Joining the USMC

Gunny

Gunny

New Member
Hi. I am a twenty year old man very seriously considering joining the USMC. Why? I work at a dead end job, with no future there. I tried college and I hated it. The military has always appealed to me, as my Dad and some of my Uncles were in the US Army in the 60s, and my Dad served in Vietnam. Now, I'll be the first to admit I'm kind of a heavy set guy, so I was also wondering if anybody could give me any tips on exercises I need to do, and what to expect at boot. Any help would be greatly appreaciated.
 
Hello, I am also twenty and I am enlisted in the USMC and my dad and entire family before me are ex-army. Joining is a serious decicion but I think you'll be happy when if you do. If your family is anything like mine their gunna ask why you chose the USMC over the Army...tell em what I did, they'll get a kick out of it but its true....Lets just say the Army is like hitting a fly with a flyswatter..sure it gets the job done...Now the Marines...thats like hitting a fly with a sledgehammer. But to answer your question start running. and than run some more. The IST (Initial Strength Test) that you must pass to ship to boot are a 1and a half mile run in 13:30 or less, a minimum of 44 situps in two minutes and 2 "dead hang" pull-ups. It may sound easy but trust me its not as easy as it seems, especially the first time you do it. The sit-ups are probably the easiest but work on mainly your upper body and run. Start out by walking if you cant run and work your way up but you have to do it a a consistent basis. Hope this helped. Good Luck.
 
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"Lets just say the Army is like hitting a fly with a flyswatter..sure it gets the job done...Now the Marines...thats like hitting a fly with a sledgehammer"

It's actually the other way around...
 
Well my USMC buddies may differ in opinion, but in my opinion there is no best. I´ve met good infantrymen both in the US Army and the US Marines. The Marines have higher standards in physical fitness and rifle marksmanship but Army infantry also do alot of grueling physical fitness training as well as plenty of marksmanship training and I´m sure would have no trouble meeting USMC standards. Marine infantry specialize in amphibious assault but Army infantry can do this if required. Likewise Marines do most of the stuff Army infantry do. Marine philosophy however is more like Army airborne philosophy.
 
if it's what you really want to do then do it, if you want a accurate description of Marine life check out terminallance.com
 
NP8901 said:
Well my USMC buddies may differ in opinion, but in my opinion there is no best. I´ve met good infantrymen both in the US Army and the US Marines. The Marines have higher standards in physical fitness and rifle marksmanship but Army infantry also do alot of grueling physical fitness training as well as plenty of marksmanship training and I´m sure would have no trouble meeting USMC standards. Marine infantry specialize in amphibious assault but Army infantry can do this if required. Likewise Marines do most of the stuff Army infantry do. Marine philosophy however is more like Army airborne philosophy.
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You just made my point, if the USMC infantry are better trained, and have higher dicipline than they are obviously supirior to the Army infantry. Im not knocking the army by any means. We all fight for the same common goal. Army generals are quoted in the past to saying there is no greater fighting force than the USMC.
A few examples:

-"There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and the enemy. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion" -Gen. William Thornson, U.S. Army

-"I have just returned from visitng the Marines at the front, and there is not a finer fighting organization in the world!" -General of the Armies Douglas MacArthur, Korea

-"the Marine Corps has just been called by theNew York Times 'The Elite of this country.' I think it is the elite of the world." - Admiral William Halsey, U.S. Navy

-"If I had one more division like this first Marine division I could win this war." -General of the Armies Douglas MacArthur

-"We have two companies of Marines running rampant all over the northern half of this island, and three Army regiments pinned down in the southwestern corner, doing nothing. What the hell is going on?" Gen. John Vessey Jr.,USA, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff during the assault on Grenada, 1983


Nuff said.
 
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USMCPoolee03xx said:
You just made my point, if the USMC infantry are better trained, and have higher dicipline than they are obviously supirior to the Army infantry. Im not knocking the army by any means. We all fight for the same common goal. Army generals are quoted in the past to saying there is no greater fighting force than the USMC.
A few examples:

-"There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and the enemy. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion" -Gen. William Thornson, U.S. Army

-"I have just returned from visitng the Marines at the front, and there is not a finer fighting organization in the world!" -General of the Armies Douglas MacArthur, Korea

-"the Marine Corps has just been called by theNew York Times 'The Elite of this country.' I think it is the elite of the world." - Admiral William Halsey, U.S. Navy

-"If I had one more division like this first Marine division I could win this war." -General of the Armies Douglas MacArthur

-"We have two companies of Marines running rampant all over the northern half of this island, and three Army regiments pinned down in the southwestern corner, doing nothing. What the hell is going on?" Gen. John Vessey Jr.,USA, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff during the assault on Grenada, 1983


Nuff said.
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Bollocks!

