Reply Appreciated: US Army and Marines

You troll. Just enjoy high school. The war will be over by the time you have sex with a girl for the 1st time.

out of curiosity, what exactly is the "punishment period" here? do you just wait a few more months and that's it? do they care/ask how much you smoked in the past? or do they only care about how recent it was?

i understand your frustration and commend you on not lying to the recruiter. i'll bet tons of people do lie about that stuff.

I am totally serious, no troll here. He said to be considered you can't have had smoked weed in a year. I was raised in a household that if you lied you got a beating because my father considered lying the greatest offense. I cannot lie to a man's face, it was conditioned out of me. I have smoked four times in my life. I just don't want to wait until October and risk losing everything else because of my dream to be a Marine. Basically, I want someone to tell me whether my record will be tarnished and if my candidacy is f****d. I respect the USMC's policy but I can't help but become angry. Hopefully when I go in front of the board in August they will respect my honesty, but I doubt it. I only posted again to get Blizzardo's opinion/advise.

Lying to the Army recruiter would not come back to haunt you. I am surprised the Marine recruiter didn't 'coach' you a little bit before you answered that question.

If you are set on the Corps I would not let this change your mind. Six months isn't that long.

My school has an ROTC officer I may speak to. I don't want to go down the route of lying, albeit a white lie, in order to serve. It is just a pain because I have talked to my parents about joining and they are going to wonder why my plans have been delayed 6 months.

believe it or not the US Constitution allows you to not incriminate yourself, you can plead the fifth

First off, Im glad you are leaning towards the Corps. I was thinking in the back of my mind you might change your mind away from the Army after talking to representatives from each branch. Honestly, I would just wait it out, get the waiver, and apply then. I dont see you having that much trouble getting accepted. The truth is, the OSO's have a TON of influence on who does and does not get accepted. Trust me on this. If you stay motivated, keep in constant contact, and interested, you'll prob get in with your credentials (Im making the assumption your not a douche here). Their recommendation goes along way. Just dont let on that you are ever unsure of your decision unless you know 100% in your mind you dont want to go anymore. The OSO can only get up to a certain number of candidates accepted to OCS regardless of how good the candidates are. He is only going to give his top recommendation to the guys he knows will succeed. -Kill

An army recruiter told me before I filled out the medical history. That is any illegal drug use is marked down I have zero chance of becoming an officer. Basically telling me to lie. I think its really unfortunate that you're punished for your honesty while almost everyone who says they never smoked is a liar.

I'm not Blizzardo, but I have a thing or two (more) to say about this:

In some respects, you have totally screwed yourself. It's a recruiter's market these days, so they don't have to mess around with people who "can't get right".

Where in the chain of command was the Marine recruiter you spoke to? Just a local office? Also, when in the conversation did this come up? Was this just a pre-qualification questionnaire? I ask 'cause it's relevant.

Onto the meaty stuff. A personal opinion, but one that comes from my own military experience ...

In the grand scheme of things NOBODY GIVES A $H*** about you smoking pot a few times. It's in the past, right? You've never been convicted, and it isn't a habit, so just leave it out when talking to interested parties.

The only things you should have to worry about are whether or not you piss hot before you go down to MEPS/whether you piss hot at MEPS. If you're not 'gonna do that, and there isn't an arrest record (or a picture online of you taking a huge bong rip) somewhere, drop it.

P.S. I have gotten into graduates schools, so that is something that weighs on me considerably.

What does that mean? Do you want to be a military officer or do you want to go to grad school? Refer to my earlier posts (and Blizzardo's) about 9-5 soldiering vs full-time warrior. They are especially true of the high speed stuff you're trying to get into.

Infantry Officer wrote:

I am fuming about my honesty

In 1984, USMC Candidate Blizzardo admitted to using marijuana on the last day of High School in 1983. I was forced to fill out all kinds of extra paperwork and submitted a written statement on why marijuana use reflected poor judgement. On top of that insult, during my physical at Ft. Hamilton, Brooklyn, I was one of 5 guys -- in a room full of enlisted recruits from the crack infested hell which was 1980's New York City -- whom raised his hand and had to stay behind to fill out more paperwork. My package went off and I got an Aviation slot for PLC Juniors and went on to serve 7 years as Marine Pilot. I never heard about that nonsense after the room with the gang bangers at Ft. Hamilton. Only one other candidate friend from my college answered "yes" to the drug question. The others were convinced that lying was the way to go. At the time, my OSO from Manhattan editorialized "Blizzardo, the guys who say they did not smoke weed are either pussies or liars..."

Things may have changed, but if you are serious about all this, I would ask the OSO (respectfully) exactly what rule prevents you from applying right now. Or is it his class spots are full for the next round and he wants to tee you up for next year? My recollection is that 6 months is the rule of thumb for drug testing and getting it out of your system; if you test positive on a physical you are probably done, goodbye, so he may be protecting you from that, I can't imagine there is any such thing as a "punishment period." I would like to hear the thoughts of a former OSO, but a don't believe a solid package is going to be rejected for an admission of very limited marijuana use. If the OSO or Marine District HQ doesn't like you, that is a different matter.

