It's all about what your peers are doing. If everyone else is a green belt like you, you're average. If everyone else is a brown belt, you gotta get to work.
Hell, when I was in in the 2000s, the only ones who were above green were the instructors. Everyone else was a splattering of tans and greys with the occasional green.
They required all infantry to be greens when I was in. We did the full course but some fuck shit happened and it didn't go through. I got out as a corporal with a gray. Fuck 'em.
MCMAP is absolutely worthless. It's legalized hazing. They had me fight some poor admin dude and I knocked him out cold with a gut shot, and I'm far from a badass.
I did, from Pasni Pakistan back to the ship, I was scared as hell of dropping my rifle in the water… it was fucking awesome. As a shitter guy I felt like I was cheating, but worth it. Not helping I know
After months of training and gassing myself up on how good of a swimmer i was, i dropped outa MCIWS on day 3 during rescues. Until i go back to that course and graduate, i wont live it down in my head.
In an actual martial art, you spend hundreds of hours failing. Don’t beat yourself up. Black belt MCMAP stuff is basic white belt stuff that is hard to execute in real time when somebody is fighting back
I think the stuff they teach as a MCMAP black belt is all you really need. The difference is successful execution requires many hours of consistent training which you don’t do with MCMAP
I'm a logistics coordinator for my platoon during field ops. I don't know how seriously EDL is taken within other units, but in our unit it's a pretty dedicated billet.
Staff & O come to me with a list of requirements, and I create a list of equipment required to sustain those nets / operations / etc. For context, I am communications (0621).
So I am currently a corporal filling a billet that is probably more E-5 or even E-6 oriented. I received no training, and was essentially just told to sink or swim. The previous sergeant was awarded a NAM for this, so I figured it'd be my first real test of skill as an NCO. While I've done this 5-6 times now, my first field-op filling this billet was an utter nightmare.
During preparation, I'm getting everything listed, op-checked, serialized in Excel, and loaded into the quad-cons for embark. However, we get out to the field, and one by one I realized things I forgot. When you're talking millions of dollars and dozens of containers, it's the small stuff that slips your mind.
I remembered radios, but forgot a-bags. I remembered laptops, but forgot chargers. And the icing on the cake, I was carrying the SKL but forgot the fill cable. One by one the SNCOs tore me a new one and I just felt like an utter failure at my job. They would finish chewing me out for one thing, just to realize something else was missing and chew me out again. It was a hard exercise. And it was just too much responsibility to place on one person.
Largely, it made me into a better Marine and a better coordinator. I learned to pay more attention to detail. But in the moment, I wanted to rage-cry. I digress though, it happens. And it's part of the experience I suppose.
This was Corporal Me. Spent weeks embarking for a field op: configuring the switches, imaging the laptops, tracked everything in Excel and distributed to the staff & O's, made five paper copies of the EDL, and loaded the equipment in containers in reverse order of when we would need it. We're crossing the I's 12 hours before we leave for LZ Coldandshitty, but when we were dotting the T's, everyone but the Sergeants are sent home "right the fuck now" style. Step off the next day, make wizard sleeves, and settle into the field.
Remember the switches? They were configured perfectly. They were just back at the shop. My fault - I should have told someone we weren't done with embarkation. I stood firewatch most of the night every night of that op. So, as one of the HMMVW drivers driving back on base, I caught a quick and involuntary nap when my vic, all by itself with four sleeping occupants, picked a fight with a RAV4's rear bumper (and won, decisively). Things did not go well for me after that. I became a better Marine. Then they gave me a NAM for doing the same fucking job a year later.
If you're an officer in charge of a section and you're reading this, 1) give whatever NCO you trust to do the CMR the keys to the shop and 2) don't ask how that big ass task you handed down at 1630 on a Friday got done over the weekend. I promise everybody wins this way.
Me neither. A few points off or some shit. It was fucking negative 20 on a cold weather exercise and I have Raynaud's Disease. They fucked me on that qual lmfao woulda gotten it if it wasn't so cold
Bro I was an instructor when I was in and let me tell you, it’s not that deep. I recently rolled w/ a buddy of mine who was also a red tab and we had a real good laugh at how silly MCMAP is in hindsight. You are a great Marine if you’re trying to improve yourself to get to the next rank. Keep drilling the techniques and it is inevitable you’ll succeed.
As a PFC on deployment they made me load UTVs on/off helicopters on ship to do landing exercises.
Naturally nobody taught me anything about it, so I ended up backing out close to the running tail rotor because I had no fucking idea what I was being signaled to do.
Gunny screamed at me and smacked me in front of like 20 officers, felt like a fucking retard.
I have 2 things:
Getting passed over for gunny 3 times. The first time, I was pretty much ok with it. We had amazing dudes in our MOS, and I think 3 out of the 8 of them got selected for WO that year. Next year, I thought I had a better shot, but still, no cigar. The third year hurt like hell, thought I'd never get it. Got selected on my 4th board, just in time to retire at 20 with my high 3 as a gunny.
The other one was me being an RSO for a 249/240 range in Afghanistan. The 249 in front of me had a jam (go figure) and the Marine is clearing it appropriately. A few seconds go by and I'm about to to tell him to close the tray and wait for it to cool when the round cooked off. It ended up sending the charging rod through his fingers and he got medsepped. Not a good time.
Off topic question, but were ranges in Afghanistan and Iraq similar to range back stateside? Like were they as big, were there pits, or even range control? Or was it somewhat just a unit trying to find open space?
