Well after posting who knows how long ago in this thread about advice for the Navy I started the process. And it is taking forever, Went for MEPS and ASVAB (97), unfortunately due to my medical history; compression fracture of the T12 along with a couple issues (PM if needed), along with bad eyesight. I have currently been waiting for a waiver for several months now. Recruiter says they are very slow at the national review board level and with the drawn down they are being very choosy with candidates these days. Once again I am looking for any advice if anyone has been in this situation before. Anything I can do right now before I get a decision back, likelihood I will get denied or accepted and any chance of appeal. Any suggestions are definitely appreciated.
If you have any outstanding problems with your spine, you aren't going to get accepted. If it's one of those things where it happened a while ago and you just have to put it because it's in your medical history, (and you don't have any issues) it'll probably go through just fine. As long as your vision is correctable, you're fine. One of my friends is legally blind without contacts; he got in without any problems. If your vision isn't correctable to a certain degree, (I'm not sure what it is - your recruiter would know) they can't accept you. At this point, there's probably not much you can do. The paperwork is already in, so you're just waiting on the machine to output a result.
Update: Spoiler I had my squadron CO interview today. He reamed my ass pretty good, but recommended I get my wings. He scared the shit out of me more than I have ever been scared. I have an interview with the Asst CO of the wing sometime next week, he'll most likely agree with my CO and recommend I continue. Last and most important CO sometime after. He'll take into account the recommendations and how I compose myself in the interview with him and make a decision.
Update #2 Spoiler Talked to the Wing Commodore today. He didn't give me any definitive answer but he did say he's incredibly bothered by the fact that three flights put me into this situation and how the whole grading system is pretty jacked up. He's trying to both understand and fix the problem with it all. The fact that he, the commander of the wing, is trying to fix it is pretty big. Something is going to get done, whether or not it's a small or large something will be up to him. Best case scenario: he finds some major flaws and scraps the whole grading system and goes back to the old school way of asking the instructors what they think we should fly. Worst case: nothing gets fixed and I don't get my wings. Let's hope for the best...
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0om2ApQPvqI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... om2ApQPvqI</a> Love it. Hope that he gets it. Marine in Trashcanistan asks Mila Kunis to the Marine Corps Ball in December.
In case you haven't heard, Leroy Petry is getting the Medal of Honor. Petry is a great dude and I'm glad his actions are getting the recognition they deserve. The second living recipient of the Medal of Honor from the GWOT is a pretty big deal.
Leaving for navy basic training in 19 days, I have a few questions. 1. How much running will we start off with in the first few weeks? I can run pretty well now, but I just wanna get an idea of how they're going to start us off. 2. When I'm at A-School, how long do the phases normally last? I'm gonna be doing CM school for 5 months 3. And at A-School how does the treatment differ from basic training? I'm guessing the treatment changes with the phases?
1. PT in Navy basic training is a joke. In fact, it's a joke in pretty much every service's basic training except the Coast Guard. There's so much other training going on that they don't have time to run your asses into the dirt. The little PT that you're actually going to get is going to consist of your RDCs getting pissed and ITing you. 2. I don't know how your A-school works, (it's different for every MOS) but the sailors I know had Phase 1 for about 2-3 weeks, (always wearing the uniform of the day, shitty liberty conditions, etc) and then were basically free to do whatever. If they fucked up, then it was right back to Phase 1. 3. It depends on who's running the show. You'll get some petty officers who are great guys, and you'll get some petty officers who will burn your ass over nothing just to make a point. There's a lot less yelling and more stupid bullshit. You'll figure out pretty fast who the dicks are and learn to avoid them. The big thing is punctuality. If you're late to anything, stand by for games.
Coming up on a 17 day field exercise followed up a few weeks later with a trip down to JRTC. As a relative newbie to long times spent living out of a humvee, I could use some suggestions to making this time as comfortable as possible. Any advice as far as extras to pack, ways to make MREs tolerable, or any other nuggets of wisdom to pass down would be much appreciated. All I can think of is a book or 2, one of those neck pillows they sell for air travel, and maybe some seasonings to add to a MRE.
On a 1 hour pass. Few weeks left of OSUT. My Company is almost half 18 x-rays, which is apparently an oddity, but fucking welcome. Don't have to deal with a bunch of little kids. For those of you I've talked to in the past that are still out there, I'll update now and then if you guys care (talking to you Evolution).
I had the same type company all those years ago. It sucked, because the drill sergeants decided that it was cause to smoke us 24/7, seeing that we "thought we were tough."
What's up guys!! I just got a call from my squadron CO. I'm gonna be flying the work horse of the Marine Corps for the rest of my Career...the CH-53E Super Stallion. Fucking awesome!! I'll head to New River, NC next to learn to fly this beast for the next 6 or so months, then to the mythical fleet at an east coast squadron. Here's some spec's: Length: 99ft, 1/2in Height: 27ft, 9in Rotor Diameter: 7 Bladed System, 79ft tip to tip Max Payload: 14.5 Mtons Powerplant: 3 × General Electric T64-GE-416/416A turboshaft, 4,380 shp each, total of 13,140 shp (I know, crazy right??) Max Speed: 170 kias (196 mph) Max Range: 540 nm (621 mi)
Awesome! Congrats! We used to ride those quite often during OIF II.. came to know them as "The whistling shit can of death".
Not sure if this is the right forum for this, but it was the first thought in my mind when this issue came up for me. I have a very close friend from high school who is a naval officer currently deployed to Afghanistan. He recently sent a request for booze-by-mail, since he and his colleagues were running low. 1. If I were to try to do this for him and he got caught, how much trouble would he be in? 2. How much trouble would I be in if he got caught? 3. If this is a pretty standard procedure for folks out there (he's not on the front lines of combat), any fool-proof tips for getting some goodies out to him and his buddies? And as always, thanks to all you guys and girls who serve...it is appreciated by those of us back home.
I can answer #3 for you. In a word, yes, it is stand procedure for support type people. I've sent and received bottles of liquor that weren't hidden at all. As long as you package it so it won't break you'll be fine. Although if you want to be sure, put it in a 2 liter juice/soda bottle or something. I'm not going to debate trouble or morality part of this, that's up to you. Your buddy could get in a lot of trouble, but obviously he's accepted that. I don't think you can get into any real trouble, but I have no idea, really.
Depends on how butthurt the command gets. The command actually has a lot of leeway toward how they want to prosecute offenses. If he has some crusty "Boys will be boys" guy over him, then they'll probably make him stand a bunch more watch and make him hate life for a while. If some wannabe drill instructor's in charge, then he'll get bent over a barrel and burned. None. You're a civilian, you aren't doing anything against the law. It's all on him. Empty a Listerine bottle, refill with whiskey. Tell him to do the taste test before he throws it out (Care packages are FULL of Listerine, for some reason).
I had my brother ship me liquor in Listerine and Scope bottles all the time, and I wasn't in a support role. Most of my Platoon knew and were either doing something similar or just wanted a few shots. Tattle-tales are already well known, so I doubt that he'll wave it in their faces. The biggest risk his on him. If he gets loaded before standing duty or going to work, that is on him.
We had some Air Force photographers with my platoon a few months ago for a brigade sized airborne operation. They were imbedded with us for a week documenting the prep work that goes into getting a brigade out of the plane and forcibly taking their objective once they hit the ground. Here's one of the videos they put together.