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Son wants to join the Marines

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Mike Gayner said:
LOL oh wow.
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as someone who has signed the document I take that a bit personally.

Sorry but bashing those who have answered the call is despicable.

If you have not served you have a cnn education and can not speak with any level of knowledge.
 
tm37 said:
as someone who has signed the document I take that a bit personally.

Sorry but bashing those who have answered the call is despicable.

If you have not served you have a cnn education and can not speak with any level of knowledge.
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Of course he can, he's speaking from a country who's rights are guaranteed by the USA instead of his own country. 🙄
 
Why do people say that once you joined the Marines you will be involved in a firefight?

From what I heard, this is simply not true because you can be a desk junkie all day or just some dude fixing meals and such.
 
I have 3 friends who are 0311 and one 5811

0311 are all in Afghanistan the 5811 is in Okinawa. They all are doing what they love and having a blast.
 
tm37 said:
And let me tell you just how lucrative that tit is.

The enlisted man with 2 kids is eligible for food stamps in most states.

You sir have no respect for those who have signed away there life to protect your right to make such ignorant statements.
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tm37 said:
as someone who has signed the document I take that a bit personally.

Sorry but bashing those who have answered the call is despicable.

If you have not served you have a cnn education and can not speak with any level of knowledge.
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Moron...Gayner is an America-hating New Zealander...but IIRC, he IS a member of the Sheep Battalion...or whatever the Kiwi Army is called. Personally, I wish the moderators would send him packing along with his sheep fucking brother.



I did my "four for the Corps" and went to Vietnam. I didn't have to worry about the recruiter lying to me. I asked for, and got, a written guarantee to serve as a rifleman in a USMC rifle battalion in Vietnam. The Sergeant said it was the easiest guarantee he'd ever been asked to write.


As with any job/career/life choice, it's all in what you make it. I've known a few absolute slackers who enlisted in the Corps and came out greatly changed men who went on to live very productive lives...and yet others who were full of promise when they enlisted, great students, hard workers...and came out much worse for the experience.

True, combat can alter or end your life in the blink of an eye, and odds are, if you go to war, you're going to see shit that no one should ever see...and may become scarred by it, but men have gone to war for thousands of years. The fortunate ones return home better men than when they left.

Tex, if your son wants to enlist, talk to him about what he wants to get out of his service. Some youths are drawn by the educational opportunities...which CAN be very good...in the right MOS. Others get enamored by the opportunity to fulfill their patriotic duty, and still others see only the chance to become a hero...but most of those either get weeded out quickly, or get killed doing something stupid.
 
Mike Gayner said:
Tell your son to enjoy being a welfare whore. That's basically all soldiers are - they spend their careers living off the government tit.
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So says the guy from an island nation who relies on other countries to defend it if the shit should hit the fan.

From just about every thread I've read of yours you really strike me as a really really negative person.

Is it wrong for someone to serve their country and maybe even benefit from it personally as well? Do you really think people join the military and not understand that it can be hazardous?

You're statements smack of youth, an on the band wagon attitude and the me, me, me mentality. If you're such a great judge of the United States (which does indeed have her flaws) you really do need to take a look in the mirror and stop making Kiwis look so ignorant.
 
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CrazyAznDriver said:
scarjo_popcorn.gif
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Hot

Is this Rose McGowan???
 
I say support him. I'd like to think there's a reason he's interested in the marines, and that is the challenge associated with it. If he has the personality suitable for it, it could be a an excellent way to get a leg up on the rest of his life. Discipline, the ability to work in a team and as a leader, and the post 9/11 GI Bill. If he's wanting to take his future into his own hands, this is a respectable way of going about doing it.