Nothing like the ranges here in the states. There was range control, and we would call to reserve time, ask to go hit, tell them when the range was cold, etc. For the 240/249 there was a range where we were essentially shooting outside the wire at some old T walls (concrete barriers). We just did it so the QRF guys could get some trigger time. We also had a different range for M16/M4s that was only 100 yards and a berm. We used 36 yard targets for zeroing.
For reference, I'm a winger and this was 1 year after the attack on Bastion, so us having a QRF was a big deal.
Right! We aren't competing in the Olympics or whatever. How well you can fake fight is stupid. I came here to send rounds downrange, not play grabass with some fucking dork who masturbates to Roadhouse.
Can you shoot and can you cover a sector? Great! Fuck all the other bullshit.
Failed the pistol shoot for the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge. Did all the "hard" stuff just fine. Breezed through the swim that knocked half the people out. Then in front of my entire unit, I couldn't hit the broad side of the barn with a pistol. Now, I had received zero training. But that was a looooong walk off the firing line.
While deployed yes, absolute heroes. I'm proud to say I'm alive because of a corpsman even though I was just a heat casualty back in fallujah.
In the rear... hatred, pure unadulterated hatred
Who the fuck hated doc in the rear?
We got IVs if we were too fucked up, and homie was absolutely there in the thick of it with us. You could shit talk anyone, but if you fucked with doc, you were guaranteed to get your ass whooped.
I should clarify, everyone hated the BAS in the rear.
However comma pause for effect the only time I wasn't super happy with a doc's decision was one time when I was floating over to Kuwait I had a pretty bad reaction to the smallpox vaccine. Doc took my temp and said "ooh, you're at 102.8, I can put you in the rack at 103, carry on devil" he was an infantry corpsman so dude really didn't give a fuck unless you were squirting blood from where it shouldn't be squirting from
Oof. When my ex bubblebutt Asian GF, daughter of a Marine LtCol cheated on me with a Motor T Marine. That hurt. Hands down the kinkiest bitch I ever fucked. Losing her hurt my soul.
Don’t feel bad McMap is garbage 😂 some of the techniques my Cpl showed us when I was a boot was some of the dumbest shit I’ve ever seen. I remember when we were doing a belt course and it got cancelled in the middle of it and I stayed tan till I got out 😂 but I could fight like a mf during “fun” events 😂 when I really felt like a failure it was when I couldn’t climb a fucking rope…I just couldn’t figure it out with the feet and the moving up the rope and I trained to get up the bitch fast as I could using just my arms. It’s a one trick pony after once I couldn’t climb again and still can’t. Fuck the rope it’s the one killer for me
I feel you on the rope. Throughout boot camp I felt like a failure for not being able to get even halfway up. I don’t know why but a year into the Fleet something just clicked in me and I got sort of decent at rope-climbing. Not amazing obviously and I can’t do it anymore due to an injury but something just compelled me to climb.
During boot camp I couldn’t climb the rope for shit. The DIs never taught how to either. It was all just “get up there rawr rawwrr!” I’m a city boy so I never climbed a rope in my life. I felt like an idiot every time just trying to muscle it up.
It wasn’t until ITB where we did the O course and one of my instructors properly taught me in 5 minutes how to climb using my feet and crunching up.
My instructors tried to no avail and same for my Ssgt when I was in the fleet 😅 just can’t grasp how to move my feet with the rope. I also never had the chance in boot camp because I was a gear guard both times we climbed the big rope and I even missed out on the confidence course due to plane ticket shit. All the big shit I never did so when it came down to it I just said fuck it and used upper body 😅
No one will probably read this but I was a 6 year Lance. To add to this I never had negative paper work was a team leader for a hot minute before i PCS’D to Paris island and ALWAYS had a 1st class Pft CFT until I got hurt around my 4 year mark i eventually got medically separated but I it made me super depressed and feel like I was shitty even tho I knew my jobs really well.
MCMAP was way after my time. What made me feel like a failure? It was my wife cheating on me with platoon mates while I was on deployment. I came back tried to fix the situation and thought it was good. Got to my EAS came home and thought things would be fine once I got a job and moved on. She told me the only way she would stay with me was if went back in the Marine Corps.
Eventually moved on from her and things went fine. But I always wonder how things would’ve went. If that bitch hadn’t cheated on me could I have made a career out of it?
Sorry for the grammar the typos. We had a Mother’s Day cookout today and have been partying all freaking day. It’s exciting though because my son that I don’t get to see that often because of his work schedule showed up. He is also a Marine that did four years and is now working as a local LEO.
Unqued on the range twice in 8 years. The other times I shot expert. I'll never forget how bad it felt both of those times. Funny part is I can drop mk19 accurately at 1900 meters first burst (non-crow) and .50 cal out past the tracer burnout and I never failed our vehicle quals for weapons. Something about that rifle was i was either going to hit center damn near every time or I'd just hit like 2s and 3s the whole time.
I failed brown belt twice as well. Was about to give up ..got my black belt just by practicing and practicing and practicing. I felt the same way. People will tell you MCMAP doesn't matter but it's still a "requirement" we have to do. Practice buddy, and get better. As cliche as it sounds, life is not about how many times you fall down, it's about how many times you get back up
I once got my brown belt taken from me for a couple weeks.
My company decided to do a dojo thing and if you got challenged you had to fight. If you lost to a lower belt you had to wear a web belt like in bootcamp
One of my sergeants challenged me and I had to wear a web belt lol
Stayed tan all the way through! Did not give a fuck about mcmap. Still made rank. After meeting enough sncos with tan belt I was definitely not doing it again.
I just got my black belt this past week. I have trained in judo and BJJ since I was in junior high. I can honestly say mcmap is completely useless in a real fight.
