Camo-Colored Chaos: Hurry Up and...Wait.

One thing that I learned about the Marine Crops from day one is that everything you will ever do with them is a "Hurry-up-and-wait" type of situation.

When I joined my recruiter was so rushed. He wanted to get everything done right away (So that he could reach his quota of new recruits that month of course...but still). I took all of a couple days to think about what I wanted and then once I decided what I wanted they tell you what all you have to do to actually become a Marine.

1. Graduate High School.
The Marine Corps currently does not accept recruits with GEDs unless they have complete...some amount of credits (16?) in college. Some people get in after doing this, but it's typical for people to want to do this in high school when they just decided to drop out and then change your mind.

SO. If you join in high school, you HAVE to graduate. Or else you get discharged. Hurry up and get graduated...Unfortunately you can only make that go so fast, right?

2. Take (and pass) the ASVAB
(Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery)

This test is one that all Branches of the military require you take before you are allowed entry. You go to MEPS and they get you all registered and make you sit and wait. And then you take the test (it's 9 sections long!) And you aren't allowed to look at your score. You're recruiter has to open the envelope for you.
I got an 85 :) pretty proud of that.
So they rush you to take this test. Then you just have to pray you did well.

3. Clear Medical.

This picture I picked I feel is perfect. They tell you to get undress (in a timely manner of course) and then they leave the room for sometimes more than a half an hour. So you're sitting there in your underwear with your packet in a freezing cold room with any where from 1 other girl to 10 other girls while you wait to do a bunch of silly stuff mostly naked and get felt up by an old wrinkly man...I <3 the Marine Corps.

4. Pass an IST (initial strength test) and swear in.

This is by far the best part.

Okay, so we would NOT have been allowed to wear that in my recruiting office But I liked that it was a female in the picture. in both pictures actually.

You've got to do at least 44 crunches in 2 minutes and no less than a 12 second flexed arm hang

Then you get to swear in. I won't lie, this was the proudest moment of my life so far (besides watching J graduated from Boot Camp) and it kills me that I didn't get the chance to do it again. And again and again as I reenlisted time and time again...

So I hurried up and waited for this. Allll Dayyy Looong.

It was cool. But Come one. It took so long to get to this point and they were rushing us through ever step.

I'm seeing that happen now with J big time. He hurried off to MCT where he was a lucky one and picked up on time. But then after, he ended up getting stuck at Camp Pendleton doing Guard Duty for weeks. This was because his MOS school was full and they didn't have room for him in 29 Palms.
And once he got there, he spent two weeks not in class because again, he hadn't picked up yet. Again, he got lucky and he ended up in a class that picked up while people who had been there even longer are still waiting.
It's just so frustrating that they are so quick to rush our men away from us only to make the sit around around waste space that could be used for other Marines...

And now, as he is in his field radio operating school, I am anxiously awaiting the day that I get to see him again. And we're PRAYING his orders don't say Okinawa...

I guess I better get used to this hurryin' up and waiting.