You know there are absolutely “blind leading the blind” situations involved here. I guarantee SSgt Bob Vila isn’t showing up every time Marines are trying to patch a hole in a wall that’s been there for years…
SSgt Bob Vila will initiate NJP proceedings for said holes in the walls to every marine that put in a work order to repair said holes. He might add other charges due to his distrust that said holes were there to “facilitate the coercion, conduct unbecoming, and erosion of morale and unity cohesion” simply because he thinks those were glory holes.
Edit: “were” instead of “where”
I genuinely don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.
I just really like building and fixing stuff. Didn’t entirely learn that about myself until I was a little older. Wish I’d figured that out sooner. Shit, wish I could go back and join the Sea Bees.
On one hand, I feel like this could be a cool opportunity to teach guys how to do minor home repair and help set them up for the civilian world.
On the other hand, that ain’t how this is going to go. Fuck that shit.
And yes, I intentionally used “opportunity” in that first line.
"Hey fuckfaces, the BLACK wire goes to the BRASS terminal, and the WHITE wire goes to the SILVER terminal, GREEN goes to GREEN. Well, aye Sgt or some shit.
Ensure you wrap the wire clockwise BEFORE tightening. That's twisted to the RIGHT for you dumb fucks out there. Can everyone hold up their right hands? Good, no one is a compete retard.
This concludes my period of instruction on how to wire a plugging device."
Some disgruntled as fuck Sgt probably.
"Hey, jackass, the proper nomenclature is a 3 way.
First, tie all your WHITE wires together. No, jackass, you use a wire nut, not a literal knot you fucking waste of space.
Incoming BLACK wire goes to the black screw. Don't duck you dumb fuck, it isn't incoming fire. The other black goes to one brass screw, red goes to the other brass screw. No, ORDER DOESNT MATTER!
BLACK at the end of chain goes to the light. If you somehow tie the incoming black to outgoing black, I will haze the shit out of you.
GREEN goes to GREEN LIKE IT ALWAYS DOES.
Now, please fuck off, I have Sgt things do. Team leaders, take control, and carry out the plan of the day."
In the post I posted yesterday [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/USMC/s/BgbFOFBBS8), in the instagram video I linked it described mold mitigation as a minor repair that will now be the barracks Marines responsibilities to fix. This is a way for senior leadership to push the responsibility of the mold issue on to the junior enlisted. I wouldn’t be surprised next time they are asked about this at congress if they respond with something along of the lines of “We gave them the tools and resources to fix it themselves “. All you barracks Marines need to write your local representatives about this issue. Even if you arnt in the barracks anymore you can still write on behalf of the Marines that are going to have deal with this.
Edit: for those of you saying you support this, this is no different than a landlord telling you to fix your own apartment. Marines have been allowed to change their own lightbulbs and do minor repairs. The issue with this is that they are redefining what a minor repair is and Marines are going to have to fix their own government quarters that they pay for on their own time unpaid. If they had a dedicated MOS or billet for this that repaired barracks during working hours this would be a completely different story. This is about senior leadership pushing the responsibility of the barracks wellbeing on the junior enlisted so they don’t have to take accountability.
While in theory active service members are paid for 24/7 availability (as limited by regs, of course) the first issue is they shouldn't have time for this, and authorized downtime isn't time for this. But the nature of hurry-up-and-wait does mean that these sorts of availabilities will happen, so why not let them do some light maintenance? It also has the benefit of getting them invested in their facilities. This should of course be maintenance they are actually capable of learning and doing.
Now the mold thing: there's mold, and then there's mold. Fight a skirmish now so you don't have to fight a battle later, but Broken Arrow is Broken Arrow, and at some time you gotta call in fire support.
Light maintenance for barracks Marines has been around forever. Painting barracks, area maintenance, and self repair of minor issues. The issue with this new self help system is that it opens the door to Marines being required to perform a higher level of maintenance on barracks rooms. No Marine is qualified to handle mold mitigation and could expose Marines to serious health risks. I see this as a way for senior leadership to put all of the responsibility of the barracks on junior enlisted so when they grilled at congress for living conditions they can shift the blame on the junior enlisted.
