Outstanding!!!
Posted on 12/28/2019 5:17:05 PM PST by Romans Nine
I thought I would share this. I figured like me others might appreciate something pleasant and patriotic.
My two oldest sons enlisted together two years ago. They went to basic and ITB together and are 0331 machine gunners. They always wanted to be Marines. They were homeschooled and are fine young Christian men. Needless to say they never shot less than expert in any qual and both were top of their companies in basic and SOI.
They had both planed to try for 0317 once they became Lance Corporals however the older one recently was married and decided that he would finish his contract as a machine gunner.
The younger of the two however does not have a girlfriend and he is going for the indoc next week. He just recently received a meritorious promotion to Corporal after receiving a 4.7 and 4.8 pros and cons rating.
For those not familiar with the Marine Corps it is very difficult to make it into scout sniper school and even more difficult to pass. Both of my boys are excellent Marines but the younger one is an exceptional Marine. In basic he was one of the toughest in his company due to his ability to ignore pain. He is a small guy at a whopping 5’2” tall and 115 pounds.
When he went to SOI for his machine gunner training he was told countless times he would fail because he wouldn’t be able to pack around the 50 cal. receiver (extra 50 lbs. on top of his ruck sack) however he had no problems. He received much respect from his instructors since he actually spent as much time helping the others as he did work himself. I wish I could paint a picture for you as to his very unique personality but it would seem as though I was a parent looking through rose colored glasses. When our children were growing up we let them experience everything we could however we did not allow the pop culture to overly influence them. We did not watch TV except for special occasions and for Friday night “movie night”. My sons developed their very own unique personalities rather than taking on some popular figure or celebrity.
He has several attributes that will complement him in s.s. training if he is accepted. He is very good in mathematics, he has a photographic memory, he was taught in bush crafting through his school years, his mother incorporated proper shooting training in his curriculum, and we had a retired Marine friend that was a three time world metallic silhouette shooting campion coach him and his brother in their school “gunnery” once every month for a couple of years.
The indoc is a three day meat grinder.
Please remember him in your prayers. I will post if he makes it past the indoc.
Nice job, Dad :)
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You should be wildly Proud!
I would be.
I would advise someone who is considering the sniper field, way before they actually commit, to work hard on their math skills. It is one of the least talked about requirements. Calculating spin drift and ballistic drop and mil dot hold off does take a bit of practice. Best to have the math down before the schooling starts.
I don’t know if I should say it, or not say it.
But you already know.
Every USMC infantry billet is dangerous.
Scout Sniper particularly so.
I hope he brings home great stories and passes them to his grandchildren.
I pray for your son’s success. May the Lord watch over him and keep him safe.
“a three time world metallic silhouette shooting champion”
as a coach....
I flunked out of that in the mid 80s. Like your son, I was an 0331. What you mentioned about math skills and photographic memory are very good qualities to have. There is a lot more to it that shooting.
Oustanding!!!
Bravo, well done! With that background I’m sure he will excel.
Congrats. It is always special to hear these successes.
It was MOS 8541 back in the day. Congrats and Semper Fi to your son.
L
Outstanding!!!
The Days of Elijah
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6woSL6yC9wA
Carlos Hathcock was only 120 pounds. Your son will do just fine.
You have done an excellent job parenting and deserve to be proud of both your sons.
Me, I was just a truck driver, but the 0300 Marines are the real deal that make our reputation what it is.
Being short is less surface area. He has 25% less surface area (skin) than a 6’2” Marine of commensurate weight. Short guys do better in war. Much harder to hit those those big guys.
“Marines come in two varieties, big and mean, or skinny and mean. They’re aggressive on the attack and tenacious on defense. They’ve got really short hair and they always go for the throat.
RAdm. “Jay” R. Stark, USN; 10 November 1995”
Good job dad!
I’m proud of your kids, and I don’t even know them
I hope he is successful, we need a lot more like him!
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