28 years old and going to bootcamp Nov 16

[karlv65]

What is boot camp going to be like for me ?? I go to these poolie meetings and I don't really relate because of the maturity level its weird I feel like an older brother.. 2nd question what should I be doing as far a getting pre pared for bootcamp im in the gym allot I just stop lifting weights ..doing allot of running ..stair master its an hour of total cardio...I want the physcail part to be as smooth as possiable for me any tips?? After basic am I not going to have a life anymore...do I get days where I can go out and have a drink ..or go to a night club...or am I done ??

[Phantom Blooper]

To have your questions answered READ THE STICKY RULES AND FILL OUT YOUR PROFILE and most Marines will be willing to answer your questions.:evilgrin:

[sparkie]

No,,,,,,, After boot, no Marine Ever gets drunk.

[ecfree]

At 28 yr's,it's going to be rough,both phisical and mental...:confused:
There is no basic...BOOT CAMP is finished when you get your EGA...There is other training to go to....You might get time off at other duty stations(tad)...You should get better info from the NEW CORPS Marines...I've been out a few years....:D
BTW...You need to fill out a better profile.

[karlv65]

Sorry Marines I just read the rules I am new to this . Going to fix my profile .

[Fievel]

Boot camp is the easy part. If you complete that, it only gets harder to be a Marine. After boot camp you go to SOI/MCT. Then you go to your schools for whatever job you will learn. Then you go to the fleet. Then you get stuck on a lot of working parties and 24hour duty posts. There is no time for drinking and you can pretty much kiss your social life good-bye. Since you will be spending most of your time on duty, you will most likely lose all your friends because a Marine on duty has no friends. If you get lucky, you might be able to talk your fellow Marines into getting you a bag-nasty from the chow hall, but more than likely you will quickly grow tired of those and order a pizza. When the OOD shows up to make sure you are performing your Marine-like duties, your pizza will show up and the OOD will stomp a mud hole into your ass and walk it dry, putting you on duty again that saturday. It's a viscious cycle. It takes a lot of dedication to be a Marine.

[Fievel]

In short, you "life" is over. If you don't want to give up your "life," I'd not waste the time by trying to go through boot camp.

[karlv65]

In short, you "life" is over. If you don't want to give up your "life," I'd not waste the time by trying to go through boot camp.


I'm doing this for all the right reasons! Being a Marine is something I always wanted to do! I don't care about the pay . I want to do this for my country I see what all my friends are doing with there lives it does not count for anything! Being a Marine has been my life long dream I waited long enough now its time !

[karlv65]

At 28 yr's,it's going to be rough,both phisical and mental...:confused:
There is no basic...BOOT CAMP is finished when you get your EGA...There is other training to go to....You might get time off at other duty stations(tad)...You should get better info from the NEW CORPS Marines...I've been out a few years....:D
BTW...You need to fill out a better profile.

Thanks

[ColdBlooded]

I'm doing this for all the right reasons! Being a Marine is something I always wanted to do! I don't care about the pay . I want to do this for my country I see what all my friends are doing with there lives it does not count for anything! Being a Marine has been my life long dream I waited long enough now its time !


If you always wanted to do this then why are you just now joining?

[devildame]

I joined at 26. I thought that made training and school so much easier. You won't be freaking out like the others, and their dramas will amuse you. Probably fellow recruits/Marines will treat you like a big brother and ask you for advice a lot. Getting to the fleet will be okay at first, but you will be annoyed as hell that you are older than almost all your superiors and you aren't supposed to hang out with them (fraternization). Then you will watch all your peers, many of them 10 years your junior, making stupid decisions. I'm not gonna lie, it won't be easy being so much older.

[karlv65]

If you always wanted to do this then why are you just now joining?


Because I was not ready at the time to busy getting in trouble and allowing my job pick me . I was never happy I was always jealous of a couple of my friends that were Marines.

[karlv65]

I joined at 26. I thought that made training and school so much easier. You won't be freaking out like the others, and their dramas will amuse you. Probably fellow recruits/Marines will treat you like a big brother and ask you for advice a lot. Getting to the fleet will be okay at first, but you will be annoyed as hell that you are older than almost all your superiors and you aren't supposed to hang out with them (fraternization). Then you will watch all your peers, many of them 10 years your junior, making stupid decisions. I'm not gonna lie, it won't be easy being so much older.

I can only hang out with people my ranks ? How much free time do you get after boot camp ? Do you get weekends off ?

[psyclopsus]

Going through boot camp at such an advanced age (relative) will be a bit more of a challenge. Honestly, I believe, and many of my friends from the Marine Corps have agreed that the hardest part of boot camp isn't the physical aspect of it. The farthest you will have to run in boot camp is about 4 miles, but they gradually work up to it. The hard part is having somebody control every SECOND (virtually) of your day, the mental discipline required. Younger guys who have no life experience outside of high school will definitely have it easier (YOU might think to yourself, fvck this Drill Instructor, who is he?, I can do THIS job, or I've done suchandsuch before.) 18 year olds are clueless, almost like sheep and that's why the Marine Corps loves to recruit them. Impressionable minds. You have certain habits from your life experiences that will be hard to break. Believe me though, if anyone can break those habits a Marine Corps Drill Instructor certainly can! NEVER give up because the Drill Instructors will DIE before they give up on you. You might think they could care less if you wash out, maybe that they even WANT you to fail. In every platoon there are only a handful of recruits that fit this category. The Drill Instructors know that you are aware of the difficulty and you could have joined the Navy or Army, but you didn't. In turn, they are going to make you earn every bit of the title. NEVER quit, no matter how tired you are. Even if you don't have the strength physically to pick yourself up, you try.
Be prepared to deal with an extra ration of sh!t from your Drill Instructors purely because of your age (you don't want to listen to me because you're older? "Grand-old-man of boot camp" etc.) Don't let it get to you. Their job is to break you and they will. You may not understand at the time, but EVERYTHING that your Drill Instructors tell you to do has a meaning, reason or purpose. It's all part of the grander scheme of things. Anybody who tells you that their boot camp experience didn't break them is full of sh!t.

