Fresh from bootcamp new marine: Chances of getting a desk job stateside??

[tinfoilinfor2005]

My grandson's best friend enlisted several weeks ago in the Marine Corps and is graduating next week. My grandson is going to California for his boot camp graduation. His mom swears that they have promised him a "desk job stateside" and he will not be shipped overseas.

Any military people here that can tell me that this is true? Can they honestly tell the family that a new marine won't be shipped over to the middle east?

[pooja]

1. I don't think he'll be sitting at a desk stateside.

[shaniqua6392]

2. Sounds fishy to me.

The Bush Administration has just approved the involuntary mandate on Marines to go to Iraq since enlistments are so low. I find it hard to believe that one. They told my nephew the same thing. He joined the Army a few months ago. He is now at Gitmo. Also, the same thing happened to a neighbor kid. He was shipped to Baghdad within two weeks of completing basic training. They will tell these kids anything they want to hear. Once you sign on the dotted line, you have to live with it. They need all the soldiers they can get in Iraq and Afghanistan. Keep us posted. He should find out as soon as graduation is over with. Good luck to him. They are all in our prayers.

on edit: link to the story on the Marines http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14468245/

[tinfoilinfor2005]

7. My grandson got straight A's and is a great soccer player

and has a lot of colleges calling him. His friend, although good in sports, messed up big time academically, and couldn't get into a college, so he enlisted. It broke my heart that he enlisted, but his parents are pretty gung-ho republicans and they thought this might be the way for him to go. But of course it scares me to death because I know what the bushies have in store for him. He is an only son and I am frightened what might happen to him.

All of the kids are good friends and I think this might be the end of their innocence. :cry:

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

3. They can tell you anything

Does not mean it is true.

Unless he is connected to someone high up, it is not likely.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

8. He is a "nobody"...just a kid from Indiana with parents who trust

this administration.

So pretty much screwed, as I thought. Please keep him in your prayers.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

4. That's what they promised my friend in the army.

They told him that since he had a college degree and they trained him as an intelligence specialist, he'd be working stateside at a desk. Well, he's mostly working at a desk, but that desk is in Baghdad. He's part of the bridgade from Alaska that had their tours extended by 4 months. It's his second tour in Iraq.

[annabanana]

5. Did he get it in writing?

If he did he can at least put up a fight.

[IChing]

6. He hasn't gone to bootcamp?

There is way too much evidence that the promises of the the recruiters are bullshit
Sorry, but not gonna happen unless he is 1% of the 1%.

Sorry to hear that.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

11. He is graduating boot camp in a couple of weeks.

My grandson is flying out for the graduation. He is a smart kid but screwed around and his grades aren't good. Fortunately for us, my grandson is kind of a nerd with straight A's, and also has been offered scholarships in sports. But his best friend Ryan decided at graduation that his only chance was with the military. I tried to talk his mom out of it, but they live in Indiana and they are totally trusting of bush. Makes my hair catch on fire, but what can I say????

[astonamous]

9. There may be a possibility if the kid is his parent's only

child. There use to be a provision for this back in the days of the draft for Vietnam. My husband was drafted but since he was an only child, he never served in a combat zone. He stayed in Texas and Hawaii.

Trudy
www.pryorsplanet.com

[tinfoilinfor2005]

17. First son. They have two.

Not so good news for parents of two sons, I guess.

[driver8]

10. Recruiters are liars -- sorry, but that's how it is.

Of course I am not speaking for all recruiters, but I was in the military and I know a lot of guys that were lied to. They have a quota to fulfill and if they do not meet that quota, it is reflected on their evals which in turn affects their ability to advance.

Believe me, these guys will promise the world if it will get a kid to sign on the dotted line. Since they are calling Marines back who have already been discharged, I have a feeling that this kid is going to Iraq.

[genie_weenie]

12. After Boot there is

10 days Boot Leave and MCT is 17 days (I am excluding SOI, School of Infantry, since he would then be an 03xx and would be put into a line unit).

This is followed by MOS school which can vary based on his job. For example, Mine took 2 months to pick up and 6 months of training.

