Boring?

[Do-Or-Die]

Hello,
I have finally come to my decision to enlist as an 03xx. My father, as you may have remembered from my previous posts, ended up suprisingly supporting my decision, despite the fact he wanted me to do something more technical.

Still, my father presented his argument as useful advice. He said the thing he hated about being in the 03's was all of the downtime, because he was enlisted peace time. He said that he had alot of great times traveling and meeting new people and whatnot, but he got tired of beeing in the motorpool checking up on the TOWs most of the time. He said that the only reason why he is stopping himself from denying me his blessing is that he sees my devotion to become one of the Few, and knows I will constantly be commiting myself to the Corps.

Anyway, my father said he kept himself occupied by volunteering for anything that popped up, for example, he did embassy duty for about a year.

My question is, is there truly alot of "downtime" within the Grunts, and if I push myself to stay occupied will it be that bad, are there alot of opportunities to volunteer for still?

I am only worried like this because my dad did fairly well when he was in, reaching sergeant in 3 1/2 years back in old school times, and during peace time at that, he was real squared away, still is, you know, once a Marine always a Marine. But the fact that he was so dedicated and left because of sheer boredom, it makes me wonder how boring it really got...

So, if you have any encouraging words, or discouraging for that matter, please give me some sort of answer.

Thank You.

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

There is downtime everywhere. I was a communications guy, and we had it all the time. In garrison we had "work" to do on Monday and Tuesday (preventive maintenance checks on vehicles, trailers, radios, and the like). After that we were searching for something to do.

There is only so much you can do though. You can't just volunteer to go on MSG duty- it is a process and only so many Marines are needed. You can't just decide that your platoon doesn't have anything to do so you're going to go play with someone else. You have to deal with it.

In the field we did what we did, and that still left us with a ton of downtime. There is a reason I can juggle rocks. There's a whole bunch of rocks in 29 Palms- I'd guess I've personally thrown about half of them.

Still, small price to pay to be one of the World's Finest- Ooh-Rah!?!

[Pete0331]

My question is, is there truly alot of "downtime" within the Grunts, and if I push myself to stay occupied will it be that bad, are there alot of opportunities to volunteer for still?
.

There are always opportunities to volunteer... if you are willing to have duty on the weekends. :beer:

What kind of volunteering are you asking about?

Downtime is difficult to predict. It depends on what type of unit you go to, and at what time frame.
The Grunt life is not that difficult, but it is frustrating.

[JordanB]

Yeah especially in the rear you'll stand by for hours for no reason, and in country you get to appreaciate the downtime then all of a sudden they want everything done emediately, its what we call the hurry up and wait just a part of life, I'd imagine pogs get it too.

[Do-Or-Die]

Thank you for your responses. I was thinking about it today and I just kind of came to peace with the fact that it's just part of the job. But indeed a small price to pay Echo_Four_Bravo.

One more question, I understand that in order to join Recon you have to get your name on a "tryout" list that a Marine will go to different units with looking for potentials, or atleast that's the impression I got. How often does that guy come around, is it really hard to obtain a slot for testing?

[0231Marine]

I'd imagine pogs get it too.

You ain't kidding :) I think every unit in the Corps experiences the "Hurry Up and Wait" game!

[0231Marine]

Thank you for your responses. I was thinking about it today and I just kind of came to peace with the fact that it's just part of the job. But indeed a small price to pay Echo_Four_Bravo.

One more question, I understand that in order to join Recon you have to get your name on a "tryout" list that a Marine will go to different units with looking for potentials, or atleast that's the impression I got. How often does that guy come around, is it really hard to obtain a slot for testing?

Sounds like it's monthly but you have to be a PT stud with good evaluations (Pros/Cons)