Get some range time mate. I've experienced them both in combat. That superior, you´re not.
 
With that "Yee-Haw", "We're better than them." attitude, that will get you nowhere. Any US Army men that you meet, will rip the piss out of you if you go around saying that the Marines are better. And it probably won't be well accepted within the Corps.

You all fight under the same flag. Why make it a pissing contest?
 
You guys completly miss understand where im going with this. Im trying to help this young guy whos thinking about enlisting out, not trying to start an argument. I have tons a freinds and family in the Army. We always give each other sh*t over whos better than who, theres always a friendly competion over whos the more elite. It probably makes it better in the long run because we try to outdo each other. But when the sh*t hits the fan it truley doesnt matter whos better than who because we know that we got each others back.


:salute2: :brave:
 
USMCPoolee03xx said:
You guys completly miss understand where im going with this. Im trying to help this young guy whos thinking about enlisting out, not trying to start an argument. I have tons a freinds and family in the Army. We always give each other sh*t over whos better than who, theres always a friendly competion over whos the more elite. It probably makes it better in the long run because we try to outdo each other. But when the sh*t hits the fan it truley doesnt matter whos better than who because we know that we got each others back.


:salute2: :brave:
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I don't mind a guy that has his EGA and a little salt over his collar giving me a hard time about being in the Army. I DO have a problem with a poolie chiming in on the who's and who's not of MY military. The fact of the matter is you don't know jack squat one way or the other. Have you ever worked side by side with either force in combat? If the answer is no then you really need to shut up about the whole thing. You've earned nothing at this point. Stop looking solely at Marine history and read up on all the services. Marines are a force multiplier, but they are NOT war winners. That falls on the Army and the Navy. Marines are amphibious by nature, but it should humble you to know that the 4 biggest naval invasions in modern history didn't include ONE Marine...They did include the US Army though. Normandy, Torch, Sicily, and Anzio...just a little food for thought. Who fought right alongside the Marines coveted Chesty Puller when Henderson Field was on the verge of being overrun? An Army National Guard unit! Chesty himself stated they fought "almost" as good as his Marines...a helluva compliment from a guy who ate, slept, and breathed the jarhead propoganda aparatus. Look into Saipan, Pelilieu, Guam, Guadalcanal, New Guniea, Okinawa, Belleau Wood, etc...etc...etc... Soldiers were at all of them, but one would never know because the jarheads have a propoganda machine on par with the KGB.

I've got no problem with Marines, I worked extensively with them at the begining of the Iraq war and they were great guys. Fought alongside them in Fallujah and Ramadi in 04, they helped us and we helped them. THEY can talk sh!t. YOU cannot.
 
So what you're saying is that you were on the front lines for 22 years straight? WOW, that's impressive. I didn't realize RM's were without deployment cycles or train ups. You guys must not have requirements for officers to have staff time or broadening assignments, which seems especially awsome to me. No wonder you rate us so low, you guys seem to have figured out how to keep the same guys on the front all the time! I shoulda joined a force like that, I'd love to be with the grunts for the entirety of my career! On the "front lines" no less.

Isn't marginalization fun!

If you don't mind, I'm curious what joint ventures with the conventional US forces you've had? Please, educate me...specific units would be helpful as well...
 
brinktk said:
So what you're saying is that you were on the front lines for 22 years straight? WOW, that's impressive. I didn't realize RM's were without deployment cycles or train ups. You guys must not have requirements for officers to have staff time or broadening assignments, which seems especially awsome to me. No wonder you rate us so low, you guys seem to have figured out how to keep the same guys on the front all the time! I shoulda joined a force like that, I'd love to be with the grunts for the entirety of my career! On the "front lines" no less.

Isn't marginalization fun!

If you don't mind, I'm curious what joint ventures with the conventional US forces you've had? Please, educate me...specific units would be helpful as well...
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And you wonder why I have zero respect for America's "finest".... :roll:

Not literally 22 years as although I'm good, I'm just not that good (sorry). I served for 22 years and did my duty in quite a number of conflicts were I had to suffer the joys that working with USMC and US Army brings.

No need for me to list the specific units, there's no difference between any of them.
 
I was being sarcastic and pointing out the obsurdity of the comment.