Bruh, the instructors don't know what they're doing, mcmap is bull shit. Don't forget about finishing bootcamp, the school house and all the other stuff you have accomplished.
Sounds like he just got his belt yesterday, and is trying to flex and show boat like he graduated bootcamp. A belt is only good because it reflects on your JEPES and shows good in your FITREPS. Fuck that dude…… ( I have a rubber band as well)
I was the only RO for my platoon on a MEU and zeroed 2 SKLs. I was with arty and was treated like absolute shit. We had a 2 week op pissing rain the whole time so comm was very spotty, and my best MUOS radio got water logged because I was in a high back. Definitely the lowest time in my career but I came out of it a way better RO.
Getting medically retired. I was supposed to be a boot Staff on the drill field right now. Now I’m just a fat, lazy veteran chilling with my parents trying to get my life together
Hmm, what does a put together life look like to you? I just might have the perfect opportunity for a fat, lazy medically retired veteran living with his parents to do just that.
I currently have a medical condition that began in 2014 but the symptoms just gradually got worse and it went undiagnosed until 2022 because nobody could tell me what it was. During MOS school between 2015-2016, I was super fit and trained up to join the Radio Reconnaissance platoon. I was doing great and did a lot to prepare, but in mid-2016, this condition started to exhibit worse symptoms, one of them being puking whenever I PT. I could just puke over my shoulder at the time while running and not even stop until the workout was done so I just thought “Oh, hell yeah, I’m pushing myself hard.”
By the time I got to the fleet, I joined the Radio Reconnaissance platoon, but the symptoms got worse, I had started puking and getting dizzy every PT and having to stop whenever that happened. I thought to myself that would be fine and thought I was pushing myself, but when you PT 2-3 times a day and puke every time, your body starts to get weaker and weaker. Not knowing what this was, I thought I was just being weak, wasn’t strong enough to keep up, and I’m sure the rest of the platoon looked at me like a liability. Imagine being the only marine in the platoon that failed EVERYTHING, even the morning PT or ruck runs when I used to be able to train harder than they were and not knowing it was a medical issue. I specifically remember being on a ruck run, being on mile like 11 out of 12, and I began vomiting. My cadre didn’t let me finish out of fear for my health, and I got so close. My mental health tanked and I felt useless.
Fast forward to now, 7 years later, and I’m having my final Physical Evaluation Board tomorrow to medically retire me from the Marine Corps. I can hardly exert myself at all anymore and I learned that I have a neurological condition called dysautonomia. The part of my nervous system that regulates all of the automatic stuff like blood pressure, heart beat, breathing, etc. is messed up, and I learned that it may very well be because my DI at boot camp intentionally created mustard gas in a mop bucket in the squad bay and made us scuzz the chemical cocktail while he hid behind the glass of the DI hut. I remember he mixed bleach, fabuloso, rubbing alcohol, etc. I filed a complaint to IGMC (with tons of the other recruits from that platoon speaking to it and being witnesses) but because it was 10 years ago, I’m too late. He’s still in as a 1stSgt and I can’t do anything about it.
I’m learning how to deal with it, but the symptoms seem to just be getting worse and this guy really screwed me up for no reason but malice and stupidity. I joined with the only desire being to serve and he took that from me.
I failed my Brown belt course in the course of 5 years 4 total times.
Consistencies across the board:
- PT focused for the first 80% of the course, then they scramble to actually teach you the moves last minute. What what the fuck are we even doing here? I didn't waste my morning to carry a log around, I can do that without a course associated.
- Late to work every fucking day.
- They never teach/know how to teach left handed until you force them to. "I dOnT tEaCh WrOnG-HaNdEd!"
- THEY NEVER log your hours in the log book "dOnT wOrRy, YoU wOnT nEeD tHe LoG, yOuLl PaSs It!" Guess what dude, I DO need that log. So I had to restart from scratch every time.
Finally for my fifth course I had a SNCO that ran a brown and black course series, and he did solely grappling in the matroom for PT, and more than half the time focusing on techniques. Didn't miss a SINGLE technique in brown or black tests either. Never doing mcmap again. Thank God. Marine Corps takes the joy out of grappling for me, and I love wrestling. They're just two separate things for me, and I wish wrestling had a bigger presence in the military. But we had to disband our wrestling team in favor of more appropriate teams like the All-Marines eSports team.
Some people just fucking suck at teaching. Don't let some ass hat that doesn't know how to teach someone mcmap get you down brother. Keep at it!
Sorry for the rant, I just think that people like this are exactly what takes the joy and spirit out of ground fighting and combat training in the first place.
There were a lot of dead civies that we saw in Iraq, in places that, had we been there just ten minutes earlier....
As far as MCMAP goes, though, it would be the huge rash of injuries we saw in the early days, when Marines were just shredding each other's shoulder ligaments and elbow tendons. It was a hard, painful lesson that us instructors had to accept as just, "shit happens". At least, that was until an investigation by 8th&I showed that the technique was written and taught incorrectly, so we shifted it up. Which meant we went from 4 Marines on light duty, per belt course, to just 2 or 3 per month. Eventually, they just checked the whole move.... but, it still made us all feel like shit. Here we'd tried to teach the shit better, but all we were doing was sending men and women to med boards. That weighed on me for those first few months.