Then it is on the the FMF.

Anyway try to find out his MOS. But, the Marines can not tell anyone they won't be shipped over and even prior to 9/11 specifically had to spell out in written contract language that they couldn't guarantee a war deployment.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

13. Thanks, Genie...this is kind of the info I was looking for.

I will pass this on to his family.

[genie_weenie]

16. No problem.

I saw 2 trips to Iraq and 1 to Afghanistan and unless he is going to Okinawa or directly to a MEU (which floats for 6 months so that's not "Stateside" and does 6-12 months of pre-float prep) he may be in line for the big Sandbox...

Anyway here's something to keep in mind and unfortunately I'm sure he'll learn the following:

U
Suckers
Missed
Christmas

Eat the Apple - F*** the Corps...

[tinfoilinfor2005]

18. Well, he is a baby, one year out of high school.

I'm sure he knows his ABC's, but probably not his USMC's. But I'm sure the Corps will teach him all he needs to know. :(

[Bigmack]

30. First to go... last to know. Semper fuckin' Fi.

I don't believe the Corps would promise "no combat duty". I only remember them promising that if there was shit in the world... we'd be in it.

Had a guy with a degree humping ammo for my gun.

[Longhorn]

29. All true, at least in my son's experience.,

His MOS is technical data network specialist. He went to school at 29 Palms for six months (two consecutive schools.) Because he came in second in his class, he got to pick his assignment and he chose Iwakuni, Japan. It was supposed to be for two years ending this month but he decided to finish his enlistment there because if he came back to the States, he could easily have been sent to Iraq. (He's a liberal and definitely against this war.)

The Marine who came in first in the class chose Hawaii and was immediately sent to Iraq. The Marine who came in third was assigned stateside because he was married with three kids, but then he, too, ended up in Iraq. All had the same MOS. So you're right when you say that there are no guarantees.

[lonestarnot]

14. OMG bwwwwwwwwwwwwaaaaaa!

:rofl:

[tinfoilinfor2005]

15. I understand the sarcasm, lonestarnot, because I feel the same way.

But I am looking for a tiny thread of hope to give his mom.

[lonestarnot]

19. What false hope is better than none? Were you ever in the

military tinfoilinfor2005?

[tinfoilinfor2005]

25. Mother of two in the airforce...long before the bush administration.

And yes, I did go to war with the airforce when my daughter became gravely ill while stationed in England. After hours and hours of phone calls (and a series of unabashed lies), my husband finally contacted Coops who was able to get her airlifted out of the base and into a civilian hospital. She was suffering from a massive internal infection that damned near killed her and she still has the scars to this day. Nothing war related, but they would have left her to die if we hadn't screamed to the top of our lungs.

I know that things are different now, but don't ever underestimate how far a parent will go to save their child.

[lonestarnot]

26. I have one and would never underestimate what I would do!

I almost croaked myself while in technical school from all the damn shots. I think they gave me malaria. No one called anyone for me, but then I never told anyone, just sucked it up and carried on puking dehydrating for two weeks. They could give a crap. Sorry about your daughter.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

31. And that's just it. My daughter was just like you. Never called us,

but I just happened to call her just when she was so ill she could hardly talk, and then she struggled to say, "help me"...and this from a kid who never complained about anything from the time she was a baby.

They tell you that your child is no longer your child once they enlist; they now belong to the government. And we accepted that. But when the government refuses to help them in sickness or in great danger, I think that at that point they have to relinquish their ownership.

Let me know if the malaria comes back...I will come and make chicken soup for you. :hug:

[lonestarnot]

32. Oh shit! Does it come back?

It's been years....nah... but I'll eat the soup! LOL making a fridge run now.

[BlooInBloo]

20. not white = certain lie; white = probable lie.

[jody]

21. He will be sent to Iraq unless a miracle happens. n/t

[SheilaT]

22. If they're such good Republicans

and so supportive of Bush, then they should be proud and glad their son is going to Iraq.