And naming specific units would be able to paint a picture of the circumstances involved. Not a lot of conventional US grunts of either service work with RM's period. I'm just curious is all. I don't appreciate my service and the sacrifice of my men and myself being marginalized from someone that has had minimal exposure to either force. Unless you HAVE had extensive experience and if that's the case I'm curious of the circumstances involved. Considering during the Iraq war they(the Brits) were primarily in the Basrah region, which was void of US forces for a majority of the occupation until the Brits left altogether and the US assumed opcon over the area the last 2-3 years of the war. Or in Afghanistan where coalition units outside of the FOBs are usually assigned AOs with little overlap i.e. US units on ops don't usually have foriegn military with them outside the ANA/ANP...I'm not saying it doesn't happen, it's just extremely rare on the ground. Specialty teams more often, regular grunts, almost never. If it was before all of this it may have been Kosovo or Bosnia, I can't say one way or another about these areas as I haven't been there and haven't studied enough to know one way or another. Before them was Mogadishu and I'm almost positive no Brits were anywhere in Somalia in 92-93. Perhaps Desert Shield Desert Storm? Again though, once the war kicked off most of the coalition units were still working within their sectors which were assigned by nation...Before DS/DS it was Panama which was exclusively US and before that it was Greneda, also exclusively US...

I suppose it could have been a joint training venture which I know happens occasionally between the RM and USMC. BUT, it almost NEVER happens with the regular Army. Rangers, ODA, or MAYBE even CAG. Still, hard to say...so again, I'm curious the circumstances on both instances of joint ventures between either US service. AND, any constructive criticism is welcome my way...as long as it's constructive...not mud slinging based off conjecture or prejiduce.
 
brinktk said:
I was being sarcastic and pointing out the obsurdity of the comment.
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I know you were, hence my response. ;)

brinktk said:
And naming specific units would be able to paint a picture of the circumstances involved. Not a lot of conventional US grunts of either service work with RM's period. I'm just curious is all. I don't appreciate my service and the sacrifice of my men and myself being marginalized from someone that has had minimal exposure to either force. Unless you HAVE had extensive experience and if that's the case I'm curious of the circumstances involved. Considering during the Iraq war they(the Brits) were primarily in the Basrah region, which was void of US forces for a majority of the occupation until the Brits left altogether and the US assumed opcon over the area the last 2-3 years of the war. Or in Afghanistan where coalition units outside of the FOBs are usually assigned AOs with little overlap i.e. US units on ops don't usually have foriegn military with them outside the ANA/ANP...I'm not saying it doesn't happen, it's just extremely rare on the ground. Specialty teams more often, regular grunts, almost never. If it was before all of this it may have been Kosovo or Bosnia, I can't say one way or another about these areas as I haven't been there and haven't studied enough to know one way or another. Before them was Mogadishu and I'm almost positive no Brits were anywhere in Somalia in 92-93. Perhaps Desert Shield Desert Storm? Again though, once the war kicked off most of the coalition units were still working within their sectors which were assigned by nation...Before DS/DS it was Panama which was exclusively US and before that it was Greneda, also exclusively US...

I suppose it could have been a joint training venture which I know happens occasionally between the RM and USMC. BUT, it almost NEVER happens with the regular Army. Rangers, ODA, or MAYBE even CAG. Still, hard to say...so again, I'm curious the circumstances on both instances of joint ventures between either US service. AND, any constructive criticism is welcome my way...as long as it's constructive...not mud slinging based off conjecture or prejiduce.
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Firstly, there's no "mud slinging based off conjecture or prejiduce" as believe it or not, I have a good buddy in the US who's ex-USMC and I visit him each year and vice versa.

I'm not going to disclose when I was in various places, but I can assure you I have crossed paths with USMC on a number of occasions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Kuwait and sadly I was less than impressed on many occasions. I have also done cold winter, mountain and desert training with USMC.

It's virtually impossible to do 22 years service and not cross paths with the various elements of US forces, both directly and indirectly.

I come from a military family, where Mrs CF and my father have served, and my brother and sister currenly serve. We're often discussed our American cousins and I have no reason not to believe their first hand experiences.

Its nothing personal just my own personal experiences. At the end of the day, we are all doing the same job for the same reasons.
 
Construtive critisism...umm..you need a f**kin chill pill
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Capt Frogman said:
I know you were, hence my response. ;)



Firstly, there's no "mud slinging based off conjecture or prejiduce" as believe it or not, I have a good buddy in the US who's ex-USMC and I visit him each year and vice versa.

I'm not going to disclose when I was in various places, but I can assure you I have crossed paths with USMC on a number of occasions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Kuwait and sadly I was less than impressed on many occasions. I have also done cold winter, mountain and desert training with USMC.

It's virtually impossible to do 22 years service and not cross paths with the various elements of US forces, both directly and indirectly.

I come from a military family, where Mrs CF and my father have served, and my brother and sister currenly serve. We're often discussed our American cousins and I have no reason not to believe their first hand experiences.

Its nothing personal just my own personal experiences. At the end of the day, we are all doing the same job for the same reasons.
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Fair enough. I digress.
 
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