went to the rock island arsenal museum this weekend. quite a collection of guns there...second largest in the country. took a few pics while there..figured you all might enjoy them.

wall o' guns
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5473s.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5474s.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5475s.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5487s.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5493s.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5494s.jpg

gold plated M60
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5477s.jpg

M16 prototypes
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5478s.jpg

iraqi version of an RPG
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5479s.jpg

variant of an AK-47
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5482s.jpg

M-9 display
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5490s.jpg

? antiaircraft gun
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5489s.jpg

bullet-proof/resistant window design for vehicles
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5483s.jpg

british L119 105mm light gun
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5495s.jpg

US T9E1 locust..37mm light tank
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5497s.jpg

more large caliber guns
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5498s.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5506s.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5508s.jpg

us M4A3 Sherman, 76mm medium tank from the battle of the buldge
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5499s.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5503s.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5504s.jpg

us M51 Skysweeper, 75mm antiaircraft gun
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5505s.jpg

us M50 Ontos, 106mm self-propelled antitank gun
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5502s.jpg

us T131, 280mm heavy motorized gun..the description of this one was interesting: "This is the experimental version of the M65 atomic cannon. Adopted in 1956, the cannon could fire both nuclear and conventional shells up to 18 miles. The cannon weighs 47 tons and is mobile. The prime mover consists of both a front and a rear truck that can reach a maximum speed of 30 mph. The atomic cannon was replaced by more mobile rockets in the mid 1960s." needless to say, this thing was BIG!
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5507s.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5519s.jpg

us T88, 7.2" multiple rocket launcher
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5509s.jpg

us M3A1, 37mm antitank gun...the story on this one is kinda funny. imagine setting this up to start shooting at tanks, then watching the rounds bounce off. :wall:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5510s.jpg

us M31 Honest John, 762mm battlefield support missile
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5511s.jpg

ussr/iraq BMP-1 model 1970, APC
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5513s.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5514s.jpg

ussr/iraq ZSU 23-4M model 1977, 23mm antiaircraft gun system
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c...l/IMG_5517s.jpg

Lol, did they get the gold plated M-60 from P-Diddy? I want that in my next rap video.

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funny you ask..i said something about it looking like it was a prop for a rap album cover.

the description says "Manufactured by Saco-Lowell. This was given to the Commanding General of Weapons Command by Saco-Lowell upon completion of contract. This machine gun is made of unserviceable parts."

..firefox is telling me unserviceable isn't a word..but that's what it says on the plaque.

Well not only is it on that plaque but its an extremely well known word in the military field.

Something being serviceable means that it is in good enough condition or within regs to use. Unserviceable most often is used towards clothing and gear that has unrepairable rips or malfunctions. Funny note, a cover (8 point hat) that has had a name stamped more than 3 times is unserviceable.

Soul: Yeah army doesn't know anything about the navy. Funny, marines don't really know anything about the army, and MUUUUCH less about the air force. Never really ever hang around Air force guys.

I'd say marines really only know corpsman anyway hahah. The rest are just nasty turds with long hair.

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You bastard! Lol, Long hair my ass. Nasty... I guess you have heard Sailors talk so maybe you can keep that one. You guys do a good job of training some great corpsman. I was going to be a garrison corpsman but my recruiter got me into the Nuke program instead. I was a paramedic when I joined the Navy. I guess the only thing good about US Marines is that you guys at least had one guy in space with the rest of the USN and USAF Outer space will be the final establishment of the Navy/Marine as a defence that envelopes all other forces.

Btw, unserviceable, aka worthless, in Naval terms is described as jacked-up, Rickie gear, fubar, airdale, brown Shoe, black water, ect. I have heard hundreds of terms over the years.

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well i understood what was meant buy unserviceable. just saying that it doesn't seem to be recognized by firefox..which probably uses some non-firefox dictionary.

http://www.projo.com/extra/2008/ocs/ got this link through the navyocs.com forum. short slide show with audio about one OCS class.

what exactly do they mean, in regards to tying your shoes, outboard over inboard? i was thinking outBOUND meant they originated on the inside of your foot and went to the outside...but wasn't sure of outBOARD meant the same or they originated on the outside. apparently they'll make me unlace my shoes and redo it even if they are right..just would like to know how to do it ahead of time.