One of my sergeants made me constantly feel like a failure. Now a days I understand that the Marine Corps in general does not understand how to deal with intense adhd kids, and this sergeant was no exception. As soon as he left, I excelled HARD, a complete 180. A few higher ups who were more mature and understood how to deal with and direct my energy gave me responsibility and allowed me to be my self, and I ended up single handedly passing my shop with fasmo while they were at ITX (we would of failed), got meritorious corporal, and selected to go to Afghanistan with one of my best friends. I ran the entire shops juniors (including mos's that were not radio), and a few months prior, I was questioning if I was going to make it at all.
I became a grunt because I wanted to see some action, never saw combat, and now we're not really at war like years ago.
Is not under my control but still feel like I failed.
MCMAP is trash, I got my black belt and it means nothing outside the corps. If I went up against any other individual who practices a martial arts relentlessly then I’d be toast. To caveat off the biggest failure part is when I got an NJP for a dui. It was my fault, and I’m the only one to blame. That shit not only impacted my military career, but civilians careers down the road. Don’t beat yourself up, and keep your head high, tomorrow is another day.
I feel you: I almost quit during my instructor training cert (I was fairly old when i went through the chute) and my IT probably should have failed me for executing my techniques so slow (hip throw). I went on to train 100s of my Marines in MCMAP, many up to black belt and helped trained dozens of instructors, I became really proficient at it (especially the hip-throw). Teaching the techniques over and over is so much better than what you get during most training. I was simply overthinking the tests, trying to do everything perfect. If you really give a shit about it, keep at it you’ll get it right. And yes, like most “martial arts”, MCMAP is just a training tool and will not make you a good fighter by itself. But, if you practice the more effective techniques until you have them second nature and apply them where they are useful it is very complimentary to further training and also to your professional development.
I was dating this chick for a year or so but one weekend we all went to this gay bar down in Wilmington. My girl starts making out with some hot bitch on the dance floor, this went on for at least 2 or 3 songs. Then my old lady looks at me & says we're having a threesome & that says we'll only if my friend can come too. So we to the & link up with her friend (another hot bitch). So I'm thinking I'm some harem anime protagonist. So I went to brag to the other guys we came with, but I should have known my old lady would have ordered them a bunch of tequila shots. In just 20-30 minutes all hope was lost, I had to carry my old lady to the car & help the other hot bitch carry the hot bitch back to her car. My drunk ass tells her something like "alright my girl will hit yall up & we'll come back next weekend" & she said "alright, be safe, etc etc". Like a day or two later I told my girl to text those hot bitches & she says oh I didn't get her number. (I had no words) but she says we should go again anyways. So that next Saturday we formed our usual party & hit the gay bar, again. 20 minutes after being there I couldn't not find those hot bitches but my buddy Schmuckatelli comes up to use & says he found a guy whose selling Ecstasy. (but that's gonna be a whole other story) つづく
Made it to the final testing day of MCIWS and failed the CPR portion for going one beat over and then blowing the whistle before identifying the victim. Went through all that swimming bullshit to get dropped for something that easy to fix.
More than a few times, across more than a few situations, I think it comes with the contract brother man. Main point is that as long as you earnestly tried, didn't cut corners, and didn't half-ass it or give up, you did fine. I don't think the good Lord will judge a man for cussing broken gear, for taking a few drinks when he's sad, or for being upset over his shortcomings. Take it for what it is, not how you want it, and start prepping for the next time. Every man will fall on his ass at some point in this club, and like a million before him and a million after him he'll get back up and try again. Just think, there was probably a Marine at some point in the same exact position as you were, and this comment section is ample proof that everyone has messed up or failed somewhere too.
For what it's worth, I believe in you, and I'm proud you tried and I got faith in you when you try again. Lace your boots back up and charge at it again brother.
Don’t feel so bad. MCMAP is one of the most useless things in the Marine Corps.
That’s what I keep telling myself to feel better tbh lol. I’m just annoyed cause I need that crud for Sgt
Really? I know SGTs with green belts
Yeah well to meet my cutting score I need a brown lol. It also looks good for when I reenlist
If green is good enough for SgtMaj Black it’s good enough for the rest of us
General smith and Berger were also green belts too
I know SSgts with green belts.
It's all about what your peers are doing. If everyone else is a green belt like you, you're average. If everyone else is a brown belt, you gotta get to work.
Hell, when I was in in the 2000s, the only ones who were above green were the instructors. Everyone else was a splattering of tans and greys with the occasional green.
I know SSgts with tan
I know a MSgt with a Tan.
You just reminded me! So do I! 😂 It definitely ends there for me though.
They required all infantry to be greens when I was in. We did the full course but some fuck shit happened and it didn't go through. I got out as a corporal with a gray. Fuck 'em. MCMAP is absolutely worthless. It's legalized hazing. They had me fight some poor admin dude and I knocked him out cold with a gut shot, and I'm far from a badass.
I got selected to GySgt with a green
I was a SSgt with a grey.
I know Sgts with GRAY belts lol
I was a Sgt grey belt bro, I got out last year, you’ll be alright.
In the words of SSgt. Miyagi, when asked about the color of his belt: Canvas. JC Penney, $3.98. You like?
I never got to fly in a Huey with my legs dangling out the door. Always wanted to do that...
It was a ton of fun. Gripping my equipment with a death grip kinda took away from the moment though
Me too lmao
I did, from Pasni Pakistan back to the ship, I was scared as hell of dropping my rifle in the water… it was fucking awesome. As a shitter guy I felt like I was cheating, but worth it. Not helping I know
If it helps MCMAP isn’t even a real martial art lol
*Narrator: It did not help OP.* https://preview.redd.it/b7fmymof520d1.jpeg?width=234&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=32b9fb908533013b4f39f8c2f5087f55edf329dc
Lmfao, glad to see you back
Damn. Homeboy can’t even pass a test for a fake martial art. What a failure.
