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View Full Version : Adios for now, a thank you and I'm off to boot camp!( update, got my orders)



tampam4
09-07-10, 08:59
A brief adios, thank you and off to boot camp tomorrow...

Tomorrow I'm heading out to the MEPS hotel, and the next day going to Naval Training Station in "warm 'sunny" Great Lakes, IL, for 9 weeks of boot camp. Due to "lack of knowledge" on my recruiters part, I will NOT be going through EOD training as planned, but AECF, or Advanced Electronics/Computers Field. Depending on how well I do in A school, I'll either go Electronics Technicial or Fire Control Technician, the latter being what I'm aiming for on advice of others.

As this will be my last started thread on M4C for some time, (I'd have withdrawal going through boot if they didn't keep us so "busy"), I'll try to make it count.

I didn't know squat about firearms in general before my father introduced m to M4C, aside from the fact that stupid people can hurt themselves and others by doing stupid things with them. ( I did take an NRA firearms safety course, but I was only taught enough not to hurt myself) :D

In the time that I have frequented M4C, my general knowledge of firearms, and more specifically the AR15, has gone up through the roof compared to what it was. I've learned that an AR15 is not just an AR15, and that certain rifles aren't just more expensive because of the name stamped on the receiver. I've learned what makes any firearm better than another, what is more/less desirable to have, and what is considered personal preference. Still, after learning what I'd think is so much, and in reality which isn't, my hunger and desire to get as acquainted as possible to the platform and how it works, as well as how to operate it as best as possible only grows as I keep learning.

I credit all this entire continuing learning experience to the members on M4C, whether they be Industry Professionals, Subject Matter Experts, LEO's, .mil or just everyday citizens doing their best to keep the 2A going strong. The overwhelming population here is of a different caliber compared to other forums, and look at things in a different, better light in my opinion. The knowledge and personal experiences on firearms, ammunition, training, gear (including babystrollers:haha:) is what keeps me coming back to M4C. I hope that this will continue on for a long time.

So to finish it off, thanks for being the best there is out there, and see you all in 9 weeks!

All the best,
Steindor

UPDATE! Alright, so I'm about a third of the way through Naval Hospital Corps School, and apart from dealing with jackasses on a daily basis who just don't get it, life is pretty awesome. They hold the students here to a pretty high standard when it comes to military bearing and appearance compared to mainside of the base, and my instructors and class sessions are top notch, with a lot of "field tricks" if you will (such as securing a nasopharyngeal airway with a safety pin through the nose, don't know if he was kidding or not)

Of those active duty, I'm top of the class at a 94% GPA, so when we picked orders a few days ago, I got first pick. My HM1 offered me a clinic in Italy, and while that would have been cool, it wasn't what I wanted from the Navy. I chose 1st Marine Division out of Camp Pendleton, California. Graduating from Corps School March 22nd, and from there going to Pendelton to 8 weeks of FMTB.
Can't wait to get out of Great Lakes, I'm sure I'll see some of you out there on the West Coast.

All the best!

Icculus
09-07-10, 09:03
Good luck man. Take care of yourself and have fun. Thank you for serving.

jklaughrey
09-07-10, 09:08
Good Luck at Great Mistakes, have fun being a Smurf for awhile. Also FC is a great rating, a buddy of mine is a MCPO and did it in 16 years as a FC so they move rank fast in that rating he said. Also if you like a more leisurely boot schedule see about getting in a staff company versus a "rifle" company in Navy boot. Staff company is cake walk. Not that Navy boot is difficult to begin with. Of course this is 20 years ago when I was there in the dead of winter, showed up in board shorts and a tank top with sandals. Yep they loved us California boys.

CarlosDJackal
09-07-10, 09:11
Good luck!! :)

Irish
09-07-10, 11:11
Fair Winds and Following Seas ya lil' Pollywog ;)

Littlelebowski
09-07-10, 11:28
Good career choice. It will pay off, both tangibly and intangibly.

William B.
09-07-10, 11:34
Good luck, brother, and work hard!

THCDDM4
09-07-10, 11:43
Good luck with boot camp and thanks for your service!

RogerinTPA
09-07-10, 11:53
Good luck to you. Since you will probably know more than the firearms instructors, and far more than your peers, remember to "zip it" and learn things there way. Help your peers if they are struggling but stay positive with the attitude and act like a sponge.

M4arc
09-07-10, 11:54
Steindor,

Thanks and good luck! Keep your ears open and your mouth shut and you'll be fine.

