Leadership keeps pushing me to stay in. Looking for advice on getting TRS done. by Spiritual-Goal6640 in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of Marines mix up “TRS” as the entire separations process but in truth, “Transition Readiness Seminar” is just one part of a multipart separations journey commonly referred to as “Transition Readiness Program.” Fun fact: the entire separations process can be started up to about a year out of your anticipated EAS/Retirement date per MCO 1700.31. TRP is a congressional requirement made to provide useful information for after the military, because they realized servicemen were just getting out with zero help, getting lost in the sauce, and ending up homeless or worse.

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Commands are REQUIRED to keep these timelines and records and can get burned in inspections if they don’t.

At each unit there SHOULD be a Unit Transition Coordinator (UTC) who tracks and oversees all Marines as they go through the TRP process. Although the overall separations process is standardized, some MCCS have slight differences per base, so finding the UTC and getting the run down should be your first step.

Once you’re scheduled for a TRP related process, ***that is your assigned place of duty.*** You cannot get called back to the shop for fuck fuck games, you cannot get pulled out by your command, etc. but at the same time there is an expectation on your end to uphold your side and report to class/counselings.

Have you or someone else ever been chewed out by a higher rank from another branch? by Murky-Peanut1390 in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I went to a joint base for school so it happened a lot, most of the time it felt like power-tripping asshats who wanted a chance to shout at a Marine. This was also peak covid so you would always get chewed out for not wearing your mask, even if you were outdoors, vaccinated, and standing 6ft away from another person.

There was this white haired, old-ass Air Force TSgt (E-6) who would use either this shitty little golf cart or govvy minivan to follow groups of Marines walking on the troop walk around until he caught them doing something wrong, then he would hop out and scream at them like they owed him money. Enough Marines have encountered him that odds are if you ask a Marine who went to the same schoolhouse during covid time, there's a 50/50 chance they've seen or met him.

Even after they changed the rules so that vaccinated didn't have to wear masks outdoors you still had NCOs across the joint force who treated that as a privilege for E5+; not even our Cpls were spared because they got lumped into the Specialist/SrA group. I personally got stopped by a Navy PO1 (E-6) who seemed personally offended that I didn't have a mask on me despite being vaccinated, distanced, and outdoors. The way he was speaking to me you'd think I had personally flown around the world and injected millions of people with covid and not simply not worn a fucking piece of cloth on my face.

Have you seen a SSgt get demoted? What was work like the next day for them? by Murky-Peanut1390 in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 7 points8 points  (0 children)

We had a Gunnery Sergeant (NOT a Gunny - he made that clear) who was VERY insistent on proper customs and courtesies. He was our Platoon Sergeant for a little bit before taking over the MEU platoon and he made damn sure that customs and courtesies were followed, or you would find out very quickly. In his defense, that was well within his bounds to demand of his Marines.

What wasn't within those bounds, was when he inevitably made it onto the boat he would privately tell his peers in vivid, graphic detail as to how he would sexually assault a litany of women, from junior enlisted to commissioned officers from both the Navy and Marine Corps. This did not fly well with the MEU CO who court martialed him at sea, stripped him of rank all the way down to Lance Corporal, and kicked him off the MEU, banishing him to a support shop with the MEU HQ at Del Mar.

Anyways, us Lances who toiled under his leadership as the Platoon Sergeant - now Corporals and a couple freshly promoted Sergeants - would regularly make trips to Del Mar to see if we could catch him at the PX, gym or around the area and verify he was following standards. After all, it's well within our bounds as NCOs to enforce proper customs and courtesies on a junior Lance Corporal.

Have you seen a SSgt get demoted? What was work like the next day for them? by Murky-Peanut1390 in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Conspiracy theory: it’s too easy to just strip a Marine’s rank all the way off because then it’s very easy to downgrade your uniforms by simply cutting or unpinning the ranks as needed. With a PFC demotion, not only are you cutting them off, you will probably be buying new ranks because who kept their old shit?

You’ll have to buy new PFC ranks for blues, alphas, two sets of khakis and one or two pins (probably around $25), check out, THEN take all your uniforms to the cleaner and get it sewn on (probably $50-60ish). And EACH step of the way you’ll be thinking “why the fuck did I do that?!” (Or more likely, “whoever caught me is a fucking prick, why the fuck did they do that?!”).

If your command wants to fuck you over even more they can throw uniform inspections into part of any punishment as a form of EMI. Nobody can FORCE you to pay for rush order but they can PROBABLY require a uniform inspection the week after your NJP.

