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MunkyVsRobot
11-21-15, 07:33 AM
Isnt is crazy how fast time flies when you actually have time to sit back and reflect on where you were to where you are now?

Like for instance this year it seemed like yesterday it was the beginning of January and now next week is Thanksgiving.

Also in regards to my enlistment and the reason for my post is earlier last week the 14th of Nov I hit my 4 year mark in this gun club. Seems like just yesterday I was a wantabe in these parts to eventually a poolee asking random questions about promotions before i had really even done anything. Now here i am 4 years later a Sergeant in 3 years 8 months on a 5 year contract looking to re-enlist.

Looking back i just sit in awe as to how fast it has gone.

USMC 2571
11-21-15, 07:34 AM
Yep. Now you know how us old timers feel, thinking 1963 was like yesterday. LOL---I laughed out loud last night when Kegler300 commented on the 1963 thing, saying "I was six years old!"---and this from an E-9 with THIRTY YEARS in the Corps.

josephd
11-21-15, 11:21 AM
welcome to the club brotha....it seems like just yesterday I shipped out too bootcamp, that was over 7 years ago now....I never would've thought I'd have made it this far....about to get selected and pick up Staff

As much as I dislike the Corps sometimes, I look back on everything in my career so far and it makes me smile.....I am also intrigued by what the future may hold cuz I know at this point I'll do my 20+ and retire

USMC 2571
11-21-15, 12:17 PM
Joe, what's the time frame on the E-6 promotion, if you know, and another question, Isn't it the case where no one can PLAN anymore on staying in, not knowing if they will not be selected to stay in from time to time? It is so different from prior eras where anyone who kept his nose clean could nearly automatically stay in, they could PLAN on it

josephd
11-21-15, 12:37 PM
Joe, what's the time frame on the E-6 promotion, if you know, and another question, Isn't it the case where no one can PLAN anymore on staying in, not knowing if they will not be selected to stay in from time to time? It is so different from prior eras where anyone who kept his nose clean could nearly automatically stay in, they could PLAN on it

it all depends on where the promotion zone falls for that specific MOS. zone is based on how many SNCOs are in that MOS already and how many more the Corps needs. I would typically say its right around 7-9 years though if all else is in order(e.g. PME and a decent fit-rep).

i am lucky i picked up Sgt quickly and i fall in on the junior end of the zone now

no one can plan really but once you pick up Staff it actually becomes a bit easier as long as you keep yourself relevant in your MOS(e.g. hold meaningful billets like Plt. Sgt., Training Chief, OpsChief, CoGunz, etc).

in my knowledge most guys get pushed out as Cpls or Sgts for one reason or another and never make it to the Staff ranks and you can't make it a career if you don't

Ebecker
11-21-15, 12:53 PM
My last year in was filled with training in Bridgeport, Norway, and 29 Palms and then a deployment to the black sea area. It sucked as we were doing it because we were constantly going or leaving somewhere, but by the end of the year I found myself wondering where they year went. I really hated airplanes for a while after that.

Also, almost three months of cold weather training leading directly in Mojave Viper training during summer is just cruel.

Congrats on the promotion!

Rocky C
11-21-15, 02:52 PM
It sure does go by....

Big Boz
11-21-15, 08:28 PM
Watching my son graduate boot camp in April, brought me right back to the days that I was at at MCRD. It feels just like yesterday, but was 24 years ago.

The older I get, the faster the years tick by. The last couple of years, I have been making it a point to try and slow them down. Dropping the things that take away from family and good friends. They are not slowing down though.

USMC 2571
11-21-15, 08:34 PM
I think about this from time to time, whether time itself goes by fast, or it only seems to AS WE THINK ABOUT IT, which takes just a second or two, to think about the past. And I thought that if we sat on our porch and did nothing for five hours, or ten hours, would time really go by fast? I doubt it. But thinking about it the next day, we're not spending five hours thinking about yesterday. Maybe it drags by, but it looks like it was quick because all we're doing is remembering, not actually living it.

Tennessee Top
11-22-15, 01:42 AM
22.6 years of service for me - and seemed like maybe 10 at the most. I averaged a move every 3 years - in between were formal schools/academies, training exercises, Desert Storm, etc. By the time one gets someplace, settles down, makes new friends, learns the job, that next set of PCS orders shows up, and you get to start all over again. Breaking it down into increments like that, just speeds things up I believe.

I could've reenlisted and stayed in longer (was talking to my monitor about that next set of PCS orders). But, decided to punch out while I was still young enough to start a new career (which I did in healthcare after going to a community college for a couple years). I was also leading soldiers and airmen (no Marines) at the time at the US Central Command Headquarters J2 Directorate in Tampa. That alone was enough to make me want to hang it up when I did (biggest leadership challenge of my entire career - it's impossible to make Marines out of soldiers and airmen believe me I tried!).

m14ed
11-22-15, 02:07 AM
Life's like a Hill ? to the point of reaching your best,
body and mind wise ? when you hit/reach the top,
you find yourself gaining speed going down the other
side.......

FistFu68
11-22-15, 10:02 AM
3things that will Kill You...Bad Luck...Stupidity...Time

Big Boz
11-26-15, 11:20 AM
And I thought that if we sat on our porch and did nothing for five hours, or ten hours, would time really go by fast? I doubt it.

I have been doing a lot of deer hunting lately. The first 2 days of the season, sitting in the stand for 8 hours, they drag. The rest of the season, those 8 hours seem to fly by. Maybe it's because it's more like 2 hours awake, a nap, awake an hour, nap, eat lunch, nap, nap, nap, hunt the last couple of hours, go home, clean up, go to bed, do it all over again.

Phantom Blooper
11-26-15, 01:05 PM
At 18 it was counting women....

At 27 I was counting coup...

In my 60's it's counting dots on da' ceiling an sheep....an pills....

My how time flies.........

Rocky C
11-26-15, 01:14 PM
Ain't that the truth Chuck....

silveradomick
11-26-15, 03:52 PM
Also in regards to my enlistment and the reason for my post is earlier last week the 14th of Nov I hit my 4 year mark in this gun club.

Effing boot...

:p