I trained Recon Marines (& other SOP units)up to 3 yrs ago…I will tell you the only marines who are pretty much guranteed a set of jump wings are in logistics…(RED TABBERS) they have little red tags on there cammies and covers…they get certified so while they are pushing supplies out of the back of C-130’s and they fall out well you can kinda get the idea…And like you were told already its not all its made out to be in the movies…But you will make friends for life and definetly do things you could never do as a civilian…
My brother was 101st and an uncle to…1 brother was Special forces in the freaking Air Force (No Joke they have a special unit too) the only difference is the training and dicipline…We all were very good at what we were trained to do but we all had diff. mission specialties…
Semper Fi & Good Luck
Oh yeah and about the wieght issue…
Run, Run, and focus on pull-ups, crunches, push-ups…Have somebody thrash you daily (ask your recruiter)
There also is a waiver if you can prove through your initial PFT (Physical Fitness Test)(Running,pull-ups, sit-ups) that you deserve one…
redmeanie–yeah, I served also alongside some Air Force PJs and Combat Controllers. The Air Force actually has an SF branch called Combat Weatherman, now if that ain’t some funny shit. But just during that time with the JTF I noticed that the Air Force PJs and CCTs seemed more professional that the green berets that were there. I didn’t expect that, but that’s what I got.
chippy–while it sucked in the grunts, that’s why you’ll love it. 8 months later I miss it immensely, although I can’t quite put my finger on what it was that I miss. I mean, I don’t have to get up at 0500 to stand in a formation for an hour only to run for 30 minutes. I don’t have to work on a weekend. I don’t have to freeze my balls off. No more fucking FORMATIONS. No more hurry up and wait. No more humping a heavy ass TOW system through the jungle. But all the same, I loved it then and I miss it now. Go figure.
mikeyali
Chippy, the one thing that makes being a grunt worthwhile is that YOU ARE the Marine Corps.
You’re out there doing all the difficult, dirty, physically exhausting work that the Corps is known for. When people think Marine, they think of combat troops.
Everyone else who is not in the 03 field works for you. They are there to make sure you get taken care of.
That always made me feel good, knowing that I was the tip of the spear.
redmeanie- we always referred to them as RED TAG FAGS.
From my understanding, the red tags are there so if we were to do a beach landing, and support had to go out with us to deliver supplies, they could be identified from the regular grunts so that they could get back to the ships. That always boggled my mind, that you would get a job where you ran away from a fight.
Mikeyali- I know what you mean. When I got off active duty in Sep. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I couldn’t interact very well with the people around me, and I missed the shit out of the MC. I even missed the bullshit Formations and standing by for hours on end. I’m still kickin around the idea of re-enlisting. I’m in the reserves now, so I’ll give school a shot for a bit, but so far it ain’t going so hot.
As a former active duty 0311 I can say that everything that has been posted so far on this thread is 100% correct. I was also in Security Forces for one year of my enlistment. I was stationed in Bahrain and saw some slightly stressful times so it was OK but it was still standing watch. No matter what your recruiter tells you about FAST company (the cool security forces companues, there are only 2) security forces is a very uneventful high spit and polish temporary duty. Additionally when you leave you have to go to a line company in the fleet. The bad thing about it is that you will arive at the unit as a senior E-3 or maybe E-4 with no line company experience, and in a time when your salty one pumpers probrably have combat experience an E-4 with no experience has a tough road ahead of them. Work on your run time, it is a major factor in what other Marines will think of you. If you fall out of runs the respect falls with you. Crunches can be developed and your pull ups will improve as you loose weight (but that doesn’t mean don’t work on them) so running should be your focus. Good luck to you, there is no feeling like hearing your platoon get dismissed on Graduation day from Boot Camp (well except from seeing your girlfriend again). In fact mine came down to PI and if the walls in the Burger King and the little museum could talk…
Well, I had my boss Charles Staley take a look at your post and seeing that you have a high goal and alot to work with he has found it in his heart to take you on free of charge in his private coaching group for a few months. We do not do this for everybody Chippy but if you are injury free and have access to a commercial gym Charles is willing to help you get closer to your goal. Good for you!-you will need to call me directly so PM me a message and I will get you into the group if you sre up for it-Julianne
Damn!! That’s cool ass shit.
