I want to join the marines. Any advice?

Question

BP, I see.

I am glad a Gunnery Sgt. answered my question.

It's not about money, or an undesirable social setting at. No I am not particularly fond of killing, but I was wondering also if I should become an officer, or join the reserves...I kind of want to jump right in, though...

Answer 1

well you could capitalize Marines for starters, also i agree with everything the Gunny said and you should give him best answer

Answer 2

Check out LAVADOG's website. Than go see a recruiter.

Answer 3

Meet other marines, try to witness what they go through everyday first hand. Take the shortest contract possible (Can always re-enlist for more with a nice bonus).

Understand that other branches give you far more money.

There are lots, and lots of things you need to know but cannot understand until you do it and then look back and go "Wow, I was stupid for not figuring that out" Be ready for it.

Answer 4

Yes..Please ensure you want to be a Marine for the correct reasons and not for the childish ones such as wishing to go and kill someone.

And understand the USMC is not like the other branches and it is not for everyone.

Future Marine info.

http://lavadog23.webs.com/

Answer 5

First and most importantly, understand what you are doing and why you are doing it. If your reason is anything less than honor, then you should not do it. I read some of these questions and 9 times out of 10, when I hear about why a young person wants to join, it's either because they need money, they want to kill, or they need to get away from their current home/social problem. I'll tell you right now, the Marines are not mercenaries. A person does not become a Marine for pay. In fact, if a true Marine were told right now that for an entire year he would not receive any treasure whatsoever, any compensation for what they are doing...he/she would still do their job as if they were getting paid. So, if money is your reason, do not take on this job. Secondly, the Marines are not some sick, cult like group that trains people who enjoy killing. Killing may be part of the job, but you will think nothing of it. You will not like it, you will not hate it. If you have any positive or negative feelings about the killing part, you will eventually go ape **** and fail at what you are doing. Thirdly, the Marines are not some country club. If your parents are giving you problems, or you don't like your social life, the Marines do not want you. The Marines should not be a replacement home for the one that you do not like. As I said in the beginning, if you want to do this for any reason less than because you feel that it's an honorable job, do not do it. If you do do it for any other reason than because you feel that it is honorable, you will do a half assed job at it and you may potentially be the reason why a fellow Marine, or even you, dies.

Now, if you have any further questions about advice or things along those lines, go ahead and post it in the additional details, I can come back and read about it and respond.

EDIT:

"I was wondering also if I should become an officer, or join the reserves...I kind of want to jump right in, though..."

Well, if you wanna "jump right in" and go into action from the start, you should obviously steer clear of the reserves and just become an active Marine. If you do become a reservist, you'll still be trained and equipped the same as an active Marine, there's just a lesser chance of getting sent into combat.

"Are most marines sent to the middle east?"

I have not looked at the latest Marine deployment statistics, but there are more US troops deployed in the middle east than in any other region in the world. That means that there's a good chance you will be deployed there. And even though you may not be deployed there as your first mission, your chances of being deployed there increase as time passes, of course, assuming that the troop levels remain the same for that time passing. You should be okay with wherever they send you. Something that I don't get with some people: They refuse to join a military branch just because the country is at war. Lemme rephrase...They would join the Marines, Army, etc...BUT only if the country is not at war. I know a few kids a few years ago who were strongly considering joining the Army. Well, when the death toll increased in Iraq, they changed their minds. I don't get it because at a time of peace they would take a job that may involve fighting, but at a time of fighting, they would rather not take the fighting job, even though that was their intention when the country was at peace. Get where I'm going here? They bluff. The Marines don't need anyone with that mindset. Regardless to how many wars the country is in, whether it be 0 wars or 10 wars, that should not matter. You're not joining the Marines to go to war and you are not joining the Marines to avoid war. Politics should be neutral and so should your fear of death. Because if you consider either of those at the same time that you want to join, then you're not being what I call a true Marine. I know that the recruitment numbers have gone down as more soldiers die. Well guess what? The Marines don't need them. The Marines need someone who has no influencing fear of death & the Marines need someone who does not care about the political state of the country. And your role should not matter to you either. I value the cook as much as I value the infantrymen. To me, everyone has an equal role in the work that they do. That is because, unlike the other branches, the Marines emphasize team work the most. And team work is not just limited to your division, battalion, platoon or fire team. It includes the entire crops. Without the cook, engineer, computer tech etc...believe me, the infantrymen would feel it. With that being said, my point is, some people like to put down office jobs and the "non-action" jobs in the Marines. That is simply wrong. The cook and the infantryman both play a significant role in the war or peace effort at hand. Now, I know I just went on about a dozen different tangents here, but take what I've said seriously.

Answer 6

Stop spending time on yahoo and go to a recruiter immediately.