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Beltayn
11-06-10, 06:04 PM
Just thought I'd share a little update, seeing as I dropped off the radar for a while.
Nearing graduation from Marine Security Guard school at Quantico on the 19th with class 1-11. Made it passed the board and getting OC sprayed successfully, and will be graduating 6th or 7th in my class of 66. It's all downhill from here.
Got post assignments on Friday. As of now it looks like I'll be going to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

TunTvrnWarrior
11-06-10, 06:16 PM
Congrats!

thezero
11-06-10, 09:25 PM
How is the school, I have been looking into MSG but trying to find a lot of good info is hard...that or I am just not looking in the right places haha

Beltayn
11-07-10, 10:22 AM
The school is challenging, and there's a pretty hefty attrition rate. My class will be graduating 66 watch-standers, down from a starting strength of just over 100. Don't let that scare you though, as there's nothing that should cause a well-rounded Marine too much issue. As long as you run a solid first class PFT and CFT, know your marksmanship fundamentals, and don't sleep through all the classes, you should be alright.
The only thing that's really out of your control is the final evaluation board, which in the case of my class dropped about 10% of the Marines who made it that far. I can give you more details about the board in a PM if you'd like, but it's basically just the department head and advisors deciding whether you will succeed on the program.

Apart from that, it's surprisingly not-gay, considering it's a training environment. Hours are long, but for the most part your time is yours and nobody really gets in your business if you are squared away. You're on comrats the whole time, which is basically their way of saying "we won't give you chow breaks most of the time", which works out fine. You're free to roam the base and go out in town, subject to only a very generous curfew.

As far as actual training, the first week you do a bunch of PT and in-processing stuff. After that you Pt on your own time only, or with your student-det. Lots of power-point classes for several weeks, but the instructors are good and keep your attention. You do prac apps in department of state's version of MCMAP, baton, handcuffing, and weapons handling. The instructor is a retired MGYSGT who is super-moto.
You stand duty in 3 hour shifts once or twice a week, as a way of familiarizing you with the security equipment and logbooks.
One week you spend at the range, doing your 9mil, shotgun, and M4 quals. Its table-two type drills, with very short time limits from short ranges. Hardest for most people was the pistol, because they wouldn't be able to draw it from holster and get it off safe and fire the shots in time.
More power-points, but on more interesting stuff like cyber security, how to escape from spies, recognizing IEDs, and other stuff.
Eval board takes place, and then everyone undergoes OC-spray.
Final weeks are airsoft paintball MOUT training, and field trips to DOS facilities and counterintelligence training.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

TunTvrnWarrior
11-07-10, 11:47 AM
The school is challenging, and there's a pretty hefty attrition rate. My class will be graduating 66 watch-standers, down from a starting strength of just over 100. Don't let that scare you though, as there's nothing that should cause a well-rounded Marine too much issue. As long as you run a solid first class PFT and CFT, know your marksmanship fundamentals, and don't sleep through all the classes, you should be alright.
The only thing that's really out of your control is the final evaluation board, which in the case of my class dropped about 10% of the Marines who made it that far. I can give you more details about the board in a PM if you'd like, but it's basically just the department head and advisors deciding whether you will succeed on the program.

Apart from that, it's surprisingly not-gay, considering it's a training environment. Hours are long, but for the most part your time is yours and nobody really gets in your business if you are squared away. You're on comrats the whole time, which is basically their way of saying "we won't give you chow breaks most of the time", which works out fine. You're free to roam the base and go out in town, subject to only a very generous curfew.

As far as actual training, the first week you do a bunch of PT and in-processing stuff. After that you Pt on your own time only, or with your student-det. Lots of power-point classes for several weeks, but the instructors are good and keep your attention. You do prac apps in department of state's version of MCMAP, baton, handcuffing, and weapons handling. The instructor is a retired MGYSGT who is super-moto.
You stand duty in 3 hour shifts once or twice a week, as a way of familiarizing you with the security equipment and logbooks.
One week you spend at the range, doing your 9mil, shotgun, and M4 quals. Its table-two type drills, with very short time limits from short ranges. Hardest for most people was the pistol, because they wouldn't be able to draw it from holster and get it off safe and fire the shots in time.
More power-points, but on more interesting stuff like cyber security, how to escape from spies, recognizing IEDs, and other stuff.
Eval board takes place, and then everyone undergoes OC-spray.
Final weeks are airsoft paintball MOUT training, and field trips to DOS facilities and counterintelligence training.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

Just one question, do you miss slinging hash on a grill and making omletes?;)

gunner1
11-07-10, 06:23 PM
Congratulations! You are going to enjoy your time. I was a watch stander 73-75. Things have come a long way, back then it was a 38 and a stick. You should join or check out MEGA (Marine Embassy Guard Assn)http://www.embassymarine.org/ Good Luck on you tour.

brian0351
11-08-10, 02:28 AM
Man...Riyadh. It's good and bad. Bad...because well, there is NO nightlife. It's Saudi Arabia.