Seems to me like people like that want it both ways: to support the war but not to send their own sons. He enlisted. It's as simple as that. They should not be so naive as to believe he'll have a desk job stateside. While I sincerely hope the young man comes home in one piece, the reality is they supported a man who got us into this war, and better their son than mine.

I know that sounds heartless, but I'm sick of hearing of people like them who all of a sudden don't like it when the war strikes them.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

27. No, you aren't heartless. And neither are they.

They are basically good people who have bought into the bullshit. But they are both frightened to death for him because he is a kid who did not seem to have any other alternative. They didn't want to sign for him, but in the end they did. I think they are nuts, but I still feel sorry for them. And then the military told them what I think amounts to a bunch of crap.

It really is hard because they aren't hard line pubs that want to thumb to their nose at liberals, or anything like that. They are just normal working people who want to trust their government. Good kind people who shouldn't lose a beloved chld in Iraq.

Just pisses me off. Not all of the folks who allow their kids to enlist are freepers or nutso fundies. Probably too many are just plain country folks who want to trust in the country the way it used to be. They are the ones who will be hurt the most.

[PsN2Wind]

33. Sorry folks but

"every Marine a rifleman", has been a mantra of The Corps forever.

[SheilaT]

35. What's really sad is that

they saw no alternative for him besides the military. Was there no junior college nearby he could attend? Junior colleges are the very best thing about our generally excellent secondary education system in this country. They offer academic and vocational courses at a bargain rate. On the up side, if he makes it home safely he'll have the GI bill to help pay for school.

The son of a friend of ours decided to enlist about two or three years ago (can't recall the exact time line but it must have been more like three years ago) because he saw no alternative. He'd done no better than okay in high school, didn't apply himself in junior college, then found a job in the management training program at Quick Trip (for those of you who don't know, QT is a chain of gas stations/convenience stores in the central part of the country). He moved into an apartment with friends, bought a computer, a new car, too often stayed up late with his Friends and didn't always make it to work on time in the morning, and ultimately got fired. Even though the war in Iraq was already happening, he enlisted because he saw it as the only way out of his financial and employment difficulties. He spent a year fixing trucks in Iraq, came home safely, and recently re-enlisted because his parents could not convince him that he could get a job paying $45-60,000 per year doing what he'd been doing in the military. The parents and the son are progressive, liberal Democrats who despise W and all that he has wrought and presumably the son knows this and agrees.

My entire point is that too often people will say "I had no choice" when in reality they did have choices, just didn't look hard enough.

Well, we all wish for the best for this young man. Let us know down the road what happens with him. Maybe he really will luck out with a job here stateside.

[nealmhughes]

23. Unfortunately, he with all probability see Iraq at some time in 2007.

How much danger he will be in is very dependent. Marines do a lot of stuff besides shooting rifles, but the USN does a lot of the medical/paper stuff when they need bodies. It is easy for a cook to get yanked off a ship and put into a camp.
Why the Marines, may I ask and not the CG or the USN where he could learn a lot of useful stuff applicable to civ life?

[tinfoilinfor2005]

28. No idea. I think because Semper Fi sounds a lot more macho

to the kids these days based on movies and other claptrap. Also, he's a good kid, but his lack of achievement in other areas at this point has basically been due to laziness and a lack of interest. Yes, he's pretty spoiled. So I was kind of surprised that he made it through boot camp. But apparently he was ready at this point to commit.

[elocs]

24. They can promise anything, but then the military can do what it thinks

is best. Promises mean nothing. Right now I have a nephew who is just 17 1/2 and is in Army boot camp at Fort Benning. He has no high school diploma, but got a GED from Lincoln Challenge Academy--one of those schools run by the National Guard for teens who have messed up in school. Needless to say he came out all fired up to go and so he signed up. I tried to tell him the downside, but he wouldn't listen. He will finish all of his training and he still won't be 18. So far he loves it, but I wanted him to make an informed choice and not come back with "nobody ever told me".

[nadinbrzezinski]

34. Did they write this so called promise in the contract?

if they did not, he WILL ship out, guaranteed.

And the chances that this is in the contract are worst than that of a snow ball in hell