View Full Version : Leaving August 24th. Have some final questions
dunn2517
08-08-09, 01:13 PM
I am as of now a 0331. However I would like to get the opinions of some people who are in these MOS on If I should stick with this or go for 0311? Also I was told I can volunteer for deployment out of my MOS school, is this true? my unit is set to deploy in Nov. of 2010, I would like to go sooner than that. Thanks in advance for clearing up my ignorant questions. I look forward to being a part of the Corps.
rufio14
08-08-09, 08:49 PM
Are you a reservist?
dunn2517
08-08-09, 10:36 PM
Are you a reservist?
yes
Alisium
08-08-09, 10:42 PM
You can always move to another unit that's deploying sooner. And UNITAS is always looking for bodies.
I'm partial to 0311 since I did both in active duty and reserves. We simply get to do more stuff. Despite the fact that weapons guys call us "crunchies" they are still infantry support.
I'm sure Pete0331 will be around to tell you differently.
SF and good luck.
dunn2517
08-09-09, 10:44 AM
thats good to know. What routes do I take to go with a unit thats leaving sooner? I know it might sound stupid but I really don't wanna be in a supportive role.
dunn2517
08-10-09, 05:08 PM
Bump for some more opinions.
dunn2517
08-10-09, 05:22 PM
im going to talk to my recruiter and see if I can change it 0311 I think
dunn2517
08-12-09, 11:33 AM
I have talked to them , and there are no 0311 spots open, are there any other routes I can go down?
I have talked to them , and there are no 0311 spots open, are there any other routes I can go down?
Just wait, or go active duty. Either way, i would much rather be active duty than a reservist...i used to think reserves was the way to go, until i went to boot camp and realized that its bad ass being on base and being around your buddies. Civilians are strange...you'll realize this once you get out of boot camp (well most civilians)
StoneTheWeak
08-12-09, 08:57 PM
Just wait, or go active duty. Either way, i would much rather be active duty than a reservist...i used to think reserves was the way to go, until i went to boot camp and realized that its bad ass being on base and being around your buddies. Civilians are strange...you'll realize this once you get out of boot camp (well most civilians)
I disagree, blanket statements like that simply don't work. It depends on what kind of person you are as to what will work for you. Personally I'm active duty and would have benefited more from going reserves and gone to college, its the kind of person I am, and my ability to learn is hampered. Some people like/need the rigidity and structure of active duty. It's all dependent. Heres one tidbit though....
You can switch from reserves to active duty, you can never go from active duty to reserves.
You can switch from reserves to active duty, you can never go from active duty to reserves.
Unless your at your reenlistment.
Only choose reserves if you absolutely want to be one, and have a good reason to do so, like going to college full time (all ready accepted and everything), have a GOOD paying job (McDonald burger flipper doesn't count), or a combination of the both, or some other personal issue, but still want to be a Marine. I blame myself for going reserves, nearly everyday, at least I enjoy my MOS, so I don't complain about that.
The thing about reserve units and MOS's, is that unit is paying YOU to go through schooling and to have YOUR MOS in their unit. All of that comes out of their funding, so they will want the most out of you. My unit needed a 3536, so they contracted me into it (yeah sure, it took me a little over a year to go through the whole thing).
CarolinaMarine
08-13-09, 07:36 AM
Any reasoning behind not waiting and going with your unit? Beyond just wanting to get in on the fight? Being a reservist myself and currently activated, I'm very glad i went with my unit instead of going sooner/later. These are of course the guys you are going to be working with once you return, why not deploy with them.
I'm glad i went reserves, being on active duty now waiting to ship overseas it fully supports my decision, I can't stand active duty. I used to think my I&I and Reserve Unit was screwed up to no end.....then i got activated and it makes my unit look like heaven on earth. You can definitely tell an active duty Marine from a reservist here. Not to mention all the Active duty guys get ****ed that you make more $ then them and constantly tell you how they should of gone reserves. Active duty is filled to the brim with BS and NO common sense. I could list more reasons but i don't think its relevant.
0331 2 0369
08-13-09, 07:56 AM
Any reasoning behind not waiting and going with your unit? Beyond just wanting to get in on the fight? Being a reservist myself and currently activated, I'm very glad i went with my unit instead of going sooner/later. These are of course the guys you are going to be working with once you return, why not deploy with them.
Very good reasoning. Go with your unit. Not only does it give you more time to prep yourself as far as training but it will give you a chance to build a fellowship with your unit.
