# The Marines who never went to boot camp



## Teufel (Dec 31, 2009)

There is a really interesting article in the January Marine Gazette about a group of Marine Reservists who deployed to the Korean conflict and NEVER went to boot camp.  At that time, there was no requirement for all reservists to go to boot camp.  They needed more Marines so they took the reservists, with or without boot camp and sent them forward.  They thought about sending to boot camp when they came back but the commandant wanted the avoid the potential irony of having a Marine Korean war veteran being yelled at by a Marine who had never been.


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## 0699 (Jan 1, 2010)

Seems to me that serving as a Marine in combat would easily waive any requirement to go to boot camp & allow you to claim the title Marine.

Like military parachuting; you can be authorized the basic parachutist badge for one combat jump, even if you haven't been to jump school.


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## SgtUSMC8541 (Jan 1, 2010)

Yeah, I had heard about them.  Being a Nasty Reservist I remember reading about it.


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## Teufel (Jan 1, 2010)

0699 said:


> Seems to me that serving as a Marine in combat would easily waive any requirement to go to boot camp & allow you to claim the title Marine.


  It is a strange situation for sure but if you think about it we have a lot of contractors and Navy personnel who "serve as Marines" in combat (or at least perform the duties and functions of Marines while attached and serving with Marine units) and do not rate the title of Marine.  The difference here of course is that they were given the title of Marine before they even deployed, a very unique situation.  I agree that they rate being Marines after all that they went through but it is surprising that such a situation would even arise.



0699 said:


> Like military parachuting; you can be authorized the basic parachutist badge for one combat jump, even if you haven't been to jump school.


 
The only way to get the basic parachutist badge in the Marine Corps is to attend jump school at Fort Beginnings.  What you are thinking of is the Navy and Marine Corps Parachute insignia.  From MCO 3500.20B Jump/Dive policy: 7.  Navy/Marine Corps Parachutist Insignia.  Marines may wear the Navy/Marine 
Corps Parachutist Insignia when they have completed a USMC approved basic 
airborne course and fulfilled either of the following requirements. This is not 
waiverable: 

    a.  Marines, while assigned to an authorized T/O parachuting billet for a 
period of no less than 90 days, have the required swim qualification and must 
complete five additional jumps. The five additional jumps must include at least 
two combat equipment day jumps, two combat equipment night jumps, and employ two 
or more types of military aircraft.  
*
    c.  Complete one combat jump of any kind from any aircraft, whether or not 
in an authorized Navy/Marine Corps T/O billet. *

So as an example, let's say you are a HET attachment inserting with a recon platoon in combat via TORDs personnel (tandem).  You have completed a combat jump but will not receive the basic or Navy and Marine Corps parachutist insignia.  If you are jump qualified however, I think you could make a case for getting your gold wings even on a tandem combat jump.


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## 0699 (Jan 1, 2010)

I stand corrected...


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## SgtUSMC8541 (Jan 1, 2010)

The closest we have now is the 92K Split enlistment.  You go to Recruit Training over the summer, then head back to your Reserve Unit to train for the fall/winter/spring and attend college full time,  You are at this time an 0300.  A basicly trained Marine, but without an MOS desginator.  Now technicly you are "non-depolyable" at this time, until you complete your MOS school.  I know that I "depolyed" on my AT when I was under this although I was not suposed to and when I was in MCT and SOI there was a Marine Reservist who deployed to the Gulf during the first Gulf War without an MOS.  He was in school with us to finaly get his MOS.  The next summer they return to AD to finish their MOS school.


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## TheWookie (Jan 1, 2010)

I've met one of these guys, or so he says/said.  Hearing this makes me feel better about talking to him, to be honest - I've always been a little skeptical.  I give him respect cause I know he served and he's my elder,  but I've stayed away from being too cozy with him cause I thought he might be full of it.  He's a fixture at the local VFW (I see him at our monthly MCL meetings) who's been telling me for years that he's a Marine who served in Korea, but then in the next breath he says that he never went to bootcamp.


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## usmcvet (Sep 17, 2016)

I believe one of these Korean Marine Vets, w/o boot camp, was awarded the CMOH.  I'd like to see him as a boot at PISC!

I was a 90 day reservist and an 0300 when I went to the Gulf in 1990. I was one of 5 or 6 0300's in my unit. When we came back we all had orders for SOI. I spoke to the 1st Sgt. He said bullshit and wrote 0311 OJT in my SRB. I never went to SOI.


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## Devildoc (Sep 17, 2016)

I read about that a few years ago.  I think every branch's reserve component had boot camp/basic training "loopholes" at some point.  I know the Navy did.  I does change one's perspective of the notion that going to boot is the qualifier for being called "Marine."

I know many years ago, the Navy Reserve would assign NECs and qualifiers (i.e., "MOS") if you had civilian equivalencies.  There were 8404 Sailors (FMF corpsmen) who did not go to FMSS because they were paramedics, Sailors who got "basic SCUBA" qual because they were NAUI-trained advanced open water.


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## DA SWO (Sep 17, 2016)

There is a great book on Chosin Reservoir Marines that goes into great detail regarding these Reservists.
I'll find it tonight.


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## Devildoc (Sep 17, 2016)

DA SWO said:


> There is a great book on Chosin Reservoir Marines that goes into great detail regarding these Reservists.
> I'll find it tonight.



Breakout by Martin Russ?  I have that and there is some discussion about it.


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## Teufel (Sep 17, 2016)

The Marines Who Never Went to Boot Camp | Marine Corps Association  This is the article.  You have to be a subscriber to access it (which I'm not).


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## racing_kitty (Sep 17, 2016)

Teufel said:


> The Marines Who Never Went to Boot Camp | Marine Corps Association  This is the article.  You have to be a subscriber to access it (which I'm not).



There's a workaround for that. Copy the headline (or the first couple of sentences), open Google/Bing/Whatever in a private browser window, paste the headline in the search bar, then click the link. It works when I've exhausted my free articles with WaPo and other paywall protected sources.


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## DA SWO (Sep 17, 2016)

Devildoc said:


> Breakout by Martin Russ?  I have that and there is some discussion about it.


I believe it is called Chosin Resevoir, can't find it (in the middle of a move)


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