The Referral... Input Needed Please [Archive] - Marine Corps

View Full Version : The Referral... Input Needed Please

Books

07-09-09, 01:52 AM

So I have 1 "referral" out of the two I need for the PFC promotion thing. It is nothing short of a miracle that I even have one, considering that every single other person at my high school is going to college, everyone here looks down on the military, and I don't really have the credibility to convince a teenager I don't know to change their lives around and become a Marine.

However, there is hope, sort of!

A couple of my friends went to this orientation weekend at SUNY Albany, where they are attending school next year. One of them came back and said he had "serious second thoughts" about college. This guy is very athletic, loves working out, hiking, camping, etc., and until the last two years of high school, he wanted to be a Marine before it was even on my radar. But, we went to an extremely indoctrinating high school and it was decided for him that he was going to college and he stopped telling people he was going to do the "Marine thing" by the time he was a junior.

Over lunch today I we talked about him possibly doing the Marine Corps Reserves if he still wants to go to school but satisfy his deeply-entrenched desire to be a Marine, but he is still resisting it. He says he wants to do one year of college and if he doesn't like, he'll drop out and join the Marines. I'm saying that isn't smart as knowing the information before you get yourself into what you are doing, and that he should stop by the recruiting station and see how the Reserves could help in college. Did I mention that he is also strapped financially for school? It seems like such an obvious choice, but he doesn't want to even consider it or get more information. It is very frustrating because I could see him being a better Marine than I could be, but he isn't letting it come out.

Any ideas? I don't want to press it too hard and seem like a dick friend, but at the same time I don't want him to be unhappy at school because his unspoken, subconcious desire is to be a Marine, and then have him drop out of school, waste a lot of tuition money, and then get on track.

What is also puzzling is that he confronted me with his college worries and the whole USMC idea, not the other way around. I thought he was excited for school until he brought this to my attention. It is a weird internal battle of some kind. W/E.

Respect,
Books

Perkins91

07-09-09, 02:22 AM

Do what I do give your recuriter his phone number if he really wants to join am sure they can convince him.

SabreJack

07-09-09, 05:02 AM

How do you know he could be a better Marine than you could if you don't even know what it takes to be a Marine? On the other hand, I don't believe you should have to "convince" people to join: they either want to, or they don't.

If you really feel like you have to convince him, play the whole part about how there isn't a decent job around, and he really shouldn't take loans out unless he has a job lined up to pay them off. With the job market the way it is, especially for people who only have a high school diploma, it should be a rather easy decision to join the military; joining the Marine Corps on the other hand, he should want that, not someone else wanting it for him.

Gunner614

07-09-09, 11:27 AM

If you just keep pressing him he might start thinking you want him to join just for the referral. Yor best bet is to just give him your recruiters card and, like said before, give his number to your recruiter. One more thing, if he likes worknig out and such, try inviting him to a PT session. Thats how I got my referral.

yoitsfrank

07-10-09, 02:16 AM

Do what the Godfather did, either ink or blood on the contract, lol. Just kidding, but really don't push any harder. its up to him. The way I see it, I wouldn't want someone in my platoon that doesn't want to be there.

kc1867

07-12-09, 07:14 PM

Is the Marine Corps still accepting graduates in your state? I know that here in AZ, they stopped taking kids that had already graduated (in their freshman or would-be freshman year of college).

Gunner614

07-12-09, 07:20 PM

Is the Marine Corps still accepting graduates in your state? I know that here in AZ, they stopped taking kids that had already graduated (in their freshman or would-be freshman year of college).

That doesn't make any sense. Why would the Marine Corps stop taking high school graduates?

kc1867

07-12-09, 07:28 PM

That doesn't make any sense. Why would the Marine Corps stop taking high school graduates?

