I was with 152 and 252 years back,Your son is going to work hard and play hard and being flight crew he will have all kinds of drunken circus midget stories to tell you.
I got some Loadie buddies out there. I"m from San Diego (Miramar is in the middle of the city), so I can answer pretty much any question regarding the area.
Living accommodations are real good a Miramar. You have your OWN room and share a head and small common area. The place has had alot of remodeling and upgrades done in recent years. Pretty much everything you could want to do is within 10-15 minutes away from the base. i.e. the beach, seaworld, Pacific Beach (where the girls are) etc.
darkroninpimp, I see you completed your loadmaster school. How do you like it so far? So you got Okinawa, hows that working out for you. I was stationd in Okinawa way back in the day ! I loved it! My sons mos is c-130J crew chief, his pds is Miramar. He is with VMGR 325 squadron out there. So far he loves it. He really loves California. Its a whole lot different then charleston SC. I quess a lot of his buddies have tats, so now he wants one. How about you do you have any tats? S/F Bruce [77-86] PMD of Lcpl Eric
I have had to pretty much brain dump around 50% of what the Air Force taught. We just do things differently...not wrong...just different. Okinawa has some really interesting stuff...it's ust REAL hard not having a car. I have to be fully qualified before I can put in for a license. Futenma is pretty boring in of itself, but with the Green Line bus, getting to the other camps, (Foster) makes things pretty easy. I have always wanted to go see Japan, and it is definitely another world. The locals have all been extremely pleasant. It definitely helps if you put out the effort and try to get with some of the customs and courtesies. Unfortunately I see most of my fellow Marines making 0% effort to learn and experience new people and experiences. They'd rather sit in thier barracks and play Xbox.
Kick *** for your son. Miramar/San Diego is awsome for a young guy. How old is he? Having a high n' tight definitely dosn't get you the bennies as it would in the south or in other parts of the country where there is little or no Marines around, but there is all kind of fun to be had. I don't know of anywhere else in the world where you can go sports fising in the morning, surfing @ lunch, snow board in the late afternoon, then spend the night camping under the desert stars.
As for the tats: I most likely won't get any until I either 1. Complete my time in Okinawa 2. Something huge happen in my life (other than being a Marine) 3. Decide to re-up and make a career out of this. It's too early to tell.
I think the biggest reason I am holding off is that I think I would want to go to the drill field and or MSG duty and they are REALLY scrutinizing the tatoos these days.
My son is 20, he will be 21 in a month. As so this moment he plans on making a career out of the Marine Corp. He feels extremely lucky to be where he is. HE is really interested in the mcep program, but that is way down the road. He would love to be a pilot some day!! with the eyesight qualifications, I'm afraid that might not happen for him. But who knows. He is a tough kid and never gives up, so we will see. S/F Bruce
Flyin' with the "Raiders" from 2002-2005. It was a great time, and an unbelievable first duty station. Fell in love with San Diego, and with a lil' luck I might make it back there one day. Your son will most definetely enjoy his time there!
KJHerc21, whats your MOS? I see that you are in Cherry Point now. My son left there in April. I also think my son got a terrific first duty station, and what an honor to be part of the Raider Team! He loves it!
! I loved it! My sons mos is c-130J crew chief, his pds is Miramar. He is with VMGR 325 squadron out there. So far he loves it. He really loves California. Its a whole lot different then charleston SC. I quess a lot of his buddies have tats, so now he wants one. How about you do you have any tats? 
