Reserves

[SC13]

I have read on a lot of posts about people wanting to join the reserves and asking questions on the subject. But one common theme that these posts share are that ther is always someone who says if you join the reserves you want be the best Marine you could be if you were on AD. Why is that?

Thanks Michael

[raveux]

Hey there, maybe I can elaborate a little more since I'm a reservist.

If you don't know how reserves work, you report to your unit every month for a weekend. In the summer, they'll send you off to AT for two straight weeks.

So for the most part, you're pretty much on your own except for 2 days a month until AT arrives. 2 days a month of "being a Marine". So for the rest of the time, you can eat a lot, get fat, not PT yourself, and do plenty of other stuff without much (or any) moderation. I'm sure that's why there's that stigma of a reservist as being nasty, fat, and disgusting. If you're in an MOS field that requires extensive knowledge, you'll need to retain it because otherwise you'll forget. And how can you forget your own MOS when they deploy you?

That's why people encourage and remind people who want to be reservists (such as yourself) to be the best Marine you can be. Because you are the only person who can really keep yourself in check. Sure, those two days will help keep you in shape, but as my Sergeant put it, "I can PT you for the next 48 hours, but will it help? Maybe a little, but more than likely not. But if you PT for 48 hours a month, will it help? Yes, it will. So it's all on you guys to keep yourself fit. Study knowledge too, because who knows when you'll need it?"

Hopefully that answers your question. If I didn't answer it or if you have extra questions, feel free to ask.

Sidenote: I should say that the "two days of being a Marine" comment isn't meant to degrade or belittle reservist Marines, but merely stating that it is true we only do Marine-related stuff for two days (with the exception of funeral duty, Toys for Tots, etc).

[SC13]

Thanks for the quick response raveux. I had a feeling that the reasoning behind it was the fact that reservists only do Marine related stuff a weekend out of the month and two weeks a summer. I knew how often reserves reported to their unit but what sort of stuff goes on during these weekends and 2 summer weeks?

[SC13]

Sorry my last post sounded so naive. I know that you train in you respective MOS but what exactly do you do training wise? The unit nearest me is an infantry unit, which is oddly convenient, considering that is the MOS I want. Would they more than likely spend their weekends in the field or is there also classroom time or what goes on during these weekends?