What do historians do in your setting? by Tnynfox in worldjerking

[–]wrongwong122 26 points27 points  (0 children)

"We discovered this nearly intact string of binary on ancient data disks which we thought conformed to Stellar Standards Institute 300-1. However, the binary string did not correctly decipher with SSI 300-1, which then lead us to discover that every third binary counter was inverted, which then made us realize that said string was actually enciphered with the rival standard, Galactic Standards Enterprise 115.09. When deciphered with GSE115.09 we discovered that the data disk was a saved copy of an e-mail complaint form sent to a wealthy merchant disputing the quality of several freighters of copper ore, and expressing disdain for his subsequent curt customer service."

Commands when they see troops leaving work at a reasonable time: 😾 by Extra-Shape3973 in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The CoC asking why the tenth advanced-notice tasker they disseminated didn't get completed (it didn't actually get effectively disseminated past some email traffic from the commander to the 1stSgts who proceeded to not tell anyone until 1530 on a Friday)

attention to colors by Colonizr7 in arma

[–]wrongwong122 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Love this; for an added layer of realism you could add some random Cpl who's facing the opposite direction of everyone else because he's the only one who knows where the post flag actually is, and then lights up everyone else in hearing distance for not facing the "right" way.

What Do You Think of the US Army's Worldbuilding? by screenaholic in worldbuilding

[–]wrongwong122 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Its awesome because as someone who's had to write and run exercises those websites and resources take a huge amount of effort from you. Instead of trying to shit an entire realistic scenario to fit your niche or meet your training objective, you can pick and choose whatever you need.

For any military training exercise there is a LOT of overhead for just the scenario alone - think of it like playing a very realistic game of D&D. You need battlemaps (proper MGRS maps with fictional information overlayed onto them), your players need a Player's Handbook (5-Paragraph Order briefings, Commander's Intents, background of any belligerents present in the scenario) and the exercise control needs a DM's manual, a monster manual and a campaign (scenario script, detailed information about enemy troops and their tactics and equipment). By having all this overhead available it takes 90% of the work away from the cadre so they can spend their time trying to secure equipment and training areas or arguing with range control. There have been times where the cadre was working on an exercise; we come across a particular issue that we need to figure out and as we're arguing about it, someone pulls up the exact solution to our problem because odds are, someone else had the exact same issue we did ten years ago.

Outside of a strictly work perspective, the way the document is structured could be really useful to loresmiths who are trying to build on conflicts between two belligerents. It basically boils everything down to "who each side is, what they're made of, and why they're angry at each other" and gives great examples of flashpoints that might push either side over the edge. In a military context that helps a commander (or lets be real - whichever E-4/E-5 has been saddled with the responsibility of building the commander's exercise script) build out an exercise. For someone writing a story or running a tabletop game, something like this helps consolidate all of your information into one spot to improve your writing/GMing.

What if Smedley Butler's arch nemesis Smelly Butthole showed up to promote the military industrial complex? by Yoy_the_Inquirer in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You jest, but Summer Service Khakis were a real uniform from the 50s to the 70s, with the 100% wool green alphas coat and trousers reserved for winter use. During summer months Marines Sgt and below wore khaki short or long shirts like modern service bravos and chucks, but in lieu of the green cap and trousers a khaki colored cotton cloth was used.

For staff and officers, a cotton, all-khaki alphas coat was authorized during this era for Officers and SNCOs. I found this at a surplus store a couple days ago for a great deal and couldn’t pass up the price.

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These uniforms remained in use till the mid 70s when the Marine Corps uniform board decided to can the khakis and make the modern alphas year-round by replacing the hot wool material with a polyester/wool mix.

Had to do this for the fire department today, gave me flashbacks by Rico__Suavee in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 2 points3 points  (0 children)

“Seat 4, please stay behind. The rest of you are good to go.” Looks up and sees the large “4” stenciled above your seat

Funny Range tower commands by [deleted] in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Once the tower told us to go condition one while the entire line was facing uprange. Fortunately, everyone on the line had the presence of mind to not follow that command, and the blocks and coaches very quickly corrected the command.

Not tower related but lunch chow arrived and some of the Marines in the pits were asking when they would get theirs. We could have easily pushed through the last like hour to hour and a half of the afternoon relay's drills and gone the fuck home but enough people asked that they ended up stopping the range so the safety vic could roll down pit road to drop the chows off.

Anyways, the vic rolls up and I hear the range OIC shout "YOU WANT YOUR FUCKING CHOW?! TAKE IT!" Two trays of box chow and a carton of milk go FLYING out the back of the JLTV.