Just be prepared to do alot of stupid shit. Its hard to prepare you for it.

Imagine both your feet right.
L R


Outboard would be the OUTSIDE of your body and inboard would be the INSIDE of your body so...

(Outboard)
|L R|

(Inboard)
L| |R

After seeing those pics... there is no way i could go Navy, i love Marines too much. Its hard to even think about when i'll be out and the choices i'll have. I've been thinking about coast guard for awhile now but i don't know if i could do it. (switch services) But i've been thinking about becoming a pilot forever now and been thinking about my different more "at home" options rather than the marine corps.

Been thinking about flying helos for a police department.

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so wouldn't it be the other way around then? like this:

(Outboard)
L| |R

(Inboard)
|L R|

? outboard being the side of your smallest toe?

yea, seems like we're going to have to do a LOT of pointless things that are only there to stress us out and get us used to following orders. i just watched the newest installment on that page and apparently there is one point where we have to go out in the sand and do exercises while they hose us down..then we get to load a bunch of sand into the front pocket on our hoodies and dump it out inside in the hallway. (what's the word for that again?) then we do more push ups and whatnot on the sand in the hallway..go do some other stuff, and finally return to clean the sand up.

can't wait!

Your L,R example is backwards. think about it. On the INBOARD side of you body. (inside) OUTBOARD side.. (outside)

I assure you the games stop not too long after you start, and then you get down to business.

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haha well i hope we're describing the same thing only using different ways to describe it. should be fairly simple.

the outside, would be the edge of your foot that ends in your smallest toe. right? so outboard would be the part of your foot that is forward while skating.

for now, it's funny to read about what the DIs do to people..like screaming in their faces and whatnot..but i have a sneaking suspicion that it won't be so funny when it's happening to me.

hey ladies, it's my first sunday at OCS and we're allowed some time on the computer or phone. i passed through the first week, "indoctrination phase" and am now in the officer candidate phase. we met out DI wednesday and have been getting our ass kicked just about every day since. yesterday we got PTed into the dirt for about an hour and 45 minutes. it's quite a change.. should get better as time goes by though. we started with about 36 people, 2 didn't even show up at all. by the end of the week we were down to 18 people until we had about 9 roll into our class from holiding company. H company is sort of a remedial class you go to for things like not passing your PFA or other things. my whole body aches, i think i have bronchitis, but so far so good. anyway, i gotta get moving i think. have some stuff today before we meet with the DI today. i'll probably stop by next sunday.

good to hear from you, graf. you are a better man than i

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Ooh ya Shipmate I'm happy to know you are steaming along. You must be doing really good if you got PC privileges. The beatings are an ass kicking but you already know it will get easier. It awakens your mind to what you can endure and breaks any mental limitations you might have had about your capabilities. Keep at it!

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Welcome to what we call recruit crud. You gotta imagine that everyone across the states comes and gets confined in one area. You get exposed to shit that people are locally immune to that you have no chance against.

I've NEVER in my life been sicker than the 2 or 3 times i did in boot camp.

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I know that's right. Being sick just compounded the misery. I seen people get the flu bad enough to be taken out of training and sent to medical for a week. After I got my shots I was sure I was going to die in my sleep I felt so bad lol.

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yea, lots of people here are sick and get rolled for Bronchitis. i actually just got rolled into H company last night. i have Achilles Tendonitis and am on light duty for a week until further evaluation. went in for physical therapy today and am going back tomorrow. it's not the end of the world..just means i won't graduate with the class i started with.

we actually get a lot more freedoms in H than normal classes...kinda weird. i can use the computer or the phone throughout the day until 10pm. we also get to choose from more items while at the chow hall. the only real downside (besides the fact that i'm sick and injured) is that while in H, you don't progress as far as time goes. you wait until you can rejoin a class that is at the point you were rolled from.

thats how hold platoons are. In the marine corps ocs you get kicked out and have to come back at a later time. There just isn't nearly as many classes going through. In enlisted bootcamp you get put into the med hold platoon and boy is that a depressing sight seeing those guys.

Definitely in enlisted bootcamp its a pretty big deal leaving your platoon and picking up with another. I mean marine corps bootcamp is without a doubt one of the more depressing things one can go through and to have to sit around for weeks or months until you are healed just to be able to jump into training again just sucks.

Thats good you are optimistic about it. Sounds like a fairly good atmosphere. How'd you fuck up your foot?