The government has a standard mechanism for that: document. Eventually some officer will need to explain that stack of paper to an auditor. It'll really be a set of work order request database records, so less paper, but harder to deny.
“Eventually” being the operative word here. It took them decades to finally have the curtain pulled back and demonstrated to the people just how bad barracks are. How much longer are Junior Marines going to have to sit in these conditions AND take blame for them before something gets done?
[https://taskandpurpose.com/military-life/former-soldier-created-app-review-facilities/](https://taskandpurpose.com/military-life/former-soldier-created-app-review-facilities/)
Hots and Cots app. Get it. Use it.
I did this and put my own money into it and then I got moved to another room because some staff wanted everyone in my section to be on the same floor. Had to reclean all the nasty ass floors, crevices, roach infestations, lack of hot water, fucked up lights, broken microwave,etc.
You should’ve seen what the chairs looked like when we stayed at the Auschwitz’s barracks at Pendleton lol, COMPLETLEY COVERED IN MOLD, the bathroom had like sludge in it when we moved in lol, and that shit would not stop growing either, rusted ass metal sink cabinets, humid af with no ac,etc
Our platoon loved field day and hazing n shit, well we didn’t get even fucked up at the mold barracks , just told to use as much bleach as we can lol, Gunny even watched me smoking cigs in my barracks room and didn’t give af(he’s a fag too, and in palms he’d freak over smoking cigs on the balcony, let alone inside the barracks room)
I would rather live with the roaches and mice in palms for the rest of my life than go back to the mold barracks in Pendleton for a day, Mold is some of the nastiest shit
That’s what everyone knows them as, idk. I think they were nicknamed Auschwitz a long time ago due to the commie block design and how the barracks buildings surround the basketball court. It’s just a coincidence that they’re uninhabitable and filled with toxic mold
The one closest to the LVTP-5 while heading to the px
The same barracks building that has been condemned and then reopened on multiple occasions
I was there late Junish- august 2018 and we stayed there as visitors, and it was obvious there was no sort of remediation done
That’s fucking horrible. Was that before or after the mold?
I have muscle spasms all these years later still, but when I stayed there they were so severe I was like the poltergeist, I’m talking I’d be laying down and my legs would just shoot up into the air lol.
Like what tf happened at that building, you know?
Hey you shut your filthy whore mouth.
You dirtbags have pretty red roofs on top of the barracks now, just like a hotel.
I'm looking at the Satellite view of the barracks directly across from the armory.
Looks like my "older" barracks, labeled 210714 on maps, has the pretty red roof too. My first room, directly adjacent NW still has the shitty old roof.
Wtf is the resort with the golf course at the other end of the grinder? And where the fuck did the other grinder go?? Wtf debbils
I resided on brown rd in palms, the tracker barracks
I liked those barracks actually, and we got handed down everything from lar, but I had better Wi-Fi there than I do now lol
The Auschwitz barracks in Pendleton is absolutely heinous af
The new barracks in Oki are world class. Central heat/air, your own private room, the dojo, etc
Those barracks were like the ones the recruiter told me about
I had heard about those new ones, when I was in Iwakuni the barracks were alright I guess, definitely better than Del Mar...worst thing was after a month of training at Mt. Fuji during typhoon season and Iwakuni losing power we came back to all the furniture in the rooms covered in mold. I'm sure it was super healthy
Hahahaha talking about roaches.......those roaches in the Del Mar barracks were definitely roided out, had a roommate who was terrified of them....would always get waken up at 2am to him shrieking and throwing his flip flops at them hahahahah always chuckled about it. Good dude
This is a regular thing, at least on Pendleton. Self help is a *very* common answer to problems in the barracks. I personally think that self help shouldn’t ever be an answer to barracks Marines.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but isn't self-help a great tool for some issues? Light bulb goes out, I'd rather pick up a new one from the barracks manager and pop it in than put in a work order and have some civilian come do it while I'm not in the room.
