Missed poolee meetings

[Venge03]

So I have missed the monthly poolee meetings and IST 2 out of my 3 months in DEP. This is due to my job requiring me to work sat mornings. On top of that, i live about 35 min from my recruiting station so I have been going to the local gym instead. I'm keeping up on my fitness and am slowly improving. I'm doing a nice mix of weight training and cardio (spin class as suggested by my recruiter). I'm also learning alot of info and answering my own questions about the Marine Corps using the internet. So how valuable is attending Pt and meetings at the recruiting office?

[MarinesFTW]

Tell your job you MUST have that one saturday a month off, if they wont work with you then thats just sad. I live a hour away from my recruiting station and its not hard to get there, there is no excuse why you cant make it to the functions. I know 2 weeks in advance when they are so I can get everything sorted out so I can make them.

There is the working out in the gym and then the good ol trashing from the recruiters. I dont know how your RS works but at ours we are trashed for over a few hours which really test your will and its really good motovation. So in my opinion it is EXTREMELY valuable to attend them.

[sbombard15]

Tell your employer to have that saturday of every month off and if they refuse get your recruiter involved. I feel it is very important you at least make the once a month because it shows your dedicated and I know where I live you are looked down upon if you miss them for stuff that could have been taken care of like work. Another thing is if recruiters need to cut people from dep the first things they look at is the ist scores and the number of functions the poolees have attended. Keep in mind this is from my recruiter and yours may be different.

[xjrgjrgx]

You MUST to attend those meetings. It's one thing to keep up the physical activity, but to be pushed by your recruiters/other Marines is something special. Basically, Marinesftw said it best. Make your meetings. They are there for a reason. Get out there and handle!

[USMC Sokol]

They can kick you out for not attending them, ya know? And if they are going to kick someone out of the DEP, then they'd be kicking out those who don't come rather than those who might be completely out of shape or complete f-up's.

And look. You're already IN the Marine Corps, so you should be worrying a whole lot more about the Marines than your work. You'll be leaving your work when you ship off anyway. Plus, you're not fully preparing yourself if you're not going to the Poolee PT's.

[BrianW]

Sokol for the most part I agree with you, but for some of us who has 8 plus months to wait for MCRD(especially grads) we need something to preoccupy our time to lessen the chances of getting into trouble..

[CastNoShadow]

All of the above is true, and building a bond and camaraderie with some of the guys that are going through the same challenges as you is something you wont find at the gym.

Plus, once you leave for recruit training, your job will be something of your old life. NOTHING is more important than doing everything you can to prepare yourself for your future with the Corps.

[Venge03]

Hmm, thanks guys for all the suggestions. As brianW said some of us have 8 months+ left before we leave. I personally have about 6 months and still have to finish my last semester in college and pay the bills. And they do have passing IST numbers down for me. Regardless, i appreciate the advice and I'm going to take the necessary steps to not miss anymore meetings.

Oh and I dunno about other recruiting stations, but has anyone been attending the weekly PT sessions that are optional?

[Mulls]

if you don't get to them, you're not going to get kicked out of the DEP. they're beneficial - you should go to as many as you can - but you shouldn't freak out about them. it's possible to stay motivated and learn your stuff at home. if you purposefully miss every meeting because you just don't want to go, that's a different story, and though you may not be kicked out of the DEP, you're showing that you're gonna be a ****bag at boot because you can't get it together to pull some weight once a month. do what you can - you're the only one who really knows at this point how hard you're working.

[ksilvia]

dude seriously don't worry about it I barely ever go to them my recruiters know I have to work sometimes on weekends and when I have off I don't feel like waking up early and going to them. But then again I work out mon-thus with my recruiters at the gym but you need money to survive so i'm sure your recruiters will understand.