Probably the best thread on the old forum. Hopefully all of the current/ex military guys/girls come back over.
Anyone who posts in this thread needs to clarify their military service so people can judge how accurate their opinions are. Me: Former Navy Hospital Corpsman, MLT Advanced Medical Laboratory Technologist (8506).
I'm in the process of joining the marine corps reserves and have planned to ship for basic around June 10th. I was worried about what people might think of me doing reserves versus active duty. Worried that someone will think I am half assing it or say my heart isn't really in it, but I have gotten over that once my recruiter gave me more details about what I go through, and also the fact that reserves get the same basic training as active-duty. I think I would like active duty over the reserves, but I am midway through my degree and it just doesn't make sense to put it off for four years. As far as my MOS goes, my choices are warehouse clerk, bulk fuel specialist, and cook. One of the recruiters, Sgt Bailey was a bulk fuel specialist and told me some cool stuff, but if anyone else has anything to add about these, I am all ears.
For a very long time, the Marine Corps was unique in the sense that it sent reserve recruits through the exact same boot camp that active duty Marines went through (either Parris Island or San Diego). In the sense that boot camp is the defining moment in any Marine's career, this made the relationship between the active USMC and its reserve component much better. I don't think any Marine is going to think less of you for joining the reserves if you're still in school. As far as your MOS choices go, all three of them are supply fields so you're going to end up working for the same kinds of commands in the long run. My own experience with Navy supply reserve ratings is that it's far easier to integrate with an active duty unit if you're in a position that doesn't require signature accountability...i.e. being a cook. Whoops, forgot to show my creds. I am a recently former Navy surface-water basket weaver.
Anyone who says you are "half-assing" it by going reserves is not, and has never been, a member of the military. Ergo: fuck what they think.
So, any secret squirrels able to give some insight on Eric Haney, or more specifically, what he says in his book "Inside Delta Force"? Any horrible inaccuracies not added to benefit national security?
Currently in the army an E-4 deployed in support of OIF... Hopefully we can keep some of the rules of this thread from the old place so it doesn't become a shit storm of the same question over and over.
Me: Currently an E-5 (SSgt) in the USAF. AFSC of 2e271 Computer Networking and Cryptographic Switching Systems. Currently stationed at Osan AB, Republic of Korea. Served 6+ years now, two deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. I love it!
Have you DEP'd in yet? If not have you given any thought to going to Officer Candidate School? Best of luck to you regardless. No current experience... shipping for Paris Island April 12th 09, so take my opinions with a grain of salt. And I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that posted in the old military thread. You were all incredibly helpful to me with everyone question I asked while I was in the process of enlisting and get through MEPS. I sincerely appreciate it.
Current O-1/2LT/Butter Bar in the Marine Corps. Will be an O-2 soon after I finish API (Aviation Preflight Indoc) here in Pensacola, and head to Corpus for Primary flight training. Hopefully an F-35 pilot if those bad boys ever come out, if not that, F-18C will do...but in reality I'll take anything, just want those guys on the ground to feel safe with us buzzing around.
I will not (I had to correct myself and not write "we" since I'm not a mod anymore) tolerate any sort of OPSEC / PERSEC discussion, which a real analysis of that book would involve but I will say this: 1) Eric Haney is Persona Non Grata at the Delta Force Compound because of that book. 2) No Delta Force operator was ever, EVER tasked to hunt down and kill an Army Green Beret in Nicaragua.
Thank you, I wasn't expecting to hear much, but basically get an informed opinion on whether or not he spews shit. Thankee kindly.
Me: Former Army 13B (artillery). Was an MP during my deployment in OIF3, where I installed bullet holes in car bumpers.
No experience here Shipping to Ft. Knox 11 JAN 2010 as a Calvary Scout (19D). Then off to airborne school. The old thread was a huge help in shaping how/where I went with my decision to enlist. Here's to hoping this thread can do the same for others as well.
Right now I am getting medical documents sent down from Baltimore for a knee injury 6-7 years ago. My knee is absolutely without a doubt 100% perfect in every way now. It was a long time ago, there were no complications, and I played soccer and wrestled on the high school team after being healed, and wrestled for a year in college and had no recurring pains or issues. Still, I know the guys at MEPS are looking for any reason to disqualify me and it is making me shit myself. Anyway after I get these docs sent down, I gotta finish this 20 page national security packet listing every person I have known in the last 7 years, and pay an old parking citation, and then I am good to go. As far as OCS, the idea never really crossed my mind. How is it different than going enlisted? The thing about going enlisted, I want to go through Basic Training, as strange as that sounds, do my time and then get out. I feel like going to be an officer, without planning on making the marines my life career, would not be right.
Me... no military credentials. I'm trying to enlist in the Navy as a linguist. I had lasik done last year and had to submit medical documents to MEPS. I've been doing the MEPS dick dance ever since...7 months. Be prepared to wait a long ass time, but hopefully you won't share my experience.
Do you know what the hold-up is? I had LASIK done almost 6 months ago and plan on enlisting in the Navy. I was told I had to wait 6 months from the day of my surgery before I could DEP. After that, as long as I can see 20/20 or better (I am currently 20/20 left eye, 20/15 right eye), that I wouldn't have any problems at MEPs.
I had to do what they call a medread. I collected my medical documents from my doctor and had him do a worksheet asking him for post-op refractions. My recruiter submitted this to MEPS and it get sent back twice, each time taking several weeks for it to come back. My recruiter finally determined that the problem was the post-op refraction sheet wasn't complete. There are supposed to be 6 refractions and I had 2 because I didn't have 6 post-op appointments. After that I had to get a letter from my doctor, which my recruiter submitted to MEPS. Then paperwork started getting mixed up. Although everything had been submitted, the guy at MEPS kept asking for more of the same paperwork. Finally he got everything straight, or so I thought, but then I had to resubmit a 680 and a 2807 (the medical questionnaire.) The whole time all of this stuff was happening (or not happening) my recruiter never called me to keep me updated and failed to return my phone calls. I switched recruiters and the new one picks up the phone, but it's like talking to a brick wall. It's been really frustrating.