New Poster

[TooTallTom]

Good Evening Marines and Poolees.

My name is Tom, I live in Minnesota, and this is my introductory post.

I am 28 (time is running out for enlistment, but that's a different thread.) and I work full time as I am finishing up graduate school. I have actually been lurking here without an account since people of Achped's "generation" were poolees.

I enlisted in the Marines at 19 and spent five months (January 26th to June 26th 2000) in sunny San Diego at MCRD. I had recurring stress fractures, that led to a bone density test, that led to the Marine Corps telling me that I should find a different career. So I went to school and here I am.

Poolees, when you get to MCRD, do your damndest to stay in training. Should you get to MRP, do your damndest to get back into training. Going home with no Eagle, Globe, and Anchor is a horrible thing. I still think about it every day. Literally. So keep your stuff together and finish what you go to Recruit Training for, even if that means telling everyone who will listen (and some of those who won't) that you don't want to go home before you become a Marine. The Marines here can tell you how great that accomplishment is.

Thanks to all the moderators and Marines for providing such a great resource.

Tom.

[New York]

Hey Tom welcome back, are you thinking about re-enlisting?

[0231Marine]

Hey Tom welcome back, are you thinking about re-enlisting?

What part of bone density test and find another line of work didn't you understand? The guy is about the get his Masters Degree so even if he did come back, it better be as an officer!

[immaproshooter]

good luck

[TooTallTom]

Hey New York,

I don't know if it would actually be re-enlisting since I was an ELS. I have gotten kind of conflicting information on that part. I guess it wouldn't really matter either way, so long as I was able to get in.

Good Evening Corporal,

My bones have improved quite a bit since 2000, but they are still not quite 100% (as of February 2008). I don't know if I would be able to put a convincing-enough package together for OCS (for a couple of reasons), and I am not sure that I'd actually want to go that route. Basically, I know I want to be a Marine but I am not sure that I am ready for the amount of leadership required by a commission straight out of the gate. And I think that that uncertainty would be a pretty dang big problem. Also, I think I would prefer to have (at least initially) the ability to concentrate on the doing as an enlisted Marine rather than on the managing that comes as part of an officer's job description. I am aware (and just that) of the Limited-Duty Officer program, that seems to be a pretty dang good opportunity for those who qualify. Of course, at this point it's all moot anyway.

Hey Lance Corporal,

Thanks for the well-wishes.

[JWDevilDog]

Well, in my opinion what you need to do is strengthen your muscles and bones, and train them to work together. Go to rehab if need be. In my limited experience with stress fractures (I've had friends with them, including a serious runner who is now in Army ROTC) if you exercise through the pain, they go away. That doesn't mean kill yourself and run several miles at a time. That means the more light exercise you do, the better. For example, biking would benefit a lot. Don't over-exert yourself, but do a lot of light exercise to try to strengthen (that includes going to the gym and doing lower body work - light weight, of course).

Also, drink a LOT of milk and take in a LOT of calcium to try to strengthen your bones even more. Seriously.

It's unfortunate that you are already 28. If you were a few years younger, it wouldn't matter. But as it stands, time is fighting against you. The Marine Corps doesn't usually allow people older than 28 to enlist, although I'm sure this is waiverable (everything in the Corps is waiverable).

You said your last check up was in February of 2008. If I were you, I would go ahead and make an appointment soon to get checked up again. Obviously, the sooner the better. Maybe your legs are strong enough that you can try enlisting.

[JWDevilDog]

In terms of the officer vs. enlisted route. I completely agree with you. The best officers are those that are prior enlisted (Mustangs). They are a*s kickers who expect more out of their Marines, but not un-reasonably so. They have "been there," so they know what it the troops' point of view is. This is a huge factor when determining if someone is a good leader; empathy.

I do recommend finishing your Masters, as that in itself is a huge accomplishment and something to be proud of. Plus, few people have a Masters degree, so that makes you more marketable for when/if you do get out of the Corps, provided you can get in in the first place.

If you do make it into the Corps as enlisted, there are all sorts of enlisted to officer commissioning programs available, and if you have your Bachelor's and Masters degrees, your chain of command would already be looking at you to try that out anyway.

