I need some help....the dream may be over.
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  1. #1

    I need some help....the dream may be over.

    It's been a while since I've posted on here and a long time since I've really been active here. I have seen a few people making their way "home" as of late from the hayday of about 5 years ago so I figured why not try to make it back myself. Quite frankly everyone I am lost and trying to find my way.

    I got a lot on my mind as of late. I am currently stuck in Regimental PSD with RCT6 and its just not what I came in the Marine Corps for, and especially not what I reenlisted for. I am stuck in an OPFOR contract which doesn't end until Aug of 2013. However, after this deployment I am being told by the Reg. Sgt. Major that he will not allow me to return to my parent BN even though I am TAD because he is worried about my "career" and would initiate a B-billet for me. He says he can get me out of my OPFOR with what I have done here and it shouldn't be a problem, but we all know Marine Corps promises. However I am still not sure if this is going to be my career and quite frankly though I know that this war is over, I feel obligated to continue to stay in the fleet and pass my wisdom to those who have earned and deserve it.

    However, I wouldn't mind a B-billet but I am really worried as of late with the Marine Corps and "hazing" and Marines going to MCRD or SOI are walking on eggshells to try not to get caught in made up hazing allegations which end up ruining their careers anyway. I sure as hell am not a recruiter and would be lucky to make it 5 minutes before scaring the weak away or putting someone through a wall. That leaves MSG and quite frankly I'm just not sure. Sounds cool, but its still post and everything in the Marine Corps thats "sugar coated" or "greener on the other side" turns out to be just lipstick on a pig. I'm looking for that last remaining challenge.

    This leaves option C. The dreaded move to the darkside. With my college degree I am eligible for ECP, However I am concerned with a few things. First I am almost 28 and not in the shape I was as a 22 year old. These damn flaks and some hip flexor tears don't let up after a while and though I rock a PFT I am not sure how intense I will be able to take it for a constant period of time (I probably am fine, I always think I am not as good and end up being top 10 percent PT wise.) I mean I can say 270 PFT no problem anyday of the week.

    My biggest concern however, is that if I decide to earn the bars of gold I want to be an infantry officer. I want to bring my skills to the table where they are deserved and where I can best be utilized. Quite frankly I would go nuts in Supply or in the Airwing. I undestand the process for MOS selection, but I was wondering if there was any type of reservation for MOS for prior service.

    Quite frankly I have to start making decisions soon. Time goes by too quick. I am 5 years into the Corps and 3 deployments through (still on the 3rd) and I'm not getting younger and the days aren't getting any slower. I am not sure what advice I am truly asking for here, but it isn't "do whatever your heart tells you" or "wait and feel it out"

    I know some of you have followed my progress for years now and have mentored me along the way and quite frankly, I am not sure if I am being selfish, but I am asking for some wisdom on an important decision I must make and quite frankly anything would help at this point.

    I love being a Marine and even more love being an infantry Marine. I just think I have hit the crossroads where that dream may end and I may have to go do something other than hook and jab and pass on my knowledge in the fleet and I am really scared to death that this dream and this grunt lifestyle may be over for me in return for some post or a classroom or a desk. All avenues point to this and I am seeing Regiment right now and I want nothing of it. NOTHING. I really need some help.


  2. #2
    Marine Free Member Quinbo's Avatar
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    Most Sgt's Major of the Marine Corps did at least one tour on the drill field.


  3. #3
    I know Im new and dont know much still, and some of the stuff I dont know what your talking about but I know how you feel about the whole staying in thing, maybe talk to someone who knows more about officer and see what you can do to get infantry? It would be cool if you did go officer then you can learn even more and teach that much more to Marines. Maybe?


  4. #4
    Marine Free Member Apache's Avatar
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    All I can offer is personal opinion.
    The Corps is more than a job,it's a lifestyle of its own.
    You cannot find this in the slimy Civillian world.

    Some assignments you enjoy some you don't
    There is a mix of taking the bad with the good and continuing to prosper and always exceed expectations.

    I would stick with it.

    What was that one statement "we didn't promise a rose garden" ?

    Keep us posted -----


  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Apache View Post
    All I can offer is personal opinion.
    The Corps is more than a job,it's a lifestyle of its own.
    You cannot find this in the slimy Civillian world.