As for being an 0331, there is absolutly nothing wrong with that. As my ID shows, I was born an 0331 and loved every minute of it. If you are in a wpns plt then it can be a b!tch sometimes but it is still fun. I spent most of my time in a Wpns Company in, what started as a Heavy Machinegun Platoon years ago, to what it is called today.... some refer to those platoons as CAAT (Combined Anti Armor Team) or MAP (Mobile Assault Platoon).
And we never refered to the 0311's as "crunchies". We called them "speed bumps".:D
dunn2517
08-13-09, 11:14 AM
I have been accepted to UCONN, I am an honor student and want to go to college and also serve my country. I got accepted into the physical therapy program so I may want to do that in the Marine Corps. further down the road. My own personal opinion is that we are in a war and just because I am a reservist doesn't give me the right to sit home for 8 months after SOI while Marines are dying. Also it happens to fall when I come back in March which is in the middle of a semester , I am schedualed to leave in NOV. which is in the middle of a semester so I will enevidably be wasting time if I come back and wait to deploy.
rufio14
08-15-09, 04:51 PM
I would say deploy with your unit..you haven't lived the life yet, you don't even know
if this is truly for you and unfortunately you can't really ever know that until your
actually in...you don't know if you're going to want a nice break after going through SOI, you might welcome the time to be home and relax a bit before deploying to WAR, cause thats what it is. Just remember you still have to earn the Title, you still have 3 long months at MCRD, things may look different to you in 6 months so you can truly make you decision then. Good luck and let us know what happens.
dunn2517
08-16-09, 02:28 PM
you are right about that. Now is not really the time to make that kind of decision. I will let you know when I return. Thanks again .
I disagree, blanket statements like that simply don't work. It depends on what kind of person you are as to what will work for you. Personally I'm active duty and would have benefited more from going reserves and gone to college, its the kind of person I am, and my ability to learn is hampered. Some people like/need the rigidity and structure of active duty. It's all dependent. Heres one tidbit though....
You can switch from reserves to active duty, you can never go from active duty to reserves.
do you not think before you type?
at the end of your 4 year active contract you are in the reserves for 4 years....
"Blanket statements like that simply don't work."
"You can never go from active duty to reserves"
lol
Any reasoning behind not waiting and going with your unit? Beyond just wanting to get in on the fight? Being a reservist myself and currently activated, I'm very glad i went with my unit instead of going sooner/later. These are of course the guys you are going to be working with once you return, why not deploy with them.
I'm glad i went reserves, being on active duty now waiting to ship overseas it fully supports my decision, I can't stand active duty. I used to think my I&I and Reserve Unit was screwed up to no end.....then i got activated and it makes my unit look like heaven on earth. You can definitely tell an active duty Marine from a reservist here. Not to mention all the Active duty guys get ****ed that you make more $ then them and constantly tell you how they should of gone reserves. Active duty is filled to the brim with BS and NO common sense. I could list more reasons but i don't think its relevant.
So, you're activated now, and actually AT a REAL Marine Corps installation, or are you activated and still at an I&I?
CarolinaMarine
08-16-09, 03:34 PM
So, you're activated now, and actually AT a REAL Marine Corps installation, or are you activated and still at an I&I?
Lejeune.
I also want you to know CM that ILOK is training... it's not active duty. My former reserve unit went there and I was told it's retarded... it's not your typical active duty.
don't compare two things that you know nothing about.
now, if you did 4 years active then went to a reserve unit, or the other way around... I'd accept you statement about how you think AD is jacked up.
but let's be real... what do you really know?
CarolinaMarine
08-17-09, 01:14 PM
Active duty is active duty. Bootcamp, MCT, MOS School, Vipers, etc...thats training. I have yet to "train" in ILOK save for Mojave Viper. I'm around active duty Marines/shops all day here i'm pretty sure I know jacked up from non jacked up and i've gotten a pretty darn good idea what an active duty Marine does. The majority of them fail to work with any common sense.
Sigh, i guess rock paper chevrons tells me i don't know jack ****. I'm done.
wow... I'm shocked that YOU think AD Marines are jacked... your atitude alone screams sh!t bird. A misunderstanding isn't reason for you to act like a child. You need to understand your not special... your comment about "rock paper chevrons" is infintile and only supports my point about you not knowing what you're talking about.
I'm glad your done... there are too many reservists out there who think they know better when their level of training is so substandard to AD... and I do know how substandard it is, seen both sides of the street.
and yes spell check failed me on train... I blame firefox.
grow up.
I didn't want to mess with this thread cuz I saw where it was going... And it has arrived... ;)