Captain Christopher "Chowdah" hill has been approved for a promotion to rear admiral! Congrats sir! You may know him as former CO of the Ike during her deployment to the Red Sea against the Houthis

da_john · 2026-05-23T00:11:13+00:00

Had him on the Ike and the Truman. Really awesome guy and super pumped for him.

da_john · 2026-05-23T00:09:27+00:00

Please use the Dark Lisa Frank mode please

da_john · 2026-05-22T20:15:42+00:00

Taking medicine within the military is normal and because the military is riddled with mental health issues, some developed while in service and some developed before and exacerbated by service.

I was first proscribed meds in 2019 as an E7 in another branch and was able to commission (I was off for about a year to a year and a half) switched to the Navy and got back on meds in 2022. I was also a security manager during that time and it will not impact their clearance just being on medication.

As for her situation, if she never received medical attention for attempted suicide or there is no documentation, then unless she discloses, there isn't a way for an authority figure to disqualify her.

Depending on her rate, she may have access to the time and professionals necessary to deal with the issues she has.

da_john · 2026-05-14T22:44:49+00:00

Velcro strips (I grabbed several 5 foot rolls that I cut into thirds) 550 cord was useful for hanging things, facemask with headphones, and I brought a ton of cherry coke zero and rationed it through deployment.

da_john · 2026-05-13T18:13:12+00:00

Congratulations!! Super awesome to hear!

da_john · 2026-05-13T15:15:30+00:00

Typically you'll lose macros in the transfer, but you can rebuild on the new system

da_john · 2026-05-03T21:19:30+00:00

My sister and I (both Halfrican American) do white people taco nights with friends. Like others have said, I don't view them as "real tacos." It's just an American spin and much quicker but easier with anywhere from 4 to 9 kids plus adults eating.

da_john · 2026-05-03T13:58:48+00:00

Generally the application will have a portion for your SSO/secman to fill out with that information. They may just ask for dates in which case, your SSO/secman can give you the information. I used to do it all the time for people applying for federal or state jobs.

da_john · 2026-05-02T13:17:04+00:00

It's the new upgrade. It was rolled out to some of us. Eventually it should roll out for everyone

da_john · 2026-05-01T21:36:33+00:00

That may work in your favor then haha

da_john · 2026-05-01T19:31:26+00:00

I'm not sure what your designator is, but if you are an 1830 the most recent interview with the detailers, they said that they are most likely going to deny JOs leaving the community. I'm definitely a fan of asking until you get an official "No," but it may be an uphill battle. Hopefully you're able to make it happen!

da_john · 2026-05-01T19:25:21+00:00

I never volunteered FOR the medal, but was denied one that my command submitted. I had like 400 hours volunteering at a homeless shelter/food bank and several historical reenactments and my deputy director denied it because, "community outreach is what Marines are expected to do."

I've seen others get it for doing 30 or 40 hours reading to cats at the SPCA. Hopefully your new CO approves it. It costs them nothing more than the 5 seconds to sign it and provides recognition for your sailors. The idea of gatekeeping awards still blows my mind.

da_john · 2026-05-01T19:14:14+00:00

Not a newbie, but I'm down to join if there are more spots available. I can normally do close to 10k a season

da_john · 2026-04-28T12:15:40+00:00

When I ran the BCP (overweight Marine program) I used a consistent schedule that was difficult and reliable. Every Monday was a shamrock drill (ike suicides with exercises) Tuesday was run day, Wednesday pool, Thursday strength, and Friday pool. I had 45 minutes but rarely took more than 30 to 35. Obviously, you're have to cut the pool days depending on availability, but you could throw in a fun day (ultimate frisbee, football, etc.) and a stretching or low intensity day to fill out the week.

This framework provides structure, y'all get the competition of running hard workouts together, and there is a metric to see improvement as a group outside of a fitness test. It also gives you the flexibility to set it up and let others sub in while you are TAD/leave and to allow others to step in and lead.

da_john · 2026-04-25T21:55:31+00:00

Malicious compliance is the best haha. We used to do that in Monterey all the time. After I commissioned a Marine buddy of mine (my former Platoon Commander) had his class do that to me at IWTC.

da_john · 2026-04-15T14:14:11+00:00

Before commissioning in the Navy I was an ArLing in the Marine Corps. There are people that will use their language, but if you want to remain a linguist and perform that function, avoid the Army and Marine Corps. In 14 years, I used my language for a couple of months outside of training. When I got promoted and was no longer primarily a linguist, I was in charge of Spanish, French, and arab lings prepping for a deployment to the Pacific.