    Some assignments you enjoy some you don't
    There is a mix of taking the bad with the good and continuing to prosper and always exceed expectations.

    I would stick with it.

    What was that one statement "we didn't promise a rose garden" ?

    Keep us posted -----
    True Words .


  6. #6
    I understand that you don't want the "Follow your heart" line of advice, but it sounds to me that it is your heart that is most involved in this. You are concerned that you may not have the heart to continue on in what the Corps may have planned for you, or what could be the next logical step in your journey. My son has just enlisted in the Corps, and will ship in October, if all goes well. One of the first things I told him is that the Corps is not a job. It is not there to supply you with a steady stream of contentment and joy. There will be times when you are asked or expected to do something that you had not envisioned in your grand plan. These times are your defining moments: When you step up and acknowledge that the Corps is not here to serve me, I am here to serve the Corps. If what you see around the next turn is beyond what you can tolerate in the service of your Corps and Country, then by all means, step off the train, because it isn't going in the direction you want to go. I am all for satisfaction and a sense that I am doing something I love, but in the grand scheme of things I have to accept that I am but a cog in the machine, to be used, moved around, and manipulated to the satisfaction of the Corps.....not me. As I told my son, the Corps isn't raising its hand at MEPS and taking an oath to serve us...It's the other way around. Otherwise, all we would have is snipers, a silent drill team, and a marching band...
    Allow me to personally thank you for your dedicated service to date, and accept that I sincerely wish the best for you and your future happiness. Semper Fidelis.


  7. #7
    Weigh your options. Back home or in the Corps. You're either gonna get out and start off at the bottom of the pack, fighting your way back up.

    Or you can go make Marines.

    Get some more rank.

    Then go back to the fleet and make more of a difference.

    A buddy of mine just pinned on his bursting bomb - Marine Gunner CWO2 -- that would be a GREAT route to pursue.

    Another one is retiring as a Sgt Major.

    Both of them excelled on the grinder as DI's at Parris Island.


  8. #8
    I don't think you're being selfish at all by looking into your options, It's your career and your future. I would definitely consider going the Officer route if I were you. The 1st Civ Div is brutal right now.

    Semper Fi and Good Luck!


  9. #9
    I don't know if I expressed anything about my desire to get out of the Marine Corps per se I am really not trying to. I am here for a while at least 3 years, but I want to stay a grunt and I want to influence infantry Marines. However, doing so may hurt my chances in the long run to get promoted with the new standards. I mean as I grunt I picked up Sgt in 4 years which is a success in itself. But I want to be able to at least have a chance at a career none the less. I however am not really the drill field type of guy. I am not the screaming yelling crazy man that I think is needed to be there. I feel like if I dont desire to be there I am only hurting the ones I should be training. The officer route seems to be an impossibility, for reasons I won't discuss at this time, but I would like to see what my options are whether it is MSG or trying to even stay in the fleet and do something different like be a MG section leader or otherwise. I just dont want to live with myself saying could I have made a difference in one place rather than another especially if one of those places are truly putting individuals in harms way. I belong on deployment. Its truly my calling, but continual deployments and no b-billet will be the end of my career. I dont know. Its just tough right now getting forced into this deployment with Regiment that is not what I wanted, is not truly a "combat" deployment and is long and allowing now ability for personal growth or growth of the Marines around me. I need to find my way and at the end of the day it is MY decision, but I am just trying to get some help on pushing me in the right direction.


  10. #10
    Phantom Blooper
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    Mike....

    The dream is not over until you stop dreaming.

    I don't know what it takes today....besides being in cahoots with your monitor....but to gain any rank you will need to pull a Class "B" billet to gain any rank.....drill field...recruiter...MSG...ect.

    Being a MG section leader is still considered with the fleet....I was a MG section leader for the M-60's then I pulled another hitch at Quantico before being medically retired.....as a SSGT.

    If I would have stayed in I would have made it back to the fleet according to my monitor as a GYSGT.

    In my opine since you have been going on these deployments with the infantry as a warrior....I would say that a pump with the regiment would give you a needed break.

    The regiment has more perks than the line so it might/should be an easy go.

    Three years is short...but also a long time.....many openings can happen during that time.

    Just don't be like some and have to remember when the dreams were wet and the farts were dry!

    This is my opine...and the only other thing I can say is good luck and Semper-Fi!


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