Beats me, but here in Arizona, they stopped taking high school graduates a few months ago for active duty. I asked my recruiter about it one day and she told me it had something to do with how full the Marine Corps is currently, and that Arizona produces a great deal of recruits every year. So right now, they are only accepting applicants that are seniors in high school, so that by the time their ship date comes around, they will be (hopefully) graduated.

duarte

07-12-09, 08:37 PM

whatever.. if he doesn't want to then he doesn't want to. make sure you attempt to invite some of your friends over for pt whenever it is that you guys hold it at your recruiting station.. tell your friends that there is no obligation it doesn't mean that you are going to Afghanistan if you come pt with us.. and tell them that at the very least they can get some information just in case.. the info is free and is not biding them to anything.. so yeah.. that's how i got my two referrals kinda.

GC8496

07-13-09, 11:40 AM

Currently I've brought 3 guys into the DEP and my fourth is about to enlist, mind you none of them have come from my "inner circle" of friends I hang out with often, so perhaps some of my experiences may be useful.

The first thing that I've noticed is to not recruit from your "inner circle". Trying to recruit your close friends will just **** them off, if they are interested, given their proximity, they will come to you. Most of them don't have the slightest inkling to join or are down right against it, so better to just let them be.

Instead, recruit from that wider group of acquaintances, and go for people who do not have very grandiose plans for the future. That kid who got into an Ivy League school is not going to join, but the kid going to community college next year may just join.

If you are in high school or just graduated, think of the kids going to local community colleges or very easy to get into colleges, or the kids who did poorly in class (mind you, don't go for ****birds who were disruptive or things like that, but the kid who didn't really care for school and got bad grades might not be as much of a **** bird people think he is. Use your judgment on their character.) More often that not, that kid who did not like High School probably isn't looking forward to college for the high education. Also, in my experience, most people who I have attempted to recruit from this group have been at least very willing to look into it, they yearn for the chance to distinguish themselves to their peers and to improve their character. Often times their own passions have been overlooks by their school and their parents, and they see earning the title as a way to prove they are a cut above the rest.

The key to getting referrals is to get them to the Recruiting Station, and the key to doing that is to make it a zero-pressure, zero-commitment, and zero-cost endeavor to them. This means bringing them in low key, making sure they understand their is no commitment from just meeting the Recruiter (we all know the stereotype of the trickster Recruiter who tricks someone into enlisting), and doing it in a way so that they don't have to go far out of their way to get to the station. Every person I brought to the station I would work with their schedule to see what was their best time and I would make it as easy as possible on them regardless of my own convenience.

Back to the zero commitment, zero pressure thing. A few angles I like to work is the whole "the Few, the Proud" thing. By this I mean make it clear to your potential that the Marine Corps doesn't want you if you don't want it. Make it clear that your Recruiter is merely offering and facilitating an oppourtunity and couldn't give a **** less if you chose not to enlist. Another way I like to work it is the recent influx of new poolees into the Corps. At least at our station Active Duty Males are being cut left and right because their simply aren't enough spots. I like to tell my potentials that the Marine Corps doesn't need them and give them the explanation why, this alleviates the supposed pressure they feel to join if they go to the station.

Also, talk to your guy, find out what he wants out of his future, and what his fears are if he were to join. Ask him where he sees himself in 2 or 4 years. Often times they don't feel the future looks to promising, especially if they were underachievers in High School. When it comes to his fears about joining, often times they are myths or very close to them. Most guys I have enlisted had gone in believing they were going to die or get a limb blown off, while acknowledging that possibility, I also told them that statistically those chances were rather rare.

Talk to your guy about what he wants out of the Corps. Be sure to figure out what his own plans for the future are and then demonstrate how the Corps can help him out. Find out his interest and then tell him how he can pursue those in the Corps be it mechanics, science, electronics, or blowing **** up.

Finally, and most importantly, demonstrate your own enthusiasm for the Corps. Most poolees are highly motivated and eager, that eagerness and motivation will rub off on them. If they see a genuine motivation in you, they will be less prone to believing you are just trying to recruit them for personal benefit.

