A normal day question...

[Lifter25]

Morning gentlemen. I would like to know what to expect in a few weeks when I get to my first duty station as a 3521 Motor T mechanic. I joined the Marine Corps to serve my country, PT and shoot guns and so far I have been pretty disappointed. I'm hoping that I will be able to go on some field operations and learn more cool stuff.

Thanks everyone.

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[Zulu 36]

What you do will mostly depend on the unit you are sent to. However, essentially your day-to-day activities will be fixing motor vehicles. You will probably have an opportunity, after some experience and rank, to qualify as a wrecker operator, and you should learn tricks of the trade to make your work easier.

Additionally, you might get a chance to learn to operate an M-2 .50 cal machine gun from a mount above the cab of a truck.

You can read the news as well as I can, and should know that unless you're a special warfare operator or a pilot, there isn't a lot of combat to be found these days. Of course, that could change with little or no warning.

You might get a chance to go out on a float as part of a Marine Expeditionary Unit. If something should kick off, a MEU will probably be among the first units involved, as happened in Afghanistan in 2001. Otherwise, you'll float around the ocean on ship, putting into port now and then, and hopefully having liberty in those foreign cities.

[Tennessee Top]

You are not alone Devil. Majority of first termers are getting out because they are not doing what they joined to do - mainly fight or at least deploy (not advise/train foreign troops and deliver humanitarian aid supplies - the Army can do that).

Spend some time in the fleet and learn your MOS. Don't get in any trouble, maintain a first class PFT, and don't get any tattoos. After you pick up LCpl, if you still feel the same way, look into applying for Marine Security Guard (MSG) duty with the Department of State. It's interior guard duty at a Foreign Service post and the formal school has a high attrition rate. But, you'll at least have the opportunity to live in some exotic places. You'll be an embassy guard - not a Motor T mechanic. You'll need a Top Secret security clearance and that's why you can't get into any trouble. Just something to keep in the back of your mind for later down the road. If you are unhappy with your MOS and want a change, this may be an option for you.

[Mongoose]

I knew and still know many Marines from Nam, both living and dead, that wished they would have had the job you got.

[Kegler300]

You joined the Marine Corps to serve your Country. That in and of itself is cool.

[USMC 2571]

I was just about to say, before Mongoose and Kegler spoke the truth, that being disappointed is the way things go sometimes.

I have no desire to assuage the feelings of those who joined and then did not get precisely what they wanted.

I could point to a hundred reasons why this is common today as opposed to yesterday, but it would be futile.

[m14ed]

always did seem TIME was the key factor ?
Right Unit,right time- everything runs smooth.
Wrong Unit,wrong time- who knows what to expect.

Some of us learned it didn't matter what you were
trained to do for a daytime job, when it was time to
knock off from the normal days routine - you found
yourself protecting your perimeter , or someone elses.
Who KNOWS, maybe they'll have enough weapons
for the whole unit..

[Rocky C]

" It is what it is ". Just try being the best 3521 you can be. Marines will depend on you to do your job.

Best of luck.

[Old Marine]

The grass is not always greener on the other side of the road.

[Lifter25]

Thank you everyone for the replies. I appreciate it. Wish me luck on the Colonial inspection of our barracks room....!

[Tennessee Top]

Colonial inspection? Who's inspecting General George Washington?

[Lifter25]

Colonel, my bad M Sgt.

[USMC 2571]

I like "colonial" better. Closer to the old days when I was in. LOL

[Rocky C]

Hahahahaha. That was Great Dave .....

[USMC 2571]

Lol