Citizen Soldier

[Quinn]

Getting a degree at the moment, still a civvie. Was in Air Force ROTC, but my knee felt weird so I stopped before anything happened. Good thing, because my kneecap dislocated while in martial arts. It's healed completely, so there's nothing in my medical history about it.

Want to join as an officer, because there's better perks. Also want to be one of the few officers that actually listens to his troops.

[Ranger2011]

Haha. Well that sounds like good leadership right there, I agree. My first week out of Airborne School in Fort Bragg there was a 2nd Lieutenant that always screwed up, and then he blamed it on my Training Squad. I called him Lt. Butters, with the whole Butterbar (Gold 2nd Lt.)
Yeah, he didn't mess with me when I graduated Ranger School and came back to my dorm. I know more than he'll ever know in his career. I'm scared he'll be put in charge of a Platoon in Iraq and get them all killed. He's the biggest dumbass i'll ever know....Lol.

[Quinn]

I've heard of worse officers, but yeah. There are two different kinds of officers in my opinion: those who want to win medals, and those who want to get as many of their soldiers home alive. I prefer to be the latter.

You ever read Skippy's List?

[Ranger2011]

What um...213 Things that Skippy can't do? Yeah, it's pretty good. And yet, sadly true. I personally loved number 61 and 211. Funny stuff though lol.

[Quinn]

112. When saluting a “legâ€

[Ranger2011]

Haha. That one is good too. Like saying "Rangers lead the way." To a Combat Engineer. Lol. But hey, I don't disrespect military of any kind...Just Skippy haha!

[Raider65]

Wow alot of military people here. Did the film Aliens and the USCM have anything to do with you wanting to go into the Military. He He. I trained with some Rangers back in '88 for 2 weeks to share skills.

You're doing it the smart way, Quinn. Stay with it.

I had a friend who started enlisted, got to Sgt being a General's driver and the General hooked him up with some type of Officer Training program before he retired. Lost contact with my friend but I'm sure he made it.

[Ranger2011]

Nah brother, wanted to be Ranger ever since my dad taled 'bout 'Nam....Sounded interesting then poof. Here I am. Lol. Aliens and the USCM would've made me be in the Marines, my down time on post i've been watching all the movies and playin' the games....Waiting for Aliens: CM to come out, but they pushed it back to 2010....

[Quinn]

Well, Marines have one of the best 'multi-purpose' special forces in the U.S.

Rangers aren't really Spec. Ops, they're just light infantry. Bad ass light infantry, but yeah.

Navy SEALs, yeah, I have a whole rant on them, but they were used improperly in Iraq.

Green Berets. Got nothing against them, but they train to train Indigenous Forces.

Marine FORCE Recon can do a bit more than they can, and do the training because of it (8 years before you're let into the squad)

[Ranger2011]

I appreciate you raggin on the Rangers. No, just kiddin'. I agree, Marines are hardcore mo'fos...I would rather have one of them covering my ass during a raid but doesn't always happen. But, Rangers still work in SOCOM...Just not as secret as Special Forces or the Delta boys. I actually almost joined the USMC but was steered differently, and I love my job. 11B baby, Airborne Infantry Hoo-ah!

[Raider65]

@Ranger2011: Think I saw you in on the Gearbox forums? Yeah I'm a third gen. US Marine. My Dad was a fighter pilot in the Marines during Vietnam. My Grandfather was a Combat Engineer during WW2 in the PTO and was in three of the island hopping campaigns. I was an Admin Marine (I can't help it if I did good on the entry exams) from '87 to 95. I was first sent to a FAST Co. (TAD), then to a Battleship, then to an Air Wing. In 2004 I was "medically retired" with PGWS. I always wanted to be a Marine Raider but no such luck. Then in 2003 they brought them back as MarDet 1 linked to SOCCOM (first Marine Unit to be put under their command). I think they disbanded them again in or around 2004 for reasons unknown. There was spec on the internet that the whole company had been ambushed in Iraq and wiped out down to even the Colonel in charge. But I don't know for sure. Why would a Company Grade Officer be in a field op when you have Field Grade Officers like Capts and Lts?

