question about infantry!

[Zippo]

i need some advice. i need to decide whether i'm going infantry or sticking to my current contracted job (AAV Crewman). can someone tell me what the "average" week is like? what do you do all day? how about field exercises? do you enjoy those? i'm all about getting out and dirty, and shooting/blowing sh*t up is my favorite thing to do-- but do the negatives, (sleeping in holes, long hours, humps, etc) outweigh the positives? do you get most nights off to do whatever you want(like many other MOS's)? thanks alot!

[Brooklyn]

You could always take your current MOS and just buy yourself a gun and go to a range.

[wannabemarine10]

Now I don't know anything nor do I claim to know anything but right now I am trying to change from diesel mechanic (sleep in rack) to infantry (shuts eyes in fighting hole) just for that reason. I would rather be out on a long hump and at the end of the day sleep in a hole than be able to return to a comfy rack most nights. But again I do not know anything.

[Smalcom]

No job in the Marine Corps is a bad job... you wont be looked down on really, i mean someone has to fill every position for the overall sucess of the USMC.

but i also am planning on 03XX...(21) hopeful

[VaMarine]

Umm Average week in the infantry Monday morning 0445 formation... 0500 step off for the field... Get back Friday afternoon between 14 and 1600 Clean weapons secured for the weekend.. At least as a Pogue thats what I always saw...

[mrbsox]

THE GOOD LIFE !!

http://www.leatherneck.com/ezine/articles/12/1/The-Good-Life

It's a good read. It hit home to me in the aspect of loving 'the road less travelled'. If you 'get it', you may have found your nitch in life. If you don't, well, maybe you should keep looking.

Good luck in what ever you decide. Both are HONORABLE fields, as are ANY mos, as long as you can carry..

Our EAGLE, GLOBE, and ANCHOR :evilgrin:

[outlaw3179]

From my experience this is what it went like . Youd either be in the field that week or in garrison ( not in the field) . If you were to go out, you either hump out there, truck out there or id fly out there. (helos). When you got out there youd do all kinds of stuff depending out what was on the training schedule. Sit in the defense, assaults, room clearing it just depends on what your doing. Sleeping in the field isnt so bad. you get use to it even when its freezing or its raining . You just do it. Thats why your called a grunt.
When your in garrison your back at your base , reveille goes between 5-530 , P.t. in the morning , get some chow , maybe a formation , and then see whats on tap for the day. Sometimes its weapons cleaining, classes, maybe NBC, or just whatever we have to do. Most of the time, were usually off by 1630 (430 ) , when you get turned to your off. You can pretty much do whatever you want as long as your back by the appropriate time the next day. Usually weekends off.
To be honest with you as a grunt you have a lot of time off. Evenings, holidays, 72 here, 96 there. It just all depends on your command. But grunts earn all those hours off. When we train , were there to train. We hump , hump and hump. The humps youll get use to. and ill be honest with you . For me there was no greater satisfaction then finishing up a hump and knowing that you completed it. Sometimes living in the field is better than being in garrison just cuz all the b.s. that can go on back there.
Grunts are special people just cuz theyre dirty theyre mean and they dont like pogues. We can take alot of sh*t, we ***** alot but we get the job done. We deploy alot , were always going on some kind of excercise, CAX, Bridgeport, Rimpac, Fleetex, Socex, whatever it may be. Your just always busy. I honestly dont know the other side of the Marine Corps so yeah Im biased but damn, I had a ton of fun doing it. I hope this can at least answer some of your questions but whatever job you choose in the Corps Im sure youll enjoy it. But remember ... The whole Marine Corps revolves around the Infantry. Every other job in the Corps is to support the Grunts.

[Zippo]

outlaw, thanks ALOT for taking the time to write all that. that just about covered everything i need to know about infantry. now all i gotta do is decide. thanks much for your help.

[outlaw3179]

Hey no problem , if you have any other questions dont be be shy.....even though I know your not ;)

[Zippo]

haha! :D

[servehard]

Yea dude good ****...i needed to know that also cause im going 0311...plus i heard aav crewman is dangerous

[Zippo]

and rifleman isn't?

[servehard]

that wasent the impression i was trying to leave im going rifleman...its dangerous but its what i want to do....i was saying that aav is dangerous cause u are crampt inside a small ass area there are only two places an rpg can go through and thats the back and front and if the enemy wants to stop the aav all hes got to do is snipe through that driver window

[Collins]

Well hell, we're all riflemen, its just that some off us are more riflemen than the rest... But yeah, Outlaw, that was real informative, and I'm glad I chose to go Infantwah

[yellowwing]

Well hell, we're all riflemen
Not quite yet Collins. If you are standing tall on the Parade Deck in August, then you will be. ;)

Right now Poolees are only motivated citizens. Hundreds of thousands of your peers do not have the stones to even think about serving their country.

You have to Earn The Title and prove that you do have The Metal To Be Marines.

Those slackers and goths you see in your schools will never know the Honor, Integrity and drive that makes a United States Marine. Earn that Eagle Globe and Anchor and you will be a member for life!

[outlaw3179]

Very well said yellow wing. Theese young adults on theese forums will make great Marines one day.

[Zippo]

were always going on some kind of excercise, CAX, Bridgeport, Rimpac, Fleetex, Socex, whatever it may be.

for all you guys who didn't know what those are, like me. i looked them up on google so here's what i found.

CAX- Combined Arms Exercise
Bridgeport- Mountain Warfare Training Center
Rimpac- Rim of the Pacific Exercise http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/rimpac.htm
Fleetex- Fleet Exercise
Socex- Special Operations Capable Exercise

[BEEMER]

Bottom line, all marines are riflemen. Some just have another responsibility to carry as well. Believe me, when your on a convoy or out on patrol (which no marines are exempt from) anything can happen. You can be A-driving some supplies from one camp to the next and get ambushed. Next thing you know your in a fire fight. That's when all your riflemen training kicks in. Don't think you have to be a grunt to "get some". The enemy doesn't care what your mos is. And believe me, no one wants to sleep in a fighting hole. Its just what we do when we have to do it. And we happily do it because thats what we are paid for, but honestly no one wants to do it. Any mos in the USMC is a great job, except maybe cook, lol. Just something to think about.

[Collins]

Yellowwing, I was referring to the fact that marines in general are a rifleman first, I didn't mean WE literally. But after 3 months from 92 or so more days, I will be changin that skin head avatar to a 1 stripe up.

[gunnyz]

:evilgrin: Everything that Outlaw3179 told you is true and even more, being in the Grunt's you will more then likely deploy alot more then most Marines
I spent 4 years on Active duty and 19 years in the Reserves and all as a Grunt and I saw quite a few places that I never would have been if I had been a Mechanic or Admin or any other Pogue position (my wife was a Diesel Mechanic in the Corps thats why I said mechanic) (opps I just got hit):marine: but whatever you decide to do it all comes down to "Every Marine is a RIFLEMAN"

Good Luck Future Jarhead

Gunny "Z" (ret)

[AmyG]

I can't wait till I get to earn my title! God bless the United States Marine Corps!

[NewMarine3080]

all marines are rifleman, kinda true. if you mean they can shoot a rifle and that makes them a rifleman then yes they are riflemen. i am an 0311 rifleman and i just came off the range with some pogues you should've seen em, stellar. especially on the emp part of the range. for you old salts out there we now have to qualify on the range not only with the traditional course of fire 2,3,500 meters but also at 50 and 100 meters, with flack and kevlar with rapid target engagement. now grunts especially 11's do EMP alot because the average rifleman will not be firing much over 100m in combat.