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Dectomax

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FuzzySeduction said:
Wow, I'm very glad you gave me an awesome reason to skip a useless Philosophy class!
=D.

I just wanted to say you know, that I was curious about the questions people would ask and what would be answered. I got sucked in! A lot of the questions asked were questions that I also had.
Personally I know I'd never be able to even pass the fitness requirements. I've always marveled at people who could run a mile in five minutes.
xD.

Hmmm, but I guess I do have a question. How's this medical leave going? Do you have to go home or somewhere else for it? And if so, do you miss your buddies and is it hard falling out of that routine you'd established before?

I also agree with you about grenades. While I've never had to handle a live one or anything of course, I found myself to be incredibly uneasy when I was shown a deactivated one. Just the feel of it made me nauseous.
1.5 miles in 9minutes is good time. ;)

To put it bluntly. It sucks. You spend a few weeks doing mission specific training and getting ready for a deployment and when I finally got there I was sent back after two weeks. Normally a shrapnel wound wouldn't be enough to warrant a return, but...following my old trait of "unluckiest person ever" It hit muscle, currently on crutches as I can't stand on my left leg.

I spent a week in the military hospital, having my leg put back together again and am currently waiting out a one month leave. It's worse because I can't do anything to take my mind of it. I've just got to sit around and let my leg heal. I get the occasional phone call from the lads, letting me know how they're getting on which makes it worse because I want to be out there with them.
 

DoctorPhil

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Do most army people hate the Taliban goons, or do you think they are pityable brainwashed people? (only the goons, not the leaders)
 

Dectomax

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DoctorPhil said:
Do most army people hate the Taliban goons, or do you think they are pityable brainwashed people? (only the goons, not the leaders)
We see them as an enemy. Anything else is individual opinion.
 

orangeban

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Firstly I'd like to thank you for this thread, this has been fascinating. I don't plan to join the military since I'm the worst form of pacifist (I won't fight but if someone else wants to fight good on them) but I still have major respect for you guys, hell of a lot braver than me XD. My question is:
If there was a war that you thought immoral would you still fight in it?
 

Dectomax

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orangeban said:
Firstly I'd like to thank you for this thread, this has been fascinating. I don't plan to join the military since I'm the worst form of pacifist (I won't fight but if someone else wants to fight good on them) but I still have major respect for you guys, hell of a lot braver than me XD. My question is:
If there was a war that you thought immoral would you still fight in it?
It's our job. When you sign your life away on that dotted line, you better mean it. I'm not really in a position to decide whether or not to fight. If we're told to go there, we go.
DoctorPhil said:
Ah well said :>

Was boot camp as gruelling as in the movies?
No and yes. The training is hard, for obvious reasons. You just have to keep going. The training team though, are decent blokes. They help you and they want you pass. If you fuck up you get beasted and you don't do it again. ( Trust me, being made to do 50 press-ups in full gear, in mud is enough to keep everyone on form. )
 

orangeban

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Dectomax said:
orangeban said:
Firstly I'd like to thank you for this thread, this has been fascinating. I don't plan to join the military since I'm the worst form of pacifist (I won't fight but if someone else wants to fight good on them) but I still have major respect for you guys, hell of a lot braver than me XD. My question is:
If there was a war that you thought immoral would you still fight in it?
It's our job. When you sign your life away on that dotted line, you better mean it. I'm not really in a position to decide whether or not to fight. If we're told to go there, we go.
DoctorPhil said:
Ah well said :>

Was boot camp as gruelling as in the movies?
No and yes. The training is hard, for obvious reasons. You just have to keep going. The training team though, are decent blokes. They help you and they want you pass. If you fuck up you get beasted and you don't do it again. ( Trust me, being made to do 50 press-ups in full gear, in mud is enough to keep everyone on form. )
Hmm, very interesting answer. I suspect this is just more proof that I'd be a sucky soldier, I couldn't do the sign your life away on the dotted line thing.
 

Sabinfrost

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Good ol' conditioning. I have a good friend who is Australian SAS, some of the stories... That is harsh.
 

Dectomax

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orangeban said:
Dectomax said:
orangeban said:
Firstly I'd like to thank you for this thread, this has been fascinating. I don't plan to join the military since I'm the worst form of pacifist (I won't fight but if someone else wants to fight good on them) but I still have major respect for you guys, hell of a lot braver than me XD. My question is:
If there was a war that you thought immoral would you still fight in it?
It's our job. When you sign your life away on that dotted line, you better mean it. I'm not really in a position to decide whether or not to fight. If we're told to go there, we go.
DoctorPhil said:
Ah well said :>

Was boot camp as gruelling as in the movies?
No and yes. The training is hard, for obvious reasons. You just have to keep going. The training team though, are decent blokes. They help you and they want you pass. If you fuck up you get beasted and you don't do it again. ( Trust me, being made to do 50 press-ups in full gear, in mud is enough to keep everyone on form. )
Hmm, very interesting answer. I suspect this is just more proof that I'd be a sucky soldier, I couldn't do the sign your life away on the dotted line thing.
It's pretty clear from the start what you'll be doing. The barracks are covered in posters and news of your unit. So, you get it drilled into your head from the start. If you don't wish to continue, you normally have to complete at least 4 weeks before you are allowed to quit. Though in some cases, you can leave before then.
 