Hope this helps,

Regards

Books

07-14-09, 12:14 AM

Thanks, GC - and others - this all does help. I've arranged interviews with a few people and my recruiters with people who aren't my close friends, but part of the reason I brought this to the boards is because this guy is one of my good friends and it is frustrating for me to see him waffling around with his future. I'm well aware of the sounding-like-a-dick-factor so I haven't pressed him about it since then.

GC8496

07-14-09, 09:24 AM

Yeah I know how it is. My very close friend keeps *****ing about how his parents can afford one year of film school for him and *****es that he has to *work* to go to school. I'm like "wtf do you think I'm doing?" but some people are just adamantly opposed to it. Maybe your friend will come around after he's seen you earn the title.

thezero

07-14-09, 06:19 PM

@the couple asking why they "are not taking HS graduates" - Ok the Marines is being filled up, they have met their overall quota which was NOT expected to be met until 2011, this was told to me by MSGT O' Conner aka Bossman, of RSS N. Maine. My recruiter SSGT Webb has also said that it will be more difficult for kids IN highschool to join and they will more or less have to wait UNTIL they graduate.

Now to the original purpose of the thread. I have two referalls, my third has gone to MEPS for her physical and ASVABS. I believe she is waiting on a medical waiver to get in.

My first referall was my friend that I enlisted in before him, I enlisted October 10th, last year and he turned 18 2 1/2 weeks after I enlisted. My second referall was another kid from my area, I never really talked to him. In order for my dad to sign SSGT Webb had to guarentee me PFC.

Now my 3rd referall, which is for my free pair of blues. She texted me one day saying I need to talk to you, so I said what about. She replied the Marines. A couple days later *schedule conflicts* we went out for ice cream and talked about the Corps. I pretty much made the sale right there. I called up my recruiter when I got home, he is working on getting her in. She just came back from N.H. and she would be in but MSGT "misplaced" her papers so SSGT Webb has to go get her parents to sign again. Also she was a Junior, she will be a senior now.

I have also had a couple other kids very interested in joining, but I lost one to the Army (for the "money"), one is a Junior this year and he wants to go into the Marines (I will be in the Fleet *hopefully* by time he enlists), and I have several people thinking about the Marines as a back up for college or so they can have their post-high school education paid for because they are from not so wealthy families.

As long as you say straight facts you will be fine, even offer to take him to a lunch meeting with your recruiter or just a meeting in general. :iwo:

Gunner614

07-14-09, 06:46 PM

[quote=thezero;515446Now my 3rd referall, which is for my free pair of blues.[/quote]

Since when do you get free blues for 3 referrals?

Cressler

07-14-09, 07:23 PM

Since when do you get free blues for 3 referrals?

aye what is this no one told me about this one haha

duarte

07-14-09, 07:51 PM

Now my 3rd referall, which is for my free pair of blues.

ha ha i suggest you elaborate on that discrepancy, and if its not one, then please enlighten us.

Gunner614

07-14-09, 09:35 PM

Blues are already issued in boot camp so it must be a special agreement he and his recruiter have or something.

JWG

07-14-09, 11:39 PM

Think it was a promise he made, but you already get them either way as far as I know. Haha. Thanks for referring more people to the Corps, though.

Hartford

07-14-09, 11:49 PM

No the 3rd referral for dress blues is correct. On an "Pre-Ship Interview" form I received after completing the IST at MEPS it was like a checklist like Any new police involvement? Drug involvement? Change in education status? Stuff like that, then there was a spot for 2 referrals for PFC and then a 3rd referral spot for Dress Blues, so it is Marine Corps wide and anyone can do it.

And I am not so sure that everyone gets them after boot camp for "free", I think you get them issued to you so everyone has them but the price is deducted from your pay. So if you get the 3rd referral then they truly are free.

Hartford

07-15-09, 12:20 AM

Just received a PM from SSgt Petzold saying that the form I saw where it said 3rd Referral = Dress blues was an out of date form and that now all graduating Marines are issued the dress blue uniform, whether or not they have referrals.