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sounds exactly like this. we have SIQ people (sick in quarters) that are basically only allowed to leave our hall to use the bathroom. there are injured people that can't do PT or drill. then there are people that failed the in PFA that was on the 3rd day. surprisingly, a lot of people fail that initial PFA once they are here. lack of sleep, stress, and stingent guidlines are the cause. DIs walk around making sure your form is perfect or they'll detuct reps. it's a lot different than doing it with the recruiter.

as for my ankle, i'm not exactly sure what caused it. started as a small aching so i figured it was just from PT/RPT and ignored it thinking it would go away. next thing i knew, my achilles tendon was in pain, then my ankle started swelling up. so finally i decided it wasn't going to get any better and had someone look at it. i even ran with our class for PT in the morning that day.

our DI was pretty intense. he is the toughest one here according to the overwhelming majority. when we're in the head and talking about getting beatings, people in other classes hear us and say "oh, you guys are 16?" (one six) and then they laugh or smile and shake their head and say "i saw you guys getting beat earlier today."

it was rough, but i was hoping to try and finish with that class. i'd be maxing out the out-PFA by the time that came around. they're going to be a strong class.

I'm glad you were not on your last week when this happened. Its really upsetting to make it that far and not pass and review with your division, especially if you helped make that division the best. We had people roll into our division and at first it didn't quite feel like they were apart of the team but inside a week it was like they got off the bus with us. You can't help some minor injuries to yourself when apart of an intense training program but when self motivated its also easy to seriously injure yourself. I always try to remember what my RDC would say to us, "I promote pain! Not injury now drop and do push-ups until you self destruct."

We had a book written about us, RTC divisions 005 and 006, called Honor, Courage, Commitment. We were the first integrated divisions of the millenium. I always wondered what that civilian guy following us was doing. Turns out he was writing a book.

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What would you know about honor courage commitment....

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Nothing I guess Its just words.

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they may be words to you guys, but they're gospel to us.

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hey, honor, courage, and commitment are the core values of the navy.

i'm back and off of SIQ (sick in quarters) so i can actually leave my room to do things other than make head calls. tomorrow i'm going back to have my bronchitis checked out. it's a lot better, but it's tough to tell since they have me on one perscription per symptom it seems. hopefully i'm done with SIQ..it gets very boring sitting in your room all day. once i'm cleared on that front, the next morning i'm heading to the hospital to do some more physical therapy. my ankle has come a ways also but still hurts when i fully bend my ankle. aka running is still something i should avoid if i want it to heal completely. as long as i can get off SIQ and LLD (light limited duty or limited light duty) then i can take a stab at passing a PFA (physical fitness assesment) and class up with 17-08 next week. otherwise, i'll have to wait two more weeks or so until i can class up with 18-08.

once i'm back in a class, we'll have about 3 weeks until RLP (room locker and personnel inspection) which is a big hurdle to clear. a lot of people fail it. if you fail once, you get two days for a second evaluation by your own class DI. if you fail the second, you get rolled until the next class. if most or all of us pass, we become a secured class and gain more freedoms, and can wear our pt shirts right side out to display the navy logo and NAVY OCS on the back. after that it's a bit of beatings..not as much as before generally, more drill and academics start getting into full swing. well i guess i'm gonna check some other stuff online then take off. talk to you all later at some point.

got cleared at sick call today. they're just refilling my perscriptions with no SIQ. so tomorrow i'm off for physical therapy. hopefully everything will be set before the end of the week so i can take and pass a PFA.

not sure if i, or anyone else, posted this..but PBS is running a series called carrier which is about the crew of the USS Nimitz. a film crew went out with them for a full deployment and filmed everything. the first episodes were on last night, but i think you can catch reruns on the site, or they will just play them on tv. http://www.pbs.org/weta/carrier/

sweet. I'll give it a watch.

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I got a few hundred unreleased home video hours, plus emotional and physical scaring on board a Nimitz class carrier ( USS G Dubya ). It's all called, "Soulinsane goes on never ending nuke port report starboard watch hell". Believe me, the inside of a carrier is the last thing I ever want to see again lol Actually, include Los Angeles class subs on that list too.

