Fresh out of boot camp and ITR, I was sent (1958) to Treasure Island electronics school. I had dropped out of high school, never having developed any study habits and I struggled in the classes. While my buddies got their first stripe as we all passed our first 6 months in the Corps, mine was held back. I was told I wouldn’t get it until I raised my grades, even though I had no blemishes on my record and was pretty much “squared away. In the meantime, other guys failed out of the course and were given their stripe before being released to their next duty station.
Even when I graduated from T.I. and was sent to MCRD for the next level, they held it over my head. I had 11 months in grade, if private is a grade, when I reported to the base. When I checked in a WM E4 corporal, looked at my orders, saw how long I’d been in and told me that “If I do well” I’d get that stripe. By then I was thoroughly pissed about the situation – all my buddies had long since been gaining time-in-grade toward E3. “I told her the Corps could take that stripe and put it up its collective ass.” Kind of shocked her.
Anyhow, one morning, as I approached 14 months time in the Corps, at first class of the day, they went through the morning bulletins and casually announced the I.G. would be coming to MCRD the next week and that any requests to see him must go through channels (meaning the instructors, school commander on up the ladder). He continued on with the bulletins until his assistant brought it to his attention that I had my hand up. Kind of irritated, he said “What do you want, Barber?”
I said “I request permission to speak to the I.G.” He jumped up off the edge of the desk he was sitting on (I think he spilled a little coffee) and said “What the f–k for?!!!” I said “It’s personal.”
He tried to get it out of me for a few minutes then gave up. The regulation is pretty clear that every Marine, down to the lowest rank – and I couldn’t go any lower – had the right to request to see the I.G. and didn’t have to disclose the reason. However, by the end of the day, every instructor knew to try to find out why I wanted to see the I.G. and I had been approached by several junior NCOs and asked, “buddy to buddy” what was behind my request.”
The next day, before morning formation, I was told to report to the Top Sergeant. I figured that was a good place to start. When he told me to sit down and tell him what my problem was so he could bring it to an end I laid it out for him. I was in his office about 2 minutes. At the following Monday morning formation I got my stripe. Funny what an Inspector General can accomplish without even knowing it.
A couple of weeks later I failed out of the course, received a supply MOS and transferred to Battalion Supply, 3/5. A few months later I was promoted to L/Cpl after setting an unbeatable (100%) record at the Supply school on Okinawa.
Hello Jim,
We must have been at TI and MCRD about the same time. I graduated from Plt 264 MCRD, R Company ITR, and then to TI near then end of the year (’58). After TI I went to MCRD to the Ground Radar Tech Course. The Depot CG was MGen Krulak. Do you remember the old USMC boxer that lived in a place at the end of the grinder? He used to get out and shadow-box for hours at a time. I was told he was one of Gen. Krulak’s NCOs in a previous life. I’m still in touch with a few guys from that time at MCRD. Our radio repair shop was up next to the 5th Marines on the Hill (Camp Margarita?).
Semper Fi, Bill McBride
Bill, I arrived at boot camp early March 1958, Plt 324. I think I finished at TI late December that year and transferred back to MCRD for the 2nd phase. After I dropped out I joined 3/5 at good ol Margarita and shipped out from there to Camp Schwab, Okinawa. The village outside the gate was a shanty town with 2 dirt roads with bars and shops made out of scrap lumber, old wooden pallets, etc. It is now a big, modern city. My best buddy was in radio relay and spent his entire enlistment, after boot camp and TI at Pendleton.
By the way, I wrote a funny book called “SH*TBIRD! How I Learned to Love The Corps”. I gathered funny boot camp stories from Marines all over the country and put about a hundred of them together for the book (I have 3 brothers that all were Marines so, between us, I had a good start). It’s available on Amazon books.
Awesome!!! Kind a had the same thing happen to me. But not as bad as they did you. , 1964, made Pfc out of boot camp, MCRD San Diego went to aircraft electrician school in Jacksonville, Fla. made E-3 after school. Went to El Toro, Santa Anita, California, was there almost a year with a bunch of other E-3’s. Went back to Jacksonville on leave to get married. Came back in a couple of weeks, and found out they had a blanket promotion, and all the other E-3’s were now E-4’s. I had 6-8 months grade on most of them, boy was I ticked. Went to see my Gunny, and he told me my file was not there with the others. Mine was in a pile of ” on leave ” personnel. So in a couple of months I made Cpl. Made E-5 a month before I went to Viet Nam.
Not to be to harsh, from reading your story, I do not think you had earned a strip, just because you have time in grade dose not mean you get a kick up to the next rank. If you were failing in your classes. That may have been the big reason, then you flunked out of the class
Returned from RVN tour w/comm platoon 1/5 on Turkey Day 1966 w/12 mos in grade as LCpl and had 25 mos left on my enlistment. After 40 days leave reported on Jan 1 67 to Headquarters Company Cadre 4thMarDiv Headquarters Nucleus (that’s a mouth full) at Camp Pendleton (we trained reservists). Was promoted to Cpl my first day (had to be NCO or above to be in this command). You guessed it, 24 mos in grade when I was discharged.