new to Marine life..lots of questions...

[jennibaby990]

Hello everyone! My name is Jennifer Shepherd. My new husband just recently graduated boot camp at PI and left this past tuesday for MCT at Camp Geiger, NC. When he left he still had no orders on his MOS. I just feel really in the dark about where he will be going next and for how long? I also know nothing about MCT. will he have any contact with me while there? Is there a "graduation" or anytime between mct and his next step for me to see him. I just feel like hes gone and i will not be able to see or hear from him or know where he is after mct. Will i be able to be near him while hes in mos school? sorry for so many questions. any that can be answered is appreciated. I am currently living in raleigh, nc with his family and i just feel kinda left behind with no place to go. i know that im goin to be alone alot with this life and Im prepared for that as much as u can be i would assume. im very proud of him and support him in evrything! just wish i knew a lil more. thank you!

Jennifer Shepherd

[TinDragon]

If you know what his MOS field is, tht may tell you where he's going. They should also tell him in MCT.

He should be able to talk to you for the first few and last few days of MCT, but for the most part he'll be in "the field". MCT is about three weeks long. (Or four? I actually kinda forgot.) There's no graduation, so the next time you'll be able to see him is at MOS school. Depending on the length of school/what school it is you may be able to move there while he's there, or you may have to wait to move in with him until he gets to his first duty station.

[jrhd97]

Nice thing about MCT and you being in Raleigh is there is a good chance you will be able to see him on a weekend or two. You aren't to far away that you can't get down there on very short notice of him being let loose for a day or two.
This is getting you ready also. There will be times when he is deployed for a long period of time and the only contact you two may have is sporadic e-mail.

[jennibaby990]

thanks..i hope so. we are 4 days in and i havent heard anything..im hoping for maybe sunday...i just fig that if they get any lib at all it will be on sunday..right?

[jrhd97]

When I went through we got lib either Friday evening or Sat morning. Usually had to be back by Sun night, sometimes Mon early morning. Depends on who and how the training cycle is wrote up and who is in command of his company.
Our platoon Sgt was pretty lax with us. As long as we were in formation at 0500 Mon morning, he didn't really care when we got back. We had every weekend free. That was 17 or so years ago and times change. I'm not sure if they will give them that much time now or not.

[Lisa 23]

thanks..i hope so. we are 4 days in and i havent heard anything..im hoping for maybe sunday...i just fig that if they get any lib at all it will be on sunday..right?
I'd have to say it all depends....when my nephew was at MCT in Sept, they didn't get any weekend liberty, and I only got to chat with him twice, and I believe it was a Sunday afternoon, oh and the day he graduated too. They had some time to spare before graduation. After graduation, it was off to the airport and his MOS school at 29 Palms, CA.
It'll be a while, but he'll get in contact with you.

[TinDragon]

When I went through we got lib either Friday evening or Sat morning. Usually had to be back by Sun night, sometimes Mon early morning. Depends on who and how the training cycle is wrote up and who is in command of his company.
Our platoon Sgt was pretty lax with us. As long as we were in formation at 0500 Mon morning, he didn't really care when we got back. We had every weekend free. That was 17 or so years ago and times change. I'm not sure if they will give them that much time now or not.
Unless they changed it again since I went through, won't happen. When we did get libo, it was more of the "afternoon" libo. Go out and do whatever, but it had to be on base and you had be to be back by evening formation (which on that, the time would vary). I know we didn't get a lot of our libo, but I think you only get the afternoon libo once or twice total. The rest is more along the lines of your Sunday free time in boot.

[jrhd97]

Unless they changed it again since I went through, won't happen. When we did get libo, it was more of the "afternoon" libo. Go out and do whatever, but it had to be on base and you had be to be back by evening formation (which on that, the time would vary). I know we didn't get a lot of our libo, but I think you only get the afternoon libo once or twice total. The rest is more along the lines of your Sunday free time in boot.
That quite a change. Like I said, that was 17 or so years ago and a lot can change in that time.

[TinDragon]

That quite a change. Like I said, that was 17 or so years ago and a lot can change in that time.

I suppose they changed it because they realized giving Marines that much freedom that early on was a bad idea. I mean, people manage to screw up pretty badly even with a gradual buildup of freedoms... kinda curious how many incidents y'all had back then during your libo in MCT. Haha.

