For Poolees' only

[pdiddy]

Whats the best way to join the Marine Corps and become a Marine? Do you need to be in good physical shape? I hear theres alot of paper work to do is there anyway to get around that? I'd thought I asked since many of you just enlisted! Can you Poolee's help me out?
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[AlexRT]

The best way is to go see a recruiter and enlist. Of course you need to be in good physical shape. And no there is not any way to get around the paper work. BTW When you go to MEPS make sure they have your name and all your information spelled right on your papers. Mine was wrong and I didn't catch it and i caught hell for that.

[CantWaitToSign]

im sorry pdiddy but if you are this stupid to not know you need to be in physical shape you wont make it because you=most stupid person....ever

[Soon2BeVIP]

Depends on what you mean by in good shape. The qualifications to get in aren't that hard. Two pull-ups...44 situps in 2 minutes...and a mile and a half in 13 1/2 minutes. Pretty low standard to set, but I even have some trouble with that. I enlisted fine. Your recruiter will get you to the point you need to be before you go off to boot camp. And boot camp will take anyone that meets that minimum standard and turn you into something amazing. Also paperwork does suck. Most of it isn't that big of a deal though. You'll do alot of initialing, but it ain't that big of a deal. You will be talking to your recruiter while your doing a lot of papers at your RSS and when your at MEPS doing those 5 papers or so it isn't so bad because you are more excited about the process you're going through. If you have any other questions about the process you can message me. I don't know everything about the Marines and I don't pretend to, but I did just enlist September 1, 2006 so I have everything fresh in my head. Also I've had a not so proud past so I know of all the different things that can prevent you from getting in and such. Hit me up if you want bud.

[poolie13]

Hey bro, There is absoultly no way to get around paper work! When your making the bigest decision in your life, it sometimes requires paper work depending on what it is. Enlisting in any branch of service theres going to be paper work. But wouldn't you rather have something in paper work than someone telling you and it may not be true? Also when it comes down to being fit, you can join the Marine Corps out of shape allowing that you meet the weight requirements and such. But as a Poolee it's our job to get our bodies into shape. It better prepares you for whats ahead! If you want to see what Poolees' go through, find a recruiter and see if you can visit a Poolee Function! The recruiter will probably say yes; there are Poolee functions this saturday. So just check it out!

[Bret]

Yeah, I wonder what this Sat is goin to be like for us poolee's(lol)? Last mounth wasnt too hard. All we did really was the IST and talk some. I know for this Sat meeting our local Marine recruiters are havin a Marine B-Day ceremony for all us poolee's, so that will be cool to see!

As for you poolie13, just trane urself! Before shippin out, make sure you can meet the minamum requirments before takin off! Use the time you have before shippin out! Thats the key! Not just physically but mentally as well! They will give you a book called "The Making of a Marine" if you get through MEPS. It has ur general orders and alotta other stuff you need to know before shippin out as well. Although its not required for you to learn it before shippin out, it will make it easier for you in the long run. Stayin motovated is another big key! Keeping ur mind focused will really help ya. It all depends on how bad you wanna be a Marine! Hope this helped you as well as other poolee's!!:thumbup:

TAKE CARE ALL!

[WannabeAT]

Another thing about MEPS that I don't see on here. I'm not sure if this happens at every station but the one I went to the liaisons asks you question after question of things that could disqualify you. It's pretty crazy. It goes something like this, "Have you ever done drugs?" followed by my response, "No", "When was the last time you did drugs", "Never", "You understand the Marine Corps policy on drug use," "Yes, it's not tolerated", "How many drugs have you done in the past week?" They go like that through a lot of subjects, including police involvement. I would say that as long as you are clear in both of those areas, you're good to go, but I've never done any drugs or been involved with the police in any way, and that was nervewracking to say the least. This HUGE Marine is asking me all these questions, he almost had me confessing to things I had never done before. Just wanted to give you the heads up on that in case this happens at all the MEPS stations because nobody really told me. Anyways, anything else I could add has already been said, so good luck.

[WannabeAT]

Sorry about that last post. I didn't see that you had also asked it in the "Ask A Marine" forum. Since that post wasn't my most recent one, I'm not able to delete it.

[jm4magic]

Conctact your nearest recruiter 1-800-MARINES

[Drehzahl7]

hey bro.. just dont worry abou the paperwork.. there isnt much.. the recruiters takes care of that.. all you have to do is initial and fill out a background investigation form with your personal history on it.. but trust me, it isnt bad. like everyone else has said, if you really want to be a marine, the paperwork and other things that you have to do dont mean a thing.. it just depends on how bad you want i guess..

[Accord]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=30Ai--MfDfs

[ItzAlex]

I dont know about everyone else, but I did my ASVAB at a different time than my physical. The ASVAB day went pretty smooth, I went in, took the test and left. But my physical... That was hell. I was there since 6:00AM and I didnt get to leave untill 9:30 PM. Funny thing, MEPS was supposed to be closed at 8:00? I was the second to the last person to leave.