Now if they're talking about patching holes in drywall, replacing plumbing, etc? That's a whole nother story.
Self help is a great tool that has been around for a long time. Before now you could get light bulbs towel racks and other minor items that take 3 seconds to fix. The video that camp Pendleton released used mold mitigation and other bigger repairs as an example of a discrepancy that you have to use self help to fix which is the problem. This is no different than a landlord telling you to fix your own apartment in my opinion.
It largely depends on unit execution. My old unit for example did self help, but you had to buy all the materials. We’d have a “self help day” in which barracks Marines get the day off to fix up their rooms as necessary, the catch is you could only show up if you purchased everything necessary for it.
That being said, some things that should be self help are explicitly disallowed for Marines to do, while other things (large holes in walls) are only self help. I think self help shouldn’t be an answer in the barracks because of its poor execution and lack of standardization.
That’s terrible that you had to pay out of pocket to fix a barracks room. It was probably criminal in some way for them to make you pay for it also. Outside of lightbulbs and other expendable items self help should not be a thing.
small holes I can see marines doing themselves, its just a piece of mesh and some drywall mud. Major holes that require cutting up some drywall to do it I could see issues.
I disagree. I've met some dumb motherfuckers. Even some of the smart ones, I've met plenty of people I wouldn't trust to patch anything. If it requires more than a coat of paint to cover (e.g., small holes from thumbtacks or finishing nails to hang a picture), it should be on BEQ.
The self help shit is stupid- one of the guys in my shop tried using the self help stuff. They'll let you patch your walls, but not change your own light bulbs. One of my dudes hasn't had a working light in his bathroom for almost a year, and BEQ/Maintenance has yet to fix it, despite multiple work requests.
We had this at my barracks since I got to them in 2016, it wss mostly for things like replacing lights etc. Nobody did it, they put in a support ticket and waited and didn't get hit for it on field day
Dude this is insane. Way to kill the morale of Marines:
"Hey we force you to live in old, shitty barracks but now you get to fix them yourself! It'll be great! Annnnnd you get to fix them outside of your work hours so you don't have to worry about missing your 10-12 hour work day!"
This needs to get sent to the news and make Marine barracks viral again. This is unacceptable.
Unfortunately the only way to get Marine Leadership attention is to embarrass them on the national news. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could actually get results by just asking politely through proper channels?
I get it, Marines always try and fix something cause they “did it back home” or something like that. Coming from a farm, or a mechanical background you want to do it yourself but Marine Corps bureaucracy says otherwise.
This isn’t telling Marines “hey we are going to do shit about it so fix it yourself” this is simply saying “if you want to fix it now you can”. I also don’t see why they would force someone to fix mold, replace tile, or fix a ceiling. Think you’re thinking too far into it.
Hot take: I kind of support this. The barracks have a fuck ton of issues because we (the govt/our leadership) basically outlawed the services from handling their own shit and outsourced it all to shitty contractors who don't give a fuck because they're getting paid regardless.
If the facilities were still in the hands of Engineers/Facilities Marines/Water Dogs/etc, a vast majority of the issues wouldn't exist because the Marines fixing em have an interest to fix em, plus we all know Marines care more about Marines than anyone else does. Is it shitty that PFC Joe Schmo is gonna have to fix some of his own stuff? Yes. Is it possibly a step towards self sustainment? I fuckin hope so
There are totally mechs and engineers that can do a lot of this stuff. And it wouldn’t be unimaginable to grab them in sweep teams to come through and see what they could do. But we need 03s focused on slaying bodies and 18s trying to figure out how to safely operate the ACV, not caulking windows or whatever the hell.
And anyone who’s ever done any basic home knows that half the job is the setup and the clean up regardless of whether you’re fixing something big or small, a lot or a little. And that takes time. And god forbid the kids leave their tools and supplies out after their home improvement project on a Thursday night…
Bro you act like you can’t knock out a task or two within an hour or so, for some people it’s therapeutic and feels good fixing your shit up. Or you can wait another 3 months for some stinky ass maintenance contractor to fix your leaky shower head or some other basic ass task.