I wish you the best, and good luck. Please do heed my advice, and drink lots of milk!

[TooTallTom]

Hey LCpl,

Thanks for the insight on the Officer and Enlisted differences. It is always good to hear from someone new about that sort of thing. And I am for sure going to finish my master's degree. I have already spent all the money on it, and most of the aggravation, so it would be just plain stupid to not get the degree for my troubles, you know?

You are right about continuing to work a stress fracture. In MRP, we were always told by the medical personnel that we should bear as much weight on the injury as we could stand. Like you said, not a full-on exercise program, but not laying down and waiting for the thing to heal. I guess it is important to keep the parts of the bone that have seperated (fractred) in contact with one another in order to speed up the healing process. The one exception to this was the guys with femoral neck stress fractures, they were told to really take it easy. In smaller bones there is a risk of breaking all the way through with a stress fracture. With a fem neck, there is a chance that the broken ends of the bone (if they broke completely) could cut the femoral artery, which might wreck their day. And everyone know that the USMC doesn't want to wreck anyone's day...

As far as diet goes, you are absolutely right about getting enough calcium. Vitamin D is also important, since it helps the body absorb calcium and a mineral called Strontium is important to help build strong bones (but should be taken at different times than calcium since they compete for absorption). Leafy greens (the two most commonly given examples are spinach and broccoli) are also good sources of calcium. Almonds are also good to eat, but I don't remember if they are simply good sources of calcium or what.

Milk is both good and bad. It has calcium (and even Vitamin D in northern parts of the U.S.) which is a good thing, but it can lower the overall amount of acidity (pH level) in the body, which can be bad if you are trying to absorb minerals. But for the general population, you are right, drink more milk.

As far as bone density tests, I think I will wait until mid- or late summer to have one done, for a couple of reasons. First, the running (in addition to the weight-bearing exercise that I already do) will help to build my bones even more, and if I can't run without breaking I really don't have any business trying to enlist anyway. Second, I am not sure that bone density tests are something you can repeat multiple times in a short time period. (I just don't know and, if the results are still not normal, I don't want to be told that I've already had my one shot for the year, you know?) Plus, I will be paying cash, and they are in the neighborhood of $200-$300 per test. So it would be pretty easy to burn through a serious chunk of money in short order.

Thanks again for the reply LCpl,

Tom.

[JWDevilDog]

Well it sounds like you've done your homework. Good job. Hang in there, and keep doin' what you're doin'. Keep us posted, of course. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to know how it works out for you.

Good luck, and I wish you the best.

[New York]

Copy that CPL [0231], I read it and understood it thoroughly.


Tom, I wish you well and the best of luck in health and of course if you decide to take the road again in trying accomplish your goals. From my understanding it is still a vivid dream of yours in being a Marine.

It hurts me to read your post and see you, as this well qualified person (Morally, Character and motivation wise) are held back because of a such a disorder, I can relate in a way. I hope you can over come it, and when you have done so, can I am assure you, you will feel like you're on top of the world.

Good luck friend, keep me updated. It couldn't hurt to know a Officer/Friend of your character/spirit make!

[NewHarleyGear]

Welcome from NC.

[Books]

I have actually been lurking here without an account since people of Achped's "generation" were poolees.

I think I am the only poolee of that generation who is still a poolee. I remember those days...

[TooTallTom]

Good Evening Cpl,

Thanks for the welcome. How long have you been riding Harleys?

Hey New York,

Don't sweat it on my behalf. I've had a lot of time to wrap my head around my situation and am dealing with it. I won't say that it's no big deal, if definitely sucks, but you can't make your whole life about this one relatively insignificant issue. (Which is kind of what I was trying to get across to you regarding your color-blindness. Commdog did a great job of that by bringing up total blindness.)

Hey Books,

Here you were leaving me such a nice message, and I was over in your Cock Face thread clowning on you. Now I kind of feel like a d**k. And don't worry about still being a Poolee. As has been said many times, the Marine Corps is not going anywhere. Just make damn sure you go from Poolee to Marine.