Drop us a line when you get finished with boot camp.

Oh and I don't think Great Lakes is going to be warm or sunny for much longer. Good luck with that (at least you're not going in January/February). :haha:

tampam4
09-07-10, 12:02
Thanks for the wishes and advice. Talked to some buddies recently out of boot, and heard some interesting stuff about weapons training. Get a malfunction? Raise your hand and ask for a range timeout so the instructor can clear it for you:rolleyes: My friend got a "failure to follow instructions" for doing a tap rack bang. It's going to be interesting trying not to get ahead of what they want. And once I'm out, I'll probably lock myself in a dark room for a few hours catching up on M4C.
Plus I'll more than likely be in GL for a year, so trust me, I'll get all four seasons. Seeing how I HATE Florida weather, I'm going to love the cold. Or at least think I do until I get to experience it.:haha:

Bill Bryant
09-07-10, 12:21
Thanks for your service, and best wishes. Give those you love a big hug, and know that someone back home loves you very much. My son graduates from USMC recruit training in two weeks. It's been a long haul for recruit and parents alike. All the best to you as you serve, and to those back home who will miss you so much.

jklaughrey
09-07-10, 12:22
On leave go find some Bell South girls hitting the bars on Rush/Division... they always took care of me and my mates during the cold winter.

Mark71
09-07-10, 15:09
Thanks for serving and best of luck to you.

Coperator
09-07-10, 16:24
Good Luck!

Safetyhit
09-07-10, 16:30
And once I'm out, I'll probably lock myself in a dark room with some lotion, a box of Kleenex's and M4C. But you guys didn't need to hear that...:no:



It was all going so well until this point. :confused:


Anyhoo, very best of luck.

tampam4
09-07-10, 16:46
Obviously it was a joke, however bad it may have been, referring to not being able to cruise M4C for 9 weeks. My apologies if it offended you.
It was all going so well until this point. :confused:

chadbag
09-07-10, 17:12
Good luck! And thanks for your service.



Plus I'll more than likely be in GL for a year, so trust me, I'll get all four seasons. Seeing how I HATE Florida weather, I'm going to love the cold. Or at least think I do until I get to experience it.:haha:

Seeing as your originally from ICEland, if I have my facts straight, I think you'll probably do OK, if the Florida weather has not wimped you out. :p

MarshallDodge
09-07-10, 17:12
Best wishes on your endeavor!

What is the Kleenex for? :eek:

tampam4
09-07-10, 17:29
Jeez, after two years in Florida you would have thought I would have gotten acclimated, but anything over 70 degrees and I'm sweating in shorts and a t-shirt.


Good luck! And thanks for your service.



Seeing as your originally from ICEland, if I have my facts straight, I think you'll probably do OK, if the Florida weather has not wimped you out. :p

In the "joke", it was part of the necessary items for catching up on 9 weeks of M4C reading:o It obviously sounded funnier in my head:secret:


What is the Kleenex for?

HES
09-07-10, 17:55
Best luck. Remember, dont volunteer for anything.

SeriousStudent
09-07-10, 18:13
Thank you for your desire to serve, and good luck with your training.

BVickery
09-07-10, 18:17
Best of luck my friend.

And be thankful your not heading up there starting in November or December!

Cagemonkey
09-07-10, 18:34
Thanks for stepping up and serving. Good luck and hang in there.

Buckaroo
09-08-10, 00:18
Thanks for serving and good luck!

Buckaroo

variablebinary
09-08-10, 01:11
Best luck. Remember, dont volunteer for anything.

Truth. You will learn this real fast. I sure as hell did.

CDDM416
09-08-10, 06:57
Good Luck, and Thanks.

arizonaranchman
09-08-10, 10:14
Good luck to you and a sincere Thank You for serving. Stay in touch when you can.

I lived in Chicago til I was 20 yrs old. It's COLD in winter - don't know if you've ever lived in a cold climate but you're in for a shock if you haven't. Some winters were worse/colder than others, but I remember some winters with raw temps of -35 degrees (wind chill at -80*F). That's about 120 degrees colder than most Floridians consider "cold"... :)

God Bless you and check back in here at M4 when you can.

GermanSynergy
09-08-10, 13:05
Thank you for your service and best of luck to you in your military career.

VooDoo6Actual
09-08-10, 13:08
Stay safe & keep your head down when necessary.

best to you Sir !