I miss the Navy sometimes, but I love to talk shit. I'll be sure to check out the video. Sounds like you are starting to become a real Sailor. Before you know it you will be talking in complete abbreviations

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Ok, this show is the most realistic view of what its like to serve on a carrier. Its pretty good.

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its hard to watch these videos of the F-18s...

Only personal dream i've ever had and i gave it up for a future with a family. All i know is that shit better eventually panned out. If i'm 30 and single i will have pretty much have picked the wrong path.

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Adopt. That's the better choice anyway.

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adopt..? You have no idea what i'm even talking about.


Soul: That kid from mannassas virginia is hilarious... "marines and army was out of the question right off the bat..... having a gun.. and going out into the field.." hah nasty navy.

One stuffed animal out on the rack.. AHAHA oh dear god.

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I saw the word "family".

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Yeah i'm talking about self-sacrifice and being there for your family. Apparently you completely don't understand why i decided to not do what i wanted to do.

Adoption has nothing to do with the topic at all.

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haha sounds like fun! i haven't had to stand watch here since i'm LLD. as for talking in abbreviations..i'm still about halfway assimilated. i say head most of the time, but here and there i call it the bathroom, or other random words i guess.

went to the hospital again today to get my ankle checked out. according to the doctor, it will be "highly unlikely" that i'll be able to take a PFA this week so that i could class up with the next class this coming monday. most likely i'll have to wait about two more weeks now until 18-08 gets to their second week. on the bright side, i have a lot more time to prepare for the 4th week RLP as well as work on push ups. apparently the class DI for 18 is very fond of push ups.

That sucks man. Just stay motivated. Usually thats the hardest part. Sounds like you're doing well.... doesn't help you have internet access and shit loads of other niceities.

Fuckin' Navy...can't go without even during periods of training. Can't even go 6 months without displaying stuffed animals on a rack... PFFF.

I still can't get over that. I laughed my ass off during that part of the video. I'd love to see a wm (woman marine) ask to display a stuffed animal on her rack.

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yea, gotta just keep on truckin'. the internet is a little bit of a distraction though..i agree. if i was in a normal class, i wouldn't be able to get on here as often. usually just on sundays during certain hours unless i had a particular job within my class like med-body. then i'd be getting on every night and emailing people about sick call and whatnot.

as for the WM, what if it was a bulldog? i watched a bit of the first episode today since they are posting them online to view. gonna maybe finish the first episode today then watch the next one tomorrow. other than that, i have some things i need to stamp (last name and initials for RLP and so nobody accidentally takes my stuff.), push ups, and studying.

i've already memorized the chain of command, general orders of a sentry, and the code of conduct. now i need to learn the rank structures for the navy and marines (enlisted/officer) and be able to describe the collar and sleeve/shoulder devices), know the leadership traits and their definitions, and some other info.

Classic intro military knowledge.

Count your blessings needless to say in Marine Corps bootcamp, ocs, MCT any training you don't get internet, tv, anything.

That probably makes things mentally easier.

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Yeah, we all know a Marine could never handle the responsibility of using the Internet, a TV, or have a stuffed animal without getting overly excited and losing their bearing. Damn Marines always want to fuck, fight lava monsters with a sword, climb rocks, or blow something up like a bunch of shaved angry monkeys

Sea story time: I remember once at about week 6 in RTC we were getting beat for something and doing mad push-ups when some shipwreck yelled out, "You can't hurt me, Senior Chief"!!! Those were nearly the famous last words for the whole division. He was like, I'll make sure that gets put on your tombstones. After about 500 push-ups and a few miles later everyone was about insane and actually asking for more lol. He had to work for his pay that day. After that it kinda became the theme for the division and worked itself into a few cadence we made.

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haha that reminds me of someone that rolled into my old class. it was "black saturday" which is basically a day of partying DI style. we had been getting beat for a little over an hour and this one guy that is always sand bagging didn't have his legs straight while doing 6 - 90s. the DI said "matthews! why aren't your legs straight!?" matthews replied "sir! we've been at this for over an hour, we're exhausted!" the rest of us about slapped our foreheads thinking "why the hell did you say that!??!" so the DI said we'd continue for one of his hours. all in all, we wound up getting beat for about 2 hours...including a nice long bear crawl towards the end. we went from the 10 yard line on a regular sized football field, down to the far end zone and back. good times!

That sucks. Imagine if it was a crab crawl haha.

