Military Experience
I’m still Active Duty as of today. I guess I will include a disclosure… I don’t speak on the behalf of the Marine Corps. All personal experience. If you’re not up to date, the unvaccinated are getting the boot. That includes me. If you want to know anything while I’m still in. Now is the chance! They kicked out 103 Marines (according to news) already. Do I believe that 97% of armed forces are vaccinated?
Nope.
If anything, Marines are more willing to tell you to get bent compared to any other branches. But anyways, moving on to my personal experiences… People don’t like the military and for good reasons. I don’t defend the Marine Corps, I defend some of the Marines in it. The real world / civilian sector sucks. A lot of Marines come from broken families, homeless, or have grim futures. They don’t have a lot of options. If they did, do they think they would have enlisted? There are those who enlist for patriotic reasons but, they tend to hate the Marine Corps the most during their stay. The ones who are motivated throughout the whole rotation are… weird and very back-stabby. Keep in mind that High Schools typically have 2 students every year (seniors) who are planning to serve the Marine Corps. It takes some degree of courage to actually enlist.
Military vs Civilian
Yeah. I kindof cringed with my header. But, I’m still in and have no personal experience outside of the military. I’m basing this on my wife’s experience and friends. A lot of people stay enlisted not because the Marine Corps is a great place to be but rather because it’s a stable living. As long as you don’t get in trouble… you’ll be good. There are easy occupations which is where the highly motivated ones are found. Those who work 5 hours and never got dirty are usually the ones who you see telling you that the Marines is a good place. My first enlistment had me deploying and working 12 on and off. If I was night crew, it was typically 1530 – 0300 and sometimes we slapped hands with day crew which was 0630. That’s longer than 12 hours. 12 hours was never guaranteed.
You can't avoid high school drama
This is where the great divide comes in. For the most part (ignorant), you can quit your job and look for another one if you’re being mistreated. There are some people who can’t afford to get fired in the civilian sector. Military has that job security. Granted, a lot of people stay working dead-end jobs with no progression. Marines do have that progression, that’s why I don’t want to say too much on my ignorance.
For the Marines, you’re stuck with who you work with. If you’re stuck with a terrible boss, you’re stuck with him for years. They can hold a grudge for what you did 2 years ago even if it’s just a minor thing. There are four things that matter in the military.
Rank > ‘Presence’ / Likability (clique) > Physical performance > Job performance
You can be really intelligent and an outstanding individual. But you’re a LCpl. You can create outstanding procedures that can cut manhours to a fraction of what it used to be. Doesn’t matter, that’s not how we do things. Wrongly accused? What’s your rank, Marine?
You can get a general idea on why a lot of Marines get out after their first enlistment. Those who do stay are the ones who have no other option outside the Corps. Spouse problems, alcohol addictions, debt, mental instability... The ones who stay generally never grow up. Straight from High School to the military and the same mindset. I have met great guys but that’s the minority. The one’s who have been in the longest make the rules. I haven’t even discussed the dog eat dog mentality.
Cliques
The senior enlisted is a clique. Junior enlisted, clique. Officers, clique. The clique who holds the most power determines what everybody else does. Fall back to the pecking order mentioned earlier. Even me who’s not likable at all, holds a considerable amount of power just because of the rank. That’s why the dynamic for Freemasonry as a secret society makes sense to me on how they operate. It’s. The. Same. Thing.
The SNCO who runs the shop holds considerable influence on the junior enlisted. Shitty leader = shitty attitude. Marines who re-enlist re-enlist generally because of him. There are skate positions, good stations, and re-enlistment bonuses which are strong incentives but, they’re typically thinking of the guy who encouraged them throughout their tour. Money is important to the minds of many but, leaders make a long-lasting impression. Something that money can’t do.
It can’t be that different outside the military. I know guys who stay at crappy jobs just because their boss treats them really good. It’s the same concept.
Personal Experience
I don’t want to spend too much time talking about the military. My first enlistment was awful. Really awful. I would’ve got out if they didn’t give me a sweet position in a desired spot. My second enlistment was great. It took a while to adjust but not too bad. They offered me a decent spot after my second. That was a terrible mistake lol. I’ll talk more about it once I get the boot. A lot of you would find it interesting.
Interesting Screenshots
Some conversations that I thought were interesting. Both relating to COVID.
Youtube on Mandate
Reddit on Honorable for Navy
Kids at heart