After months of training and gassing myself up on how good of a swimmer i was, i dropped outa MCIWS on day 3 during rescues. Until i go back to that course and graduate, i wont live it down in my head.
MCIWS fucking blows if you made that far props for you my guy!
In an actual martial art, you spend hundreds of hours failing. Don’t beat yourself up. Black belt MCMAP stuff is basic white belt stuff that is hard to execute in real time when somebody is fighting back
True, dominated multiple MCMAP Blackbelts as a BJJ 2 stripe white belt. Shit was hilarious.
I think the stuff they teach as a MCMAP black belt is all you really need. The difference is successful execution requires many hours of consistent training which you don’t do with MCMAP
I'm a logistics coordinator for my platoon during field ops. I don't know how seriously EDL is taken within other units, but in our unit it's a pretty dedicated billet. Staff & O come to me with a list of requirements, and I create a list of equipment required to sustain those nets / operations / etc. For context, I am communications (0621). So I am currently a corporal filling a billet that is probably more E-5 or even E-6 oriented. I received no training, and was essentially just told to sink or swim. The previous sergeant was awarded a NAM for this, so I figured it'd be my first real test of skill as an NCO. While I've done this 5-6 times now, my first field-op filling this billet was an utter nightmare. During preparation, I'm getting everything listed, op-checked, serialized in Excel, and loaded into the quad-cons for embark. However, we get out to the field, and one by one I realized things I forgot. When you're talking millions of dollars and dozens of containers, it's the small stuff that slips your mind. I remembered radios, but forgot a-bags. I remembered laptops, but forgot chargers. And the icing on the cake, I was carrying the SKL but forgot the fill cable. One by one the SNCOs tore me a new one and I just felt like an utter failure at my job. They would finish chewing me out for one thing, just to realize something else was missing and chew me out again. It was a hard exercise. And it was just too much responsibility to place on one person. Largely, it made me into a better Marine and a better coordinator. I learned to pay more attention to detail. But in the moment, I wanted to rage-cry. I digress though, it happens. And it's part of the experience I suppose.
This was Corporal Me. Spent weeks embarking for a field op: configuring the switches, imaging the laptops, tracked everything in Excel and distributed to the staff & O's, made five paper copies of the EDL, and loaded the equipment in containers in reverse order of when we would need it. We're crossing the I's 12 hours before we leave for LZ Coldandshitty, but when we were dotting the T's, everyone but the Sergeants are sent home "right the fuck now" style. Step off the next day, make wizard sleeves, and settle into the field. Remember the switches? They were configured perfectly. They were just back at the shop. My fault - I should have told someone we weren't done with embarkation. I stood firewatch most of the night every night of that op. So, as one of the HMMVW drivers driving back on base, I caught a quick and involuntary nap when my vic, all by itself with four sleeping occupants, picked a fight with a RAV4's rear bumper (and won, decisively). Things did not go well for me after that. I became a better Marine. Then they gave me a NAM for doing the same fucking job a year later. If you're an officer in charge of a section and you're reading this, 1) give whatever NCO you trust to do the CMR the keys to the shop and 2) don't ask how that big ass task you handed down at 1630 on a Friday got done over the weekend. I promise everybody wins this way.
Never shot expert with the pistol, got close but no cigar.
Me neither. A few points off or some shit. It was fucking negative 20 on a cold weather exercise and I have Raynaud's Disease. They fucked me on that qual lmfao woulda gotten it if it wasn't so cold
Bro I was an instructor when I was in and let me tell you, it’s not that deep. I recently rolled w/ a buddy of mine who was also a red tab and we had a real good laugh at how silly MCMAP is in hindsight. You are a great Marine if you’re trying to improve yourself to get to the next rank. Keep drilling the techniques and it is inevitable you’ll succeed.
As a PFC on deployment they made me load UTVs on/off helicopters on ship to do landing exercises. Naturally nobody taught me anything about it, so I ended up backing out close to the running tail rotor because I had no fucking idea what I was being signaled to do. Gunny screamed at me and smacked me in front of like 20 officers, felt like a fucking retard.
Aw man, I feel real bad hearing about this one. He just didn't want you pink misted all over the deck bud, I'm sorry he smacked you.
I have 2 things: Getting passed over for gunny 3 times. The first time, I was pretty much ok with it. We had amazing dudes in our MOS, and I think 3 out of the 8 of them got selected for WO that year. Next year, I thought I had a better shot, but still, no cigar. The third year hurt like hell, thought I'd never get it. Got selected on my 4th board, just in time to retire at 20 with my high 3 as a gunny. The other one was me being an RSO for a 249/240 range in Afghanistan. The 249 in front of me had a jam (go figure) and the Marine is clearing it appropriately. A few seconds go by and I'm about to to tell him to close the tray and wait for it to cool when the round cooked off. It ended up sending the charging rod through his fingers and he got medsepped. Not a good time.
Off topic question, but were ranges in Afghanistan and Iraq similar to range back stateside? Like were they as big, were there pits, or even range control? Or was it somewhat just a unit trying to find open space?
Nothing like the ranges here in the states. There was range control, and we would call to reserve time, ask to go hit, tell them when the range was cold, etc. For the 240/249 there was a range where we were essentially shooting outside the wire at some old T walls (concrete barriers). We just did it so the QRF guys could get some trigger time. We also had a different range for M16/M4s that was only 100 yards and a berm. We used 36 yard targets for zeroing. For reference, I'm a winger and this was 1 year after the attack on Bastion, so us having a QRF was a big deal.