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No kidding. The crab crawl has been known to strike fear into even the darkest hearts and cruelest of enemies

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It just fucking sucks, and is annoying.

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we haven't had to do any of that so far. then again, i'll have a different DI when i finally class up..so there's always a chance we'll get to do some. the class DI that it looks like i'll wind up with is especially fond of push ups and rifle reps. we have M1s that we use for drill...not exactly sure how heavy they are, but anything becomes heavy after long enough. i think the rifles are about 9-13 lbs. something like that..

That is true. Holding out campstools that weigh like 15 ounces felt like alot of weight after like 10 minutes.

The worst is holding out fucking packs. Lamest shit ever. Had to do that for like 30 minutes.

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what's in your "packs" ? we have gouge packs with just a small booklet, small note pad, and two pens that we have to hold up here and there..mostly at the chow hall these days. during indoc week, we had to hold them up a bit..then we'd get to hold out our full canteens for a while too. it's supposed to be preparing you for holding our rifles i guess. which is actually something i need to start practicing for the future if i'm to class up with 18-08.

Got swown into the Air Force two days ago. Should be shipping out late in the month.

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congrats! what are you going to be doing in the chair force? one of my best friends is in the usaf and recently finished training to be a "scope dope" on an AWACS.

By packs i mean alice packs. And just whatever they want us to. Doesnt matter even just the frame and the cloth pack is heavy enough over time.

Truth: Had no idea you were joining. Good for you.

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I'm waiting to hear what my job is going to be and my ship date. So i should know in the next 2 weeks. I think i picked 6 jobs out of the list, and they all seem pretty cool, though i can't quite remember what i picked, because security forces haha. I'll let you know when i hear.

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well good luck with whatever you get picked up for. my friend is in the air force right now..he used to work on the flight line dealing with F15s and apparently it really sucks working on the flight line. now he gets to sit down and get flown around while looking at a radar and talking to people over a headset. you should check out the air force picture i posted in the photobook thread.

did they tell you that? AF books their schools 4 months in advance so if you just got into the DEP you shouldnt be able to ship out til sept sometime

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Yeah, they told me that. Well i've been in the process of joining since january. I finally just got sworn in now. I'd just been waiting on a waiver to pass my physical and it just came through.

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today this kid got quite an ear full from our class DI. worst part is that he doesn't sound off..and then he freezes up when he's put on the spot. his room got tornadoed. or as they sometimes call it, a "snickers search" i feel bad for the guy though..the DI told him he was going to destroy him once the candidate was able to PT and that he (the DI) was going to make him DOR. this guy has a rough week ahead of him.

You guys have your own ROOMS?

Jesus christ when does the lunacy end...

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yea, we have two people per room. no attached bathroom though. however, we do have dividers between the showers.

OH MY FUCKING GOD.

What the fuck is that all about? VAGINAS!

WHERE ARE THE SQUAD BAYS? AND THE MASS SHITTERS WITH NO DIVIDERS? The open shower room?

Jesus christ what do you all hold hands and skip around together singing girly songs? What is this fucking college?

Leave it to the navy.... (and probably every other branch besides the Marine Corps..)
Real fucking OCS
Thats a squad bay. Learn and love it.

marine corps ocs was kind of girly and nice and friendly compared to marine corps bootcamp.

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we have regular old stalls. no dividers in the urinals. fairly normal really...which is fine with me.

Pansies.

Oh well you guys are sailors.

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Turns out the job opening at the end of the month closed up so no I'm going to have to wait until at least July or later to ship out. goddamnit.

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That sucks.

The way the marine corps does it if i'm not mistaken is unless i think you get some sort of guarantee package thing you go into a field of jobs and you get "randomly" selected for whatever job is available in that field at the end of bootcamp.

Unless you are reserves like me then you fill slots available in your area.

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I got to select maybe 6 jobs out of a whole shitload that I qualified for and I guess that take it from there based on availability, i would assume. The whole thing is slightly confusing.

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yea, they have to keep us apart so no funny business goes down.

Been thinking about joining the navy again. Watching that one show and looking at the position i'm in now seems so tempting. Looked up flight opportunities and i might talk to an OSO sometime to see what they have to say.

Granted I could just try to be a Marine Officer again but as much of a marine as i am i don't think i fit in the marine corps all that well. I love it, but don't at the same time. Its a tough fucking life style. (apparently thats the case just given the stark differences in bootcamp/ocs and the other branches.