I have no idea how the Army handles these things. The recruiters are unlikely to cross-check, that would be a level of government efficiency which I have never seen. If you have not filled out paperwork, and you want to lie to recruiters, why not just go to another Marine OSO office and lie to a different guy?

I don't know what to tell you. Personally, even the immature, 19 yr old Blizzardo had no tolerance for a process, system or organization which rewards liars so I would have had no problem if they came back and said that I was not Marine Officer material because I tried pot in HS. I think my OSO recognized that I had some integrity, could tell I was not a pot head and he helped me fill out the BS paperwork and represented me well to District HQ.

If you are a for real candidate you should be having these conversations with your OSO or other actual OCS candidates from your school.

You should do well in the US Army. It's fits your personality and high level of dedication well. Good luck and thank you for your service.

Blizzardo,

I am leaving my email in case you would be willing to talk with me, perhaps over the phone. I would totally understand if you rejected this offer; however, I would greatly appreciated it. I don't want to f**k up anymore and, other than some aquaintances in the military, you have given me some of the best insight.

I am unaware of how official the questioning was. He said he would refer me to an OSO in my home state. I don't know what my next step is. See if I can get a waiver from the guy near my school? Or contact the guy in my home state and hope my marijuana use was conviently dropped? The last thing I intend to do is piss off an OSO, so my actions must be carefully calculated.

The OSO I spoke to was a Captain and had 11 years of experience in the Corps. I'm guessing he is a more veteran OSO.

My priorities are 1) USMC 2) Army or Grad School 3) Enlisting with a SEALs contract (I would ace their physical exam as of right now)

Mentioning graduate school is key because the program I got into begins in June and could very well lead into a military career as well.

Thanks again.

The Army is America's protector.

I am not the guy to talk to, my experiences were over 25 yrs ago, and I don't give a crap. Talk to an OSO and your parents who care the most about you. By the way, they already know you tried pot.

Your posts really make no sense to me, if you are SEAL material and such a great candidate, go to the other OSO, do as you are told and get on with it.

You sound like a textbook kid who is undecided about what he wants to do and how to get it done, nothing wrong with that, but USMC is a bad place for someone who is waffling about what to do in life. The OSOs see this coming from a mile away and usually hope you will be happy with a bumper sticker for your dorm room. They don't want to waste their time. If you have the money go to Europe and learn Spanish or grad school and be useful or stop posting and do what the Marines are telling you (a serious prerequisite) and then you can shut us all up.

We know you waited until the war was over before you became interested, you coward. Now give me 25 pushups.

Blizzardo is 100% correct here. You sound like a VERY uncertain kid. What's more, there have been no shortage of prior service guys on this thread trying to give you good advice. If you were in my platoon, right now I would be yelling "FAILURE TO FOLLOW SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS!" at you. If the Marines is what you want, then listen to them, and follow those directions. It really is this simple ...

If you want to be in a high-speed, badass unit, GREAT. Don't take no for an answer. There are a lot of people competing for the same slot you want. Recruiters don't have to follow you around and hold your hand and kiss your @ss. With so many service branches meeting their recruiting mission, and with a significantly reduced OPTEMPO of late, they don't NEED you. If you wanna be a Marine, this is something YOU have to take responsibility for, and take control of. Engage them. Ask what steps YOU need to take, because it's unlikely they'll volunteer those steps for you. Most importantly, never take an answer at face value. Never assume anything and always ask, specifically, what steps you can take and what you need to do.

Unlike Blizzardo, I'm pretty ambivalent about whether you admit to smoking pot a few times. There are (allegedly) several people in the military today who have smoked pot once or twice. It doesn't have to stop them from being a squared away Joe. But that is beside the point. You have a very clear path to follow. Go do pushups, then go make it happen.

Read "Infantry Officer"s posts. It's all about him, his D1 track, and what he wants for himself. That's O.K. It's a free country and he can be that way. He belongs in the AF, NV, CG, AR. They have a wide variety of choices and options and cater to personal fulfillment.

Me Generation wrote:

Read "Infantry Officer"s posts. It's all about him, his D1 track, and what he wants for himself. That's O.K. It's a free country and he can be that way. He belongs in the AF, NV, CG, AR. They have a wide variety of choices and options and cater to personal fulfillment.

Is this just a single brainwashed, shit-talking Marine posting under 10 names, or is it really one big USMC circle jerk? You all sound like enlisted types, judging from the cult of USMC buIIshit you keep spewing, which means, in all likelihood, you are envious of anyone in a position to go through OCS, because you know you didn't!

OUT

Hey, be proud to serve in the AF, NV, CG, AR. It's for you too. You should tell all your friends. I admire your patriotism and loyalty to America. God Speed.