Good...because the Marine House IS the night life. So if you have a good Embassy community you'll get real close with them. Friend of mine met his wife there years ago.

Beltayn
11-08-10, 05:52 PM
Just one question, do you miss slinging hash on a grill and making omletes?;)
I think I'll live.

P.S. Spoke with one of the Marines on post currently. Apparently Riyadh has the biggest MWR fund in the world. ^^

brian0351
11-08-10, 11:38 PM
I think I'll live.

P.S. Spoke with one of the Marines on post currently. Apparently Riyadh has the biggest MWR fund in the world. ^^

Lol yeah...back when I was in, they used to hand out engraved Rolex's as departing gifts instead of the usual K-bar. Command had to put a stop to it, even though the bar had the money for it and the Ball.

FormerMSG
11-13-10, 01:58 PM
I was at the school on November 5th, the day you guys got sprayed. I was the civilian in the suit near MSG post 3, if you saw me.

You guys got sprayed around 1000 or so?

brian0351
11-13-10, 02:25 PM
HA! FormerMSG...you were in Brazzaville when the Embassy was evac'd? I was with the MEU that was initially sent to cover you guys. Then we went and evac's Sierra Leone.

I see one of your posts was in Dublin. When where you there? I had a friend up there around 1999-2000 that I've been trying to track down.

FormerMSG
11-13-10, 02:45 PM
Yeah, you guys left us! lol. Brazzaville went to hell in a handbasket, let me tell you.

I was in Dublin 1998-1999. What was the name of the Marine?

brian0351
11-13-10, 03:00 PM
Lol what did you expect from us. We sat off the coast of Congo for over a month! ;) Ironically, I was part of the evac of Freetown. The Det Cmdr we pulled out of Freetown was my detcmdr in Zimbabwe!

Name was Brian Johnson. He came up from Dar es Salaam.

FormerMSG
11-13-10, 03:22 PM
I served with Brian in Dublin. He was on duty when the Embassy Got hit. LtCol Sabal, F Company CO came up to Dublin to award him the NavyCom. That night, he wore it out in town and we went clubbing. Brian and I had some great times in Dublin.

I always wondered what happened to him. I have tried facebook, but to no avail.

What posts were you at? Harare and where else?

brian0351
11-13-10, 03:24 PM
Actually it would be coincidentally...not ironically. Lol.

FormerMSG
11-13-10, 03:44 PM
http://www.funnyforumpics.com/forums/Thread-Hijack/1/Hijack-Duke_Nukem_Mission.gif

Beltayn
11-14-10, 06:53 PM
I don't specifically recall seeing you, but then we have random DoS officials in suits in the building walking around pretty frequently.
We started getting sprayed at around 1430. I went fairly late in the group, since my partner took it pretty hard.

FormerMSG
11-14-10, 07:03 PM
Yeah it sucked, I can relate!

Rene Briones was an MSG Marine Instructor when I was there in 1997. He is moto!

Where are the board proceedings. I think the place where I did the board is now the current office of the Executive Director, a DoD civilian GS-15.

Beltayn
11-14-10, 08:23 PM
Yeah, he's still an instructor, and still moto.

We did the board in the CO's conference room next to post 3.

FormerMSG
11-14-10, 09:35 PM
HA, I was in that conference room on Friday, Nov 5th with a DOS TV crew and Rene Briones. He was the DET CMDR in London and came over to Dublin. It was wierd eating chow with him when I was an MSG, having had him as an instructor. Wierd.

I also had a 20 minute meeting with the Executive Director, Mr. Baker.

Good luck. I always wanted to go to the Middle East, but went to Asia instead as my fourth post.

Remember, never have a bad day behind the glass.