[jennibaby990]

thanks to all of you for your response. I guess ill just wait..basically all i can do. The patience thing is something thats not really a trait of mine. but im working on it. for Matt. and for us. I love him and im so proud! im ready for this challenge and experience. so what are the odds i will be able to be near him during his mos? does it just depend on the length?

[jrhd97]

I suppose they changed it because they realized giving Marines that much freedom that early on was a bad idea. I mean, people manage to screw up pretty badly even with a gradual buildup of freedoms... kinda curious how many incidents y'all had back then during your libo in MCT. Haha.
LOL! We had a few :beer: . Several hotels would not allow young Marines to stay :cry: . That was a favorite hang out for MCT Marines. It is probably better the way it is now. :D

[dROD20]

i graduated in december of last year and we got libo only the night before we gradueted. different companies may have different rules on libo time. phone calls were always sunday nights but our instructors only passed the phone out for 5 minutes, sometimes not even enough time for me to put the battery in and turn on my blackberry, so dont be discouraged if you dont hear from him every sunday. as far as mos school, it just depends on what his mos is. also, there is a graduation ceremony for mct now, i guess that changed from back in the day. i wish you both the best. SEMPER FI!

[TinDragon]

thanks to all of you for your response. I guess ill just wait..basically all i can do. The patience thing is something thats not really a trait of mine. but im working on it. for Matt. and for us. I love him and im so proud! im ready for this challenge and experience. so what are the odds i will be able to be near him during his mos? does it just depend on the length?
Length and what command it is really. Could be long and the command would still say no, could be short and the command could still say it's fine.

Do you know what contract he signed for? Like the Avionics field, or the Intelligence field, or anything like that? Most times every MOS in a field will end up in the same school.

[jennibaby990]

All i know is mechanical options...thats all he told me but he had originaly talked of aviation mechanics with his recruiter so idk what he was actually placed in.if its still more towards the aviation or just mechanical options itself? does that make sense? thanks for ur help.

[ringoffire]

.God found some of the strongest women and made their match a Marine.



I love this quote....did you make it up or found it somewhere else?? Is it okay if I use it?

[jennibaby990]

I love this quote....did you make it up or found it somewhere else?? Is it okay if I use it?


I just found it online somewhere..i love it too!! yes u sure can use it! lol. god bless..Marine wives. ooh-rah!

[SgtPatricksWife]

Hello everyone! My name is Jennifer Shepherd. My new husband just recently graduated boot camp at PI and left this past tuesday for MCT at Camp Geiger, NC. When he left he still had no orders on his MOS. I just feel really in the dark about where he will be going next and for how long? I also know nothing about MCT. will he have any contact with me while there? Is there a "graduation" or anytime between mct and his next step for me to see him. I just feel like hes gone and i will not be able to see or hear from him or know where he is after mct. Will i be able to be near him while hes in mos school? sorry for so many questions. any that can be answered is appreciated. I am currently living in raleigh, nc with his family and i just feel kinda left behind with no place to go. i know that im goin to be alone alot with this life and Im prepared for that as much as u can be i would assume. im very proud of him and support him in evrything! just wish i knew a lil more. thank you!

Jennifer Shepherd

I see that most of the ppl answered your questions already, so I'll just add, Welcome, and believe me i know how tough it can be... I alway's have said that when are men are away training or on field op's and what not... it's training for us too, because we have to learn to be without them for periods at a time. The not knowing part really never stops... Like right now.. i have no idea where my husband is or what he is doing where he's at, and i don't ask questions, because i know if he can tell me he will. He's a marine, and he is currently stationed in Japan, he goes out on ship A LOT..about 300 days a year, most of the time i don't even know what day he's leaving on ship... but he throw's hints at me... like the last time we stayed up all night so he could pack, obviously telling me he's leaving the next morning... and that all i have to go on.

You should try some MCWife forums, like Milspouse.com dogtagsanddiamonds.com militarysos.com is a really good one. Where we all stick together and help one another. because as i said, life as a marine wife IS NOT EASY, really never knowing whats to come, and most of the time not knowing anything. And it's nice to have a bunch of other woman around you that have been through the same thing to support you.

just always be understanding and supportive. Those are 2 things our men need most.

I wish you the best of luck!

-Crystal