My son is being discharged for drinking

[Quinbo]

Barracks duty used to be a duty. Guarding stuff on a permanate basis. Kind of glorified guard duty. I think it has picked up a new nomer (MSF). You are on a rotating watch designated by the commander of the guard. When not actually on post your are in a reactionary status which means that no drinking or liberty for the duration of the watch. The barracks I was at had a 3 section rotation which was 2 days duty, 2 days training, then 2 days off. If you have seen the movie "A Few Good Men", those Marines are on barracks duty.

Duty and A Duty at your unit is not barracks duty. Standard is 24 hour post and the duty, a duty and sometimes the staff duty work in shifts. They are there if something goes to hell they can immediately alert the chain of command. They also answer the phone, sign people in and out on leave etc.

If it is a 24 hour post then it is a 24 hour post. I like others have said can't imagine such an infraction producing the heave ho.

[MikeJayy]

memy2010, that sucks!

Marines, one of my buddies saw a recruiter the other day, he said that if you are currently enlisted with the Corps, and fk up, you are screwed. He said that with the overflow of new recruits, the smallest thing can screw everything up for you now. Is this true? Could the Marine Corps be seeing more things like this in the future?


Mike

[BVD]

IF he was on duty than he should be punished, Although I have seen some S\NCO's that were just jerks and did not Know how handle people other than by the book and can't wait to write someone up. But it sounds like there was more going on that just one bottle of beer. (past history

[BVD]

More going on here than we know,History with this S\NCO, The Marines Attiude ect. But it is possibe the S\NCO was just a jerk.

[0231]

true...to many details to assess the situation but he wasn't on a "break"...he was still on duty and that's a def. no-no...perhaps he messed up before and it's the final straw...i don't know...it does seem over the top but it's all up to the unit really

guess he can write appeal w/ your state senator if he does indeed get booted...it's all up

good luck...but your son really messed up (i have to admit that one time i was the NCO on duty and got "relieved" by my A duty and went out and got hammered w/ my buds who were at a big party...got back right at 0700 before the SgtMaj came through to check in but i was in my room and the A duty covered saying i was in the head going #2...not proud at all of that...i would have been toast if i got caught)

[ggyoung]

Drinking on duty is a different thing that being drunk on duty. For me the worst thing that a Marine can do is sleeping on duty.While at Chu Lai 1965 I had to pull OP with a **** head that had been caught sleeping on OP once before. I had the first watch and at 2400 I woke this turd up. He told me that he was good for 2 hrs. I made the call in then went to sleep.Sometime around 0230 I woke up to the damnest commotion in the hole. This jerk had gone to sleep and missed a call in. The CO made his way out to the OP and when he seen this turd asleep he grabbed my M-14 and smashed it to his head. He was taken to the Bn.aid station and we never see him again.

[BVD]

I was sector NCO ON HILL 55 Vietnam, caught a PFC asleep, did almost the same thing I took his rifle an hit him in the stomach to wake him up, But he continued to sleep on guard , He was sent to HQ and I never saw him again.

[Meserole08orah]

Barracks duty used to be a duty. Guarding stuff on a permanate basis. Kind of glorified guard duty. I think it has picked up a new nomer (MSF). You are on a rotating watch designated by the commander of the guard. When not actually on post your are in a reactionary status which means that no drinking or liberty for the duration of the watch. The barracks I was at had a 3 section rotation which was 2 days duty, 2 days training, then 2 days off. If you have seen the movie "A Few Good Men", those Marines are on barracks duty.

Duty and A Duty at your unit is not barracks duty. Standard is 24 hour post and the duty, a duty and sometimes the staff duty work in shifts. They are there if something goes to hell they can immediately alert the chain of command. They also answer the phone, sign people in and out on leave etc.

If it is a 24 hour post then it is a 24 hour post. I like others have said can't imagine such an infraction producing the heave ho.

Well in albany our bks duty is a 24 hour post and so is MCBH K-Bay. You report in at 0730 on morning then check out 0730 the next and most places you dont work on shifts. Being a Marine you should know not all Bases are the same. Duty NCO and the A Duty stand duty all night alot of times again dont sleep but DNCO and A Duty is bks duty AKA 24 hour duty.

[Quinbo]

Well in albany our bks duty is a 24 hour post and so is MCBH K-Bay. You report in at 0730 on morning then check out 0730 the next and most places you dont work on shifts. Being a Marine you should know not all Bases are the same. Duty NCO and the A Duty stand duty all night alot of times again dont sleep but DNCO and A Duty is bks duty AKA 24 hour duty.

We're not tracking on the same sheet. Barracks duty aka MSF is a permanate assignment. That is all they do is guard sensitive areas such as communications, nuclear weapons and other classified information. It is not a temporary duty that you get put on a roster to stand once or twice a month.

There are fewer detachments than there was years ago but there are still Marines on "Barracks Duty". I was on Marine Barracks Pearl Harbor, Guard Company Wahiawa for 18 months so I have some idea of the difference between getting stuck answering a phone or guarding an armory once a month to being on a post that their entire mission is the security of whatever they are guarding.

I made an attempt at defining the conditions of barracks duty verses standing duty NCO. Perhaps what you are thinking about as barracks duty used to be call fire watch.

[SGT7477]

My son was on his 6 hr. break after 18 continuous hrs of fire watch. To relax he visited his friend in the barracks and had a bottle of beer. Lo and behold the staff sergeant showed up for inspection and caught my son with a beer. The problem is he had the arm band which suggests he is on duty. And now he's being discharged "under other than honorable discharge" which means he can't re-enlist with any armed forces. My God, this is a harsh punishment for this infraction. I think they just want to screw him up. He has a wife and a 4 month old baby and now he'll be jobless. I'm so devasted and feels my heart has been crushed.

Is there anyway to upgrade his discharge to honorable Re-3 so he can at least have a chance to enlist with the army? And are there any parents who went through the same thing we experienced? My husband and I are so depressed right now. We cry for our only son and we just don't know how to deal with this problem. He's so remorseful for what he did. He should have known better but he was on his break when he was caught drinking. Can he plead his case in front of a Colonel?

First thing beer was never allowed in the barracks just seems like there is something else going on.

[Wheels123]

Beer and wine are allowed, hard liquor is not.

[BVD]

When I was in there was no beer , wine or hard liquer allowed in the barn and drinking
on duty was not tolorated at all.

[0231]

3 duty stations where i was at had a 6 pack max. per person...no hard stuff at all..

[TinDragon]

Courtney's policy is a 6 pack or bottle of wine per person if LCpl or below, bottle of liquor, or 12 pack per person if Cpl or Sgt. No idea how the policy runs for SNCOs.

[Rocky C]

First thing beer was never allowed in the barracks just seems like there is something else going on.

YUP!!!