Things you should know

[Malice 1]

I've been out of the loop for quite a while, and I have forgotten or never learned a bunch of stuff that might come in handy.

I start pre-TBS PTAD in a few weeks. I need to know some basics of military life so I don't make a fool of myself.

I have forgotten the 11 General Orders. Should I definatley re-memorize those? Does every Marine in the fleet have them memorized?

I was told to bring PT gear to work. PT gear consists of: green T-shirt(without OCS stenciling), sneakers, and silky green hot pants. Do we still have to were the OCS issue hot pants, or can we do better? Can I bring a pair of basketball shorts, or is that "out of uniform"?

I'm going to use the public bus/subway to get to work. There are a lot of Navy/Air Force O-4's, O-5's, etc... that also take the bus/train. Do I salute them while I'm walking to the bus stop?

If anyone else has some general practice do's/dont's for being a fledling 2LT, don't hesitate speak up.

 

[PSno23]

I have forgotten the 11 General Orders. Should I definatley re-memorize those? Does every Marine in the fleet have them memorized?

Not really. The only time you'll need to know them is if you're standing duty, which you won't due on PTAD (unless you've got a sadistic OSO). My buddies at TBS who stood duty as Junior Officer of the Day told me that there were some Captains who were the Officer of the Day that would grill them on their general orders, deadly force, etc. But for PTAD? I wouldn't worry about it.

I was told to bring PT gear to work. PT gear consists of: green T-shirt(without OCS stenciling), sneakers, and silky green hot pants. Do we still have to were the OCS issue hot pants, or can we do better? Can I bring a pair of basketball shorts, or is that "out of uniform"?

You would have to ask your OSO about that. As for the OCS issue hot pants - no, you don't have to wear those. At TBS, I used the green 'running shorts', not the silkys, for PT. As a rule, I wouldn't go out in public wearing the silkys. You would need to ask your OSO about bringing civilian PT gear.

I'm going to use the public bus/subway to get to work. There are a lot of Navy/Air Force O-4's, O-5's, etc... that also take the bus/train. Do I salute them while I'm walking to the bus stop?

Yes. No matter where you are (unless you're in the field), you always salute officers senior to you. Besides, it's a bad practice to get into if you just keep your head down and act as if you don't see them.

As for general practice, just be yourself. Don't try to be something you're not, just because you think you should be. Obviously, don't do anything that would discredit you or the Marine Corps. Use common sense and keep a sense of humor. It really made me laugh sometimes to see these hard-charging 2ndLt's at TBS who felt like they had to be serious every second of the day because they're Marine Officers. You can't take yourself that seriously. A good sense of humor will take you far.

 

[Crowbar]

PT gear is PT gear. Green on green just ain't flattering to most people and it's very un-functional if you actually try to do anything in it. But unfortunately, anything other than a green cotton t-shirt and the booty huggers (silkies) or green cotton shorts is out of uniform. Some people use the term 'rainbow PT gear' which means whatever you want to wear. I either have 'PT gear' or 'workout/running clothes' and only wear 'PT gear' when I am forced to.

Agree on the saluting thing. Some might tell you something to the effect of 'you don't have to do that out here' but it's better to be safe than sorry, especially if you don't know/talk to the person regularly. Also, be advised that doing anything stupid (chewing gum, listening to headphones, talking loudly on cell phone, sleeping, taking an old lady's seat, swearing) while in public in uniform will draw plenty of unwanted attention upon your head. And I assume you mean you'll be in a uniform other than utilities, right?

 

[Malice 1]

Thanks for the info. The OSO gave me a nice USMC officer Recruiting Programs T-shirt and told me to bring basketball shorts for PT gear.

Anyone else have some "things you should know" to throw in?

 

[Marine4life]

You should always know the 11 general orders. Every Marine should. Take 5 minutes and you'll memorize them.

 

[jamnww]

There are a lot of things you should know...but most can wait till TBS.

While you have the time there are some things you can do. Find out as much from your OSO as you can, about his MOS, about his experience at TBS, time in the fleet, commanding Marines...You will get similar opportunities at TBS but it can't hurt to get a jump on it and he will get you thinking along those lines ahead of time and maybe give you a head start at TBS...get that thought process down...

 

[vvmountainvv]

i concur with Marine4life, the general orders don't take long to re learn and every Marine should know them...as for saluting, definitely. maybe the other services get by with "hey we're out in public so play it cool" but don't allow your standard customs and courtesies to ever be questionable as a Marine officer among other services.