just an insider look

[ddtfm24]

hello my name is Dan i live in ohio and right now i have been talking to a Staff SGT from the marines about joining. and i dont really know what i should do. it has always been something i wanted to do, but everyone is telling me that i shouldnt do it. one question i have is if any of you could go back in time to the day you signed the papers to join know full well what u do today would you sign on that line to join..i have some other questions that need anwsered and i have asked my SGT but he only tells my the good things about it because thats his job...if any of you can help me please email me back on here or my other email is danboi212004@yahoo.com thanks to all that reply
GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU..

[Obie]

Hey Dan my name is Dan and I am from Ohio too and you can bet your very last dime that I would do it all over again and I signed up back in the 60's when there was this thing called Viet Nam going on.
The people that are telling you no are not Marines are they? Then what the hell do they know about my Corp? not a damn thing keep asking them tough ? and see what the most answers you get from someone that was there are!!!

[ellie19]

when i was 17 i tried joining the Marines, but was unable to due to a tattoo on my neck, so enlisted in the Army....lemme tell you I still wear the uniform, Im not a Marine, but Im still a patriot and a i stand taller knowing that i am contributing to a legacy serving my country. If it is your dream and your want dont let anyone tell you differently. If i could go back i would never have gotten that tattoo but life sends us in different directions than what we expected or wanted. Military isnt easy, but its highs definitely outweigh the bads....good luck and God Bless!!

[Chuck]

ddtfm24..

I have waited over a year and a half before answering your post. Hoping that you would come back and post again.

In less then 2 weeks from now I will have been a Marine for 52 years. You asked if we had to do it again, would we. You bet your kipper and I will fight my way to the front of the line.

The Marine Corps, like all branches of the military is what you make it.. the harder you work, the more you get out of it. And.. the hard work may just save your life some day.

Everything I have .. and everything I have ever gotten .. came as a result of being a Marine and getting their training. That training has lasted me a life time.

Even if you go on to retire in the military, as some of us have done, you still only spend a short part of your life on active duty. The military actually gives your the foundation for your future. It did me. Your after military VA benefits are very strong and will always be there for you.

Yes... your recruiter may only say good things. The reason for this is that the good far out weight the bad as was already posted in here.

I hope that you did join the military, no matter the branch.. It will make a man out of you.. and make you stand tall.:salute:

[Irish]

Hi Dan... My name is Jack but everyone calls me Irish. I enlisted back in the 50's and spent the best 3 years of my life in the Corps. Your recruiter may be telling you only the good stuff... maybe he hasn't seen anything other? Like any thing else there are times when we run into different situations where we doubt the decision. But... when we work are way through these we become better men for it.

I came very close to reenlisting in 1963 but didn't. I have regretted that decision but that is neither here or there? If I was a young man today I think I would go back.

There is one thing we as Marines know for sure. We have our brother Marines at our side through thick and thin. The decision is of course yours to make I'm sure there has to be many Marines around your home in Ohio to ask! I was always under the impression that half the people in the Corps were from Ohio. Good luck Dan! oorrahh!

[Allen F. Healy]

Hi, Dan. My name is Al. I spent just over 20 years on active duty in the Corps. I retired over 18 years ago as a GySgt. I can't tell you what to do. I only wish that I was young enough to serve again. When I enlisted, during Vietnam, my friends, I grew up with, literally spit on me and called me all sorts of unpleasent names. I proudly wore that uniform and never regretted ever enlisting. I learned alot about myself. I would have never accomplished that if I had never served. Today, my boss wants to clone me. I outwork my contemporaries who are half my age. They cannot grasp the concept that when you do something, work hard and do it right. This was one of the first things I learned in the Marine Corps. I knew that when I graduated boot camp, I could do anything. You're going to make one of the hardest decisions of your life whether your going to enlist or whether you're not going going to enlist. Its a tough decision but I think you will make the correct one. Good luck, Dan.

[GRS4870]

What ever your decision, set your goals and do the best you can. When I enlisted in 1948 my best friend and I went to Seattle to talk to recruiters. I wanted to go in the Navy and he wanted no part of the Navy, but he went with me. We then went across the street and talked to the United States Marines. They were not as busy and the Navy recruiters and we had real positive talks. We enlisted in the Marines and was sent back across the street to the Navy for our physicals.

I have never regretted on enlisting in the Marine Corps. I spent over 22 years on active duty and retired a MSGT. I saw many places I would have never seen as a civilian. I met my wife in the service in a foreign country.

In the USMC you find that you can do things you never thought you could. The training gives you leadership skills that can be used in any occupation and will put you a jump ahead of the friends that are telling you not to do it. When your tour is up you can reenlist or go out there in civilian life and make something of yourself.