jenrmurray
07-11-03, 12:02 PM
I am finally going Active Duty for sure! The only problem is that I do not have a job yet, and I will not ship until stinkin' March. BUT. At least I am AD. :) I went into the office to tell them that I did not want to ship as a Reservist even if it meant being a DEP discharge. Strong words, I know, but I was running out of things to say!
A Gunnery Sergeant from another station came in while I was talking to my Sergeant, he happened to overhear what we were talking about and asked if he could cut in. He talked to me for about fifteen minutes about Reserves and how it really is easy to augment (I said that I had been told it was not easy and I did not want to take the gamble of not being able to augment). Then he went on to ask me about OCS and was telling me that I would have more time to put the package together as a Reservist (but being an Officer is not my main priority, being a Marine is)... He told me I'm old, so I'll automatically get leadership opportunities in boot camp (he said, "long in the tooth." hehe) and a few other things... then he said, "young lady, I salute you. I think I will be seeing you again." Then he got up and went to the NCOIC's office.
Next thing I know, I'm sitting in front of the NCOIC and he's telling me that he's doing a Component Change for me. I could hardly contain my excitement. He was trying to give me a September ship date job of a girl who DEPed in months ago, but had never called them again. The Captain said if he could not locate her that day, the job was mine. Well, that fell through and she still wants to go, so I am all the way out in March.
I am very happy. My only damper is that whole March thing. Hopefully they will be able to find something sooner; they said it was a definite possibility. I won't start bugging them about it just yet... I'll give them a break for a few days. :)
One thing I did learn through all of this: When you're going in to talk to your Recruiter and you have information that other people have given you, don't say that you heard it from someone else. You have to craftfully talk them into telling you. I made the mistake of saying, "I've talked to a few Marines and they said..." The Gunnery Sergeant that Recruiters didn't like that.
To clarify: if I go down to MEPS and swear in as Active Duty, but don't have a job yet, does that mean they can put me down as Open Contract? Should I avoid going back to MEPS until I get a job? I mean, I am open-minded about what my MOS will be, but Open Contract is a little too open-minded!
I want to thank everyone who contributed very helpful advice along the way to getting a Component Change. I would not have known what to say without you all! :)
A Gunnery Sergeant from another station came in while I was talking to my Sergeant, he happened to overhear what we were talking about and asked if he could cut in. He talked to me for about fifteen minutes about Reserves and how it really is easy to augment (I said that I had been told it was not easy and I did not want to take the gamble of not being able to augment). Then he went on to ask me about OCS and was telling me that I would have more time to put the package together as a Reservist (but being an Officer is not my main priority, being a Marine is)... He told me I'm old, so I'll automatically get leadership opportunities in boot camp (he said, "long in the tooth." hehe) and a few other things... then he said, "young lady, I salute you. I think I will be seeing you again." Then he got up and went to the NCOIC's office.
Next thing I know, I'm sitting in front of the NCOIC and he's telling me that he's doing a Component Change for me. I could hardly contain my excitement. He was trying to give me a September ship date job of a girl who DEPed in months ago, but had never called them again. The Captain said if he could not locate her that day, the job was mine. Well, that fell through and she still wants to go, so I am all the way out in March.
I am very happy. My only damper is that whole March thing. Hopefully they will be able to find something sooner; they said it was a definite possibility. I won't start bugging them about it just yet... I'll give them a break for a few days. :)
One thing I did learn through all of this: When you're going in to talk to your Recruiter and you have information that other people have given you, don't say that you heard it from someone else. You have to craftfully talk them into telling you. I made the mistake of saying, "I've talked to a few Marines and they said..." The Gunnery Sergeant that Recruiters didn't like that.
To clarify: if I go down to MEPS and swear in as Active Duty, but don't have a job yet, does that mean they can put me down as Open Contract? Should I avoid going back to MEPS until I get a job? I mean, I am open-minded about what my MOS will be, but Open Contract is a little too open-minded!
I want to thank everyone who contributed very helpful advice along the way to getting a Component Change. I would not have known what to say without you all! :)