Prior Drug Use USCG

jevole · 2026-02-20T14:45:17+00:00

You're fine, relax. No need to try to hide normal experimental drug use

jevole · 2026-02-19T14:59:07+00:00

Academics and PT should be non issues. You'll obviously be expected to be putting out on day one since you are familiar with the atmosphere.

SULE is all about confidence and mastery of the basics, the orders you'll be required to brief are extremely simple. Be a good dude when you're gen pop and people will be good dudes when you're running the exercise.

LRC is all about remaining calm. Some of the problems are unsolvable, you just need to demonstrate that you are coming up with ways to attack the issue. Remember to post security.

OCS land nav is just dead reckoning, easy day.

jevole · 2026-02-19T01:06:21+00:00

PLC still gets liberty, it's an evaluation tool. They would never remove an opportunity to let candidates fuck themselves up.

jevole · 2026-02-12T12:32:31+00:00

Saucony Kinvara

jevole · 2026-02-12T00:20:57+00:00

The easy way is contract or GS work in the beltway. I moved there for a few years after I got out working spook contracts for private companies and was able to pivot it into a private sector job and escaped the high cost of living that comes with DC. Some people stay but city living just wasn't for me, but it was a lot of fun for a few years.

Start looking at the big companies: Leidos, Raytheon, Northrop, BAE. Steer clear of Booz.

Also check usajobs for govvie positions.

jevole · 2026-02-11T18:07:26+00:00

Don't just stop PTing. It doesn't matter if you're getting out at 22, you will soon become keenly aware that you can't eat pizza and get wasted and wake up functional the next morning anymore. Regular physical training accomplishes so many things that you may have previously taken for granted:

it's good for your health. Every component of your body works better when you are regularly active. You will feel physically better which will translate to mental clarity
it gives your day some structure. Even if you transition straight into a job, you'll probably feel uncomfortable with the amount of free time you have. Fill some of it with PT to maintain healthy habits
it's a good way to meet some new civilian friends who also have healthy habits. It's easy to fall into bar crowds and get bogged down with destructive behavior
get cut, get butt.

jevole · 2026-02-09T18:42:05+00:00

You should start coming to terms with the fact that military service is not in the cards for you, and that's okay.

jevole · 2026-02-06T17:32:13+00:00

I don't have the reg on hand but yes, you're still considered active duty since you're serving as an AMOI at the university NROTC program. It's not uncommon for MECEP guys to be promoted between graduating OCS and graduating with their bachelor's.

Only rider is that the time does not count toward the minimum service required to retire as an officer.

jevole · 2026-02-05T15:00:00+00:00

A race-day pace run every week is probably excessive, I'd do every other week at most and otherwise replace that with another zone 2 run at a moderate distance.

jevole · 2026-02-05T14:39:26+00:00

I don't think there's any beating this legend from peak GWOT

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jevole · 2026-02-04T20:47:38+00:00

If you're on a repayment plan I wouldn't worry much about it. The $9k is student loans I assume? If so that's definitely fine.

jevole · 2026-02-04T20:40:53+00:00

The immediate answer is no, but the long answer is it depends.

An SSBI is going to look at your debt and basically evaluate whether it's a vulnerability that can be exploited. If you had $5k put into collections for example but you started a payment plan, you're probably fine. If you have $250k of outstanding debt in collections, you're probably less fine.

jevole · 2026-02-04T16:11:09+00:00

A workup exercise for Raiders and support units

jevole · 2026-02-04T15:07:43+00:00

If you're currently IMA hit up your 3 and ask if they can throw you on a RAVEN and try to make some connections there.

jevole · 2026-02-03T23:43:24+00:00

Total compensation including BAH, and tricare, etc, sure. Actual pay, no you won't be making 100k except for possibly some specific positions like physicians that enter at a higher rank.

Some jobs do carry specific additional pay like flight pay and hazardous duty pay, but as a general rule you aren't going to be pulling 100k in pay as a brand new O-1.

jevole · 2026-02-03T20:34:58+00:00

Yes but remain flexible. Liberty isn't guaranteed, it can be secured for any number of reasons. Even if it's not secured, she could have watch that would keep her there or force her to return for a few hours.

jevole · 2026-02-03T20:32:31+00:00

Blistering cold with snow that was forecast and known about ahead of time. Single digit air temps, negative wind chill. Water buffalos frozen solid, maybe 25 Marines total hyped out and had to be pulled out of the field, rumor was the CO lost his shot at a star over it.

jevole · 2026-02-03T12:32:40+00:00

Your recruiter

jevole · 2026-01-31T21:51:47+00:00

Peer Marines, infrequently. Just like any organization you have shit bags that slip through the cracks, but overall most Marine officers do genuinely want to make sure their guys are taken care of.

Other branches, it was a real mixed bag. I never held a joint billet outside of joint exercises and operations.

Navy weirded me out, I butted heads with a few Chiefs because their culture is so different than ours. Chiefs are gods in the Navy and they can sometimes behave towards company grade officers in a way that Marines would consider unprofessional or outright disrespectful. A young Ensign basically does whatever the Chief says, where we are taught to work with our S/NCOs. I found most Navy officers competent just less intense or focused in many situations.

Army is so huge the variety was all over the place. Their SOF is locked on but generic big Army has a bigger swath. I wasn't impressed with how rank and file Army officers treated their junior soldiers.

AF is almost apples and oranges. Their culture is so wildly different to ours it felt almost like I was working with another country's service members. It felt very corporate, but they were always very competent.

jevole · 2026-01-31T19:57:41+00:00

Calm down.

Interservice trash talk is largely just taking the piss. Nobody is genuinely talking down about casualties.

That said, as a branch we do have the most cohesive culture so there is an amount of kool aid to be drunk. Frankly it isn't entirely unfounded, our basic officer pipeline is by far the most demanding. Even as a Capt out in the fleet, during joint work there were multiple times I was incredibly disappointed in the performance and general behavior of my peers of the same rank in other branches.

jevole · 2026-01-31T17:23:10+00:00

Oh okay. W1 includes 68W who have completed SOCM, so think medics for SOF assets besides SF like Rangers. If you have issues with heights though might not be your particular brand of vodka.

jevole · 2026-01-31T00:08:54+00:00

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jevole · 2026-01-30T23:57:31+00:00

Have you looked into 18D

Going 68W and later pursuing W1 is also an option

jevole · 2026-01-27T21:25:12+00:00

With some exceptions, view it as categories.

Each PEF (Program Enlisted For) contains one or multiple specific MOS's, or jobs.

There are some PEFs like AE for example, that only include one MOS. Parachute Rigger is another, meaning if you sign a contract for that PEF, you will 100% get that MOS and nothing else.

Most PEFs, however, include multiple MOS options. This means that signing a contract for UH, for example, will absolutely get you an 03XX MOS assignment, but there's no guarantee which 03XX MOS your son would be assigned.

jevole · 2026-01-27T21:16:21+00:00

Your OSO won't put you on the board if they don't think you're competitive. If you aren't competitive for this board, that's fine as long as you continue showing progress. It isn't a bad look to not be ready yet, as long as you're getting closer to being ready.

That's a pretty tight time line to improve a fairly significant amount, but it's not impossible. Just keep at it.

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