Reason I want to be a Marine

[mikeyowns01]

I think i have a very different reason to want the Marines than Seeley's. I want to be a Marine:
Not to impress others. I want it for myself
I dont want to be caught in the industrial world
I dont want to sit in an office all day
I love to shoot
I have had a strange obsession for the marines ever since a saw their uniform, complimented buy the poster perfect, fit, shaved, clean, dignified, sqaure-jawed Marine inside it
I want to fight...not necessarily for my country, but for me
I love pt
I love weapons
I dont want to kill, i want to save. If killing is what it takes...then ill just do my job
I want to get out of the sloppy civilian life
I love the way the Marines do things
I cant wait! I hope these reasons are adequate...please respond.:marine:

[Shaffer]

Your reason are your own reason and do not require a response. Especially because peoples reasons on joing the Corps very. I will however state that a Marine does fight for their country amongst other things. Your quote "I want to fight...not necessarily for my country" can be very misleading. I think I know what you meant but not 100% sure. I think you meant not "JUST" for your country. If you meant anything other than that I would suggest you not join the Marines as part of being a Marine is the love of this country and thats what being a Marine represents.

Regards,
Shaffer

[firstsgtmike]

Mike or Mikey, I'm not sure which one is correct.
I was Mickey The Mick in my ethnic neighborhood. Mike came later.

Your post:

I want to be a Marine:

Not to impress others. I want it for myself

(Good thinking, you live with yourself every day, others come and go.)

I dont want to be caught in the industrial world

(Not sure what you meant by that. But if you meant sitting at a production line conveyor belt, Amen.

I dont want to sit in an office all day

( I don't think you'd like any of the MOS's that required that.)

I love to shoot

(For that, you'd better join a rifle team, or take up skeet shooting.
Very few 'shooters' had the opportunity to enjoy their love of shooting on more than five or six occassions per year in Vietnam or Iraq. Ditto for Korea and WWII. I don't care what impression Hollywood or the tv news gives.)

I have had a strange obsession for the marines ever since a saw their uniform, complimented buy the poster perfect, fit, shaved, clean, dignified, sqaure-jawed Marine inside it

(You're in for a disappointment, we don't ALL look like that, ALL the time.)

I want to fight...not necessarily for my country, but for me

(Take up boxing or karate. Peace Keepers have a more important job than the Peace Makers. Unfortunately, when the Peace Keepers fail, the Peace Makers are called in. It is the Peace Makers who take the casualties, earn the medals, and are best remembered. Few individual decorations are awarded to Peace Keepers.)

I love pt

(Join a gym or a health spa.)

I love weapons

( To clean them, to carry them, or to use them? If to use them is your response, refer to my comment on shooting.)

I dont want to kill, i want to save. If killing is what it takes...then ill just do my job

(NOW you've got it. THAT's what Marines are all about. Only a psychotic enjoys killing. We don't want them. But when it becomes necessary, we are the BEST.)

I want to get out of the sloppy civilian life

(Unfortunately, in time, you'll have to return to it, one way or another.)

I love the way the Marines do things

(Now, you've got it AGAIN. But spend some time on this and other sites, and do some additional reading and research. Then, when some a/h says "Duh, what do you mean, duh?" You can cite specifics.

I cant wait!

(Wait. There is a name for immediate self-gratification, but I won't go into it here.)

I hope these reasons are adequate...

(Shaffer said it, we all had our own reasons. Many of them were discarded, and we discovered and embraced more meaningful reasons. Many a proud Marine would say, I joined for all the wrong reasons, but I thank God every day that I did.)

please respond.

(I hope I just did)


Mike Farrell
Cagayan de Oro
Philippines

[mikeyowns01]

Thanks for the response. Im glad you feel the same way that i do on *some* of the same items...on the others...well...im just gonna have to find out for myself because i dont think neone will ever talk me out of joining. As for the "sloppy" marines...i dont care what they look like...as long as im poster perfect...not to impress others...but to give me peace of mind. If i look sharp ill play sharp!

[mikeyowns01]

Shaffer. when i was tlaking about fighting for my country...i meant i wouldnt be fighting in the name of my country but for myself. i wouldnt fight for other countries as i love this one.

[wrbones]

The only poster perfect Marines all the time..... Sorry boy. There ain't no such thing. In the field, if yer spending all that time on yer uniforms and such, ya ain't gettin yer job done. Bein' squared away in the field is a whole nuther ball of wax.


Just outta curiosity. How old are you anyway?


As far as enlistment in the Corps is concerned, we all have our reasons.

I remember folks trying to talk me outta it. I did it anyway. It's harder than ya think son. In many ways. Be prepared.

There's a lot of good info around the site. Lots more on the web. Ya have any questions. Ask.

Hope ya got a sense of humour! LOL.
:marine:

[Barndog]

My Step Dad told me I'd never make it. What the fvck did he know anyways, being an alcoholic former National Guardsman. My Mom didn't want me to go, but then again - whose Mother does...

My Father - said ' I hope I don't see you until about Christmas' - meaning that was about the time I would graduate boot camp.
My Father was a Marine before me. His Brothers, my Uncles were Marines before me. I could have joined the Army, or the Navy like my step-brother did. He tells me today, that he walked into the wrong office in 1975. I tell him that we needed a ride anyways, and not to feel that bad about it. He tells me that the Marines are a Department of the Navy - I tell him yes, that IS true......

THE MEN'S DEPARTMENT!!!!!!

I'll leave you with a quote I rode home from the Marine Corps Ball with: (taken from a Marine in Korea - unknown - ) take it any way you like:
" For my Corps - ANYTHING.... For my Brothers - ANYTHING.... For my Family - EVERYTHING.... For myself - Well, the thought never even crossed my mind"

OOOH RAHHH

[22DevilPup87]

Well said.

... something I'll remember.

Jess

[Seeley]

I came up with this on my own about a week ago and I think I have it perfected now...

"Self sacrifice for greater gain."

What it means:

I want to do my part for others no matter what the cost is for me. I don't care if I get beat up or pushed around or made fun of in the process as long as I believe in what I do. If I can make someone else’s life just that much better by giving up some of my own freedoms and everyday comforts in life, then it was well worth it. Now when I step outside and see someone that needs help with something I don't just walk by like it never happened. I stop what I'm doing and help them out. The gratification that you get out of it by the look on someone’s face or the simple "thank you" from their mouths is what makes it all worth while. If everyone started doing things for other people and putting others before themselves, this world would be a better place.

Just my thoughts,
Seeley