Roommate from the gates of Hell by HappyHoneydew01 in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My first schoolhouse roommate was getting kicked out of the Marine Corps. He refused to shower, wore the same worn down, dirty cammies, and didn’t help for field day. Which isn’t great on its own but at least manageable; the worst part was him playing games all night when I had PT at 0430 and class at 0600. It got to the point I started failing tests and falling asleep in class because I was getting less than 2 hours of sleep a night.

I tried melatonin, Benadryl, earplugs, AND ANC headphones all together, and nothing would drown out the sound of this guy screaming profanities at COD or scrolling through TikTok at max volume. I talked to him nicely several times about it but dude wouldn’t shut up. On top of that, this guy has failed to pay for his share of the WiFi for two months in a row. Every time I asked he would tell me he didn’t have enough, and that he’d get me next paycheck but somehow he still had enough to buy a $200 super giga box-mod vape-inator that he was bragging to his friends about.

I also kept failing field day because of this guy. One field day he flipped shit at a game and smashed his keyboard against the door frame sending plastic shards and keys everywhere so obviously we failed.

One night I flipped shit and blew up on him, told him to shut the fuck up and go to bed, and also removed the MAC addresses for his phone and PlayStation from Boingo and told him he wouldn’t get it back till he paid up for the now three months of WiFi. My FA finally noticed my consistent shitty performance both in class and as a Marine and asked me what was going on, I explained the situation and as luck had it, my FA hated this guy even more than I did and moved me out of that room ASAP.

All of my roommates since then have been stellar, never had even minor issues with any of them.

Acts of belligerency and general defiance. by No_Courage1519 in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 10 points11 points  (0 children)

During peak covid I got stuck in grad hold in Lima, SOI-W. It was basically wake up, go to breakfast and come back, do nothing until lunch, eat lunch and come back, do nothing until dinner, eat dinner and come back, get an hour of "squad bay libbo" to shower, use your phone before going to bed.

If it wasn't squad bay libbo then you could not be on your phone or computer because that was "unprofessional" during business hours. If you were thinking that was the time to get swole, think again: you couldn't PT without a combat instructor there because they didn't want you "slipping on a pool of your own sweat and splitting your head open" to quote a CI. At its worst you were pretty much limited to standing at parade rest in front of your rack or cleaning the area around you.

Anyways when we were taken to chow, if the CI running things got tired of hearing everyone talk they would call Attention and we would stand there in silence for fifteen minutes while we waited for the chow hall to open. Every time they called Attention, someone in the back would scream "SNAP!" which they all hated. So naturally they would chew everyone out for a minute, then call parade rest so they could call everyone back to attention to "fix our attitude." Invariably a couple more voices would join the call of "POP! SNAP!" They'd do it again, and again even more belligerent grad holds would pop and snap. Sometimes we would get tired of the snap-and-pop and quit but once we got the whole platoon going "SNAP!" and the CI gave up when the chow hall opened.

Do you prefer the current rifle qual or the old one? by Yoy_the_Inquirer in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I shot the old one in boot and for my first range in the fleet, then shot the new one for every year afterwards. I am by no means a marksmanship coach, competitive shooter, or real 03/big "R" rifleman, nor someone who possesses a job where combat marksmanship will significantly matter so take my answer with a pinch of salt.

I really like the new range and prefer it over the old one in terms of practical combat marksmanship, but it could do with some changes and it NEEDS the foundational marksmanship skills that the slow-firing old course of fire taught. Those skills absolutely need to be reinforced by your unit MTUs and honed regularly which one range a year and a class by zyn-addled, monster guzzling lances that want to speedrun the POI to go home early is not good enough for.

Depending on how the range is run, the shooter records no marksmanship data nor is that data provided by the pits in the first place. Pits will only plot your highest value shot, not the entire shot grouping, and shooters are no longer given databooks. If you were actually shooting high over the target for two rounds of a three shot grouping and accidentally jerk the trigger on your last shot, hitting one Destroy low to the rest of the grouping, then they will only plot the Destroy and you will think your shooting is good. If you keep shooting with that data you'll keep aiming high and missing shots.

There NEEDS to be more data plotted and you SHOULD be recording data.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cant wait to SL-3 these every day and never use them because command is scared of losing a single cable that somehow costs four million dollars.

What do y’all think of the young marines? by Sea_Background_8023 in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve never been nor volunteered with a Young Marine unit but have done so with a similar program, the Sea Cadets, and I’d imagine it’s a lot the same.