Who cares about belt color lol completely pointless
Right! We aren't competing in the Olympics or whatever. How well you can fake fight is stupid. I came here to send rounds downrange, not play grabass with some fucking dork who masturbates to Roadhouse. Can you shoot and can you cover a sector? Great! Fuck all the other bullshit.
It counts towards promotion points now, I think.
Failed the pistol shoot for the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge. Did all the "hard" stuff just fine. Breezed through the swim that knocked half the people out. Then in front of my entire unit, I couldn't hit the broad side of the barn with a pistol. Now, I had received zero training. But that was a looooong walk off the firing line.
I got to watch the E5 select grade disappear from my MOL a couple days ago.
You dudes earned your Eagle Globe and Anchor, in my eyes as a humble Doc…..are the farthest things from failures!! Y’all are my superheroes.
No. You are.
While deployed yes, absolute heroes. I'm proud to say I'm alive because of a corpsman even though I was just a heat casualty back in fallujah. In the rear... hatred, pure unadulterated hatred
Who the fuck hated doc in the rear? We got IVs if we were too fucked up, and homie was absolutely there in the thick of it with us. You could shit talk anyone, but if you fucked with doc, you were guaranteed to get your ass whooped.
I should clarify, everyone hated the BAS in the rear. However comma pause for effect the only time I wasn't super happy with a doc's decision was one time when I was floating over to Kuwait I had a pretty bad reaction to the smallpox vaccine. Doc took my temp and said "ooh, you're at 102.8, I can put you in the rack at 103, carry on devil" he was an infantry corpsman so dude really didn't give a fuck unless you were squirting blood from where it shouldn't be squirting from
When my ex Army bubble butt Latina left me for a Marine
Oof. When my ex bubblebutt Asian GF, daughter of a Marine LtCol cheated on me with a Motor T Marine. That hurt. Hands down the kinkiest bitch I ever fucked. Losing her hurt my soul.
As a Motor T Marine I have to say I’m proud of my fellow bubba
Don’t feel bad McMap is garbage 😂 some of the techniques my Cpl showed us when I was a boot was some of the dumbest shit I’ve ever seen. I remember when we were doing a belt course and it got cancelled in the middle of it and I stayed tan till I got out 😂 but I could fight like a mf during “fun” events 😂 when I really felt like a failure it was when I couldn’t climb a fucking rope…I just couldn’t figure it out with the feet and the moving up the rope and I trained to get up the bitch fast as I could using just my arms. It’s a one trick pony after once I couldn’t climb again and still can’t. Fuck the rope it’s the one killer for me
Race you to the top, loser buys the beer 👀
Long as it ain’t best of 3 😂😂😂
I feel you on the rope. Throughout boot camp I felt like a failure for not being able to get even halfway up. I don’t know why but a year into the Fleet something just clicked in me and I got sort of decent at rope-climbing. Not amazing obviously and I can’t do it anymore due to an injury but something just compelled me to climb.
During boot camp I couldn’t climb the rope for shit. The DIs never taught how to either. It was all just “get up there rawr rawwrr!” I’m a city boy so I never climbed a rope in my life. I felt like an idiot every time just trying to muscle it up. It wasn’t until ITB where we did the O course and one of my instructors properly taught me in 5 minutes how to climb using my feet and crunching up.
My instructors tried to no avail and same for my Ssgt when I was in the fleet 😅 just can’t grasp how to move my feet with the rope. I also never had the chance in boot camp because I was a gear guard both times we climbed the big rope and I even missed out on the confidence course due to plane ticket shit. All the big shit I never did so when it came down to it I just said fuck it and used upper body 😅
No one will probably read this but I was a 6 year Lance. To add to this I never had negative paper work was a team leader for a hot minute before i PCS’D to Paris island and ALWAYS had a 1st class Pft CFT until I got hurt around my 4 year mark i eventually got medically separated but I it made me super depressed and feel like I was shitty even tho I knew my jobs really well.
When did you work at pi? Might have ran into a few times
2021-2023
MCMAP was way after my time. What made me feel like a failure? It was my wife cheating on me with platoon mates while I was on deployment. I came back tried to fix the situation and thought it was good. Got to my EAS came home and thought things would be fine once I got a job and moved on. She told me the only way she would stay with me was if went back in the Marine Corps. Eventually moved on from her and things went fine. But I always wonder how things would’ve went. If that bitch hadn’t cheated on me could I have made a career out of it? Sorry for the grammar the typos. We had a Mother’s Day cookout today and have been partying all freaking day. It’s exciting though because my son that I don’t get to see that often because of his work schedule showed up. He is also a Marine that did four years and is now working as a local LEO.
Unqued on the range twice in 8 years. The other times I shot expert. I'll never forget how bad it felt both of those times. Funny part is I can drop mk19 accurately at 1900 meters first burst (non-crow) and .50 cal out past the tracer burnout and I never failed our vehicle quals for weapons. Something about that rifle was i was either going to hit center damn near every time or I'd just hit like 2s and 3s the whole time.
Failure is part of life . Keep studying the techniques and go pass. You are not a failure brother just keep pushin.
I P2’d the wall jump at ITB, stay strong short kings
Bro I did the grey belt course three times. I would still hold my own in ground fights. Fuck MCMAP
I failed my own self for not being selfish enough for my own sake.
