I wish you luck man.

I have all the respect in the world for the Marines (and the rest of the U.S. armed forces for that matter) and even contemplated it myself, albeit for far different reasons.

yeah gud luck

respect, i always wanted to be a royal marine, never told my parents, my grandad knew though, who was a marine, my dad is a marine but is pretty much on his way out, hes too old and his sergeant major doesnt like him and his new co is spineless so hes fucked.

ive gotten myself into a serious relationship now though and i could never run off and join the marines on her, gonna have to do something more civilised.

ive grown up with the marines, its in my blood, its what my family do. my great grandad was an army commando in world war 2 and was in the raid on san nazaire (the crazy attack where they crashed a ship into a german dock gate filled with explosives)

my grandad turned 18 and would have to do his national service so he decided he'd rather choose where he went, decided to join the royal marines, rather than get sent to his local regiment, they got rid of national service before he finished his training but he stayed in and became a infamously angry sergeant major. EVERYONE know's my grandad in the marines who's worth their salt. the problem is the guys who were new when he was in who got the shit off him are now taking their revenge on his descendants.

my dad joined up when he was 18 and went straight in and climbed upto sergeant, never went any higher, he says he doesnt want to be a colour sergeant coz its a desk job.

i have done everything with the marines, since i was 13 untill i turned 18, ive done the endurance course, the tarzan assault course, the commando assault course, tonnes of runs, load carry's, exercises, charity events e.t.c i was getting battered but i loved it. wanted to join the forces, and the only thing for me was the green berets.

anyway now ive landed this woman ive had to push it out of my mind, but in the unlikely event that is all goes to shit im signing up straight away and putting my self in for special forces after my 2 years. she said i can do it if i want but i cant put her through that, im just letting my angry side loose in rugby these days. legal violence nothin is more satisfing than grabbing the other teams classic style winger (short and fast and nimble) by his shirt and dragging him kicking and screaming into touch (aka off the pitch so we get a line out)

I have lots of respect for you. I don't, however, have much for your girlfriend. She needs to realize the world's bigger than her, and what you want to be a part of is more important than any one person on this planet. Don't be afraid to pursue your dream, as there's nothing in this world that is deserving of more respect than serving your country.

Best of luck,

Conor.

since 9/11? my god you are a bonehead. the marines will be glad to have you though! better your there protecting my ass than anywhere that i have to be near you.

is that you in the picture getting chased by that fella with a bat?


it annoyes me when people speak to people who want to join the forces like they're stupid.

"oh your going to join the army? why do you want to do that, your just going to die, you must be stupid...."

how closed and simple minded of you.

ill tell you why i personally wanted to join the forces:

1. a camaraderie that you are NEVER going to experience with your friends down the pub, or with your little 5 a side team. you can never compare your friends who you rely on for a good time to friends you rely on to keep you alive.

2. a sense of belonging, once you a soldier, your always a soldier, you can leave the corp, but people will still remember you, treat you like you still are, you will get invited to corp dinners and brought out drinking with everyone. my grandad and his old buddies in their 70's, theyve been out more than 30 years, still get invited back to dinners at their unit.....

3. a sense of worth, the sad truth is that every single thing you have you owe to a soldier, EVERYTHING. i dont care who invented it or who bought it, the fact is the only reason it's still yours or was ever made in the first place is because through the ages, people have been willing to give their lives to defend yours.

4. an exciting ever changing life with tonnes of prospects, while your average joe is sitting behind a desk twiddling his thumbs waiting for 5 o clock to come, a soldier is out training, shooting, flying around in helicopters, going to foreign countries for training. i dont care if i have to go and get shot at, in a sick way, the adrenaline rush would probably be exicting anyway, and the risks are worth the rewards in my book.

5. the pay is crap for an infantry man but its ok, you get everything paid for and mess fee's are about 2 quid a day. unless your a guardsman, then its crazy. you get paid to go on holiday for all intents and purposes, my dad went to canada for 2 weeks, got paid a few grand and only did 4 days of training, and all he did was sit on a hill and tell planes where to drop bombs.

as an officer, which i have the brains, the word of command and the will power to become, the pay is decent and quickly becomes excellent. a friend of mines cousin is the youngest colonel in the british army, hes 30 something, and gets paid 60 odd grand a year, he doesnt get shot at, EVER, hes in charge of a bunch of doctors lol.


Im perfectly happy to risk my life to do something worthwhile, something different and do something i enjoy, than being miserable all day doing some desk job for a fiver an hour, or with the current climate as a young person, more than likely sponging off everyone else.




the sad thing is, in britain, people seem to hate the army, like they do something wrong, its not like the stand around speed gunning you or ruining your drunken saturday night brawls. they do NOTHING to harm anyone else, they get paid hardly any of your lousy tax money and have to pay it themselves anyway, are under funded because we have a retarded government, there is a TA nearby and i know for a fact half their kit has been taken by regulars because the government didnt want to buy the kit, and to make it worse, the retard government waits till the gear is in desperate need before buying it rather than buying it in advance like every other country and so it has to be a rushed order which costs them 3 x as much, hence why we get nothing for our money.


you join the US marines if you want to, youll make the best friends of your life there, youll have a great time, and youll be making a difference, unlike 90% of the rest of the world.

i wanna join the police now because its the best i can do without being sent away. everyone hates the police but hey, as far as im concerned, if you dont like the police, maybe you shouldnt be such a dickhead and then they might not bother you so much.

ignorance is the source of all the worlds problems....