For one i'm tired of getting fucked all the time. That shit gets old.

I guess the biggest issue would just be putting on another uniform. I guess if i thought that i was leaving the military to do a civilian military maybe that would ease my mind.

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a civilian military huh? haha well..do whatever you think you need to do. thinking of being a naval officer, or going enlisted? according to the Chief Drill Instructor here, a Master Gunnery Sergeant, OCS for the navy is the toughest commissioning program out of all the branches. he did say that marine OCS was tougher physically, but the naval OCS is tougher as a whole..largely because of the academics and all the mind games they play here.

at the rate i'm going, you could maybe class up while i'm still here. would be funny if you were in your Indoc phase while i was a candidate officer. then i'd get to torment you.

went to king hall today for sick call...my cough is getting worse and i am about out of medication. they're going to refill my prescriptions and a Chief asked me if they had done an x-ray of my chest. hopefully i won't have to do any of that..cause it sounds like a recipe for waiting around in H more.

I would only join to fly F-18s or Ea-6bs. Nothing else. If for some reason id idn't get selected (which i would be giving it one hell of a shot) i'd just go intel finish my contract and be done with it.

Marine Corps OCS was definitely physical on another world. There was almost no mental outside of mental taking over the physical challenges. Marine Corps Bootcamp is a whole nother story. It was kind of physical but more than anything it was just all mental. Its something that can't be explained only experienced.

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well good luck if that's what your plan is. would be awesome to fly..and especially one of those jets. as a SWO i probably won't be on a carrier..at least for my first tour. after about three years i can try and transfer to another community. think i have to be pinned a SWO first..or at least it's a good idea to wait until then.

The Navy might appear to be easier but that's a deceptive veneer. Navy OCS might seem like they got more liberties but it's only to give the midshipman more responsibility to foul themselves with later. All apart of the training really. More room and privacy to be tempted and screw up inside of if you don't possess the right integrity.

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Well i'm sure it makes up for its mental ease in other ways.

I've definitely learned over the years not to directly compare the services. If i'm not mistaken the Navy doesn't have a "TBS" so i'm sure the marine corps "the basic school" is built into ocs. Which would make sense.

Marine corps ocs is a screening process which evaulates if you have any ability to be a leader. You don't have to be a good leader you just have to have the potential. TBS is when they teach you how to be an officer.

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Indeed, Grafx will be what the Navy calls a 90 day wonder and the Marine DI is there to make sure a heavy helping of TBS is supplemented into the daily diet as they are the ones that should have a working intimate knowledge of it. A Navy officer needs to know how to handle more than what they teach at the spoon and folk school. They need to be rounded both mental, political, tactically, strategic, and physically. They need to know how to tap the workings or any number of divisions, departments, and people within the Naval structure... Marines included. Just give people a little rope though.... They always learn something.

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we'll get plenty of time to demonstrate and improve on our leadership skills while we are here. so far i'm still in the beginning third of the program, so we're still learning basic stuff, getting plenty of beatings, and shortly (once i class up) we'll begin rifle drill and even some academics soon enough.

soul - yea..at OCS we do what people at the academy (4 years) do but only in 12 weeks. so it all gets condensed and our days are packed with things that need to be done and are planned out to the t pretty much. i've heard from several sources..officers, senior enlisted, etc. that if there were a number of ensigns with some from OCS, the academy, and ROTC or wherever the third commissioning source is...they'd be able to pick out the OCS people cause we're more "locked on" i guess.

I can see why others might be able to pick out OCS grads. I can tell the difference between officers too. Like you said, you guys are on a fast track and have to learn at least the basics in a short amount of time. OCS is similar to Enlisted training in that you get slammed hard and fast into the military. There is not much in the way of hugs or sugar coatings. The OCS guys either can handle the extra liberties and the responsible that come with it or they sink out of training.

The Academy grads have nothing greater than a ego compared to most humble Enlisted and OCS, plus in most cases you will have more knowledge. Some are cool but most can be arrogant cunts and dicks. You will see what I mean.