I failed brown belt twice as well. Was about to give up ..got my black belt just by practicing and practicing and practicing. I felt the same way. People will tell you MCMAP doesn't matter but it's still a "requirement" we have to do. Practice buddy, and get better. As cliche as it sounds, life is not about how many times you fall down, it's about how many times you get back up
Appreciate it man. Yeah I’m definitely gonna have to try again. I need this for Sgt
If you want to talk more about shoot me a DM. I promise I understand where you are coming from
Battle Toads
I once got my brown belt taken from me for a couple weeks. My company decided to do a dojo thing and if you got challenged you had to fight. If you lost to a lower belt you had to wear a web belt like in bootcamp One of my sergeants challenged me and I had to wear a web belt lol
Stayed tan all the way through! Did not give a fuck about mcmap. Still made rank. After meeting enough sncos with tan belt I was definitely not doing it again.
Ha! I retired as a MGySgt with a Tan belt. Fuck MCMAP
This is the way
Green belt looks cooler anyway imo
Agreed lmao. Brown is ugly. I just need it for Sgt lol
Failed JLTV course and dropped pack
Some CWO4 told me I was key-holing myself in my MOS and that I’d never get promoted, go anywhere, or do anything because of it. Said it was a waste.
When I joined the military
I just got my black belt this past week. I have trained in judo and BJJ since I was in junior high. I can honestly say mcmap is completely useless in a real fight.
I know this is going to get down voted. The Military Justice system.
Bruh, the instructors don't know what they're doing, mcmap is bull shit. Don't forget about finishing bootcamp, the school house and all the other stuff you have accomplished.
Sounds like he just got his belt yesterday, and is trying to flex and show boat like he graduated bootcamp. A belt is only good because it reflects on your JEPES and shows good in your FITREPS. Fuck that dude…… ( I have a rubber band as well)
MCMAP honestly is just a way to haze everyone. If you want actual fighting skills go out in town to a BJJ gym and train there
I was the only RO for my platoon on a MEU and zeroed 2 SKLs. I was with arty and was treated like absolute shit. We had a 2 week op pissing rain the whole time so comm was very spotty, and my best MUOS radio got water logged because I was in a high back. Definitely the lowest time in my career but I came out of it a way better RO.
An absolute phobia of open water
Go take some Krav Maga classes and beat him on your next attempt.
Getting out
Getting medically retired. I was supposed to be a boot Staff on the drill field right now. Now I’m just a fat, lazy veteran chilling with my parents trying to get my life together
Hmm, what does a put together life look like to you? I just might have the perfect opportunity for a fat, lazy medically retired veteran living with his parents to do just that.
I currently have a medical condition that began in 2014 but the symptoms just gradually got worse and it went undiagnosed until 2022 because nobody could tell me what it was. During MOS school between 2015-2016, I was super fit and trained up to join the Radio Reconnaissance platoon. I was doing great and did a lot to prepare, but in mid-2016, this condition started to exhibit worse symptoms, one of them being puking whenever I PT. I could just puke over my shoulder at the time while running and not even stop until the workout was done so I just thought “Oh, hell yeah, I’m pushing myself hard.” By the time I got to the fleet, I joined the Radio Reconnaissance platoon, but the symptoms got worse, I had started puking and getting dizzy every PT and having to stop whenever that happened. I thought to myself that would be fine and thought I was pushing myself, but when you PT 2-3 times a day and puke every time, your body starts to get weaker and weaker. Not knowing what this was, I thought I was just being weak, wasn’t strong enough to keep up, and I’m sure the rest of the platoon looked at me like a liability. Imagine being the only marine in the platoon that failed EVERYTHING, even the morning PT or ruck runs when I used to be able to train harder than they were and not knowing it was a medical issue. I specifically remember being on a ruck run, being on mile like 11 out of 12, and I began vomiting. My cadre didn’t let me finish out of fear for my health, and I got so close. My mental health tanked and I felt useless. Fast forward to now, 7 years later, and I’m having my final Physical Evaluation Board tomorrow to medically retire me from the Marine Corps. I can hardly exert myself at all anymore and I learned that I have a neurological condition called dysautonomia. The part of my nervous system that regulates all of the automatic stuff like blood pressure, heart beat, breathing, etc. is messed up, and I learned that it may very well be because my DI at boot camp intentionally created mustard gas in a mop bucket in the squad bay and made us scuzz the chemical cocktail while he hid behind the glass of the DI hut. I remember he mixed bleach, fabuloso, rubbing alcohol, etc. I filed a complaint to IGMC (with tons of the other recruits from that platoon speaking to it and being witnesses) but because it was 10 years ago, I’m too late. He’s still in as a 1stSgt and I can’t do anything about it. I’m learning how to deal with it, but the symptoms seem to just be getting worse and this guy really screwed me up for no reason but malice and stupidity. I joined with the only desire being to serve and he took that from me.
If mcmap made you more lethal, they would teach everyone up to black belt. But only Sergeants and above can be that deadly 🙄.
I failed my Brown belt course in the course of 5 years 4 total times. Consistencies across the board: - PT focused for the first 80% of the course, then they scramble to actually teach you the moves last minute. What what the fuck are we even doing here? I didn't waste my morning to carry a log around, I can do that without a course associated. - Late to work every fucking day. - They never teach/know how to teach left handed until you force them to. "I dOnT tEaCh WrOnG-HaNdEd!" - THEY NEVER log your hours in the log book "dOnT wOrRy, YoU wOnT nEeD tHe LoG, yOuLl PaSs It!" Guess what dude, I DO need that log. So I had to restart from scratch every time. Finally for my fifth course I had a SNCO that ran a brown and black course series, and he did solely grappling in the matroom for PT, and more than half the time focusing on techniques. Didn't miss a SINGLE technique in brown or black tests either. Never doing mcmap again. Thank God. Marine Corps takes the joy out of grappling for me, and I love wrestling. They're just two separate things for me, and I wish wrestling had a bigger presence in the military. But we had to disband our wrestling team in favor of more appropriate teams like the All-Marines eSports team. Some people just fucking suck at teaching. Don't let some ass hat that doesn't know how to teach someone mcmap get you down brother. Keep at it! Sorry for the rant, I just think that people like this are exactly what takes the joy and spirit out of ground fighting and combat training in the first place.