AAV Crewchief
11-14-10, 11:29 PM
Got into a fight with some MSG from Tokyo once. They did not fare well against fleet Marines LOL. One of the guys I went for meritorious CPL with had a black eye from the incident...both of us got promoted but a lot was made out of his "eye" by the board which erupted in argument not over the incident, but that he allowed a non-infantry type Marine :scared:to give him a black eye and that personnel who could not fight without getting a black eye were not worthy to be NCOs. Granted this was back in 1984 in another time and another Corps compared to today.


:D

Wood5831
11-30-10, 06:24 PM
Congrats. I was stationed at MSG Det Brussels, Belgium and Havana, Cuba from Sep96-Apr99. Best duty I have done and rewarding.

thewookie
12-01-10, 06:52 AM
They did not fare well against fleet Marines LOL.

That is funny, to think a fleet Marine is tougher than a "non-fleet" Marine. Or vice versa -- give me a break if your head/ego is that big where you think you are tougher because you are in the fleet then you my friend have some issues. But then again - you are the guy who openly claims air force special operations,, hehe. That is too funny. I'm pretty sure it is the man, not the duty station that makes the fighter. But it's your story so tell it how you want.

Mistybluelady
12-01-10, 07:17 AM
Riyad is not so bad.. but Jeddah is better.. my ex was MSG in Jeddah, then Addis Abbaba.... the Marine house has some great parties... good luck and god bless

Wood5831
12-01-10, 07:33 AM
I think every Marine House had some nice parties :D

Mistybluelady
12-01-10, 07:50 AM
best times of my life in Jeddah were spent inside the Embassay at the Marine House..

Potato Salad
12-02-10, 01:41 PM
How hard was it to get accepted as a LCpl? I heard that they will only consider really squared away LCpls if there aren't enough Corporals. My MOS has been locked out so I won't be seeing a promotion anytime soon.

Wood5831
12-02-10, 01:45 PM
I went on the program as a L/Cpl. You have been hearing wrong scoop unless the program has changed over the years. I would say 25% of my class was L/Cpl's. As long as you are squared away, have a good PFT, high marks on your Pro's/Con's and no adverse actions you should be good to go to attend school.

Beltayn
12-02-10, 07:30 PM
Regardless of your rank, the most important asset towards being accepted into the MSG program is the support and confidence of your chain of command. Your pros and cons being good, and your OIC and SgtMaj recommending you with enthusiasm is normally good enough for the Recruiting And Screening Team, RAST.
The minimum requirements to apply for the program aren't particularly tough, and is pretty much what you'd expect; not being on weight control, having a passing PFT, no NJPs in the recent past, etc.

Ultimately, you simply need to present yourself as the kind of individual who is mature enough, self disciplined enough, reliable enough, and proficient enough to be trusted on a high profile independent duty. That is what is being looked for, and paper qualifications are less important, but should support that presentation of yourself if you expect to succeed.

Most junior Marines who go to the school are corporals simply because they pick up rank before reaching the level where they and their superiors feel they have reached that level and they finish the screening process. One of the requirements for going is meeting a 18 month time on station minimum in your original MOS, which more many MOSs is enough time to pick up Cpl in the natural course of events. Depending on your MOS though, you may still be a LCpl and that isn't held against you.

In my class about 10 or so Marines, including myself, were LCpls, and all of those that remained to graduate either picked up rank while in school, or are senior enough that we will certainly be promoted in january with or without the 100 bonus points unless our MOSs close. 90% of the class consisted of Cpls of varying seniority.

In your case, Im sure you will encounter no obstacle towards being accepted into the program.

I hope I answered your question. If there's any other information I can help you with let me know.

Wood5831
12-02-10, 07:34 PM
I picked up CPL 2 months after graduation.

FormerMSG
12-03-10, 08:48 PM
I was a LCpl in school. Went on the Program as a Lance, got promoted to CPL in July about 2 mos later after points were added in MCTFS in May.

passtheguard
12-29-10, 04:57 PM
You said you graduated 66 out 100? How many Det Cmdrs got dropped and what were the reasons?

HOWARDROARK3043
12-29-10, 06:31 PM
I LOVE THE NEW OP-SEC IN THE MILITARY........"""look what I have done.""""" Keep your guard up,,,,,,,spillage,,,,,,,yeah its cool but its always need to know with info...............................

