Posted on Feb 28, 2015
Does it make a difference when you find out the new LT/Ensign is prior enlisted?
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I'm sure that pretty much everyone on this site has experienced working with/for a brand new LT/Ensign. All you could do was hope they weren't a complete disaster, and maybe, just maybe, they could be mentored and developed. The supervisors probably hoped the new guy wouldn't get in the way, and SNCOs and Officers probably hoped they could at least tie their own shoes. But after a quick observation of their uniform and a short conversation, you find out that they started their career in the E ranks. At that moment, without knowing anything else, what is your immediate reaction? Does your opinion of them change? Does it make your opinion of them better or worse?
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Mentorship
Mentorship
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 34
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It likely means that they are not clueless, and you won't have to start from scratch showing them how things really work.
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I think it gave me instant street cred with my fellow C-130 aircrew members (at least the enlisted ones), but I also felt like like the aircraft maintenance folks warmed up to me quicker once they found out I was a former E. That said, I have worked with plenty of former E officers who were disliked by all ranks.
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PO1 (Join to see)
Very true Sir. I have seen both types. However, as an Enlisted member myself I can say that my initial reaction would be more positive than negative.
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He probably won't get us lost on land nav. Of if he even thinks he will, he'll hand it off and "train someone else" and let them take the reigns.
Don't get me wrong, it could be good or bad, but if it's a butterbar, initial gut reaction is oh thank God. O2+ I lean towards "could be good or bad," just because with second lieutenants, they are just an unknown quantity... being a former Enlisted turns them into at least a known quantity.
Don't get me wrong, it could be good or bad, but if it's a butterbar, initial gut reaction is oh thank God. O2+ I lean towards "could be good or bad," just because with second lieutenants, they are just an unknown quantity... being a former Enlisted turns them into at least a known quantity.
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
CPT John Hermida As part of the S2, we were responsible for running the refresher Landnav. You could always see the looks of "dread" or "I've got this" when folks came by.
When I got to Quantico, I heard stories about Lt's being "strip searched" to make sure they didn't have cell phones or GPS on them during TBS. I think they were greatly exaggerated, but... who knows.
When I got to Quantico, I heard stories about Lt's being "strip searched" to make sure they didn't have cell phones or GPS on them during TBS. I think they were greatly exaggerated, but... who knows.
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Capt Richard I P.
Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS I'll make another service difference comment. The Land-nav POI at OCS and again at TBS is pretty exhaustive. Strip searches are an exaggeration but leadership failures, mandatory recycles and possible admin separations for ethics violations for cheating are not. So, are young Lts flawless as a group at this (pretty difficult) task? Nope. Are Marines inherently better at it than other services, absolutely due to the rigorous training. Is there a way to improve it at an institutional level? I can't see one, but if you can it may help our beloved Corps be just a little bit more lethal.
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
Capt Richard I P. I figured they were. One thing I truly enjoyed about the Marine Corps as a whole was that it never set us up for failure. It always (from my own personal experience) gave us the tools/training we "needed" (not what we wanted, which was hugely different).
The biggest issue I ever saw on the landnav course was when the markers are too close together, which just adds a HUGE level of difficulty.
The biggest issue I ever saw on the landnav course was when the markers are too close together, which just adds a HUGE level of difficulty.
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Capt Richard I P.
Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS I agree about being set up for success. The biggest issue for me with land nav courses was searching for ammo-cans on engineer stakes, instead of terrain features or enemy emplacements. That said, training on something harder to find makes the bigger things easier eventually.
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