Alabama Shooter failed at becoming a Marine

[SGT VAS]

Looks like boot camp does filter out the ****bags that don't belong. Read the first sentence.




SAMSON, Alabama (CNN) -- The man who killed 10 people, then himself, in a shooting rampage in southern Alabama had failed in his dreams both to become a U.S. Marine and a police officer, and was depressed and unhappy with his life, investigators said Thursday.
<!--startclickprintexclude--> The shooter, Michael McLendon, killed his mother before killing others.



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<SCRIPT type=text/javascript _extended="true"> var CNN_ArticleChanger = new CNN_imageChanger('cnnImgChngr','/2009/CRIME/03/12/alabama.shooting/imgChng/p1-0.init.exclude.html',2,1);//CNN.imageChanger.load('cnnImgChngr','imgChng/p1-0.exclude.html');</SCRIPT><!--endclickprintexclude-->Michael McLendon, 28, fatally shot his mother in his hometown of Kinston on Tuesday before driving to nearby Samson and Geneva, killing nine more, then fatally shooting himself after a shootout with police

[Marine84]

Yeah, I saw a clip of the news conference where they said he joined and got kicked out after a month for fraudulent enlistment.

[SGT7477]

Them suckers always have to take someone with them.

[echo3oscar1833]

Well one less piece of shi$ to worry about.

[richerich]

I wonder what the fraudulent enlistment was all about....?

Either way, very troubling. I'd be pretty damn upset if I couldn't have earned the title.

[DWG]

Murder/suicide would turn out much better if these losers would try suicide first, then murder if they suceed!:D win/win situation!

[SSgt Ramsey]

The bad part with all of these schmucks with a USMC background / failed attempt at becoming a Marine is that all the civilian public really remember's is the tragedy and that it was a "Marine" behind it...regardless of the actual facts about the case. The media has a perpetual chubby for anything Marine related, good or bad.

[SGT7477]

The bad part with all of these schmucks with a USMC background / failed attempt at becoming a Marine is that all the civilian public really remember's is the tragedy and that it was a "Marine" behind it...regardless of the actual facts about the case. The media has a perpetual chubby for anything Marine related, good or bad.
Isn't that the truth.:flag:

[GSEMarine94]

What I don't understand is when something like this happens they only mention any type of military service if it's the Marines. For example there was that idiot a year ago that walked into a church in east TN and started shooting. I read a story about why he did it the other day and stuck at the end of the story they mentioned he was an Air Force vet. Now if he had been a Marine that would have been the headline. ****es me off because it's like the news wants to make us look as bad as possible.

[BR34]

Now if he had been a Marine that would have been the headline. ****es me off because it's like the news wants to make us look as bad as possible.

I blame Gunny Hartman. I mean, he said "God has a hard-on for Marines because we kill everything we see!"

Maybe the media all watched FMJ and decided that line was worthy of exploiting once a Marine (former or current) killed someone.

Either way, who gives a ****! It's the media. It's not information, and it's not entertainment. It's infotainment. They report what gets ratings...Marines give them ratings, so they report us.

KILL

[ssgtblue]

So you fail at something and have to kill a bunch of people....... WTFO????

[mcvet57103]

So you fail at something and have to kill a bunch of people....... WTFO????Losers like this sh-tbag go through life blaming everyone else for their failures. Some go to his exteme, and think they are punishing those responsible for their inadequacies. Blame everyone but yourself is the new liberal mantra. It's always something, or someone elses fault when they fail. Look at the economy, who are the libtards blaming? Bush, and failed economic descissions. It's never the people making stupid choices. It's not people buying houses they can't afford, it's the banks fault. It's not the bank's fault they are failing, it's the mortgage holders defaultings fault. It's never people running up huge credit card balances they can't pay, it's the credit card companies, etc etc.

[1stRad2671]

Another **** up that couldn't become a Marine.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,512560,00.html

[rheinmark187]

Do you think someone who failed out of Marine Boot Camp could turn their life around? Let's be honest, if you look at the attrition rate, it's not terribly difficult to graduate from Boot Camp. From what my brother told me (He was stationed at the USCG recruit depot for 5 years at the equivalent of regimental BAS for recruits) they do most of their weeding out in the first 6 months of service. So in effect, their the most exclusive in terms of who can and cannot stay in. Maybe the USMC should think about that, because I see far more Marines getting caught up in this stuff than people of other services, and the Marines don't offer as many conditional waivers, nor do they take many GED holders like the Army and Navy.

