SlaveToTheCorps
06-19-08, 08:30 AM
*ahem* I have a question & I did a search for my answers using the ‘search’ function, but after the first 13 pages I didn’t find what I needed…
When I initially went to boot camp, right out of high school at the age of 17…I was absolutely positive that I wanted to go Marine Corps active duty…there was nothing anybody could say to change that… ‘I was young, dumb & full of hopes’…I was so stubborn I asked for my 17th birthday present to finally have my parents sign my enlistment papers, turned down a scholarship to the school of my dreams, missed-out on graduation & lost a lot of friends (and family) due to my decision…Now, I wouldn’t change any it of for anything...I’m still proud of my decision & defend it to anyone who says or thinks differently…
However, with me looking & trying to get back in it has me thinking…Now, I know that some people aren’t such a fan of the ‘reservists’ because some may say they are only ‘part-time’ Marines & only doing it for ‘wrong’ reasons…But, I know my reasons for trying to go back…it’s much deeper than wanting the title or the AWESOME uniform…it doesn’t even have to do with just trying to prove it to myself…it has to do with the same reasons I initially joined. The pride, integrity & honor that you learn to have in/of your self…I want that. I work a job everyday that I’m great at, but deep down my mind wanders right back to where I could be…it wanders back to those memories I have at boot camp, the disappointment my Kill Hat had when she couldn’t fight for me to stay on the island, the words of my Senior when she told me it was a damn shame someone with my heart had to go home…It even wanders to the phone calls I get from my friends in Iraq & the joking letters they send ‘wish you where here’…
I know I want to be a Marine more than anything-I got bit by the bug & it’s radio-freakin-active…but I know in my heart, I can not leave my life now behind like I was willing to in 2005. I am currently engaged to the man of my dreams…we have a house together & a life that we have started to build together…he knows my dream is to go back & he supports that…but we have also had very real talks about a 4 year contract that he has trouble supporting me on. He’s admitted he’s scared of loosing me, that the Marines will swallow me whole & I’ll no longer be his…he’s afraid of coming home to a quiet house & not having me there making dinner…I understand his fears, so here is where I ask ANY MARINE HERE A FEW QUESTIONS…(I’m asking here because my decision isn’t final on what I would do if I could get back in, but my recruiter would kill me if he thought I was even thinking of going reservists)
*Do reservists get to ‘pick’ where they are stationed, we live semi-near a Marine Corps Reservists Base in Illinois?
*Are there limits on the job opportunities that are open to reservists? When I initially enlisted I had sealed the deal on a PR-MOS…I know I wont get that again, but I want to know if being a reservist limits my opportunities.
Forgive me for my ignorance, I do not know much about reservists in the service.
Respectfully,
Vanessa
When I initially went to boot camp, right out of high school at the age of 17…I was absolutely positive that I wanted to go Marine Corps active duty…there was nothing anybody could say to change that… ‘I was young, dumb & full of hopes’…I was so stubborn I asked for my 17th birthday present to finally have my parents sign my enlistment papers, turned down a scholarship to the school of my dreams, missed-out on graduation & lost a lot of friends (and family) due to my decision…Now, I wouldn’t change any it of for anything...I’m still proud of my decision & defend it to anyone who says or thinks differently…
However, with me looking & trying to get back in it has me thinking…Now, I know that some people aren’t such a fan of the ‘reservists’ because some may say they are only ‘part-time’ Marines & only doing it for ‘wrong’ reasons…But, I know my reasons for trying to go back…it’s much deeper than wanting the title or the AWESOME uniform…it doesn’t even have to do with just trying to prove it to myself…it has to do with the same reasons I initially joined. The pride, integrity & honor that you learn to have in/of your self…I want that. I work a job everyday that I’m great at, but deep down my mind wanders right back to where I could be…it wanders back to those memories I have at boot camp, the disappointment my Kill Hat had when she couldn’t fight for me to stay on the island, the words of my Senior when she told me it was a damn shame someone with my heart had to go home…It even wanders to the phone calls I get from my friends in Iraq & the joking letters they send ‘wish you where here’…
I know I want to be a Marine more than anything-I got bit by the bug & it’s radio-freakin-active…but I know in my heart, I can not leave my life now behind like I was willing to in 2005. I am currently engaged to the man of my dreams…we have a house together & a life that we have started to build together…he knows my dream is to go back & he supports that…but we have also had very real talks about a 4 year contract that he has trouble supporting me on. He’s admitted he’s scared of loosing me, that the Marines will swallow me whole & I’ll no longer be his…he’s afraid of coming home to a quiet house & not having me there making dinner…I understand his fears, so here is where I ask ANY MARINE HERE A FEW QUESTIONS…(I’m asking here because my decision isn’t final on what I would do if I could get back in, but my recruiter would kill me if he thought I was even thinking of going reservists)
*Do reservists get to ‘pick’ where they are stationed, we live semi-near a Marine Corps Reservists Base in Illinois?
*Are there limits on the job opportunities that are open to reservists? When I initially enlisted I had sealed the deal on a PR-MOS…I know I wont get that again, but I want to know if being a reservist limits my opportunities.
Forgive me for my ignorance, I do not know much about reservists in the service.
Respectfully,
Vanessa