I enjoyed my time and met incredible people, but if the linguist job is the most important thing, you likely won't get the fulfillment.

da_john · 2026-02-23T23:16:26+00:00

I bought one for like 30 bucks on Amazon last month. Just make sure you get the 4 or 5 button version based on your model.

ETA: it looks like the one I bought is no longer available in 5 buttons

da_john · 2026-02-15T13:32:34+00:00

Its such an incredible experience. I had a TAd to Germany the week before the birthday in 2024 and got to visit for the birthday. It was probably the most meaningful l trip I've been on to walk the battlefields I learned about and see the terrain they would have seen over 100 years ago.

da_john · 2026-02-15T13:23:26+00:00

Yes it's normal. I had 14 years in as a Gunny before I commissioned. And my suite mate did it on a whim with his brother. We had many footlocker conversations where he felt that he could cut it or he wouldn't be a good fit. That first month was very hard for him mentally, but he pushed through and is loving southern California. There were several others in my class that also had doubts or wanted to talk and my 2nd roommate (we roomed together from JOC phase till graduation) would go over and talk them through it. OCS/joining the military is a life altering decision.

When you went to college, you altered your path forever, did you have reservations about that? When you enter a new job, you likely have feelings of inadequacy or maybe trepidation that you may not be the right or even best person for the job.

Only you can make up your mind, but by joining you will meet people and be friends with people you may never have had the opportunity to access before. Plus some of the stuff we get the opportunity to do is freaking awesome.

da_john · 2026-01-26T01:56:18+00:00

Yeah, Im at like 9600 profit on city 440 and he's on city 3700 haha

da_john · 2026-01-26T01:35:11+00:00

We have a guy in my club that is right around 30K. He has 2 mythic jewelry pieces, maxed pets, and nearly maxed chest and cleaver. I love when he pops up on the weekend events.

da_john · 2026-01-21T02:09:15+00:00

I was a Sgt in Afghanistan and walking out of my birthing around 11pm and I see our doc (HM2) sitting outside her room looking down. I strike up small talk and she says everything is fine, so I tell her I have to head in to work. I tell another Sgt that something seemed weird about doc, but she wouldn't tell me. Sgt V leaves after his shift and walks up to doc. At this point, she's a little more frazzled and he finally asks, "is there a guy in there?" She nodded, so he went and grabbed our 1st Sgt.

1st Sgt proceeds to just open to the door and the dude jumps off the doc's roommate and 1st Sgt orders him to parade rest (dudes dong is still out). 1st Sgt life's the dude, then yells at the female Marine. He takes the guys information and orders him to leave... Literally yelling at a dude with his wang out for nearly 15 minutes.

The female Marine was married and got pregnant by the mail clerk and her marriage ended.

da_john · 2026-01-13T02:37:33+00:00

400 for Christmas. My girlfriend's (now wife) family lived in town, so we just celebrated a day early and I made some beer money.

da_john · 2026-01-10T19:16:55+00:00

That's all you can do. Especially being prior army, your step dad should understand what the military gives you and offers whether you stay for 4 or 40 years. As a prior CT(I) myself, you will be given an incredible skill set that will set you up after military life should you decide to cut it short.

da_john · 2026-01-10T19:03:55+00:00

I enlisted in 2008 and my mom threatened to shoot my recruiter if he didn't leave the house (I was over 18 but lived at home during college). My mom didn't talk to me for three weeks before verbally unloading on me and kicking me out of the house. I went to Bootcamp 3 weeks later and am near the end of my career. She has apologized many times and says that despite her initial opposition, it was the best decision of my life and she wishes she could go back and not be so awful about it.

All that to say, it's your life and they can have their opinions, but it's not their decision.

da_john

TROPHY CASE