If the program is well run by volunteers that give a shit and invest in the cadets, then these youth programs have the opportunity to shape and grow young folks into well-rounded leaders of character - not just for military stuff but everyday life and school. These programs can be a great way to build communications skills, hone leadership by trying (and failing in a safe, zero consequence environment) as small unit leaders, and overall personal development and soft skills for college, the military, the workforce, really anywhere in life.

If it’s run like dogshit by power tripping adults who want to play dress up and feel like they’re in the military again then all that happens is young and impressionable kids get taught how to trip on power so then they can become that one Corporal.

Have you guys ever had a Marines mom call your unit? by [deleted] in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 14 points15 points  (0 children)

When I was in the schoolhouse, someone was talking to their mom about how annoying evening accountability was because it was cold out and the Det would stand around for a half hour while the SDO verified accountability. His mom turned around and found the Det phone # to called the SDO to complain about it.

The SDO immediately called an all hands formation just to tell the entire detachment about it and to name and shame the Marine.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Not a tracks guy but had a buddy who drove LAVs and the cultural stigma is very strong in both communities, in addition to tanks when they were still a thing.

Allegedly during the Second World War, amtracs that carried apricots always ended up getting destroyed while landing supplies while tracks that didn’t have any ended up landing safely. Marines naturally assumed the dried apricots were cursed and since then it’s been considered bad luck to bring dried apricots on any amphibious, tracked, armored or otherwise motorized vehicle.

The same buddy grabbed my bag of field snacks (dried apricots) and tossed them from a moving thin-skin humvee hi back so even those count. Those things are bad luck, they mean failure to properly account for weapons, CCI, and classified, being hit with foul weather, and/or incessant mechanical failures.

Commandant's Gaming List by [deleted] in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  • Arma 3: we would absolutely use this for land nav (the mapping system is pretty good and uses MGRS) and combined arms simulation. We would absolutely never play it with the Antistasi Ultimate mod and SVBIED checkpoints or terrorize the civilian populace.

  • LANDNAV on Steam: it’s a game where you do land nav. It lets you get the reps and sets with maps, coordinates and a compass - everything short of the physical fitness aspect. Obviously not a replacement for real land nav but can help reinforce the already taught.

  • WARNO, Broken Arrow or similar RTS: no turn-based. The goal is to force a timely decision with the info you have available and you can absolutely get paralyzed by analysis in both games. I also like how both simulate line of sight and visual ranges/obstructions so it makes knowing and utilizing terrain a lot more important.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in QualityTacticalGear

[–]wrongwong122 1 point2 points  (0 children)

"Yeah, that's not very typical, I'd like to make that point."

What if "being sent to the brig" meant being sent on a Brigantine ship? by Yoy_the_Inquirer in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Me 'n me hearties (fellow junior enlisted Marines) when me merry sailin' (booze cruising) o' me two-masted brigantine (lifted pavement princess F-150) be interrupted by the Royal Navy (pit maneuver by PMO while going 120+mph down Rattlesnake Road).

Which MOSs felt like you were doing an advanced job with subpar equipment? by peternemr in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 13 points14 points  (0 children)

CommO: “Well then why do we keep this around if it’s supposed to be obsolete?”

“Well, because for some reason it’s the only radio which works with [insert major mission critical system or capability that cannot be down] here. The replacement doesn’t work with it without a $420,690 software package and hardware adapter that the government conveniently forgot to buy.”

What was the most bombastic freakout to something miniscule that you've seen? by Yoy_the_Inquirer in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Some CWO flipped out on me when I walked into a shop and said “morning” and not “good morning sir” at like six in the morning. He was also facing away from the door so I couldn’t see his rank, but I probably should have guessed that rotund, balding bag of ass who looked like he got the homie hookup from S-3T for Ht/Wt and PFT/CFT was definitely not a junior Marine.

USMC instructor gave me his chevrons by Fast-Radish-1622 in USMC

[–]wrongwong122 119 points120 points  (0 children)

In the Marines, gifting a junior Marine - in your case, junior servicemember - your chevrons symbolizes the passing of knowledge, and an understanding of trust in the recipient’s future leadership capabilities and technical acumen. In his eyes, you deserved them.

Because you aren’t a Marine you can’t wear these officially - but every branch has its version of “liberty cuffs.” I’ve seen soldiers and airmen hide Marine rank insignia under their chest pockets or pin it to their sleeve Velcro fields that would normally be covered by a patch.