Sgt Grit Marine Forums

I just finished reading the new paperback version of "Making the Corps" by Thomas E. Ricks, and I am puzzled. I'm old (my enlistment was 1964-1968) and we children of the men just back from WWII grew up with the knowledge that if you got a dishonorable discharge from the military you might as well end it...your life was over. On top of that the D.I.s gave us the idea that going AWOL could put you in prison forever. So leaving boot camp was not an option...you toughed it out, as you did the next 3 or 4 years. Ricks' recruits of 1995 seem to simply walk away at will...how does that work? From the other side, a recruit acts out once or twice...and they simply find him not suited for military life...and he (or she) walks away.

I left before the problems in the 1970's the Ricks hints at. Maybe that, or the "new" all volunteer military is behind these changes. Can anyone fill me in?

Sandpoint:

 

... or the "new" all volunteer military is behind these changes. Can anyone fill me in?

 

Nail - Head.  I think the Corps (and other services as well) decided that if the t*rd wanted out they weren't piching cheeks to keep it in.  Too much work to chase somebody around and keep trying to motivate a non-hacker.

Ricks also reported that, of several of the "new" enlistees who did not make it through their first enlistment, at least two of them are driving around with Marine Corps stickers on their cars. This really clogs my craw. These wannabees wrap themselves in an image built on the blood, sweat and tears of thousands of Marines, yet don't have the gristle to actually be a real Marine. I'll never be able to see the USMC logo on a car or truck without wondering if the guy or gal driving the thing are phonies.