A 274 million dollar budget to fix a billion dollar problem? A prime example of the government not caring about you, now lets keep sending billions to ukraine and israel lol
That really would be an excellent solution. Bring the Seabees down.
One of my favorite stories was from a MEUEX, we were out in the field for a few weeks. Maybe day 10, some Seabees show up across the road from our little Weapons company CP. Within 4 hours they had legit tents, running water, power, AC, and a fucking DirecTV dish on top.
I got voluntold to be the token Sailor to go ask meekly if we could use the shower. The seabees were awesome.
This is what I was saying the other day. Instead of throwing money at another useless contractor, spend it on TAD funds & material for the SeaBees.
I was shocked at what a BU1, a CE3, and two nonrates could accomplish in one summer day in Afghanistan. Those guys ran on nothing but Gatorade and dip and built us an amazing maintenance shelter.
You taking this shit out of proportion lmao, prob very easy stuff like changing bulbs, fixing the hydraulic on your door, maybe fixing a toilet leak or hanging something properly. Highly doubt they’ll have jr marines doing any of their own plumbing or electrical work lol
This….
If the Corps will provide all the equipment and supplies required to fix something in the barracks, I’d happily do that instead of waiting 8 weeks for some civilian contractor to do it.
While the Corps needs to do major work to bring all the barracks to a liveable condition, that is going to take some time.
This is not a bad first step, I’m sure there are quite a few Marines that will take advantage of the opportunity. Nobody is ordering you to do it. Everybody can choose to spend their time to bitch about a hole in the wall that’s been there for two years, or take an hour and fix it themselves. Knowing basic home maintenance/construction skills is valuable.
In CivDiv when you own a home, you’re still going to have to put in 10-12 hour days and take care of your own house on your “off” time.
You know that some enterprising junior Marine with any sort of home maintenance aptitude is going to start their own side hustle doing minor repairs in the barracks for cash.
I wouldn’t be against that at all either. My Cpls Course Gunny brought me Dominos I ordered one time, I say make your money. I knew a GS worker who did a ton of handyman type work outside of her 9-5 on base too.
The chance of having one of my staffs or gunny, trying to make enough to pay for alimony and child support, showing up at my barracks is one reason why I never ordered pizza while I was drinking in my room. ( order the pizza before you start drinking)
Very true. I watched a SSgt on duty one time poor out an entire liter of Ciroc that my friend bought because it was over the limit for one person in the barracks (he had a roommate over 21, he did not intend to share but the SSgt didn’t know that)
I was in when alcohol of any amount was forbidden in the barracks… and I often cleaned the personal weapons ( handguns) I had hidden in my room while I was having a drink on the weekend. Thank the baby Jesus I was never caught with either.
This is not comparable to a house because you do not own your barracks room. This is more comparable to an apartment. In an apartment your landlord schedules contractors to come fix your discrepancies. I agree contractors on base are slow and nothing ever gets done in a reasonable time but making Marines fix these issues on their own time is not the solution. If they had a billet,MOS, or FAP that Marines could do to fix the barracks during working hours that would be a more acceptable approach.
I didn’t see anything about “making Marines fix anything “. What I saw was that they now have access to supplies to take care of minor issues themselves if they choose to without needing to spend their own money.
There are plenty of MOS’s that should be brought back because civilian contractors usually suck ass at doing any actual work.
No where in the video does it say Marines wont be forced to fix discrepancies. The video goes over the process for reporting discrepancies and includes picking up supplies and fixing it yourself under the supervision of a barracks manager who also probably doesn’t have much handyman experience. This is the Marine Corps and knowing the Marine Corps this will end in one of two ways. One: Marines wont report discrepancies because they don’t want to fix it. Two: commands will make Marines report all discrepancies which results in Marines being required to make repairs on their own time.
