Really makes me want to go back to Marine Reserves. I can't even describe the amount of un organization.. The cluster Fu*k is possibly bigger than any cluster fuc*k I've ever imagined.

My unit is getting ready to be mobilized for a deployment in Iraq early next year.. I think to myself, thank god for giving me a 2 year non deployable status on my contract.

Recently, our drills have been "deployment work-ups" at Fort Bragg, NC. No matter what we do, there is an excess of confusion.. and there is zero accountability for anything. It really made me respect the "stupid little things" that Marine Corps harped. It was all designed for a reason.

I enlisted as a 63H (Tracked vehicle mechanic), coming from my 2146 (M1A1) training in the Marine Corps. Under my job title, I am supposed to know how to repair ALL army tracked vehicle systems, Including M1A2 seps, Bradleys, APCs.. etc. Keep in mind, I have never even touched any equipment like this.

Our "work-up" training is nothing but a series of worthless powerpoints, and "Army Combat Skills" stations. Nobody seems to give a sh*t that I know nothing about Army tracked vehicle systems. And, It's not just ME.. although It seems I'm the only one ranting about it.

How do you deploy a group of people who are NOT MOS PROFICIENT, unorganized, and un-accounted for, and disrespectful?

It seems like mouthing off to E6s and E7s is the "norm" Hell, even OFFICERS catch lip.

Too bad they won't cut me a conditional release to the USMC Reserve.

I'm sure I'll find my way back to the gun club some day.. until then, Once a Marine, Always a Marine.

Semper Fidelis!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MannyTheFresh,

don't feel too bad manny, its goin on in the army too! my son in law arrived at his unit fresh from boot camp/motor t school and got deployed less than 60 days after checkin in for 15 months.....and he's with the 82....and no he was not AB qualified or anything like it., just straight leg. well, he survived it, and he knows what he is doing now anyway...nothin like a lil OJT i guess!

Manny as a former Marine also,wait until they had out Arcom medals AAM's for doing your job for 2 weeks,you'll just laugh inside,even better is uniform inspection no one has any idea what the Marine corps awards are...And lazy,i came home from Kuwait/Iraq,sat for 4 month's in Georgia,for med board get back to my unit and now I have to get the info for my med board.......Run back to where they will take care of you....The Guard sucks!

quote:

Every Unit in the Army needs a few Marines to keep up the standards that the Army has set for themselves............

Thats what my first CO told me when I joined up with the Army Reserve........

good luck!

When I picked my brother up from his last tour in Iraq, we went to the px for lunch. Of course my brother is a 27 yr. Army lifer and saw a young soldiers wearing her uniform wrong (sweatshirt hoodie) he sounded her to get squared away and she promptly told him to stick it...he approached a Light Colonel walking by and this guys attitude was "whats the big deal?"...I just laughed out loud and said to him if you were in the Corps. right now you'd be standing tall in front of the C.O....being that he and the soldier were black, he tried to turn it into a race card...so my brother snapped to, rendered a salute and walked. An ARMY of one indeed....

greetings, conrades in arms! happy holidays.

quote:

Really makes me want to go back to Marine Reserves. I can't even describe the amount of un organization.. The cluster Fu*k is possibly bigger than any cluster fuc*k I've ever imagined.

yes...your right, the Germans, Italians & Japanese all stated the same things about the US Army being all fu*k up'd!!! & the war with the U.S Army will be a cake walk. well the rest is history; Italy gave up to the US Army as Soldiers run wild all over Italy. the germans surrender after the U.S Army destroy their army & most of, or all of germany & the Japanese surrender to U.S Army General Douglas MacArthur, after a US Army Air Corp. bomber dropped 2 atomic bombs over Japan to end that war in the pacific!!! 911USARMY/OUT

SFC,

This is a Marines perspective on the Army Guard... by Marines who have been in the Army Guard/Reserve and by some who are currently in one of the Army Reserve components.......don't get so personal and bring WWII stories into it......

They just don't work here.........

Hooah?

hmm tarawa..no army....palau...nope no army there either....cape glouchestor....nope, oh yeah they did finally show up on quadalcanal after all the tough stuff was done.....guqm? nope, tinian? nope, iwo...nope ah yes okinawa they showed for.....hm sound a lil different from the Marine Corps side there 911

quote:

Originally posted by 911USARMY:
greetings, conrades in arms! happy holidays.

quote:

Really makes me want to go back to Marine Reserves. I can't even describe the amount of un organization.. The cluster Fu*k is possibly bigger than any cluster fuc*k I've ever imagined.

yes...your right, the Germans, Italians & Japanese all stated the same things about the US Army being all fu*k up'd!!! & the war with the U.S Army will be a cake walk. well the rest is history; Italy gave up to the US Army as Soldiers run wild all over Italy. the germans surrender after the U.S Army destroy their army & most of, or all of germany & the Japanese surrender to U.S Army General Douglas MacArthur, after a US Army Air Corp. bomber dropped 2 atomic bombs over Japan to end that war in the pacific!!! 911USARMY/OUT

So were you ever a Marine before you went in the Army?

On a farkin' side note................ Every Jarhead who has posted here should have damn well known this should have never been posted in the open forum. If you didn't want input from every person on the face of the Earth then it should have started in the Barracks, where it will be shortly.

Semper Fi

johnny blaze

....we had NG for security in '06....good as, if not better, than most active Marine and Army units that provided security for us....2/67 CAV is the shizznaty....

Guess I got lucky with my unit. They seem to be on top of things.


