holiday question for Marines.

[scream]

When you are in the Corps, what happens on Christmas or Thanksgiving? I was curious as to what Marines do, if they go home, do they get leave...

[thedrifter]

This might help you answer your question........

http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9446&highlight=bootcamp+holidays


The Drifter
:marine:

[usmchauer]

Yes. If you have leave you can take it, unless you are deployed. Unfortunately for me I didn't take leave and didn't get to see the folks. But when I went to the chow hall yesterday (Christmas) our Battalion Commander LtCol. O' Donahue and his family were there and they were the ones serving the food. (really cool to see that you do have a family in the Marine Corps) My advice is if you have leave take it! Most Marines do.

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

I don't know how it is in every unit, but we weren't always allowed to take leave. And, there was always a limit on how many Marines could be on leave at any one time. This means that if there are too many people asking for leave, some will not get it. But, it isn't that bad. With a 96 for the Birthday, one for Thanksgiving, one on Christmas, and another for New Years, there is a lot of down time. If you can make it home and back on a 96, I see no reason to take leave. Unlike the civillian world, military leave days count even when you would normally be off, so you are actually using your hard earned leave days for days you wouldn't be working anyway.

[CPLRapoza]

I haven't been home for a Christmas, matter fact make that any holiday for the past 4 years. I'm finally going to be home for New Years this year though. It all depends on where you are at that time. You never know.

[dikatry]

if your curoius about bootcamp and hollidays, heres how it was when I was in (about a 15 days ago) for the Marine Corps birthday I was up north and I guess you get it a little nicer up north than at the Depot. We had the regular formation and the recognition of the youngest and oldest Marines and the youngest recruit. and the birthday messages. Then for chow we had steak with mushrooms and onions and a slice of cake. The guides got the lobster.
For thanksgiving everyone went to the depot theater and watched Saving Private Ryan and other than that it was a normal day
I wasnt there for Christmas, but about a week before I graduated, probabally Dec 11th or so. There was a Christmas ceremony at night for the Marines on the Depot with the Marine Corps band SD and the lighting of the tree and some other stuff. and they let the recruits go sit in the bleachers and watch that, its was cool.
I'm not sure what they do on actual Christmas day though.

[leroy8541]

Run around the squad bay with a sheet or a fartsack on your head singing I'm dreaming of a white christmas.

[TracGunny]

…Climbing up a tree outside the squad bay with other recruits with flashlights (different colored lenses), singing Christmas Carols…

[TracGunny]

Echo_Four_Bravo describes what we refered to as "Port and Starboard"... SOMEONE has to be on duty... The Amtrac community tended to split the holidays in two equal leave periods; one over Christmas and the other New Years (usualy 10 days each). It worked out fairly well; the Marrieds usualy wanted Christmas with the family and the Singles wanted the New Year parties.

[Sparrowhawk]

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/2689/clip12.html

[FLORESJ]

Sometimes, you gotta have fun away from home, especially around these short nationals, holidays come and go

[cjdoyle]

beer beer beer beer
that is whats for Xmas

[namgrunt]

Scream
It depends on circumstances. My first Christmas was spent on KP, in the mess hall spudlocker. I had crossed the powers that be, and was not granted leave. I finally made it home to the family in my last year of active duty.

Christmas in a combat zone is not fun or easy. Mine was on a windblown, rock strewn hill on the coast of the South China Sea. A typhoon swept us with high wind and unbreathable grit. All the protection we had was our ponchos, jungle utilities, and flak jackets.

You go where the Corps sends you. If you can be spared, and haven't ticked somebody off, you probably will get leave. Thats the way I recall it.

[Sixguns]

For recruits, there is no such thing as going home or getting leave during these holidays. Closest you'll come is getting a special meal. For Marines in operational forces, your duty assignment and operations tempo will dictate whether you can use leave or not. If you are on or in the middle of a deployment, you'll have to miss the holidays.

Sixguns