On the other hand if he's more interested in joining for some of the benefits I'd suggest he strongly consider the Air Force, Navy, and Coast guard. He'll enjoy an almost corporate culture in the AF (I know, I've been in for just over 10 years in communications) and more than likely have a more stable life than the other branches (except CG) in case that appeals to him. Lower deployment tempo, shorter tour lengths, and behind the wire. Also, the level of training he'll acquire in the AF if his ASVAB is high enough to get him a good AFSC will give him an optional career path after the military that could easily be more lucrative than the jobs he might land with a Lib Arts degree from his GI Bill.

The Navy is similar to the AF, and in many ways more sophisticated in terms of technical training or regimentation, but he'll spend much more time out at sea. Stands to reason, right?

The last option should be the Army. Before joining the AF, I spent a few months trying to spin up as a headhunter in El Paso TX where theres a large army base. It was impossible to place those army folks because none of their skill sets or even their people skills gained from their enlistments translated to anything marketable. The ops tempo is extraordinary high compared to the other branches, and the deployment lengths are in excess of a year at a time. Although the conflicts in SE Asia are drawing down and so to the quantity of deployed personnel to support them, the Army will always shoulder the burden of sacrifice without any of the "glory" of the Marines or the perks of the other branches. I thoroughly respect the folks of have endured the Army, but it's not something I'd ever endorse. Certainly not to my own son.

Just a fwiw.
 
The service seems to have become the tool of wallstreet and politicians, used not to protect America but oversee their own personal interests. Damn shame really. If he really wants to join though, sell him on becoming a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army. I reckon'd it'd be roughly as hard as cutting it as a rank and file enlisted Marine but with better pay and more privileges.
 
after he's out, he can become a "professional veteran" and protest everything and demand more benefits.
 
Sophitia said:
The service seems to have become the tool of wallstreet and politicians, used not to protect America but oversee their own personal interests. Damn shame really. If he really wants to join though, sell him on becoming a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army. I reckon'd it'd be roughly as hard as cutting it as a rank and file enlisted Marine but with better pay and more privileges.
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I really don't think so. Haha. :biggrin:
 
Mike Gayner said:
LOL I don't even know what you're getting at here. Soldiers are welfare whores - FACT. They also voluntarily enter a career with a high chance of death - so I guess they're also stupid welfare whores. Sucks that he died, but it's a pretty high probability event when you enter a battlefield.
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Well since he died in service to your country, and the average New Zealander's life is worth approx. $3.4 million USD, and he took in far less than that in pay and benefits over the years, I'd say you came out ahead.

And actually your probability of dying isn't that high. Particularly not for the NZ SAS, an elite organization that's suffered only a handful of casualties after a decade of war in Afghanistan. I met a few of them in Afghanistan, and they were great guys (unlike most of the Australians) and consummate professionals.

I don't really understand where you're coming from. You live in one of the wealthiest, most free countries in the world but you place no value on the people that have for 10 years kept the Taliban from getting on a boat and bringing Shariah law to New Zealand?
 
I think the military is a total waste of time unless you are going to learn a useful skill like airframe mechanic or water treatment or pilot or heavy equipment operator. There is not much of a need for an infrantryman in civilian life. It might just be a colossal waste of time. You might be better off going to community college for 2 years and then transferring to a 4 year institution. Still some peole are just not mature enough to go to college right after high school. Work at wal-mart for a while and see how the real world works. If money seems impossible to go to school wait till 24 and go to school as an independent student with no parents assistance. That way you may qualify for PELL. However, the world will be passing you by. You would be better off staying at home and taking one or two classes at a time, than doing nothing.

The Military is not for everyone. If you are really fit and want to give it a try. I still say you are better off with a year or two of school. It will help you in life and you will get better pay and advance through the ranks faster.
 
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Nebor said:
I don't really understand where you're coming from. You live in one of the wealthiest, most free countries in the world but you place no value on the people that have for 10 years kept the Taliban from getting on a boat and bringing Shariah law to New Zealand?
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Did make that reductio ad absurdum to point out how obvious it is that groups like the Taliban, left entirely unchecked, would have no bearing on the western world, or were you serious?
 
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