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yea, that sounds about the jist of how i've heard it explained by several people.

met with the Chief Drill Instructor today in regards to my situation and when i'll be classing up. because i haven't PT'd in about 3 weeks, he doesn't want to throw me right into the PFA after i get off LLD this coming friday so that i could class up this next monday. instead, i'll be working out and getting ready to roll into the class after the one that just started this week. not thrilled about sitting around for the extra time, but it is what it is. now i just need to use the time wisely and study some more and finish up my stamping..as well as some ironing.

I didn't get but about 10 hours of sleep in the first week and a half of ocs because of that shit. For some reason it just took for fucking ever to mark everything i needed marking, and squaring away our constantly fucked up lockers.

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Yea..sleep sucks during the first week of Navy OCS as well as during the handful of days before RLP (room, locker, personnel) inspection towards the end of week 4.

You talk to the Navy at all yet? I'm just about ready to go finally. The next class is coming in this Sunday and will be my earliest opportunity to class up. If not, then I have to wait another week for the next class.

That sucks. Hopefully you finally get back going.

Nah i haven't talked to them. I need to get back into shape. I've gained love handles and a belly.

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You raved all this shit about hard ass Marine training, Navy pussy this, easy that, Blah TV, blah girls, oh rah hard dude muscle, and now... You admit you got a little soft

Maybe I was to rough here. If you need a hug...

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I'm in the reserves.... i don't pt 3 times a week like active duty guys.

SInce i've stopped skateboarding i haven't filled that massive physical gap with anything. Went for a run last night. I still can run i just need to stop eating so shitty. I think thats my only problem. Stop eating shitty and i'll return to normal.

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I've been PTing and working out like crazy the past few months.

The results are niiiiiice.

Oh yah TMFreaker....stop eating like my asshole.

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PAH! what do you know!

Yeah i'm gonna start something now. Ran last night, about to run to the gym then run afterwards. Gotta get into at least ok shape for the next pft here in a few months.

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I can't wait to ship out to boot camp already. I really gotta start getting in running shape though or they are going to kick my ass there. All you guys are already, or have been at one time, active in the military and just seeing all you talk about just makes me want to get in there sooner. I'm really looking forward to starting my career in the military.. it'll be nice to feel like I actually have a purpose in life, rather than just wasting my time and money drinking every day at college, or working a shitty job for 9 bucks an hour. 4 1/2 weeks to go!

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Don't worry in the air force the most important thing you could do if you're trying to be "fit physically" is trim down. They like tall, skinny people. Apparently waist size is correlates into your physical fitness score..... hah

You should definitely run though. Running is by far the most important thing in any branch. You've obviously got strength by far covered but endurance is where it generally is at. (Mostly in the Marine Corps and various other Officer Candidate Schools)

I think you guys only have to run 1.5 miles. Which might as well just be a sprint....

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Got word from the doctor the other day.. Will be on LLD until the 6th of June and then I'll be back to full duty. Should class up with the next class that comes in during there second week and then I'll FINALLY be moving forward again.

Haha Tm, I still have a beer gut going on. Doesn't help that I haven't done much PT in a while. Just taking in more calories than I'm burning.

Same thing happened to me Truth. Many of my friends and several people in my family are or were in one branch or another. Funny thing with me though is that for most of my life, I always thought I would never join the military. I guess it was growing up as a Marine brat.

Keep up the PT and you should be fine..I have no idea how Air Force boot camp or officer candidate school is, but I'm guessing it's not too tough compared to some of the other ones. They used to ride bikes instead of actually running if i'm not mistaken.

haha ride bikes?? are you serious? wow. Well I know they at least changed that much about it. They were probably tired of getting criticized from other branches. They're bumping it up from 6 to 8 weeks in August I heard, but i lucked out since I'm going in July. It's not too hard from what I hear, but it's still harder than the lifestyle i'm accustomed to now haha

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Greetings from the USS Boxer. I'm sitting in the porte de Callao which is just outside of Lima in Peru.

Life on a ship is intresting... I'm getting shell backed on the 17th. I'm sure Soul knows what that is.....

hah.
Later fags.

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How the shit are you on the Boxer? lol doesn't matter. Tell King Neptune I said hello

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What you mean? Its an amphibious helio launching ship.

I'm in Lima, Peru now.

I've flown on a CH46 at least 4 times now, landed a beach on an LCU and done quite a few other things.

And now i'm drunk on pisco sours.

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I did some thinking this summer, not a lot but some... it might sound cliche, but I don't have a lot of purpose in life right now, and If I don't like college I think I'll just go to the marines or something.

Maybe I'm just really bored

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Same here, if the college life isn't for me I'm going to finish up my first semester and join some branch of the military.

Yeah, a lot of people get out of college and can't find jobs anyway. Going to the military pretty much sets you up financially.

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alot more than that. That is the basics to the point where that is negligible. You will gain so much from the military that you won't be able to easily access it. But a 4 year commitment is easily at least equal to or more important than a college degree.

Don't go Marine Corps. Unless you want to really understand the world..... This is coming from experience.....

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What would you recommend then? I hear a lot of opinions on what service is the best or whatnot, so I'm just curious.

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Navy would be pretty cool.

Navy isn't bad. They're alot less military.

To be honest to answer you question you need to think about what you want to get out of it.

Here is the listing in militaryness from high to low.

Marine Corps
Army
Air Force
Navy

The more rigid and structure you want move up that list. The Army and Navy are going to provide the best opportunities, and the airforce is going to provide much more cakeness.

Working your ass off list:
Marine Corps
Army/Navy
Air Force

The above list shows how much work one is going to have to put in. I think the army and navy are about middle, its hard to really tell that one because it really depends on what you do, but i can definitely tell you the Marine Corps makes you earn your buck. (call it good or bad)

If you are looking for more financial gain, again Army or Navy. The marine corps isn't really going to give you shit unless you reenlist and you are in Iraq or a combat zone (tax free) but then again you could do the same thing with the Army and i'm sure get a bigger bonus. I would stay away from the Air Force generally due to the low demand they have. They aren't really giving out freebees and from what i've gathered gaining rank isn't an easy thing to do.

I'll continue this conversation when i get back in the states here in like 3 or 4 days. Gotta go enjoy my time in Lima.

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Boot camp in 10 days. fuck yeah.

I got a question about boot camp. It seems that i've developed really bad shin splints in both of my legs. I know there's really nothing you can do to treat them, but when this happens in boot camp (because i'm sure a lot of kids get them), what do they do? how do they treat them?

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Sit and do nothing for sometimes a very longtime depending on how bad they are. And by very long time we're talking a week or months. Although the months thing only happens in fractures usually. Like hairline fractures and stress fractures.

More than likely you'll be fine and you'll just suck it up.

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Just take it easy on impact exercises like running for now. Swimming and elliptical machines can provide great cardio without the shun splints. You will do fine in boot camp as long as you work hard. That's all it takes. It's easy to think they're going to try and kill you, but its only training and part of the job It can be fun if you think about it the right way.

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I agree with every sentence of this statement.

It can be the opposite as well if you only think about it.

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You were just at home a few days before and without warning.... Bam! You are posting from the Boxer. I just didn't expect that lol.

So how was the shell backing? Did you get to meet King Neptune?

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So is marine boot camp similar to the one in Full Metal Jacket? it would be kinda lame if it wasn't.

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Full Metal Jacket is a massive joke by comparison to the real thing. I remember watching the bootcamp part while in marine corps bootcamp and was like this is a crock of shit how vaginafied it was in comparison. Full metal jackets bootcamp scene is very hollywood in the sense that the lines he says are too "calculated." I'm not quite sure how to put it in better words but thats kind of what i mean.

The real thing is a hell of alot more stressful, alot more getting yelled at, and by a much more intimidating staff.

Shellbacking: It wasn't too bad. It was quite comical. It would have been alot worser if there were more shellbacks. There was like 10 or 12 for like 300 marines.

We did it 2 weeks after we crossed the equator and it was on land. So.... yeah i'm a shell back but it wasn't the fullblown thing. Oh yeah they also didn't have nearly enough "food" materials to fuck us with. The peruvians were getting pissed off cause we did it on their like little square area. It was a pretty good exprience.

Oh yeah it was hilarious one of hte marines that didn't do it (i guess he had to do mess duty or something) one of hte peruvian cooks was asking about it and he was like "yeah we do it every tuesday. I'm not doing it this tuesday but i'm switching with somebody next tuesday" Apparently the peruvians thought we were crazy as hell hahaha.

I'll post here maybe later tonight or tomorrow with a bunch of pics from my phone of the boxer, the training areas, and my time in Lima.

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What is shellbacking? i've never heard that term before.

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