^How is that at all relevant? Y'know, if you get a parent to sign off, you can enlist at 17.

in the royal marines most 16-18 year olds end up doing driver courses because they cant do much else. general duties is the best though to start off, then i would have gone in for heavy weapons probably. been addicted to big guns since i had a gpmg for an exercise. its worth lugging round 30lb's of gun and about 50lb's of ammo and having to spend 2 hours cleaning it for the benefit of having the biggest gun on the battlefield.

you can change the gas screw on it to get the rate of fire to change a bit, we had 3 gmpg's on a range playing 3 blind mice, it was hilarious.


and it was relevant in that the fella calling him stupid for wanting to join the marines is ignorant.


it would be nice if people where greatful but most people are much more happy to ignore your sacrifice and go on living in their bubble. just know some people are grateful, dont do it for everyone else though, do it for yourself, and do it for fellow soldiers.



oh and get yourself really fit in advance, the fitter you are the easier it will be, they will get you fit, aslong as you have the willpower to keep going, you will get through training eventualy, no matter how unfit you were to start with. but a head start is always good. and be prepared for some serious mental stress, just NEVER EVER give up. if you fail, people wont mind, aslong as you pushed yourself to your absolute limit. your fitness and skill can be trained, determination is something that cant be trained. you will come out of training with the fitness of a pro athlete. but its easier to get there the closer you are

dunno how it is in the US marines but all the US marines ive met seemed like reasonable fella's. if they have a go at you for failing after giving it your absolute best shot, slap em across the face and come over here and join the royal marines

Sounds like a noble plan. They'll pay for your college. Sounds like your girlfriend is being selfish, and only worrying about her own happiness. So if your serious about this; I'd cut her loose for both of yours sake.

If your goal in life is to be a Marine, and you are SCARED of your gf's reaction, then you need to re-think a few things. Maturity is a big part of being successful in a relationship, as well as in your career. And, 'cutting' your gf loose just seems harsh, yea?

Despite my utmost respect for marines, it is beyond me why you would want to go shoot people you don't even know because of 9/11. It sounds like someone has been watching too many hero movies. Don't listen to the recruiters. They're dishonest. That's their job. As long as you know that you're going to be shipped off to some Crap-hole of a country doing something you probably don't want to do, go for it. Otherwise, go to police academy or something if you like that kind of thing.

since 9/11? my god you are a bonehead. the marines will be glad to have you though! better your there protecting my ass than anywhere that i have to be near you

Your ignorance amazes me

Despite my utmost respect for marines, it is beyond me why you would want to go shoot people you don't even know because of 9/11. It sounds like someone has been watching too many hero movies. Don't listen to the recruiters. They're dishonest. That's their job. As long as you know that you're going to be shipped off to some Crap-hole of a country doing something you probably don't want to do, go for it. Otherwise, go to police academy or something if you like that kind of thing.

Lol, I suppose you think shooting people you DO know would be easier?

All I can say is welcome to the club of future Marines. One thing tho is, I suggest you tell your girlfriend of your intentions. I am telling you this because it would make her transition as a civilian's girl to a Marine's girl much smoother, and for you too. She probably loves you so much that she'll say "i don't want you to die out there" or something like that. To that my advise is show her the facts about Marines, and soldiers too, the rate of death is fairly small. The numbers of death is just amplified because of the media covering only the deaths and all the bad stuff, not how a lot of soldiers have come home safe. But yes, recommended you tell her so you'll feel better. In the long run if you go and end up not telling her till last minute she will feel betrayed.

And I lol @ you during middle school with camo. 7th grade I had camo shoes from walmart, they were my regular outfit. And I also wore camo clothes to school once, lol. Ah the good days. I guess when you wear camo during middle school you're destined to think about joining XD

And again, I say again just tell her. This helps you with this heavy burden you are carrying, this secret you keep. Which shouldn't be a secret at all. Be proud of the fact that you want to be a Marine. And be proud that you have the guts to stand up and be one of those that are going to protect the people around you. You shouldn't keep it a secret, specially since you already have a girl lol. Always thinking + talking about the Corps, the benefits of it, and how much fun it will be doesn't exactly make you Mr. Perfect you know


9/11 was the day that inspired many people, and 9/11 was the day many people became patriotic again. It was a declining feeling, this patriotism. Then 9/11 brought back feelings of patriotism, which has now faded again.


Yup, true that ^^^^^


No, the Marines don't shoot people they don't know without a good reason. It would be bad press, and it just isn't what Marines are supposed to do. By that I mean true Marines, not some of those faggot no lifes who just went into the Marine Corps because they had no other choice in their life, decide to join when they aren't exemplary in representing the Corps as a whole. Those would be the bad apples that we might hear about, the guys that shoot people for no apparent reason. One that comes to mind is the story of the marine (I spell without capitalization to mean him utter disrespect) like 10 years or so ago who using his training killed a cop during a robbery I think. It was in California, Fresno I think.

Oh and btw, I don't think the Marine Recruiters have to lie about anything. They don't have to sugar coat any thing. Hell, those guys who actually want to do this probably already know it will be hell, it will be a shithole of a place, some days you will hate it, but after you've gone through all the hell that they give you come out the best you can be, you come out as a Marine. (long ass run on sentence I think). If you aren't expecting the worst shit, you aren't preparing to be a Marine just yet.


AS to OP. I appluad you, and once again........Welcome to the club of future Marines 1 more year of school, planning on talking to the Marine recruiter in about a couple of months, I've talked to the Army recruiter enough. He still wants me to join the Army not the Marines, lulz.