Thank you for the correction, Sir.

Cressler

07-15-09, 08:49 AM

i was pretty sure we weren't issued them we got them there but i thought we payed....not like it matters in my little town i'm not getting three referals

Hartford

07-15-09, 02:51 PM

Hah yeah, I'm not worrying about the referrals either, I'll be getting PFC with my college credits and I don't really care about money so I'll be first in line to drop all of my money on the pair of Dress Blues once I've earned them.

Books

07-15-09, 03:19 PM

aye what is this no one told me about this one haha

Arg, he speaks the truth, matey!

1 Ref: FREE BACKPACK, YAY!
2 Ref: Just PFC... not a big deal...
3 Ref: FREE DRESS BLUES!
4 Ref: Just some more points...
5 Ref: Okay, now we're just getting suspicious...
6 Ref: HQMC decided you don't have to go to boot camp and you are now an 8412. Congrats!

Cressler

07-15-09, 03:36 PM

i think this one recruiter we have now is gonna end up 8412 haha he's getting lazier and lazier haha the GySgt. keeps telling him he's gonna end up here forever lol

MarinesFTW

07-15-09, 03:46 PM

On the Dress Blue issue, it was you didn't have to pay for them. I know they are already issued but I think you now dont have to pay for them if you got 3.

thezero

07-16-09, 10:25 PM

My recruiter said with 3 referalls, you recieve a free pair of dress blues. But of course you have to still earn them with by earning the title US Marine. 
 
Gunner - Blues are sometimes issued last...

Hartford

07-17-09, 12:13 AM

It's not that everyone graduates in blues, that's not true, but rather you receive them upon graduation and the SSgt made it sound like they were issued to you. I guess we'll wait and see if we end...

thezero

07-19-09, 12:03 PM

Hartford, I know the Blues aren't issued. All Marines have them, the majority of them have to pay. And I heard of some platoons graduating in them, not 100% on this as I have just heard of it.

I talk to my recruiter tomorrow, or Master Sergeant. I am waiting til tomorrow because my 3rd referall is going down for her physical and to swear in I believe. One quick text and it will be confirmed, but it is happening, slowly but surely.

ak74u28

07-31-09, 07:59 PM

Hartford

08-01-09, 12:38 AM

Hi Hartford,you will get promoted to L.Cpl. if you find those 2 referrals??it's that true??
I dont think so. I believe they cap it at PFC (E-2). In the Army if you get a referral and the college credits you get PFC (E-3) though.

Books

08-01-09, 09:54 AM

I dont think so. I believe they cap it at PFC (E-2). In the Army if you get a referral and the college credits you get PFC (E-3) though.

Here it is:

2 referrals and 15 college credits alone will not get you E-3. If you have one or the other, or have JROTC stuff, as in you are a contract-E-2, plus you do very exceptional in boot camp, say by getting guide or perfect PFT or series high marksmanship qualification, then it is possible to get E-3. Having two contract E-2 requisites will not get you E-3.

PooleeHunt

08-01-09, 11:01 AM

Books is right. As a sidenote, E3 is virtually unheard of by most. I asked my brother, he said he didn't know of any. I checked the Beaufort newspapers announcing the graduates. For his graduation, no one in the entire BN was a Lance Corporal. That's a couple hundred graduates. In other words, I wouldn't get my hopes up on getting to Lance Corporal during boot. Perfect PFTs there were plenty of, as well as obscenely high marksmanship scores. However, no Lance Corporals.

ZombieWolf

08-01-09, 06:59 PM

Since when do you get free blues for 3 referrals?

I heard you get a free CamelBack with 3 referals.