Congrats chippy, hope it works out for you. Let us know how it turns out
Semper Fi
Chippy-
I am almost reluctant to give some advice now that coach staley will be working with you directly! Anyway, I just wanted to say good luck brother and about the weight thing, remember, the most important thing for you to be able to do is to perform push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and running. Don’t sweat your actual bodyweight, because it’s your bodyfat % that matters most. If you still weigh 225-230 going in but are at or below 10% and/or can kick the shit out of the PFT, it won’t matter, they will let you in. Remember, as bad as you want to be a Marine, they want you to be a Marine more. Good luck
~Jason
I have yet to hear from chippy about the offer but I will be in the office tomorrow . Chippy-I look forward to speaking with you. Julianne
we heard from Chippy and I am in the process of getting him set up to work with Coach Staley-for all who encouraged him you are awesome. We will keep you informed of his progress-Julianne
Look, first of all if you want it bad enough you will get it. It was and is the best thing that has happened to me. There was a time in my life when i was 290 lbs I wanted the Marines bad enough that I dropped 85 lbs to join DEP (delyed entry program) then i lost another 55lbs when i was in boot camp. I would definitely recomend hot-rox on a modified diet (t-dawg). It also depends what MOS you are signed up for. It you want to go the grunts…you better start running alot if not still run and work on the basics like pullups,pushups,chinups.
US Marines - Destroyed in 30 minutes or the next ones free !!!
0331 w/1/5
I’m gonna say this once…When you are a Marine you represent the United States Marine Corps 24/7 for the rest of your life. Everything you do the way act out in public the way you walk you talk will reflect that. You are not a soldier you are a MARINE !!!
I have a question that maybe you guys can answer: why do guys drop so much weight in boot camp? I’ve had lots of friends and family who went into the Corps as skinny bastards and came out of boot even skinnier! With a few years in, they all muscled up, of course. But, is it the lack of food … I think most boots subsist on 2500-3000 cal./day. Is it stress and/or lack of rest? I’m just curious. My best guess: tons of aerobic conditioning and muscular endurance activity (lots of calisthenics) combined with maintenance or below maintenace calories.
Thanx to everyone for their advice. I am just starting to work with coach Staley and I’m super pumped! I promise that I’ll let everyone Know how it’s going and keep everyone up to date. I think what attracts me to the Marine Corps. is the fact that I have to earn the title of Marine, no matter what job I get. Even though I will be serving in the reserves, I still get to earn the title and prove myself. When I,m sitting in the rocking chair someday, it sure would be nice to say that I served my community in the Fire Service, and my country in the Marines. As far as a possible MOS, I,m also considering MP. I found a unit not too far from where I live. Untill then I,m gonna keep running.
The reason you lose all that weight is because recuits are always being stressed all day and every day for 3 months. They are ITed or sent to the pit(basicly GPP) at any free moment. Also everything you do has to be done in the fasted method possible. This means running everywhere all the time. The food you get is minimal because recruits are rushed through the chow hall, you eat in the blink of any eye. Everything is rushed because recuits have alot of training that needs to be done in a short period of time. You get very little sleep because of firewatch and most recuits try to square away things that they couldn’t get done during the day like polishing boots or going to the shitter during the few hours they get alloted for sleep. So a recuit is always exhausted and starved.
The main reason why recruits lose so much weight is the fact the most of the recruits are used to such a high paced lifestyle (you get used to it). The whole emphasis on boot camp is to make marines combat ready. Everything you do is war related like if you pick your face when your on line your gonna get thrased by the green belt (DI) because you lacked. I remeber all the time being hungry because you get worked to the ground also I got phneumonia the second week i was in boot
Actually cezar remeber the food is not minimal, the portions are decent, like I said you could over 2000 calories and be hungry an hour later. I remeber on the chow line I would drink 3-4 glasses of milk everymeal just to keep weight.
Chippy -
Goin infantry, huh? Good choice. Don’t worry man, your jump wings will come soon enough. But you need to think more about the long run. Set your goals even further, and get ready for some pain. (Didn’t mean to scare you). Go to Ranger School, get the tab, and keep going. Dont ever stop advancing yourself. Fuck man, go Force Recon. I’ve worked with those guys before and they’re a great bunch of guys. And what ever you do, for God’s sake, NEVER QUIT!!!
This thread is some good shit. Definitely what I needed for a Monday morning motivation read. Good luck, future Leatherneck. Keep us all informed.
Former 0311
All you need to focus on is getting ready and enduring bootcamp. Don’t make the frickin jump wings (you all forgot the the scuba bubble !!!) or the tab your priority. You signed up for 0300 thats Marine Corps Infantry we don’t jump out of planes were warriors from the sea, we storm beaches. Its all in time and when you get to SOI (school of infantry) wether your an 0311,13,31,41,51,52 you’ll go to the fleet. The Marine Corps is gonna put you where the Marine Corps wants you. Worry about recon when your an E-3