@Quinn: 8 years? I have a friend who was Marine Recon in the middle '80's. I'll have to ask him but I think he only had a 4 year AD enlistment. But I know he started as a mortar man in infantry. Now he's medically retired, being 100% deaf. He lost his hearing while being Recon.

I had another friend who went to Anglico right from schools and he was a cook by MOS and attached to a Recon Unit. Now I've heard they've canned Anglico. And because he was shipping out so fast they actually sent him to a civie dive school and a civie sky diving/jump school. But not sure if he got to wear the dive bubble or jump wings with the schools he was sent to not being Military but he did have Mil Orders and also I lost touch with him.

When I was on the Battleship, our CO tried to get a Sniper School slot but ended up getting a jump school slot. They sent a guy and he broke his leg in the last week jumping from some tower at the school so he was sent back to the ship and then was kicked from the ship because he couldn't go up and down the stair wells.

[Quinn]

@Ranger2011: Think I saw you in on the Gearbox forums? Yeah I'm a third gen. US Marine. My Dad was a fighter pilot in the Marines during Vietnam. My Grandfather was a Combat Engineer during WW2 in the PTO and was in three of the island hopping campaigns. I was an Admin Marine (I can't help it if I did good on the entry exams) from '87 to 95. I was first sent to a FAST Co. (TAD), then to a Battleship, then to an Air Wing. In 2004 I was "medically retired" with PGWS. I always wanted to be a Marine Raider but no such luck. Then in 2003 they brought them back as MarDet 1 linked to SOCCOM (first Marine Unit to be put under their command). I think they disbanded them again in or around 2004 for reasons unknown. There was spec on the internet that the whole company had been ambushed in Iraq and wiped out down to even the Colonel in charge. But I don't know for sure. Why would a Company Grade Officer be in a field op when you have Field Grade Officers like Capts and Lts?

@Quinn: 8 years? I have a friend who was Marine Recon in the middle '80's. I'll have to ask him but I think he only had a 4 year AD enlistment. But I know he started as a mortar man in infantry. Now he's medically retired, being 100% deaf. He lost his hearing while being Recon.

I had another friend who went to Anglico right from schools and he was a cook by MOS and attached to a Recon Unit. Now I've heard they've canned Anglico. And because he was shipping out so fast they actually sent him to a civie dive school and a civie sky diving/jump school. But not sure if he got to wear the dive bubble or jump wings with the schools he was sent to not being Military but he did have Mil Orders and also I lost touch with him.

When I was on the Battleship, our CO tried to get a Sniper School slot but ended up getting a jump school slot. They sent a guy and he broke his leg in the last week jumping from some tower at the school so he was sent back to the ship and then was kicked from the ship because he couldn't go up and down the stair wells.

I'm talking about FORCE Recon, not just a Marine Recon unit. Two different things there man.

[Raider65]

Yeah I think he was Force Recon but I've got to check with him. The Marine Capt that was our CO on the Battleship was Marine Force Recon. He had the jump wings and the scuba bubble metals that he wore on his uniforms. He trained us Security Force Marines in the ways of Force Recon when he could. When he left/got rotated out, he went back to a Force Recon unit. My friend said his unit's motto was Sneak and Peek, Snoop and Poop. They were more of an intell gathering unit rather than a full combat unit. They only fought when they were discovered which usually meant their mission was bust. The Marine Raiders on the other hand were the opposite they were a strike force.

[Ranger2011]

Ranger2011: Think I saw you in on the Gearbox forums?

You are correct my man. Complaining about the pushing back of Aliens: Colonial Marines. 

[Nick]

I was in the light mechanized infantry a long time ago. Now a patrol police officer and member of the western division riot police.

//N