SeanRyan32

08-01-09, 07:19 PM

As I understand it from my recruiter [also from this website http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:aYDVbvpVZJ0J:www.4mcd.usmc.mil/RS/RSCleveland/ClvPNLIss206.pdf+marine+corps+poolee+referral+dres s+blues&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us (I read it as a html from a google search of "marine corps poolee referral dress blues)]:
<TABLE border=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#eeeeee align=right>Page 2</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Jumpstart your career
Staff SgtJ. A. Wright
Once an individual has been determined
qualified for service and has enlisted into
the Corps, you will receive a Marine Corps
back pack and a certificate of appreciation
from the Sergeant Major. With your
second referral you will receive a Marine
Corps warm up jacket and a meritorious
promotion to private first class. Keep in
mind that even though you won't be able
to wear your rank until you earn the title
of Marine, you will receive all pay and
benefits for a private first class as soon as
you arrive at Parris Island. Finally, a third
Command Group
Commanding Officer... Maj. CD. Gideons
Sergeant Major .SgtMaj". J. F. Rethage
Executive Officer Capt. T.Chung
Operations Officer Capt. B. Petrillo
Urban Warrior Editor Cpl. C. E. Flurry
April - June 2006
From the SstMa
SgtMaj. J.F. Rethage
Greetings to all of our poolees and their
families. For those of you who do not
know me, I am the Recruiting Station
Sergeant Major - the senior enlisted
Marine at this command.
I would like to take this opportunity to
express how very proud I am of each
poolee in our Marine Corps Delayed Entry
Program.
I would also like to take this opportunity
to welcome aboard all of the new
applicants in the DEP. You all have made
one of the biggest decisions in your life -
to go to recruit training and afterward
serve your country and Corps as a United
States Marine.
I'm very proud of your commitment. I
look forward to meeting all of the parents
and poolees in the near future. We will
ensure that each poolee is physically and
mentally prepared for boot camp.
To all of the parents of these fine,
future Marines - congratulations to you as
well. It is your support that has allowed
your sons and daughters to pursue the
title "Marine." It is also your support
which they will need throughout their time
at recruit training to help them obtain that
goai.
Semper Fidels.
referral will net you a full sel of Marine
Corps dress blues at no cost to you.
One of the most important long-term
benefits to the referral program is the
opportunity for meritorious promotion. I
say this not only because of the status
you will receive for reaching the next rank
in such a stellar fashion - but because
there are definitive financial benefits to
promotion. As a private first ciass, you will
also make $ 153.90 more per montil as you
would as a private. You also gain the
opportunity to be promoted to lance
corporal three months ahead of your peers.
By assuring yourself a meritorious
promotion before going to recruit training,
it is possible to participate on the
Recruiter's Assistance Program while you
are in your entry level training, for example,
Marine Combat Training, the Schoo! of
Infantry, or your MOS school. When you
decide to participate in this program as a
private first class, you are eligible for
meritorious promotion again. So, if you
leave for Recruit Training as a private first
class, it is possible for you to arrive at your
follow on school as a meritorious lance
corporal. That's two meritorious
promotions within your first six months in
the Marine Corps.
You now have the knowledge of how
assisting your recruiter can benefit you.
What's more, these are just the financial
benefits -there are of course leadership
benefits to being promoted ahead of your
peers. For further assistance or any
questions, I encourage you to contact
your Recruiter.

MarinesFTW

08-02-09, 01:43 AM

There was a poolee and now a LCpl, who graduated as LCpl from boot camp. His name was DevilPup at the time. Proble got his user name changed after boot tho.

thezero

08-02-09, 07:07 PM

I heard you get a free CamelBack with 3 referals.

If that is true, then my recruiter owes me. Outside of that since I have not recieved one I am unsure if that is true.

And LCPL from boot, I believe you have to be the pick of the litter, best of the best but from my knowledge it is not very often it happens.

Hartford

08-02-09, 07:27 PM

Haha I really doubt you get a CamelBak if you get 3 referrals...I'm sure you'll be issued one later on.

From what I know, one or a few people from the Platoon will be meritoriously promoted to PFC upon graduation. And one person from the entire Company will/can be promoted to LCpl upon graduation.