Beltayn
12-30-10, 03:34 AM
You said you graduated 66 out 100? How many Det Cmdrs got dropped and what were the reasons?
4 out of 17 Det Cmdrs were dropped in my class, 3 in the first week due to pre-requisites issues. The 4th was a couple weeks in because his wife failed the overseas screening because of long-term health issues that precluded her from deploying with him. All non-punitive drops.
I got the impression it's pretty difficult to get dropped from school as a student Det Cmdr, since there were ones that ALL the other student Det Cmdrs hated and thought were sh!t bags, but who got through the board. The real testing for Det Cmdrs comes out on post when they have their region 1st Sgt up their rear. More Det Cmdrs get relieved for cause out on post than get dropped from the school punitively.

AAV Crewchief
12-30-10, 03:52 AM
Just thought I'd share a little update, seeing as I dropped off the radar for a while.
Nearing graduation from Marine Security Guard school at Quantico on the 19th with class 1-11. Made it passed the board and getting OC sprayed successfully, and will be graduating 6th or 7th in my class of 66. It's all downhill from here.
Got post assignments on Friday. As of now it looks like I'll be going to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.


Congratulations! Try to make the best of Riyahd. You can get something special on the next tour once your time in Saudi is done.

fpdesignco
01-02-11, 06:42 PM
Thanks for the microwave


Regardless of your rank, the most important asset towards being accepted into the MSG program is the support and confidence of your chain of command. Your pros and cons being good, and your OIC and SgtMaj recommending you with enthusiasm is normally good enough for the Recruiting And Screening Team, RAST.
The minimum requirements to apply for the program aren't particularly tough, and is pretty much what you'd expect; not being on weight control, having a passing PFT, no NJPs in the recent past, etc.

Ultimately, you simply need to present yourself as the kind of individual who is mature enough, self disciplined enough, reliable enough, and proficient enough to be trusted on a high profile independent duty. That is what is being looked for, and paper qualifications are less important, but should support that presentation of yourself if you expect to succeed.

Most junior Marines who go to the school are corporals simply because they pick up rank before reaching the level where they and their superiors feel they have reached that level and they finish the screening process. One of the requirements for going is meeting a 18 month time on station minimum in your original MOS, which more many MOSs is enough time to pick up Cpl in the natural course of events. Depending on your MOS though, you may still be a LCpl and that isn't held against you.

In my class about 10 or so Marines, including myself, were LCpls, and all of those that remained to graduate either picked up rank while in school, or are senior enough that we will certainly be promoted in january with or without the 100 bonus points unless our MOSs close. 90% of the class consisted of Cpls of varying seniority.

In your case, Im sure you will encounter no obstacle towards being accepted into the program.

I hope I answered your question. If there's any other information I can help you with let me know.

Beltayn
01-03-11, 10:04 AM
No problem.

Tennessee Top
01-27-11, 04:32 AM
Did two tours on MSG duty. Was a watchstander in the mid 70's in Guatemala City, Guatemala and Manaugua, Nicaragua.

Went back to MSG school as a GySgt and was the SNCO honor grad for CLNR 2-87. As a reward, the Bn CO sent me to Port au Prince, Haiti. We won the "MSGBn Det of the Year Award" for 1988 and I won the "Detachment Commander of the Year Award" for 1988. As a reward for that, the Bn CO let me go to the AMCONGEN Sao Paulo, Brazil. Had orders to Recruiting School coming off the program but the Bn CO wanted me back at the schoolhouse in Quantico so he got my orders changed and I became the MSG School Operations Chief 1990-1992.

I'm sure the program has changed some since I was on it. I can tell you as a former Detachment Commander, the most important trait for a MSG to me was integrity (doing the right thing when nobody else is around). MSG's spend many long hours standing watch by themselves in an empty embassy/consulate and it takes a lot of integrity to do it according to the posts orders with nobody watching.

The school, as already mentioned, is tough but if you are mature, squared-away, and in excellent physical condition you should do OK. It is not a PT academy and there is not enough time in the training schedule to squeeze much in so some will be done on your own. If you can, get your wisdom teeth pulled before reporting so you won't have to miss training (students missing class for oral surgery is common). It's amazing how many students mess up between the time they leave their last command and report to school (get married eventhough they agree not to, do something stupid that prevents them from obtaining a final security clearance, etc).

The biggest reason for MSG's leaving the program early is FEMALES. Don't have to go into a lot of details here but going on duty and having your girlfriend on your mind the whole time is NOT a good idea. Again...gets back to the whole integrity thing.