Your Decision to Join the Marine Corps: How it Affected Relationships

[22DevilPup87]

Sgt. Bones recently posed a question for me to answer that I would like to offer to others to answer.

Your decision to join the Marine Corps shows that you're not just another face in the crowd. You have qualities that not everyone has, aspirations to earn the Title that few will understand and a long road ahead of you.

The question:
How has your decision to join the United States Marine Corps affected your relationships?

Please respond fairly generically. I don't want you bashing your parents or going into details about your relationship with your boy/girlfriend.

(I'm writing this directed towards pool-ees and wannabes, however hearing from Marines and family of Marines/pool-ees/wannabes would be great as well. It's simply too grammatically cumbersome to individually address each group. However, the question remains the same across the board. )

For me, personally, I think I've always been a little different than the mainstream. I've been one to take charge and quickly rise to a leadership position. Because this has been a constant and not a variable I don't see how it's dramatically affected any of my relationships. There are those that question everything I do, set in their ways, telling me I'm wrong and they're right. There are those that have come to support me after they see the hard work I've put forth, but didn't take me seriously until I dropped my first 20 pounds and got application packets for USNA, USMMA, nominations and an ROTC scholarship. Then there are those that have always supported me, though don't understand me or my motives.

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

My father was disgusted with me for enlisting. He had my life planned out for me, and it did not include time in the military, much less as an enlisted man. He came to my graduation, and we di not speak again for about eighteen months. Since, he has seen how much the Marine Corps means to me, and how much it did for me. In hind sight, he knows it was the right decision for me.
My relationship with the girl I was dating at the time is a little different. If anyone is actually interested in more detail about how this affected our relationship send me a PM and we can talk about it. But, for the purposes of this forum, let's just say that we are no longer dating, but are still best friends.

[Travis_R_Wilson]

My parents took the decision pretty well...My gf and I decided to get married and understands how much my decision to become a marine means to me...Most are very supportive except for my best friend who thinks I have a death wish.

[wrbones]

First. Always capitalize Marine. It's a title!

Second, I hope your gf has an inkling of what she's in for. It takes a woman's woman to deal with marriage to a Marine! There's some info on this site to get her lined out that way.

Third, in the Corps, you learn to kill the other guy first. Quick, fast and ugly. That's one of the things we're good at.

There's an unbelieveable amount to learn! This site is a helluva good place to get started on that! There's no such thing as a stupid Marine, and there never has been. Ignorance can get ya killed.

Do some readin' here and if you have any questions or can't find what yer lookin' for, ask. There's a minimum 20,000 years experience in the Marine Corps here. Someone has the answer to any question you'll ever have.

We're here to help ya every way we can, but you're the one who has to do the work...and it ain't always easy. If yer willin' to work, we'll bust our ass to help ya.

s.

Bones

Tell yer friend to go **** up a rope. He ain't yer friend if he ain't supportin' ya and coverin' yer six.

[jenrmurray]

I come from a strictly Navy family, except for one Uncle who went Air Force and was nearly disowned (my grandpa still loves to tell the story about how soft the AF is and that they visited him in the middle of training). When I announced my decision to go Marine Corps, my grandpa said, "Should we disown her now, or wait until she gets back from boot camp?" He still teases me, but he respects my decision and knows the Marine Corps is the best.

As far as others: all the men in my family suddenly became military experts. They all said I should join the Air Force because it's the easiest. The fact that they said that means they do not know me at all. It was annoying at first to listen to all their bull***stories that they heard somewhere or "saw on TV once," but I reminded myself that I did not need their approval. All my friends wondered what took me so long to make the decision... they have been behind my 100% and plan to live vicariously through me when I come home with crazy boot camp stories.

Through all of it, I have learned that people will always be against something that you're doing. The only way to get them to shut up is to stick to your guns, stay calm and don't budge an inch.
Now that everyone understands that I WILL NOT change my mind and take the easy way out and that I DO know what I am talking about, life is a lot easier.

Oohrah and Amen!

[CrazyBrave83]

It's kinda strange how relationships changed upon my enlistment. I had wanted to join the USMC since the third grade but even since then people had doubted me. Come Junior year in HS, I was almost in the DEP when I blew my knee. This event seemed to put rest to the entire situation everywhere but my own mind. Recently (10 April 2003) I finally enlisted and swore in as a Marine recruit. Since then, I've gotten a lot more respect from most friends and family, although now that my mother knows I'm really enlisted she's a bit perturbed, but I know deep down she's proud. I have no GF currently so I don't have to worry about that. Some kids that I thought were my friends turned out not to be calling me a "NAZI" and a "Warmonger"...but I guess it's just a means to weeding out the a**holes. Finally, a lot of my friends are NOT pro-military, but they support me and wish me luck.

[wrbones]

SmprFiSully, I never have liked yer username, but you seem to have what it takes. "Never let the bastards get ya down", and "Always get up. It ****es the bastards off". I'm not wonderin' about ya anymore.

You've learned an important lesson about friendship, too. True friends are few and far between. The rest are just acquaintances.

You keep up yer PT and yer studyin', and you should do fine.

