13th, you just beat me with your physical .

With your language ability, do you think they will give you some kind of desk job after the boot camp?

Ahhhhhh....pencil pusher, but still...

better than me, a keyboard jockey :P

congRATs

Not really.
I could pull out the "lived outside of Korea too long.. errr incompetent at Korean... errr" (basically "I'm a foreign student" act, but in reverse!!) and I'll never get anywhere near a desk!
Geez what do you think I volunteered for the Marines for? to SIT BEHIND A DESK??
Either way, Korean also uses the Chinese character writing to suppliment the indigenous Korean writing. It's not used very often but in office work, yes you'll need it. But in grunt work, no you don't. Guess who sucks at it? I can talk and write the regular stuff fine, but after 20 years... I only know a couple of hundred characters. Which isn't near as good enough to qualify for a desk job.


By the way I changed my Avatar. Thought since the a lot of others here posted etiher their service or their potential service, I'd do the same. After all, I don't see myself failing the physical (results are still pending but... come on!!!), and as soon as I hit boot camp, I am a Marine Recruit Private.

So did they accept you to the boot camp?

The word will come out officially at the end of may. But let's just put it this way. If they axed me, they'd have to axe at least 90% of all the candidates who showed up.

I don't get it.

Is being a ROK marines voluntary?

Isn't it mandatory to join the ROK army, then how come the physical is so high standard? Arent they just supposed to take everybody?

Your trying to become an officer, correct? If thats the case I see why they can be picky.

RoK Marines are voluntary. No one can force you into the Marine Corps service. This CAN happen with the other branches if they decide one branch is short of people and not enough people signed up for it, though you get to pick.
So yes it seems a bit strange to call them "volunteer" when everyone has to go someplace and picks where to go.
RoK Army standards are pretty decent. RoK Marine standards are very high. I hear that initial selection standards aren't as high, but once you're in, then the "fun" really begins. Basically it's the belief that they can grab a dude who's volunteered and turn him into a fighting machine even if he first enters with not so good standards.
Not so good standards means at least 60 pushups and situps (in 2 minutes), a decent education background (high school or higher), good discipline record (no criminal stuff) etc.
The Marines being voluntary also means that you can get cut for not being good enough." The other services have to take you unless you are so unfit that you cannot serve in the military at all.

And no, I'm not going officer. I missed out on that ages ago due to having rarely lived in Korea.

I wish you ther best dude. Sound like pretty hard selection actually. Where exactly did you do that in Korea?

Can ya post some training pictures or any type of pictures when you are in boot camp?

I wanna see some bad-ass SK marine pictures.

13th,

What if a guy is way below standards or even has a criminal record where do they put him?

What about that bean pole stylish guy you went to the interview with, what made him think he could be Marine material, he didn't seem like the type.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

I survived the interview. The interviewing major kept picking on me because I lived abroad for so long... the other guys in my interview group said they felt kinda bad. lol.
I got full marks for pushups and I got the rating just under full marks for situps. So basically 90%ish.
I can't see why I won't qualify for boot camp.

You're Korean? Holy cow. Your net handle threw me off! I thought you were from the American South or something...