1/18th CAV

I might not be that experienced, but I think it all comes down to the unit. That might seem simple and obvious enough, but none the less true. This seems especially true for the reserve side.

I got out of the Corps in May of 94 an joined the Guard in Nov 94 here in Az. it took them a year to get my records, then about 6 months later they promoted me to SSGT right out of the blue, an three months later i went in for drill the 1stSGT calls me in his office an tells me they messed up an i had to put my SGT strips back on. Drilling was such a joke the e-4 didn't do **** when i first got there the SGT's an SSGT's were doing the work. it was so bad i spent a lot of time schooling the other SGT's an SSGT's on how to be NCO's an SNCO's. Couldn't wait to get the hell out of there....

You are not the only one I have heard these rants from.
I've known quite a few Marines that just go to the NG because it's local and then the fun begins.
I live in an area where I was a recruiter and still se some of the kids I put into the reserves. One took a 368 from USMC reserves and went NG because it was closer to his chool. I tried warning him that no matter how unorganized and befuddled a drill with the Corps may seem, it would be worse in the NG.
I ran into him 2 mnths later and all he said was " you were right"
The grass really doesn't get any greener on the other side.
They offered me E-7 and any schools I wanted along with a fat bonus. It took me 8 months to qulaify to re-enlist and I gave it about a minutes thought, then decided living through a deployment is worth more than rank and bonus.

quote:

Originally posted by SSgtRSP:
You are not the only one I have heard these rants from.
I've known quite a few Marines that just go to the NG because it's local and then the fun begins.
I live in an area where I was a recruiter and still se some of the kids I put into the reserves. One took a 368 from USMC reserves and went NG because it was closer to his chool. I tried warning him that no matter how unorganized and befuddled a drill with the Corps may seem, it would be worse in the NG.
I ran into him 2 mnths later and all he said was " you were right"
The grass really doesn't get any greener on the other side.
They offered me E-7 and any schools I wanted along with a fat bonus. It took me 8 months to qulaify to re-enlist and I gave it about a minutes thought, then decided living through a deployment is worth more than rank and bonus.

You said something about a 368...? I've never heard of this. Does it work the other way as well?

quote:

Originally posted by MannyTheFresh:

quote:

Originally posted by SSgtRSP:
You are not the only one I have heard these rants from.
I've known quite a few Marines that just go to the NG because it's local and then the fun begins.
I live in an area where I was a recruiter and still se some of the kids I put into the reserves. One took a 368 from USMC reserves and went NG because it was closer to his chool. I tried warning him that no matter how unorganized and befuddled a drill with the Corps may seem, it would be worse in the NG.
I ran into him 2 mnths later and all he said was " you were right"
The grass really doesn't get any greener on the other side.
They offered me E-7 and any schools I wanted along with a fat bonus. It took me 8 months to qulaify to re-enlist and I gave it about a minutes thought, then decided living through a deployment is worth more than rank and bonus.

You said something about a 368...? I've never heard of this. Does it work the other way as well?

368 is the form number, or it was. They may have changed it.
It is a release for the purposes of going to another branch. Basically a conditional release.
You get it signed by your command and it will state the reason for your request for a conditional release, which is to join another branch.
Then you go join the other branch.
here is a link to the form.
http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/infomgt/forms/eforms/dd0368.pdf

I have noticed the same trend being I am in the Army Reserve as a MP Drill Sergeant after 9 years in the Marine Corps. Since I joined 4 years ago, I have learned that many Army Reserve units don't care. They don't care about personnel issues,pay issues, correcting paperwork, training their Soldiers to standard, or even preparing their Soldiers. They are there to check in the boxes and that is it. They use the same training that has been done 2 or 3 drills in a row as a crutch because they can't plan.

I have been blessed to finally end up in a unit where those things are minimized, but still there on a much smaller scale. We do train our mission, go to other units and train with them and vice versa. The training is varied and not the same with each drill period.

I can say if one of my Marines came to me because their SRB was missing, It sure wouldn't take 3 years, a BN Commander, Division Commander, CSM and the IG to find it and still not provide an answer unlike my experience in the Army. Again, they don't care just worry about that check in the box. When I became a platoon Sergeant I initiated my initial counselings. I had a Specialist tell me after 4 years in the unit, I was the first person to even do this, let alone counsel him. Hey I may be a reservist, but still expected to do my job.

I have learned to take the good with the bad and train my Platoon to standard and fix all problems that I can and counsel them when needed. I do what I can to fix pay issues, uniform issues, record issues,etc. If I can't, then I put pressure on my CoC. If they want to drop the ball, that's their decision. I feel if i can make a difference to at least 5 young Soldiers, then it works for me.

I spent 6 years in the Army Guard and I thought it was my unit that was screwed up. There were three former Marines in my Aviation unit and it made it bearable. Officers that openly grab assed with junior female enlisted, soldiers that carried a MOS that they weren't qualified for, uniforms they wore like crap. Went to the field and had women bunked in the same tent with their male counterparts. I told my wife, I sure the hell hope I don't have to go to war with this mob. Fortunately I didn't.

quote:

Originally posted by king_voodoo:
I might not be that experienced, but I think it all comes down to the unit. That might seem simple and obvious enough, but none the less true. This seems especially true for the reserve side.

This is the truth. My first Guard unit had great NCO's but the higher commanders and staff were totally screwed up. My new unit is incredible.

quote:

This is the truth. My first Guard unit had great NCO's but the higher commanders and staff were totally screwed up. My new unit is incredible.

Uhhhh....foxred



Now get out

This message has been edited. Last edited by: msaps9020,