After bootcamp, SOI/MCT and MOS school you WILL have free time. How much varies greatly on duty station, if you are in Division, Group or Wing and your MOS. Some jobs like aircraft maintenance or MP's have shifts, like factories (1st, 2nd and 3rd.) Most jobs are "9 to 5." 9 to 5 in reality ends up being more like 0500 to 1700 with PT every morning at 0500, but generally it will be a daytime thing, with evenings "off." You generally do get weekends off, unless you have a Battalion Field Op, deployment for a couple months or other such exercise, or if you're a grunt, then you live in the field (oorah to all 03's reading now!). No matter the circumstances you will have a weekly field day in garrison and your weekend liberty can (and very well might be, at least once) revoked for a poor barracks room inspection.

If I remember correctly there are maybe 2 months in a calender year that you do not get a 72 or 96 hour pass (3 or 4 day weekend). All other months you generally get one or the other, usually near holidays. You are restricted to certain travel distances during these weekends (about 750 mile radius.) Near all bases there is a black-list of "off-limits" establishments, usually places Marines don't belong, such as head shops, or dangerous places (like gang hangouts etc.) and you will be disciplined if caught there. Anywhere else, like bars or strip clubs, or tattoo parlours you can go to freely. Most bases/units have restrictions on barracks room alcohol limits (e.g. E1-E3 1 Six-Pack each. E4-E5 1 Twelve-Pack each). Some units ban liquor in the barracks. It all depends. Most unit CO's are pretty hip to letting adults do what they want, within reason. My old unit in Camp LeJeune would pay your cab fare if you were too drunk to drive. You had to pay it back, but there was no discipline because you were reponsible enough to take a cab.


All that being said, liberty (or time off) in the Marine Corps is a PRIVELEGE, not a right. The Marine Corps DOES NOT have to allow you time off. Also, wearing civilian clothes is a PRIVELEGE. When I was in Okinawa in 2000, they had the G8 summit on the island. Some dumb-azz Marine had a local Japanese girlfriend and the parents didn't approve. One morning the guy was found in bed with the girl and she cried rape. I don't know what really happened but my point is that for 2 weeks the entire island (at least all Marine Corps bases) were ordered to remain in unform at ALL times and to report to our quarters DIRECTLY after work and the chow hall was the only place we were permitted to go.

You raise that hand, swear that oath and put your name on that line and they OWN you. Just so we're clear, I'm not badmouthing anything about my beloved Corps. I'm trying to be straight up with you. If you know what it's about, you have no excuses and nobody likes whiners, especially in the Marine Corps.

The only advice I ever give about boot camp is 5 simple words. If you follow this advice, you will sail through boot camp. Those 5 words are

INSTANT WILLING OBEDIENCE TO ORDERS

It will get you far in the Corps. Good luck in boot camp.

[boomer56328]

After evening formation your time is mostly yours as long as you don't do anything incredibly stupid. There will be certain places and certain things you won't be allowed to do, but it isn't anything crazy. Trust me, if your time is anything like mine, getting the time to drink a beer won't be a problem. You will probably have duty one or two days a month which sucks but almost everyone has to do it. The hardest part about boot camp will be letting someone have total control over everything in you world. It will probably be a little harder for you because you have been on your own. I joined when I was 20. Only a little older, but still made a huge difference in the maturity level. You'll laugh yourself to sleep during the first week when your 18 year old rack mate is crying himself to sleep.

[boomer56328]

[quote=psyclopsus;503736] if you're a grunt, then you live in the field (oorah to all 03's reading now!).

OORAH!!!

[devildame]

I can only hang out with people my ranks ? How much free time do you get after boot camp ? Do you get weekends off ?

Technically yes, you are only supposed to be associating with same rank groups. Called fraternization. You cannot be best buddies with a GySgt just because you are the same age. You might want to, but too bad. Feel free to be best buddies with your 21-year old roommate, though. Because you are 21/over you will probably share a room with someone of the drinking age, too.

[karlv65]

Thanks Marines for all of your advice I am good to go! Looking forward to this challenge and life changing experience !

[Supersquishy]

When I was in Okinawa in 2000, they had the G8 summit on the island. Some dumb-azz Marine had a local Japanese girlfriend and the parents didn't approve. One morning the guy was found in bed with the girl and she cried rape. I don't know what really happened but my point is that for 2 weeks the entire island (at least all Marine Corps bases) were ordered to remain in unform at ALL times and to report to our quarters DIRECTLY after work and the chow hall was the only place we were permitted to go.

.

Yea, I remember that Bull-squirts, I was in Iwakuni and we had some sort of stand down or briefing cant remember, but I think it ended up being false allegations because of the protesting, shoot we had protesters around out gates too during the G-8 Summit.

To the OP, just get used to your nickname "POPS" or "GRAMPS" when you get to your schools. No big deal, being older will allow you some wiggle room when it comes to being trusted.

[Lisa 23]

My nephew who is currently at PI for 2 weeks now, is 25 and he'll celebrate his 26th birthday next month. He hasn't said in the few letters that his parents and girlfriend got so far about being nicknamed "old man", "pops" or "gramps" yet. Oh well....only time will tell. Maybe when his birthday rolls around in July they will. :evilgrin: