WTF! Sleeves down year round?

[CE1371]

Airwing Amos just decided that the Corps will no longer be rolling sleeves during the warmer half of the year. Who knows what else this airwinger will come up with. Just another of the many reasons why I will not be re-upping again.


Eat the apple.

 

[Don't try to run]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

This will be his legacy. Charlie Krulak brought GoreTex and replaced the Civil War era canvas pup tent, and the Wingwiper Cammandant will have brought rolled down sleeves.
Sounds like some kinda FLDS rule to me. Or maybe he wants the WM's to adhear to Old Amish rules. Or maybe he (or Obama)saw a offensive (to him) forearm tattoo, like a cross or something.
I predict severe Vitamin D deficiencies
Or maybe with the shaved heads, barracks living, chow halls, and loss of "Individuality" he might be getting you ready for the Hale-Bopp Comet to bring the Mothership. Be careful if they drag out buckets of Koolaid and insist everybody drink a cup.
When they first came out with the Woodland uniforms in 82 we only had the heavyweight 50/50 ones available for years. We were stationed in hawaii and deployed to the IO and SWP for 6 months every year. Guys were dropping from heat exhautsion in thailand and Australia and the P.I. during training.
Lucky for me I had enough of the older "Jungle Style" and RDF era utilities that I didn't have to wear that crap except when it was required for a CG Inspection or something.
And it made me look "Salty" too.
Don't worry. the next Commandant will bring it back.

 

[Esselbach]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

When the Army switched from BDU's to the ACU's, we were no longer able to roll our sleeves up.

 

[Lazlo]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

Do you have a source link for this? Possibly an ALMAR or MARADMIN?

Edit, found it:
http://www.marines.mil/news/messages/Pages/MARADMIN621-11.aspx/

 

[ArcticLight]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

I wouldn't let that be the reason you did not re-up.

Think about the job situation in the US, your career goals etc...

How many years you have in? Is it worth it to hang a nother 10 years?

Of course someone once gave me that advice and I got out and was poor for 10 years afterwards...

just saying..

 

[n8lusk]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

I have to agree with Artic. Commanders come and go. Their good or poor decisions as well. I had a Colonel that had the same rule. He also said there was no place for snipers on the battlefield. He didn't last long and things got better.

Its all in what you want though.

 

[ArcticLight]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: N8Lusk</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have to agree with Artic. Commanders come and go. Their good or poor decisions as well. I had a Colonel that had the same rule. He also said there was no place for snipers on the battlefield. He didn't last long and things got better.

Its all in what you want though. </div></div>

True Story, anyone in the 5th bn 9th Inf Regiment (6th ID AK) can validate this:

We had a crazy Colonel, Lt Col Campbell if memory serves, he kept say ing "I'm volunteering us for battle to make you all veterans, I want you all to wear a CIB" - his heart was in the right place but he was one CRAZY Colonel and we all hated being where we were....every day he walked in and got mad at the Bn HQ and whoever thevictim was he would say "You're fired, get out of here"

Anyway life was rough under him, but when he was banging some Lt's wife the LT came home, chased him around base firing bird shot at him - he got promoted and sent to the war college and the LT got kicked out of the Army.

Then we got our new colonel and life was great!

Commanders come and go, and sometimes they'll make ya laugh at their stupidity.

 

[Prison Mike]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

Sleeves down isnt even the half of it! They also cut tuition assistance for anyone wanting to go to school while on active duty. I was taking 6 classes a year on the old TA, but now im limited to only 1 class per year. TA last year was $250 per credit hour but now its right around $170. And according to the MARADMIN, on average Marines only take about 5 credit hours per year so they capped it at 5 for every Marine, period. Which is not even equal to two full classes. Everything else must come out of pocket.... How long will it take to get things back to the way they were?

 

[deadly0311]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

I kind of wished General Mattis would have gotten that Commandant spot, but low and behold there was a "Yes Man" put into that billet. He won't last long, and then hopefully someone with some balls (like Gen. Mattis) will fill his spot and take the Marine Corps back to where it used to be.

 

[CE1371]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Deadly0311</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I kind of wished General Mattis would have gotten that Commandant spot, but low and behold there was a "Yes Man" put into that billet. He won't last long, and then hopefully someone with some balls (like Gen. Mattis) will fill his spot and take the Marine Corps back to where it used to be.

</div></div>

Amen to that.


My intention was not to spout off on this tangent when I made this thread - but you guys asked.

I love marines and I love/hate the Corps just like everyone else. I wouldn't trade the 5 soon to be 6 years of my time in the Corps for anything but that doesn't mean I need to spend all 20 being in the branch that takes pride in the fact that it gets shit on more than anyone else.

I am capable of doing more for the military as EOD or as an O or WO. Might as well pursue one of those and do it in a branch that provides more opportunities under better conditions. My motivation for joining the Corps was because I believed the Corps was the best, a gun club of professionals. A group of warriors in every sense of the word.

Instead, it's become all about pushing social agendas and don't get me started on all the SNCOs and older Os that are barracks rats pushing barracks rat BS on the Corps or the fact that they cut good NCOs at the knees with all this "anti-hazing, talk about your feelings" crap.

There's a cultural war going on between those who have served their entire time during war and those who served in the 80's/90's as barracks rats. Call it bush marines vs barracks marines and right now the barracks marines are winning because they hold the top slots.

Maybe I come off sounding like a whiny little bitch but if all the branches are going to go touchy-feely I might as well choose one that benefits me and accommodates my desire to do more as a professional.

Am I crazy to think this?

 

[Don't try to run]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

I used to take two a semester on 6 months WestPac floats, and some while stationed in LeJeune. I took a couple, and when I brought the paperwork for my Plt Co to sign for the next two he refused. Just refused. He said he didn't know what the training schedule would be 3 months from now and wanted me there (to do his job!). Now he got his on ROTC while I was deployed to the PG, and his only combat was beating up Iranian students at Ga Tech. He got his, and told me straight out if I wanted to go to College I could get out and do it on my own.
We used to get 20 points for promotion for each College course, and 10 for MCI's. Then they changed that to 15 for MCI's and 10 for College.
The commands did raise hell when they had to take you out of the field in the afternoon so you could go to class at night, and then bring you back.
The fact that guys are deploying so much now because of Afghanistan and until lately Iraq, in addition to float requirements and Oki, it's no wonder they are only taking 5 credits a year on average. Only the guys in base HQ get to take them. And $175 a credit? Are they kidding? That's won't pay for Community College.

 

[ArcticLight]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

I live in a Navy town, and I hear it's gotten the same way.

In fact they are retro fitting some ships for the women that will now be serving on them.

Navy Chiefs I know are getting scolded for being too mean to seamen...

Ya we are a touchy-feely society now.

If you get out use your GI Bill, also go to the Vets office in the college- they give you 10 or 20 or up to 50% off tuition so your GI bill goes further...

 

[CrazyDonkey]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BFMF</div><div class="ubbcode-body">When the Army switched from BDU's to the ACU's, we were no longer able to roll our sleeves up. </div></div> Plus sleeves have to be down when you are deployed anyways.

 

[CrazyDonkey]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MANIMAL</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Sleeves down isnt even the half of it! They also cut tuition assistance for anyone wanting to go to school while on active duty. I was taking 6 classes a year on the old TA, but now im limited to only 1 class per year. TA last year was $250 per credit hour but now its right around $170. And according to the MARADMIN, on average Marines only take about 5 credit hours per year so they capped it at 5 for every Marine, period. Which is not even equal to two full classes. Everything else must come out of pocket.... How long will it take to get things back to the way they were? </div></div> Every service is required to cut TA, the Marines were just the first to do it.

 

[cwhardee13]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?



There's a cultural war going on between those who have served their entire time during war and those who served in the 80's/90's as barracks rats. Call it bush marines vs barracks marines and right now the barracks marines are winning because they hold the top slots.


AGREED! Army is no different. Im currently deployed under 1st Cav and we can't even make our soldiers do push ups or any physical corrective action at all. God forbid we "embarrass" them. Hell I'm embarrassed to post this.

 

[DJ 480]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

so many days I wish we rolled our ACU's too damn hot. got to love the army making sense

 

[rsee03]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

Someone told me a long time ago when I was a young guy in the Navy that the nice thing about the military different than the civi world is that if you don't like your boss or they don't like you the nice thing is sooner or later one of you is going to transfer and then the rules change again.

 

[Don't try to run]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: cwhardee13</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

There's a cultural war going on between those who have served their entire time during war and those who served in the 80's/90's as barracks rats. Call it bush marines vs barracks marines and right now the barracks marines are winning because they hold the top slots.


</div></div>
Always been that way. The 1st Sgt's and Sgt Majors in the Marines were Admin pogues. i had lots of Staff NCO's and Officers in the 80's who were just doing as little time as possible in the FMF until they went to a desk or 2 somewhere for the next decade. They just didn't really care that we could get shipped off in 24 hours at any time. They were just there to get their tickets punched. They would spend a year of so as a Company Commander, as as soon as they started to get a clue they would be off to a Staff job somewhere, or a ROTC or Reserve I&I, or a Plans office, or another desk. They would go get their Master's, or go to a Staff College, or do a nice easy tour at a Barracks in Florida or at Parris Island or San Diego. They only spent about 20%, if that, of their career in their MOS. The rest was air conditioned offices and 9 to 5. Then they retired as Majors or Lt Col's.
The skilled Combat Arms guys enlisted or officer didn't get recognition at high level (or even lower ones) and either got out from frustration or retired at low ranks, if they were even able to do that.
The guys with the Navy Cross, or a Silver Star, and I even saw a couple MOH wearers, never achieved beyond Bn command. But when you saw the pictures of the senior Officer and Enlisted they had at most a BS, without a V, and their MOS was supply, or admin, their whole career.
In the 90's we had a few really good Generl's from the Infantry, like Charlie Krulak and JJ Sheehan, but we had some pogues too. The senior enlisted in the 80's and 90's were mostly pogues, and dumb as hell. But they were loud, obnoxious, and kiss asses.

 

[152]

Re: WTF! Sleeves down year round?

FTS,some used to say.

Oh how I am so glad I am not having to toe those lines and regs today.Surly I would be dead or so far in the brig I would never git out.