current physical
GT score of 110 or higher
First-Class Physical Fitness Test of 275 or higher
CWS-1 swim qualification
20/20 vision; with minimum correction allowed. Laser-eye surgery is acceptable as long as 20/20 is achieved.
normal color vision (color blindness is acceptable, except for those unable contrast between red and green)
good personal evaluations
Secret security clearance required
The 48-hour Reconnaissance Indoctrination and Screening is held on the last Thursday of each month at either Camp Pendleton, CA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Pendleton,_CA) or Camp Lejuene, NC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Lejuene), as each unit uses different selection processes. In general, the screening begins with a standard physical fitness test, a three mile run, stomach crunches and chin-ups. Marine candidates must obtain a First Class score of 285 or higher to continue the Indoc.
Because Marines are amphibious by nature, the candidates will proceed to the pool next where they will perform water aerobics and underwater push ups while wearing boots and uniform. Candidates are required to swim to the bottom of a pool with a depth of twenty-five feet to retrieve a ten pound concrete block, used to simulate a magazine-fed weapon. Then candidates must carry the block to the surface and swim with it to the a designated spot. Next, candidates tread water for thirty minutes with a rubber rifle, called a "rubber duck," held above their head.
The candidates then run the Obstacle Course, or "O" Course, a few times on the next day. The candidates are evaluated on their effort and method of attempt, instead of how fast they finish the course. After the "O" Course, candidates perform a timed eight mile "Ruck Run," which requires candidates to carry a rucksack containing a fifty pound sand bag and a "rubber duck." [20] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force_Recon#cite_note-19) Candidates must maintain a pace of four to five miles per hour. Failure to maintain this pace results in the candidate being returned to their original unit. Any candidate may voluntarily dropout at any time during the screening process and retake the test later. Multiple screening attempts are common before succeeding.
Candidates who pass the physical tests are given a psychological screening test and an interview. Officers are interviewed by the Company Commander.

[Do-Or-Die]

Thank you very much 0231Marine, sounds like I got to work on my swimming, looks like I qual for everything else though, just got to maintain my PFT scores.

[PFC Horse]

Good luck with the Recon thing, Do-Or-Die. I remember them as being one crazy-ass bunch of Marines, and the envy of everyone who wasn't one, including me.

[Do-Or-Die]

Thanks alot PFC Horse.

[JordanB]

Also remember: do you want recon or Marsoc? (cause alot of people get the two confused) 0321 recon Marines go straight to recon bns (they still get a **** load of schools/ training, but as far as I know they are not part of socom) Marsoc is what we are integrateing our old Force Recon units into, I've got a Sgt who re-enlisted with a Marsoc contract, he told me they have Marsoc Advisors (in a nutshell our version of the green beretts) and Marsob (Marine spec ops batallions, the guys who get to do all the high speed missions jumping out of helos and what not)

[Pete0331]

Also remember: do you want recon or Marsoc? (cause alot of people get the two confused) 0321 recon Marines go straight to recon bns (they still get a **** load of schools/ training, but as far as I know they are not part of socom)

No, not part of SOCOM.



Marsoc Advisors (in a nutshell our version of the green beretts)

Not really. Marsoc advisers are tasked with FID, Army SF do DA, COIN, UW and FID.

[Accord]

You want to go to a bunch of schools for 3 years or do you want to go on a combat deployment and take the fight to the enemy the day you hit the fleet? That's what you need to ask yourself as far as recon goes.

2 of my best friends I went to boot camp and SOI with went recon, they're still in the training pipeline and going to schools. I'm just coming back from a 9 month combat deployment in Afghanistan.

I'll take a CAR on my chest over a pair of jump wings and a firewatch ribbon.

As far as choosing an MOS, you want to be a civilian that wears cammies, or you want to be a Marine Corps grunt, do the things Marines are famous for? Nobody ever wrote a history book about an admin clerk.

This isn't a peace time Marine Corps and everything you do from the day you step on the yellow footprints is to prepare you for combat, and unlike the peace time Marine Corps you will use everything you've been taught and all the BS you had to go through will all of a sudden make sense when you take first contact.

[Fubar5812]

in unrelated news,you spelled NEAR swrong on your signature.


no matter what road you take,you will find yourself asking "what the **** are we doing?!" at some point or another.The Marine Corps is strange..on the one hand they tell you "take the initiative!" but at the same time "do not do anything unless instructed by a higher authority" hence confusion reigns in some schools/units.

My buddy is an 0331,he was in Fallujah for 8 months standing post for 8 hours a day almost everyday,needless to say he has alot of photos of himself standing that post.he says he was bored as **** all the time,but at the same time the guy was in fallujah for 8 months,one of the most dangerous cities in iraq up until a year or two ago if he did see/do anything he probably wouldn't want to tell me anyway (I was just a poolee back then)

[Phantom Blooper]

swrong


In related news...you spelled wrong...wrong!:evilgrin:

[Quinbo]

Never ever look or act bored. Some highly motivated gunny will see you laying around like a pack of tufelhunden on a Sunday afternoon siesta. Next thing you know ... you what is your MOS? 0151 Gunny ... good you have 5 minutes to prepare to teach a class on the proper use of a 3 hole punch. You two what are you doing ... waiting for the trucks gunny ... good ... I want you to prepare a proper landing zone for a truck by placing all rocks and gravel larger than a golf ball on the sides of the road covered and aligned. Everybody needs to cammie up. You ... go fill them water jugs up at the water bull and make sure every single canteen in this company is topped off. You go dig a trench for that comm wire and I better not be able to see an inch of it above ground.