[Pete0331]

Poplawski had once tried to join the Marines, but was kicked out of boot camp after throwing a food tray at a drill sergeant, Perkovic said.

That'll do it.

[Pete0331]

Maybe the USMC should think about that, because I see far more Marines getting caught up in this stuff than people of other services, and the Marines don't offer as many conditional waivers, nor do they take many GED holders like the Army and Navy.


Psychological testing is something that needs to be addressed.
It is a money saving issue, as some people shouldn't even be allowed the chance to fail boot camp.
It could be done at MEPS.
But all Marines and potential Marines are a little screwed up in the head to begin with, so we need our own standards.
The mind of a Marine is a scary place... :marine:

[NoRemorse]

...the mind of a Marine is a scary place... :marine:

Depends on who's looking :marine:

Only we could understand some of the sick things that pass for humor among Marines. :D

So how do we get Marines to become psychologists so we can test these potential poolees/recruits?

I'll ask again... where'd he find a drill sergeant in boot?

I remember one drill instructor had a recruit sound off "YES DRILL SERGEAAAAAAAAAANT" in a high, nasal voice. That was some hilarious chit.

[Pete0331]

So how do we get Marines to become psychologists so we can test these potential poolees/recruits?


Drill Instructors do it to a degree in Boot Camp.
The training is structured as another way.
Pre and post deployment evals... the list goes on.

A combination of Navy and Civi contractor psyches pre-screening would be the best way.
I know Army SF goes though psyche testing as part of their selection.
The USMC is a small enough service that we could do the same.

[FistFu68]

:evilgrin: Born 2 KiLL :evilgrin: :iwo:

[rheinmark187]

It irritates me that bloggers (most with an anti-military bent) and news services are still calling this guy an '...ex-Marine, ...former-Marine, ...individual who was discharged from the Marine...

[rheinmark187]

Drill Instructors do it to a degree in Boot Camp.
The training is structured as another way.
Pre and post deployment evals... the list goes on.

A combination of Navy and Civi contractor psyches pre-screening would be the best way.
I know Army SF goes though psyche testing as part of their selection.
The USMC is a small enough service that we could do the same.

I wonder if Drill Instructors were given more discretion to remove recruits from training, would the Marine Corps still meet it's target? I wonder how they strike that balance in OCS.

[Pete0331]

I wonder if Drill Instructors were given more discretion to remove recruits from training, would the Marine Corps still meet it's target? I wonder how they strike that balance in OCS.

Quality vs. quantity.

I'd rather have a team of dudes I know are mentally fit and stable, then a squad of guys where their mental health is questionable.

Drill instructors already have quite a bit of discretion.
A few things happen:
Command complains about not enough guys getting though recruit training to match the losses.
The paperwork necessary is overloading.

[rheinmark187]

Quality vs. quantity.

I'd rather have a team of dudes I know are mentally fit and stable, then a squad of guys where their mental health is questionable.

Drill instructors already have quite a bit of discretion.
A few things happen:
Command complains about not enough guys getting though recruit training to match the losses.
The paperwork necessary is overloading.

I see. I remember them dropping a few guys for Mental Health, but these folks were severely screwed up. I also wandered into the "mental health platoon" squad bay at the Battalion Aid Station on Paris Island and it was shocking. To be honest, I really have to wonder if it was a dream, because some of those guys LOOKED like they had neuro-physiological impairments that should have gotten them d/q'ed the moment they stepped foot in the recruiters office.

I'm talking about "bighead" types --like Timmay from SouthPark, only not in a wheelchair. There was a guy with scars all over his head at the entrance to the squadbay, I asked him "where's your Scribe" and he turned and laughed, and asked me what a scribe was. It was so bizarre I have to wonder whether or not this really happened.:(

[rheinmark187]

I should ask this in a thread where Drill Instructor's frequent, because this is a strange case.