Hey yall. Come August I am going down for The Citadel. I want to be a Marine Pilot and thats a good place to start so Im just looking for any tips or anything yall can give me so I can survive my knob year. Physically, Im 5'9 195 lbs, so that puts me over the weight limit by 10lbs but I should sweat that off pretty quick. I started on my Varsity OL for two years (went 9-4 this past year). Ran distance track this year. I wasnt any good by any means. My fastest times for the 1/4 mile was 63sec, 1/2 mile 2:52, 1 mile 6:46. Not competitive times but better than most ppl who didnt run track. As far as the CPFT is concerned, I can do about 60-65 pushups right now in 2 minutes, 55 situps and I am up to running 3.5 miles at one time. I am also going to the CSI camp down there in 2 weeks to get me in better shape. Academically, I graduated with honors and high GPA from high school. Just got done reading The Lords of Discipline, is the knob year as brutal as that was? I am really looking forward to going down there.
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Tips/Advice for Citadel Freshman
- Thread starter Knob
- Start date
Welcome
BlueEagle77,
Hopefully we will see you as a Marine-option and participating in NROTC functions. I am entering my senior year, have a flight slot, and love to talk about aviation with anyone who is interested in flying. Seek me out when you have some free time (which will not be much at all). Good luck, hope to see you around!
SSgt Harris
BlueEagle77,
Hopefully we will see you as a Marine-option and participating in NROTC functions. I am entering my senior year, have a flight slot, and love to talk about aviation with anyone who is interested in flying. Seek me out when you have some free time (which will not be much at all). Good luck, hope to see you around!
SSgt Harris
Congrats on your acceptance to The Citadel. Are you going to be playing football while there?
Definitley going in the NROTC, as of right now Im more than likely gonna do the Marine option b/c of the Flight Guarantee. I was actually of thinking of trying a walk on for football many months ago, maybe as a full back or something but then I looked at the roster and realized that I would at best be a hitting dummy. Besides, I would rather just focus on my grades so I can get some wings one day. Didnt mean to post in the wrong place, just found this site today. SSgt Harris, Im sure Ill see you around and good luck as well for this coming year and flight school after that.
BlueEagle77 said:
You need to learn more about how that works. Navy does service selection your senior year based on tests/academics/etc. The Marines do theirs from your ranking at TBS. The flight contract lets Marines select aviation like the Navy does so that they know earlier and don't have to worry about their TBS grades as much. It's a good deal for them, but it's a scam for Navy options who are lured over by their MOIs dangling this in front of them. You have to switch options first, THEN apply to see if you can get it. If you do get it, you would have had pretty much the same shot at getting it from the Navy, but if not, you've transferred into a branch you didn't want to be in just so you could do something you're not getting, and now you get to wait until TBS to fight for whatever else you think is second best.
In summary, the flight contract is great for people who want to be in the Marines AND fly, and a scam for Navy options who think it's an easy or sure way into aviation. If you want to go Marine, look into this, but DO NOT PICK YOUR SERVICE BECAUSE OF A FLIGHT GAURANTEE!!
the biggest piece of advice I can give you is: HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR!!!!
you will get yelled at, made fun of, be the butt of practical jokes, and all manner of things while you're there. Don't take any of it personally.
as far as PT goes, don't worry too much about it, you're gonna get PTed more than you can imagine. But as long as you're in fairly good shape, which it appears you are, you'll be just fine.
secondly, if you want to become a naval aviator, you have to concentrate on your grades while you're there. Don't spend all your time shining your shoes and let your grades fall by the wayside. Shiny shoes won't get you your Wings of Gold, good study habits will.
If you have any specific questions about El Cid, shoot my a PM. I've been there, did that, got the t-shirt (and big-a$$ ring too!).
- "Easy"
you will get yelled at, made fun of, be the butt of practical jokes, and all manner of things while you're there. Don't take any of it personally.
as far as PT goes, don't worry too much about it, you're gonna get PTed more than you can imagine. But as long as you're in fairly good shape, which it appears you are, you'll be just fine.
secondly, if you want to become a naval aviator, you have to concentrate on your grades while you're there. Don't spend all your time shining your shoes and let your grades fall by the wayside. Shiny shoes won't get you your Wings of Gold, good study habits will.
If you have any specific questions about El Cid, shoot my a PM. I've been there, did that, got the t-shirt (and big-a$$ ring too!).
- "Easy"
I wouldnt mind so much as being in the Marines, I just dont want to end up in the Infantry on the ground in Iraq. I thought I can take the ASTB before I have to make the actual decision though. I think I also read somewhere that the Marines will offer me the Flight Guarantee before I have to take the Marine Option. As far as the Navy is concerned, if I cant be a pilot, then I have no problem going SWO. I guess though for right now, I should be focused on getting the best grades possible and then talk to my instructors in a year or two.
Thats probally the best advice I have gotten about going there. Mentally, I can take all the yelling and verbal abuse. I have had coaches my whole life ride me and really take a liking to screaming at me. Actually, that kind of stuff motivates me in some weird twisted way. Physically, I think I have just been so paranoid that I am gonna be the only guy thats overweight or something. For some reason, I just picture everybody there runs like a deer and can do pushups and sit ups all day long while im gonna be the one struggling. And acadmeically, I just coasted in high school but still mantained a 3.5 GPA. Now that I have never been more motivated to get top grades, I think I will do fine and stay focused.
I know Im long winded butI really appreciate all of yall giving me a good inside look at all of this stuff.
Read what El Cid said, GRADES, GRADES, AND GRADES. If you have good grades, decent PFT's you will get what you want, but grades are the overriding factor. I just graduated from The Citadel and got a USN commission as an SNA. If you have any specific question please feel free to PM me.
BlueEagle77 said:
Well first off you have two years to get a scholarship ( which is no easy task in an of itself) second, you won't be submitted for Navy and Marine Corps scholarships simultaneously, its one or the other. If you get denied by the Navy you can switch over to Marine option and give it a shot. With the Marines, my understanding is that you can't start a flight package until you receive a scholarship, which means you commit before you have a flight guarantee. If you're cool with being a Marine ( infantry and all) go for it! Good luck to you and if you have any other questions ask away.
goosegagnon2
Member
Not to be a d!ck...but I think the Marines would probably be the wrong service for you.
Harrier Dude
Living the dream
goosegagnon2 said:
He's a freshman. He doesn't (and can't realisticly be expected to) know what he wants right now. He'll learn a lot about the military in the next couple of years and probably change his mind about many different things.
Future Knob: Go In with an open mind and learn as much as you can before you make an informed decision. Don't count out any service/MOS/major until you given it a try. Who knows? You may end up wanting infantry later on and laugh about this at IOC.
What Goose said is true to the extent that if you absolutly do NOT want to be with the infantry, then the Marines isn't for you. Give some it a try while you have the chance. Good luck.
BlueEagle77,
Pay no mind to the naysayers, you will encounter them your entire career and they will try to talk you out of doing things you really want to do. If you want to fly in the Marine Corps, go for it, keep your goal in sight and don't let anyone steer you off course.
Pay no mind to the naysayers, you will encounter them your entire career and they will try to talk you out of doing things you really want to do. If you want to fly in the Marine Corps, go for it, keep your goal in sight and don't let anyone steer you off course.
Also, don't worry about that pesky Silver Shako, it's really not that important.