[GUEST ACCESS MODE: Data is scrambled or limited to provide examples. Make requests using your API key to unlock full data. Check https://lunarcrush.ai/auth for authentication information.]  RÈBELs RÄÎDÈRs [@Rebels_Raiders](/creator/twitter/Rebels_Raiders) on x 13.5K followers Created: 2025-07-10 02:14:41 UTC I held off on saying anything for a day or two after PNW Guerilla’s post telling people not to join the military. I wanted to collect my thoughts not as a civilian, but as someone who did serve. I was in the Marine Corps Reserve from 2009 to 2015 as an 0331 machine gunner. I joined my unit as they were getting back from Iraq. The unit hadn’t even fully demobilized yet when I checked in, with a relatively easy first two years I then got swept up into a full deployment work-up. As a reservist, I ended up doing training usually reserved for active duty infantry. And let me be blunt: I was a terrible Marine. If there’s a “warrior gene,” I’ve got whatever the opposite of that is. I got promoted to corporal, but I was terrified of leadership. I assure you, if you want the definition of failure, my picture is in there somewhere. I had bad leadership, sure but even with good leadership, I’d have been, at best, below average. Did I learn some things? Definitely. Did I have to unlearn a lot afterward? Also yes. Am I glad I did it? …Maybe. What I can offer here is just nuance. Many are shouting “don’t join” or “absolutely join,” and half the time it feels like it’s just branding. Some folks genuinely mean it. Some are just selling a narrative. Here’s what I’ll say: I don’t regret joining the Military Overall. But, and I’m sure this comes as a surprise to no one, I also wasn’t cut out for standard infantry. Maybe Air Force TACP would’ve suited me better? Combat-adjacent but more technical. Less “general issue,” more specialized. Or maybe I would’ve fit in much better as a veterinarian tech stocking piles of dog food, or maybe I’m just dreaming and would’ve been shit at any of them. In any case, would I ever tell you I was not proud to serve? No. Would I tell you I loved the Marine Corps? Hell no. Would I tell you it was a waste of time? Ultimately, no. But life isn’t a clean spreadsheet of good or bad choices. Most of the decisions you make won’t matter in the end because you’re going to die anyway. So whether your path involves the military or doesn’t… make your choices, get the cool photos, be hot, and find some meaning in the middle of it all. That’s about the best any of us can do.  XXXXXXX engagements  **Related Topics** [iraq](/topic/iraq) [Post Link](https://x.com/Rebels_Raiders/status/1943131732296737278)
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RÈBELs RÄÎDÈRs @Rebels_Raiders on x 13.5K followers
Created: 2025-07-10 02:14:41 UTC
I held off on saying anything for a day or two after PNW Guerilla’s post telling people not to join the military. I wanted to collect my thoughts not as a civilian, but as someone who did serve.
I was in the Marine Corps Reserve from 2009 to 2015 as an 0331 machine gunner. I joined my unit as they were getting back from Iraq. The unit hadn’t even fully demobilized yet when I checked in, with a relatively easy first two years I then got swept up into a full deployment work-up. As a reservist, I ended up doing training usually reserved for active duty infantry.
And let me be blunt: I was a terrible Marine.
If there’s a “warrior gene,” I’ve got whatever the opposite of that is. I got promoted to corporal, but I was terrified of leadership.
I assure you, if you want the definition of failure, my picture is in there somewhere. I had bad leadership, sure but even with good leadership, I’d have been, at best, below average.
Did I learn some things? Definitely. Did I have to unlearn a lot afterward? Also yes. Am I glad I did it? …Maybe.
What I can offer here is just nuance. Many are shouting “don’t join” or “absolutely join,” and half the time it feels like it’s just branding. Some folks genuinely mean it. Some are just selling a narrative.
Here’s what I’ll say: I don’t regret joining the Military Overall. But, and I’m sure this comes as a surprise to no one, I also wasn’t cut out for standard infantry.
Maybe Air Force TACP would’ve suited me better? Combat-adjacent but more technical. Less “general issue,” more specialized. Or maybe I would’ve fit in much better as a veterinarian tech stocking piles of dog food, or maybe I’m just dreaming and would’ve been shit at any of them.
In any case, would I ever tell you I was not proud to serve? No. Would I tell you I loved the Marine Corps? Hell no. Would I tell you it was a waste of time? Ultimately, no.
But life isn’t a clean spreadsheet of good or bad choices. Most of the decisions you make won’t matter in the end because you’re going to die anyway. So whether your path involves the military or doesn’t… make your choices, get the cool photos, be hot, and find some meaning in the middle of it all.
That’s about the best any of us can do.
XXXXXXX engagements
Related Topics iraq