Hoploethos

tampam4
11-06-10, 18:08
Thought I'd give everybody an update about things...Graduated yesterday from Navy Boot camp Great Lakes Illinois, here at the NEX at RTC. Boot Camp was nothing I thought it would be, and everything I didn't think it would be. The first two weeks were pretty bad, it was a rather big culture shock and all you could think about was home. Once you got used to jumping out of your rack and get at attention in a few seconds, life got easier. I'd say the hardest thing about bootcamp was sitting crosslegged on a tile floor all day, staying awake, and not ripping your shipmates head off for constantly talking when he\she shouldn't be:rolleyes: We didn't do any pt for the first two weeks, and never ran for more than 20 minutes straight throughout boot camp. I was very dissappointed by the pt, but we always worked out in the compartment after taps. i missed the expert ribbon for the m9 by two points, so better luck next time. Battle stations was awesome, seeing a ship inside a building was rather interesting. not volunteering for anything got me nowwhere, doing everything i could and doing everything i didn't have to do got me promoted, and got me in the good graces of high up people here, so things have obviously changed. as usual, the .mil plays around with you, so I'm now going to Corpsman A school, and then to Camp Pendleton or Camp Lejune for FMF. 14 weeks here in Great Lakes first though. Doing alot of catching up here on m4!

kittyhawk
11-06-10, 18:16
Congrats brother, so now off to pecker checker school:sarcastic:? Well stay Warm in GL I remember how dam cold it was in the winter.

Saty safe and thanks for the service.

Dave

jklaughrey
11-06-10, 18:21
Brings back memories of when I was in GL for HM school. Enjoy the train to Chicago on liberty. It is even better if you have an A school GF to keep you warm.

Safetyhit
11-06-10, 18:49
This is a hugely positive step in your life, congratulations and hope you enjoy all that's to come.

13F3OL7
11-06-10, 20:23
Congratulations dude. Hope you find your time in the Navy rewarding.

SeriousStudent
11-06-10, 23:41
Congratulations on graduating from boot camp! Bravo Zulu! :)

As a former Marine grunt, allow me to also extend my best wishes for success as a FMF Corpsman. If you do well there, you will find a group of fiercely-loyal friends.

Nobody messed with our Doc. Nobody.

jklaughrey
11-06-10, 23:49
That is for damn sure. The guys I served with still call me up or send a card. Serving with the grunts was the best time of my military career. And as long as your shit is squared away as a "Doc", they will always take care of you.

Belmont31R
11-07-10, 00:06
I hear you on the getting pissed part about other people screwing up. We got our platoon flag taken away 2 weeks from the end because a few jackasses wanted to push buttons, and thought it was funny to get us smoked.




Don't know about the cross legged thing though. Must be getting you guys trained for being on boats with a bunch of other dudes for months at a time.

theblackknight
11-07-10, 10:37
How does it feel to be one of the world most elite janitors????

Entropy
11-07-10, 11:09
Good luck and God speed.

I hope you aren't going to be one of these guys:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZO0Phr_xjo&feature=share

William B.
11-08-10, 17:17
Congratulations, brother! Like SeriousStudent already pointed out, FMF Corpsmen are no joke and most are a different breed from the average sailor. Good luck!

HES
11-12-10, 21:47
Congrats man. Welcome to the family.

tampam4
01-16-11, 22:09
bump!

GotAmmo
01-16-11, 23:04
Can't wait to get out of Great Lakes, I'm sure I'll see some of you out there on the West Coast.

All the best!

when you visit SATO Travel.. say hi to my mom for me... i should prolly call her and say that....

feel sorry for you being in Great Mistakes..... atleast winters almost over.. hahaha

dookie1481
01-16-11, 23:07
Good shit, dude...as a former 0311, I can tell you that the Corpsmen I served with were some of the toughest MFers, coolest, bravest men, and best drinking buddies and closest friends I ever had. I salute you.

S/F

Jay

Safetyhit
01-17-11, 08:56
when you visit SATO Travel.. say hi to my mom for me... i should prolly call her and say that....

feel sorry for you being in Great Mistakes..... atleast winters almost over.. hahaha


Where are we, Facebook? This isn't how people are encouraged to communicate here.

m249saw
01-17-11, 18:45
Congrats there shipmate.

You are doing it the right way. I did Electronic Warfare in the Navy and now I'm a Firefighter/Paramedic :sarcastic:

Great Mistakes as you said wasn't too bad back in 98 either though Im sure alot has changed up there.