Sarcastic_Applause

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what are the fitness requirements for the royal marines?
i have a few friends who were marines but were medically discharged (something about the tarzan assault course)

What is the 'sheep dip'?
its one of the things they told me a little about

While out on operations, whats a typical day for a Marine in places like Camp Bastion or on more frontline camps?
im just curious as at the moment im torn between Para or the 'Rock Apes' (Gunners). However ive still got Marines on my mind; if im going to make a career out of this then i'll train to be the best or die trying... also its nice bit of ground to get better at Muay Thai :)
 

FuzzyRaccoon

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Oh really? Well that's not as bad as I was thinking then. Still, boot camp'd kick my butt.
O:

Yeah, I was thinking it must suck. I have a friend who recently broke her foot in two places. Because she needs help getting down the stairs in our dorm and things like that she rarely goes out. It's clearly frustrating for her when we have to leave her behind to do something.
I'm sure your friends miss you a lot. And just think, when you get back they can tease you all they like about how you managed to get yourself hurt right away.
x3.

It'll be easier to not get so frustrated if you get yourself something to do or have someone to hang out with often in the meantime. I may not know what it's exactly like but after making a friend in college who's closer to me than my family is and not being able to see her over a whole summer, I can say it doesn't get any easier not hanging out with someone you'd previously spent every minute with.
 

Wadders

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What is the perception of junior officers among enlisted men? Are they often incompetent, or do they do their job well? I'm guessing despite their training, it's pretty tricky jumping right in and taking command?
 

Dectomax

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JThai said:
what are the fitness requirements for the royal marines?
i have a few friends who were marines but were medically discharged (something about the tarzan assault course)

What is the 'sheep dip'?
its one of the things they told me a little about

While out on operations, whats a typical day for a Marine in places like Camp Bastion or on more frontline camps?
im just curious as at the moment im torn between Para or the 'Rock Apes' (Gunners). However ive still got Marines on my mind; if im going to make a career out of this then i'll train to be the best or die trying... also its nice bit of ground to get better at Muay Thai :)
Yeah, the Tarzan is a nightmare. Especially when you do it in full it. Some of the falls can be pretty harsh.

The sheep dip. Is a small pool of water ( more mud than water...) One mate pushes you through a short tunnel ( completely submerged ) and another drags you out. you then push him through and the same with the last guy. It's on the endurance course. which, is again...a nightmare.

Wake up, get your kit ready, wash, eat - depending on what happens you may be on patrol or placed on sentry.

As a Bootneck, i'll say...Para's are pansies. As a member of our armed forces, I'll say the Para's are a great bunch of blokes. The Royal artillery good too, they'll get you a trade. which is always a bonus.

Without a doubt I would recommend The Royal Marines. It's possibly the best decision I've made. That's the attitude you want. Train as much as you can and keep going. there's a reason our slogan is "It's a state of mind.".

Edit: didn't see the top post. To join the Royal Marines, you've got to be pretty fit. As I stated before, sub 10min 1.5mile runs. around 70/80 Press-ups and sit-ups in 2 minutes and you've got to be able to keep going. sometimes, they'll set task that they know you can't do. But if you stop, they make you do more. you just keep going until they say rest. It really is a mental battle.
 

Dectomax

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FuzzySeduction said:
Oh really? Well that's not as bad as I was thinking then. Still, boot camp'd kick my butt.
O:

Yeah, I was thinking it must suck. I have a friend who recently broke her foot in two places. Because she needs help getting down the stairs in our dorm and things like that she rarely goes out. It's clearly frustrating for her when we have to leave her behind to do something.
I'm sure your friends miss you a lot. And just think, when you get back they can tease you all they like about how you managed to get yourself hurt right away.
x3.

It'll be easier to not get so frustrated if you get yourself something to do or have someone to hang out with often in the meantime. I may not know what it's exactly like but after making a friend in college who's closer to me than my family is and not being able to see her over a whole summer, I can say it doesn't get any easier not hanging out with someone you'd previously spent every minute with.
Yeah, one of the core ethos is basically what keeps me going: Cheerfulness in the face of adversity. trust me when i say out of all of the values you learn, this is one of the most important.
 

Dectomax

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Wadders said:
What is the perception of junior officers among enlisted men? Are they often incompetent, or do they do their job well? I'm guessing despite their training, it's pretty tricky jumping right in and taking command?
Royal Marines are unique in the fact we train with our officers. Royal Marine trainee officers train with us. They spend 44 weeks in training though. I have the upmost respect for any of our officers because the standards they are held to are even higher than ours and to step in and lead a bunch of Royal Marines? That alone take balls made of steel.
 

Sarcastic_Applause

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the sheep dip is what scares me the most ; im perfectly fine with cramped spaces and water, but combined its one of the very few things that scares me, im guessing thats something i'll have to get out of my mind, thanks for your help :)
There may have been a little confusion though By 'Rock Apes' i meant RAF Regiment no worries though
 

Dectomax

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JThai said:
the sheep dip is what scares me the most ; im perfectly fine with cramped spaces and water, but combined its one of the very few things that scares me, im guessing thats something i'll have to get out of my mind, thanks for your help :)
There may have been a little confusion though By 'Rock Apes' i meant RAF Regiment no worries though
Royal artillery are also called "The gunners". Sorry!

As a matter of fact, it's the single part of training that I was worried about too. By the time you get to it, you'll trust your mates and you'll have no problem with it. It's literally a 2 second underwater push then your up.
 

tthor

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Wolf-AUS said:
tthor said:
have you ever killed a man, or even just seen a man die?
I'll give that another go, sorry about the harshness of my original response, it's a habitual reply to people when they ask in a pub/club after they find out you're military, so I'll put it a bit more politely because, you may be ignorant towards the gravity of the question you're asking.

You don't ever ask a soldier this, it is seen (in my country at least) as incredibly disrespectful and I know of a few guys who will end a conversation with someone as soon as it's asked.

Again, sorry my for initial reply.
forgive me, i didn't realize how taboo this is. i would never ask this question to someone casually, but i figured that since this thread was made for asking questions related to military service, i figured all questions were open. i'm sorry if i seemed disrespectful