My brother thinking about joining the Marines

Post by **Illuminati** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:44 am

I know we have a bunch of current and ex-military on these forums, so I thought I would see what kind of advice I should give my brother before he signs up.

I think this will be great for him, but I just don't know what else to tell him other than 'good luck'. From what I heard from my parents, he's choosing the Marines because they have some sort of career path for martial arts... and that is what he is interested in pursuing.

Any advice or stories I should tell him? Thanks!

Post by **FZ1** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:58 am

I never joined the military because I don't think I could handle being told what to do in a life or death matter by someone who may be a total idiot. "Go charge that hill until we take it!". No thanks. Other than that I suspect it would be a rather rewarding experience.

Skippman · Post by **Skippman** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:22 am

When you join the Marines you're not joining just anything. You get a whole new family. Not being a Marine personally I know many who will go out of thier way to help a fellow Marine even if they've never met them before in thier life. There's a whole mistique around being a Marine. I say prepare for the hardest 9 weeks of his life and wish him luck. Also be prepared for the worst as likely he'll ship out immediatly.

bubba · Post by **bubba** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:40 am

My cousin and an uncle that are non active marines (no such thing as an ex-marine, once a marine always a marine)

Did my cousin some good, lost a pile of wieght and learnd a new career too.

Post by **Illuminati** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:53 am

Thanks for the replies so far... but I'm not interested in political opinions in this thread (I already deleted a post that went into politics). I'm looking for advice or first-hand experiences to give my brother from those that are in the marines (or are no longer active) or have heard from close friends or relatives that are in the Marines. Thanks!

Dragon_Cooler · Post by **Dragon_Cooler** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 1:28 pm

i just find it ironic that you being named "illuminati" a society that is against the government has a brother that is joining that very government. LOL

best of luck on his endevers!!!v tis something i could never do.

Post by **Illuminati** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 1:39 pm

Dragon_Cooler wrote:i just find it ironic that you being named "illuminati" a society that is against the government has a brother that is joining that very government. LOL

best of luck on his endevers!!!v tis something i could never do.

Haha... ya, sort of. I'm actually referring to a ways back to the Bavarian Illuminati (Free Thinkers), but the Conspiracy Theorists notion of today's Illuminati is a 'New World Order' that controls aspects of the government from behind the scenes... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuminati

I made Illuminati my screen name (originally for online gaming) after reading the book 'Angels and Demons' by Dan Brown.

Rofl-Mic-Lofl · Post by **Rofl-Mic-Lofl** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 1:58 pm

Tell him thanks for protecting all of us

Aegis · Post by **Aegis** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 2:10 pm

I tried when I just got out of high school to join the Air Force. I really wanted to be a fighter pilot but they told me I would never fly due to a heart condition.

Never going to fly = no military for me.

People I know in it either love it or hate it. It really has to be something you want and it takes a special kind of person to keep with it.

Best advice I could give would to be to wait until that crazy bastard Bush it out of office. I swear he wants to kill us all....

pcrobot · Post by **pcrobot** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 2:53 pm

Aegis wrote:Never going to fly = no military for me.

Same here. Only it's my eyes.

dday · Post by **dday** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 3:37 pm

Here's some advice from a Marine co-worker , a veteran of the first Gulf War.

As a marine, regardless of what the devil (I mean his recruiter) tells him his MOS will be, he will first and foremost be an infantry rifleman. As a freshly graduated infantry rifleman (which all Marines are) does he have any doubts about where he will be assigned. When he completes his initial training (boot camp, MCT, occupational training) he should make plans to spend at least a year in Southwest Asia. As a word of caution about that place; it is hot, dry, and the Indigenous population smells funny. The best advice to extend to any young Marine are these two statements:

John Wayne never served in the Corps. If he did he would surely have been killed trying to be a hero. Prima Donna's usually suffered unfortunate accidents

Second and most important never pick-up anything shiny or out of the ordinary.

Semper Fi

sparkn · Post by **sparkn** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 3:58 pm

The recruiter ALWAYS lies. Well, he's just not clear. Oftentimes when a prospective recruit is speaking with a recruiter he will only hear what he wants to hear and shrugs off the rest. Then the recruiter becomes a liar later. Make sure your brother approaches the recruiter with a level head. The more he gets guaranteed before he signs up, the more he'll be able to achieve his goals later. Although the recruiter may talk about options he has after signing up, the best path is to get those guarantees in writing before signing up. If a recruiter says something is not available, then wait. Availability changes every quarter. What's not available now may be available next month. Turn down the first offer. He WILL call back with something better. The next quarter starts in a few short weeks and the flood from recent graduates will be over (flood=less choices for your brother). The best time to sign up is when the recruiter is having a hard time meeting his goals.

The marines are a good choice, if he's up to it. I went Navy myself for ten years. The key for me was to learn early on the difference between a kiss ass and a key player. Made E-6 in just under 8 years by doing just one thing; upheld my integrity at all costs (i.e. I fell on my own and no one fell because of me).

Marines experience more in a single tour than most experience in a career. Listen to what he has to say and be proud and he'll bring the stories home to you (provided it's been released to the public, that is).

goose · Post by **goose** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 6:51 pm

OK. I have recently fulfilled my contract with the Marine Corps. The first thing I would advise him is to ask what the MOS designator is for the Martial arts job. There is no actual job as a Martial Arts instructor. After you are in and have gotten a "Job' (MOS) then you need to qualify for the Marine CorpsMartial Arts Program (MCMP), this is everyone in the Corp. After acheiving a black belt you can go to instructor school and become an instructor, however that is not something you will do from day to day. It is an added duty you can perform. The odds of him getting this soon after coming in is very slim if at all.

