would u be offended??

Question

alright my college advisor asked me why i was going to into the marine corps to become an officer. he asked me about what jobs i wanted to do and i told him either Infantry or FAST (which is like SWAT) he told me "no, no its to dangerous and your to smart for that. than he tried to be "understanding" and say im not calling infantry ppl dumb its just that i think there r better options for you.
I got mad as hell but didnt want to talk back cuz he was my adivisor. how can he say that?? pretty much he was calling grunts dumb, so someone who has bullets flyinjg over there heads..trying to call in a medic vac...give orders that can possibly end a life...and call in artillery strikes isnt a smart person? what do u think?

just let it go? fine you go thru life never never voiceing your opinions and being another member of the flock.

my adivisor was in the army btw

Answer 1

I think if you are going into the military (any branch) you better practice shutting up, not having opinions and not asking questions..just to get ya prepared

Answer 2

Think about it this way -- your advisor works in a college, and probably has never trained in the army. He may be completely unfamiliar with what soldiers actually do. After all, you will probably recognize that many popular TV and movies just show soldiers doing things like pushups. He might not even know the difference between the kind of training that officers get and the kind of training that lower-ranking marines get.

And he may have meant something else entirely. "Better options for you" may have been said out of his concern for your safety, for example. Or maybe he feels that you have talents that the Marines don't need, and which would be unused and wasted there. "You're too smart for that" may not have meant that Marines are dumb, but rather that he'd like you to not put yourself into potential danger. After all, these days there are soldiers getting killed in Iraq and Afghanistan all the time!

And it might be helpful to you to examine why you were so offended by his comment. Is it possible that you are afraid that there was some truth in his statements? I'm wondering because it seems to me that if you thought he was completely off-base, you wouldn't get offended but rather just say, "He doesn't know what he's talking about."

As far as what I think, I don't know too many people in the military, but I have known people who were very intelligent individuals who served in the Armed Forces.

Answer 3

I enlisted in the Marine Corps many years ago and this is how it worked back then. You were given a battery of tests over a couple of your first days there, to determine what areas you are already proficient in. There are many jobs that must be performed in the military and so a quota system is set up. Determining what your job will have while serving in the military (your military occupational specialty or MOS) was based on filling the quotas with the people most likely to succeed in that area of the tests that they did well in. They will ask you if you play a musical instrument, speak a foreign language, or like to repair motors. If you say yes, then they will test you on that subject, if they have a need to fill that quota, get it. I don't know if it's the same today, but I can't see why not...

Answer 4

It sounds like it's more of a compliment to you and less of an insult to the 'grunts'. It almost sounds like you are putting yourself down by assuming the only people you could be smarter than are the 'dumb' people. I don't think he was being insulting to anyone, only trying to tell you that you have more options since a number of kids who feel they aren't that book smart do end up in the military. It's why recruitment officers always head to the 'ghetto' areas and try to recruit the kids who they feel have no options (which is pretty racist). I think your adviser is just trying to make sure you know that you'd do well at other things, not just in the military since some kids don't know that about themselves. It's his job to tell you that. If you know what you want to do, ignore the guy because it doesn't matter what his opinion is then.

Answer 5

I'd be a little offended, but give him a break. He probably doesn't understand the importance of the Marine Corps. But he doesn't know 'you' as well as you do. I would hope those who put their life on the line for their country and have the power to end a life have the mental capability to make such a grave decision.

Plus, maybe he felt that may be better suited for another occupation. That's what he's there for: to give advise. He cares about your future and is just looking at your best options.

Answer 6

It's quite offending, the way your adviser judges that task; however, maybe he intends something else without the purpose of sounding offensive to you. Maybe he just sees potential in you and suggests something more suitable for you to excel more in. Don't take things too much by heart. Being oversensitive can kill a person! Instead try to look at what your adviser is trying to intend. He might just see something in you that you yourself haven't seen yet. You may not know it but maybe he was just looking out for your own good, being an adviser and all. Have an open mind but not to the point of letting people boss you to do things you don't really want.

Answer 7

Some people just won't understand why you want to join the military. You are going to meet many, many people with this opinion. The best thing to do is tell them that you disagree, give your reasons for wanting to join and let it go at that, don't expect to change anybodies mind.

For anybody who answers otherwise, I was in the USN for ten years, and I never once met a stupid Marine.

Answer 8

Hello, you've made your decision to join the Marine corp I assume.
Your Advisor sees another path for you and wanted to share that with you. He admires you and believes your gifts should be given in a different way. He's speaking to you pure of heart and would rather see you out of harms way.
Blessed Be and Gods speed whatever you do.

Answer 9

I don't think he meant it as an insult to "grunts" as you call them but, he's probably thinking of you and your safety. Don't get me wrong, I adopted a soldier in Iraq and send him letters and packages and he is only 20 yrs. old and I worry about him. As for you sir, Why in the world would you want to join at this time? This is a horrible time to be in the military now. But, thank you for your bravery if you do in advance cause your a bigger man than I would be. In fact I can't even wear purple because of the yellow strip down my back! LOL

Answer 10

What a idiot! Infantry people are far from dumb! Smack him in the face for me please and I think it is awesome you want to do either of those jobs that protect our country. Anyway it sounds as your college advisor is just jealous that he doesnt have the balls to do it probably cause his father knocked him off when he was a baby!

Answer 11

i understand how you feel. people just don't understand what it feels like to have the power of a gun in your hands. thats why most men go into that field, swat, infantry, dea, fbi, its the feeling of safety and security when you have a gun. thats why i love firearms. of course i have plenty guns w/o going into the military. i'm not trying to get killed. some people think that the grunts are dumb, but they like the power.