll love it.

[soda72]

Don't be first and don't be last...

[Gunslinger]

Originally posted by Saurdaukar
1.)  Keep your mouth shut.
2.)  Keep your mouth shut.
3.)  Keep your mouth shut.

Youll love it.

Do everything like it has a purpose and move with speed and intensity.

eventualy you will be able to say "aye aye sir" in 2 or less sylibles.

in addition make sure you have your mom or something post your btn and plt number so all of us can write you

[Drunky]

Originally posted by Gunslinger
Slurpee watch your gear closely.  A DI found my locker unlocked by kicking it (they have this ability even if you lock it to unlock it with the bottom of their shoe.)  He then tossed my crap all over the sqaud bay and they stepped on my tooth paste.
 

Yeah, I had something similar happen.

Another recruit and I were chosen to go help move racks or some **** at another barracks right after chow.  I forgot to lock my footlocker.  Half way there I remembered and ran back.  I found an empty footlocker.

Sgt. Tillington saw me come back and looking at my footlocker.  He knew that I had forgotten it and remembered half way to where I was supposed to be.  Rhetorically he asked me, "Lavender...you missing something?"  I acknowledge, "Yes Sir."  Then I take a step back, reverse, and head back of the barracks and run to do the moving.  Nothing else to do.  I was too old to cry about my ****.  I ****ed up and I knew it.  I would suffer whatever Sgt. Tallington decided I should suffer.

By the end of the day Sgt. Tallington brought over a trash bag with my **** in it.  He barks at me for a bit about unsecured foot lockers and then dumps everyone that I own in a pile in front of me.

He could have done worse but I choose to think that because of the way I reacted (not throwing a hissy fit and acknowledging that I ****ed up) he simply made a pig pile of my belongings and left it at that.

Side note:  Sgt. Tallington was the DI that I respected the most out of six including our Senior.  You could see that he abso-****ing-lutey loved teaching us how to do our ****.  From rolling our sleeves and ironing to marching.  After gradudation I personally thanked him with a handshake and my heartfelt feelings.  Without that man I probably would not be who I am today.

[edit]  I just found my boot camp book.  I might even take it to school and scan in the page with my picture.  Ha, I'm sure not that ****ing skinny anymore, Bud Light be damned.

[Saurdaukar]

Originally posted by Gunslinger

in addition make sure you have your mom or something post your btn and plt number so all of us can write you

UPS package containing cookies and other assorted goodies that the DI's will confiscate to eat... with "Anal Beads" and "Rush Delivery" written on the side.