Give me your opinion.

[Dave530]

I posted here just because I wasn't quite sure where else to do so, sorry if I have done so in the wrong forum.

I was originally at MCRD in 2007, right after highschool and right after turning 18. I was a fat, anti-social, unkempt person and had no idea what I was in for. Everything went alright for the most part but I was having a horrible time (no **** it's basic), for starters my recruiter changed my MOS without asking me right before I shipped from infantry to supply administration which I found out about 2 weeks in, I wasn't even sure how to react to that other than being ****ed off. Secondly, I was an emotional teenager who didn't join for logical reasons, I wanted to play with guns and wear camo. I had no idea what dignity, honor, respect, and integrity were, it was a culture shock and I just couldn't take it, so right before my platoon migrated to pendleton I lied about a medical condition and my DI's had me dropped to the medical platoon. That was the worst mistake I have ever made, from there it went downhill until I eventually got dropped into the pork chop platoon (which is where I should have been in the first place). Things were picking up for a while and I got into a leadership position and even convinced a few others to stay there and tough it out, but one problem with where that platoon was located was that they had a perfect veiw of the parade deck. One day I saw my platoon graduating and I had to walk by most of them with their families on the way to and from chow and that just killed me inside. After that I don't even really remember anything until I was on the van leaving the base. I was discharged for depression . . . of all the pathetic reasons I mean, it was nice being home but I've had to live with that every day since then.

If I tell you I didn't take something from my time there then I would be a f***ing liar. Now I can't stand working with civilians. No one I work with has any standards. It's do it the fastest and easiest way and if it's wrong then whatever, it makes me sick. I work in a damn tire store and now I'm at a point that took my other coworkers almost 4 years to get to in less than a year, but it's still not enough.

For some reason though my DD214 was revised, and the addendum is Pes Plantus . . . flat feet. I don't have flat feet, so I'm not concerned with that. The only thing though is the depression bit, I want to go back in. There isn't a day that goes by where I don't fu**ing regret doing what I did and I want another chance but I don't know if I've ruined it for myself.

This time it would be for a family, for my future, and most of all for my country, so I can hurt those who would hurt me for no reason other than because someone told them I was bad. I don't want to wait around for them to do something first. I haven't been to my recruiter yet, but I have his number, I just need to call him in the morning.

Sorry for the wall of text, there just wasn't any short way to explain everything . . . what would you guys do? I can go see a shrink or whatever but I'm not depressed or crazy, and I don't have flat feet so that's a 35$ copay and 45 minutes to have that cleared. I want to go back, I want to be infantry, and I want to go back to that hell hole in the center of San Diego. I'm in better shape than when I left basic now, I just need to run a bit.

Most importantly I had the motivation I didn't then. I miss being on a real team with people that really care about you that you can trust.

OH YEAH, one last thing, the recruiter who changed my MOS also wasn't even in the state when my shipout date came around, and he didn't tell me my ship date. The senior recruiter called me and asked me where the hell I was . . . "Eating dinner with my family" I tell him, he says, "You have 45 minutes to get here."

Promise this is the last thing. When I left I wasn't a marine, I didn't tell anyone I was and I'm not a marine now. It made me sick when I was in the pork chop platoon when someone got a letter from one of the guys who wussed out and went home and he was telling everyone he was a marine and a devil dog and everything. Pathetic. You're a marine when you put on that EG&A and not until then.

Please give me some input . . .

[CaliforniaSurf]

I can tell you that it does not look good for you. Especially considering the fact that you've already been to boot camp and the fact that you got dropped for a mental health issue (from the cases that I've seen at an OSOs office, depression is a no go for the Marines). But I'm not a recruiter, so the best thing for you would be to contact your local recruiter asap. They will have the answers you're looking for.

[Quinbo]

Can you provide us with a brief description of your experiences in MRP and then PCP? What was your boot camp platoon number? How is it possible that weeks into training you were informed that your MOS had been changed?

How did you find this web site?

[Quinbo]

California Surf? Can you provide us with a brief description of what TBS was like?

[CaliforniaSurf]

California Surf? Can you provide us with a brief description of what TBS was like?

Haha I wish, my report date is October 12 Alpha Company. TBS is super backed up now, I'm just glad I got a reasonable date not too far from when I was commissioned. Some lts have to wait over 8-9 months to get picked up. I'm just doing mcmap at MCRDSD and doing pt with the local recruiting office.

[Quinbo]

Fair enough ... can you then provide us with a brief description of OCS??

[Dave530]

Can you provide us with a brief description of your experiences in MRP and then PCP? What was your boot camp platoon number? How is it possible that weeks into training you were informed that your MOS had been changed?

How did you find this web site?