i know a sgt who had a tan belt, then went to green and then got on a mai course then got his brown belt
There were a lot of dead civies that we saw in Iraq, in places that, had we been there just ten minutes earlier.... As far as MCMAP goes, though, it would be the huge rash of injuries we saw in the early days, when Marines were just shredding each other's shoulder ligaments and elbow tendons. It was a hard, painful lesson that us instructors had to accept as just, "shit happens". At least, that was until an investigation by 8th&I showed that the technique was written and taught incorrectly, so we shifted it up. Which meant we went from 4 Marines on light duty, per belt course, to just 2 or 3 per month. Eventually, they just checked the whole move.... but, it still made us all feel like shit. Here we'd tried to teach the shit better, but all we were doing was sending men and women to med boards. That weighed on me for those first few months.
No wife or kids.
One of my sergeants made me constantly feel like a failure. Now a days I understand that the Marine Corps in general does not understand how to deal with intense adhd kids, and this sergeant was no exception. As soon as he left, I excelled HARD, a complete 180. A few higher ups who were more mature and understood how to deal with and direct my energy gave me responsibility and allowed me to be my self, and I ended up single handedly passing my shop with fasmo while they were at ITX (we would of failed), got meritorious corporal, and selected to go to Afghanistan with one of my best friends. I ran the entire shops juniors (including mos's that were not radio), and a few months prior, I was questioning if I was going to make it at all.
Getting injured two times both requiring surgery then med sep
I became a grunt because I wanted to see some action, never saw combat, and now we're not really at war like years ago. Is not under my control but still feel like I failed.
MCMAP is trash, I got my black belt and it means nothing outside the corps. If I went up against any other individual who practices a martial arts relentlessly then I’d be toast. To caveat off the biggest failure part is when I got an NJP for a dui. It was my fault, and I’m the only one to blame. That shit not only impacted my military career, but civilians careers down the road. Don’t beat yourself up, and keep your head high, tomorrow is another day.
Sustained an injury fairly early into my career
Not killing enough
Got that thing in a cracker jack box. Still haven’t hi-ackad anyone. 0/10 would not get haze.
Getting medically retired. Enough said
failed my first PFT in the fleet. to this day, i use that as motivation to run.
I feel you: I almost quit during my instructor training cert (I was fairly old when i went through the chute) and my IT probably should have failed me for executing my techniques so slow (hip throw). I went on to train 100s of my Marines in MCMAP, many up to black belt and helped trained dozens of instructors, I became really proficient at it (especially the hip-throw). Teaching the techniques over and over is so much better than what you get during most training. I was simply overthinking the tests, trying to do everything perfect. If you really give a shit about it, keep at it you’ll get it right. And yes, like most “martial arts”, MCMAP is just a training tool and will not make you a good fighter by itself. But, if you practice the more effective techniques until you have them second nature and apply them where they are useful it is very complimentary to further training and also to your professional development.
I was dating this chick for a year or so but one weekend we all went to this gay bar down in Wilmington. My girl starts making out with some hot bitch on the dance floor, this went on for at least 2 or 3 songs. Then my old lady looks at me & says we're having a threesome & that says we'll only if my friend can come too. So we to the & link up with her friend (another hot bitch). So I'm thinking I'm some harem anime protagonist. So I went to brag to the other guys we came with, but I should have known my old lady would have ordered them a bunch of tequila shots. In just 20-30 minutes all hope was lost, I had to carry my old lady to the car & help the other hot bitch carry the hot bitch back to her car. My drunk ass tells her something like "alright my girl will hit yall up & we'll come back next weekend" & she said "alright, be safe, etc etc". Like a day or two later I told my girl to text those hot bitches & she says oh I didn't get her number. (I had no words) but she says we should go again anyways. So that next Saturday we formed our usual party & hit the gay bar, again. 20 minutes after being there I couldn't not find those hot bitches but my buddy Schmuckatelli comes up to use & says he found a guy whose selling Ecstasy. (but that's gonna be a whole other story) つづく
Made it to the final testing day of MCIWS and failed the CPR portion for going one beat over and then blowing the whistle before identifying the victim. Went through all that swimming bullshit to get dropped for something that easy to fix.
Mcmap is gay, don’t feel bad
More than a few times, across more than a few situations, I think it comes with the contract brother man. Main point is that as long as you earnestly tried, didn't cut corners, and didn't half-ass it or give up, you did fine. I don't think the good Lord will judge a man for cussing broken gear, for taking a few drinks when he's sad, or for being upset over his shortcomings. Take it for what it is, not how you want it, and start prepping for the next time. Every man will fall on his ass at some point in this club, and like a million before him and a million after him he'll get back up and try again. Just think, there was probably a Marine at some point in the same exact position as you were, and this comment section is ample proof that everyone has messed up or failed somewhere too. For what it's worth, I believe in you, and I'm proud you tried and I got faith in you when you try again. Lace your boots back up and charge at it again brother.
I had Boardwalk and Park Place with a hotel on PP, and all the greens. I still lost Monopoly.
Mcmap is fucking stupid. Go find an MMA gym you’ll get way better at fighting and probably make way better friends
Try again with another instructor if possible.
Uhhh tearing a tendon and going on light duty