TYou been around here long enough, you know what I'm gonna say next. Read everything in the POOL-ee Hall and Marine Mentor forum and you'll be ahead of most everyone when ya hit those yellow footprints.

[michy]

My parents forbid me to enlist in the Marine Corps. My mom's a captain in the air force, and she told me I should go in to the military as an officer, and to stay away from the Marine Corps. My 'friends' keep telling me that Marines are nothing but 'cold blooded killers'. So I really don't have that much support, and I have to wait until school starts up to talk to a recruiter again.

[Lucky]

My parents didn't like my decision to enlist at all. My mom actually suggested for me to join the air force, because she says it's the easiest. My girlfriend thinks that I'm making a big mistake, but when I ask her why she feels that way she never could give me an educated answer. I feel that the people who don't have my support now are that way because they have a vision on how they would like for me to live my life. And my girlfriend feels the way that she do because she doesn't know anything about the Marine Corps besides the glimpses that she can catch on CNN.

I just hope that after I graduate from basic and MOS that I will finally get my family support.

[jenrmurray]

Lucky, once you graduate from Boot Camp, you will be unphased by them and they will be in awe of you. At least, that is what this poolee thinks.

[NYLady13]

My father was born over seas in Lebanon, he grew up in a palestinian refugee camp, and he has a huge problem with me joining the Marine Corps. He hates it, he said somehting to me once about betraying my people. Well news flash to him Marines, Americans are my people! I was born and raised here and appreciate this country for all it has offered me. I love this country and I love all that the Marine Corps stands for! I am an American and I will be a Marine, I won't let anyone hold me back from my dream. I love my father and always will but if my decisions about MY life puts a damper in our relationship than its his loss! Thankfully I have a mother who loves and respects America and the Marine Corps just as much I as do and she is supporting me all the way.

[greensideout]

Funny thing about people that join the Marine Corps---They, for whatever reason chose the "hard path of life".
I find your posts enteresting. Lots of thinking about your choice.
When I joined I didn't give it much thought. I kind of woke up one day and thought, I'll join the Marines. I was 17 at the time.
For that decision, I spent a lot of time in what would be considered less then a good quaility of life. I loved it for the pride it brought. The chance for me to overcome the worse of everything that came my way. "How hard can you make it Corps? I can handle it!" When, in my Marine Corps travel I discovered how the Air Force lived and worked I was shocked! They are not in the "military" was my view. They live like civilians! Eight to Five jobs like down at a factory or office. If you want to get ruffed up, join the Marines. It will happen! You may also find that you are living the most exciting times of life. Doing things that seem increadable, living on the edge risking it all. Why? Because you want to. Anybody can become a lot of things in life, but only a few can become Marines. There it is, going the hard path.

[btrogu]

My girlfriend at the time, now my wife of seven years wasn't to thrilled. She always told me that there was no need for a milatary like ours. My wife works in NYC on the 36th floor of a building that used to face the Trade Center. On Sept. 11th my wife sat in her bosse's office and watched the second plane hit the tower. From that point her whole view changed. As she was moving towards the boats to take her back to Jersey she saw people jump to there deaths. It took my wife a while to get over the shock of what happened and now she understands of why we have the best milatary in the world. Semper Fi.

[top1371]

My Dad said, "Go into any branch, just go!" He was joking, he did 27 years in the Army and thought the service was good. He let me screw off for 8 months after HS graduation before I made my move.

I joined the National Guard when I was 17 because they were the only branch that would let you go to basic during your summer between your Jr. and Sr. year of high school and finish with your school after High School graduation. That was a real eye opener.

After graduating from High School and completing all my active duty guard training I wanted to go active. I could have went into the Army without going through boot camp.

Like I said, my Father did 27 years in the Army and retired a MSgt, my brother was in the Army at the time. I had to out do them. I wanted to be better than they were...

I told my sister I was going in the Marines, she shruged me off and said I would never make it.

When I called the Marine Corps recruiter he said that if I wanted to talk I needed to bring all my documents with me. Duh! I did as he said, he didnt give me a sales pitch, he just put me in a small room (which became my recruiting office 10 years later!) and had me watch a film. After watching the film, he was standing between me and the door. I was on my way OUT with my tail on fire, good thing he was standing in my way.

What I saw on the video spooked me. Well the recruiter says, "If I sent you to boot camp, would you be man enough to make it?" Thats all I needed to hear. Where do I sign?! ("Press hard, six copies!) The next day I was at MEPS and two weeks later I was in San Diego. I will never forget the look on my sisters face when I came back from MEPS with a USMC t-shirt on. And better yet when I came home in my Charlies - thats how it was in '82.

I didnt know what DEP was and didnt have any material to study like other guys on the plane. They all had their general orders memorized and I didnt.

I knew it was going to be fun.

Semper Fi,

Top

[clint]

My fatherwas in the Navy as a under water welder. My mom said I should have followed my dad. Well as the usual teen wrong answer. She still signed the papers for me to join. After Boot Camp see completly changed her outlook and is happy Im a Marine. As for two couisins in the army they are always asking for input.