MRP and PCP were ok. MRP had a lot of recruits with severe hypocondriac disorder. PCP had a lot of chunky guys and etheopians. Was originally platoon 100_, like 1 or 2, but ended up in 1008. I think he just lied to me about what I was signed up as, he never really look at my paperwork for my MOS, just made me sign things quickly . . . I would consider that more my fault for not paying more attention. Wasn't so much that it was changed, but that was what it was. Only DI's I remember are SSGT Beltran and Dickerson. I know Beltran hated me personally becuase I was a little baby when he smoked me.

Found out becuase I googled Marine Corps Colorblindness MOS and the first result was on this forum.

Also, what's TBS?


Edit: And thank you guys for your time, I really do appreciate it.

[Quinbo]

TBS is a channel on tv.

[Dave530]

I guess I set myself up for that one. Had figured it was some lingo I had forgotten the meaning of.

[CaliforniaSurf]

Fair enough ... can you then provide us with a brief description of OCS??

No problem. Where to begin...

I did the PLC program, juniors in 07 and seniors in 09. Basically the first couple of weeks are inprocessing which at OCS means sitting around for a long time and studying your regs. Pick up is after, where you meet your platoon staff and where the fun begins. I averaged about 4 hours of sleep a night due to gear prep, getting ready for the next day (especially when you have a platoon or company billet), and studying knowledge for any tests that I might have had coming up. The humps weren't too bad, except for the last one. The hardest part about PLC is going back to seniors when you know how much its sucks. Graduation isn't too exciting except for the fact that you're done with ocs, because you're not actually a Marine yet until you finish that last year of college and get commissioned ( for PLC and Golf Company (nrotc and mecep)

[Beltayn]

It's kind of sad we have to screen for trolls.

[CaliforniaSurf]

It's kind of sad we have to screen for trolls.

Well if anyone doubts me, message me and I'll give you my full name to look up on MOL.

[Sgt Leprechaun]

Dave530....sorry but your chances are....well, almost reaching 'zero'. A recruiter will be able to give you the full scoop, but realistically, no bs, due to the current recruitment boon, you are highly unlikely to get back in.

Without knowing your RE-code it's difficult of course, to say for sure. But if you have 2 conditions that caused the discharge (depression...that'll require more than one doctor visit I assure you) and flat feet (you may or may not get a podiatrist to sign off...) your chances, as I said, are just about 'nil'.

You certainly can look into other branches, start with the army and see what they say. While it may NOT be what you want, it may be all you can get.

[Dave530]

That's about what I had figured. I don't have flat feet, I have absolutely no idea why they did that, and it was two months after I discharged. It had nothing to do with me in basic at all, just two months after discharge I get a folder full of DD214's with addendums with Pes Plantus as the reason.

All in all I'm still going to try as hard as I can. It's marines or nothing.

I can try and look up the recode in a bit . . .

By the way thank you guys again, I really do appreciate it.

Edit: Once again I don't have flat feet, which is weird. I really 100% just out of no where got the addendum after two frikken months. And I understand depression isn't a 5 min deal to get cleared. Whatever it takes.

[Dave530]

Well if anyone doubts me, message me and I'll give you my full name to look up on MOL.

And I think he meant me, I was a little vague with my description of MRP and whatnot.

In PCP my SDI was Drill Instructor Staff Sergeant Fyff. Very stout, proud man, little bit of an accent, and very calm and in control. Our sub and next in line DI was Sergeant Soetaert. He was easily the coolest marine I've ever met. He lead us by example and earned respect. That's not to say any of my DI's didn't, but he just eminated the qualities. His eyebrows were a little weird and he had a really strong jaw line . . . he loved saying things that made us chuckle so he could smoke us on the quarterdeck. We had one or two triple rat's and a ton of fatbodies. One or two of the guys had never ran in their life and one of the kids didn't even finish his initial mile and a half. We ended up finding out he was in-bred, and that guy stank constantly. I hated talking to him just becuase the odor that eminated from him was unbearable, even in the showers. Our first officer in charge was Captain Z- something, like Zosa, zoola, but he was very straight foreward and you could tell he hated working with recruits. Who could blame him . . .

I don't remember any of my instructors' names in MRP, one was this beast of a man, total dick. Well, more squared away, he just had a lot of stories about angering other guys at his duty stations becuase he was so squared away and above everyone. Then there was this super tall guy, I can't remember his name. He had a monster of a nose and a voice to go with it and I think he was close to 6'7. He had lots of videos from when he was in the sandbox that he would show the whole platoon for motivation, and this story he loved to tell about when a guy next to tim caught an insurgent sniper round in his helmet, it knocked him over and was lodged in the helmet. He ended up being just fine, but they shelled the **** out of the building was the sniper was in until it was nothing . . .

I promise I'm not making any of this up. I wish I was, then I could go sign up right f***ing now.