I am not saying this to be negative, but so you have all the information. The Marines are great, especially if you are single and want to travel. You learn all sorts of things, and the comraderie is second to none. My brother is in the Army and I respect all services, but the others don't always have the extreme pride a Marine has.

As someone said earlier get as much guarenteed as possible. The recruiter will make you feel like he is bending over backwards for you, but just let him know you are weighing all your options and talking to all the branches. If you are great, if not fine. By the time you are going to join he should be able to, in writing, afrim you will be contract E2, MOS of choice, and signing bonus if one applies to your field.

I would also seriously look into the other services, it will give your brother some bargining power even if he doesn't go that way. If he wants a carrer in the Military find out about enlisted to Officer Programs. If he wants college after, then look at the other branches first. I assumed all branches had equal offerings, but found out the opposite. The Marine Corps is a department of the Navy and doesn't get direct funding, it shares monies with the Navy (table scraps). Therefore, the other branches can afford to offer college funds upwards of $30, 000 or more. This is not including the G.I. Bill which you still get regardless.

I will keep my eyes onthis thread if you have anymore questions. Tell your brother to be investigative. He is putting his life on the line (regardless of his job) and should get back as much as possible. Don't feel bad about asking for more, ever!

Give him a pat on the back for what he wants to do and encourage him, some of the recruits really need it. Tell him a big thank you from every Marine that came before him!

Imakeholesinu · Post by **Imakeholesinu** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 6:23 am

Illuminati wrote:I know we have a bunch of current and ex-military on these forums, so I thought I would see what kind of advice I should give my brother before he signs up.

I think this will be great for him, but I just don't know what else to tell him other than 'good luck'. From what I heard from my parents, he's choosing the Marines because they have some sort of career path for martial arts... and that is what he is interested in pursuing.

Any advice or stories I should tell him? Thanks!

Tell him not to do it. My little brother did it and now he hates it and wants out. Maybe that's just my little brother but I would opped out of the Marine idea.

Secondly, don't believe all the propoganda out of the marine recruiters mouths. My little brother did not get his first choice of his field he wanted to pursue in the marine corp, so tell your brother not to think that he'll get his.

Their recruiters are kinda shady, they tell you exactly what you want to hear and don't tell you exactly what you need to hear.

Get a job, you get a lot more freedom and you don't have to fight with them to come home on leave if you want.

Post by **Apoptosis** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 8:18 am

is he dead set on the marines?

Post by **Illuminati** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 8:37 am

Thanks for the replies so far... They have been very informative.

I know he has been talking to some other branches, but I think he was very interested in the martial arts path in the marines... and I think he said that was the only branch that offered a career path in martial arts... So this is why he is leaning towards the marines over the other branches. Whether this info is 100% accurate, I'm not sure... I wasn't in on the recruiter talks.

goose · Post by **goose** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 1:38 pm

goose wrote:The first thing I would advise him is to ask what the MOS designator is for the Martial arts job. There is no actual job as a Martial Arts instructor. After you are in and have gotten a "Job' (MOS) then you need to qualify for the Marine CorpsMartial Arts Program (MCMP), this is everyone in the Corp. After acheiving a black belt you can go to instructor school and become an instructor, however that is not something you will do from day to day. It is an added duty you can perform. The odds of him getting this soon after coming in is very slim if at all.

I don't mean to repeat myself, but I know there is no real martail arts career path. I would let him know he has to have the recruiter fully explain 'B' billets and how he would come about doing the martial arts on the side. However, he should think about a primary MOS that is going to help him get promoted fast and let him do something he can carry over to the civilian world. If he is smart and did well on the ASVAB I would suggest Intel (promotes real fast), trying for a linguist (requires a test), and almost anything in computers or air wing matienence (promotes slow, but great when he gets out).

All of the above can be done while instructing, for martial arts.

Razorbacx · Post by **Razorbacx** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 9:29 pm

I am a former Marine, Once a Marine, Always a Marine. I served from 1986 to 1992 and am proud of my time in the Corps. I have very fond memories of my time in the Corps and if you're searching for a reason to discourage your brother from joining the Corps then please stop reading here.

I had the best and worst times of my life in the Marine Corps, although when looking back I can say that the bad times were few in number. I did things that most only read about and have seen places that very few could find on a map.

I won't bother you with stories of brotherhood and such, but I will tell you that the change that your brother will undergo will last a lifetime. It is what you make it. Good, bad or indifferent the Marine Corps will take a snot nosed kid and make him a man in less time than you can master the french fry cooker at McDonalds.

Educational opportunities are there and you have to be willing to take advantage of them. One of my closet friends whom I can say that I had the honor of serving with is now a Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CWO4). We were Corporals (E4) together and after I moved on he got serious with his education, was commissioned an Officer and is now working on his Masters in mathmatics. I would call that a success story.

IT IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT!

Semper Fi,

Razorbacx

Post by **Illuminati** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 7:07 am

I am definitely not trying to discourage him from joining. I think it is exactly what he needs. I'm just trying to provide him some first hand tips from those that have been there already. I'm all for him joining the Marines, or any of the branches for that matter. I think he needs this. I have been forwarding many of the responses here to him to make sure I don't mis-communicate anything.

Thanks again for all the posts... if I think of anything else to ask, I'll be sure to post it here.

Tim Burton · Post by **Tim Burton** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 3:20 pm

Well, I just got DQed yesterday at MEPS.

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My brother thinking about joining the Marines

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