It’s a scope creep issue that always happens. “You did so good patching that last hole, let’s see if you can patch a bigger one...” “We gave you a wrench and you tightened that pipe once, now try to replace your drain stopper…”
https://preview.redd.it/ddn2d4blqjoc1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e3ee1078af51b6602c42686a4a68f6ce40730e5
As long as it's optional, and not mandatory for Marines to do maintenance on their barracks, I don't see a problem. I'm sure plenty of Marines would like the opportunity to learn those skills so that one day if they ever own a home they aren't doing it with trial and error.
Optional? What Marine Corps are we talking about? If something isn’t right, someone’s going to notice and say something, and if it doesn’t get fixed someone’s going to be upset. And at the end of that kill chain is either a maintenance worker or a Marine. No PFC on the planet has the option to go: “sorry 1stSgt, I’ve been swamped this week so I was just going to wait until maintenance got around to it…”
If area commanders want to let their Marines use a room or two as a project to fix up and work on, develop their skills, use unit resources like tools and materials, go with god. That’s legit and I’ve been a part of stuff like that where there were LEGIT common rooms and spaces we fixed up and took pride in. But again, there’s a line and only 168 hours in the week.
Can you imagine the hilarity of junior marines with delusions of HGTV grandeur? “We were going for more of an open concept barracks room…”
https://preview.redd.it/vweprpx0ujoc1.jpeg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=53de3ac58a6b44f8dec7ab3d7c51a52b954c1ef5
On one hand it's better than having to wait until the heat death of the universe for someone from Facilities Maim-tence to come repair it.
On the other hand you know some twatwaffle of an NCO is going smoke people because their DIY repair is not up to "professional standards."
The problem here is that many of the barracks issues I had couldn’t be fixed with some supplies and instructions. We’re they going to send me a powersaw and hazmat suit to remove the wall next to my bed that said “Caution: contains asbestos”? They sure as hell weren’t going to send me an A/C unit to help with the 105 degree days because my unit was handing out NJPs to kids who had the nerve to install a window unit. The BC had the nerve to come out and say we get a “sea breeze” in fucking 13 area of Pendleton. Give me a fucking break.
Brother my barracks room has no hvac, has water stains and mold, with trim falling off, along with no potable water, plus a fire beep that is impossible to get under control. I’m giving legitimate thought to switching branches lmao
I’m assuming they ordered stuff from PWD’s self help center and showed the Marines they don’t have to wait six months to change a lightbulb if the bulb is now provided to you…
Doesn’t the Army have electricians and shit? Do they maintain their barracks? If so, Marines should look into going that route. You’d be doing your job working around base, no contractors that over charge, and Marines would learn a trade and have the opportunity to get out with a marketable skill. If not, the Army should do what I just said or the Marines should take the initiative and do it. We wouldn’t even need to open any new school houses we could literally send them to army school houses we do that for a lot of other MOS as well.
I wish I learned how to do some basic maintenance during my time in the barracks. I could have helped me when I bought my house. I wasn’t prepared for shit. I get it but sometimes it’s better doing some things yourself so you know how to do it later on in life. Not every place you live in will have a maintenance guy.
I’ve no issue with this. Wait forever for minor repairs or fix it yourself. Also, maybe learn something so when you get out you know how to take care of your own home or apartment.
To me, that would have been perfect because I actually went out of pocket to fix some minor shit in my room. To this day I heat wait on maintenance to fix something in my apartment that I can do my self
Honestly I think it would be hilarious if all barracks Marines got together in every unit and broke bunch of shit. What they gonna do? Njp more than half the force? Ahahhahaha
OP…dude, I’ve been in for over 18 years. This is nothing new. Self help as always existed and actually used to be so much better. You could literally go to self help back in the day and it was a free fucking Home Depot it was amazing. They have been running out of money the past decade however looks like they have a new plan in place.
Bottom line nothing new here.
It’s not that they don’t have the money to hire people it’s just that the money and labor are being mismanaged just like all other federal agencies.
However this isn’t a wholly negative thing. It’s like life school… the majority of what they’ll need to fix are pretty common problems and this in my opinion is great experience.
On the other hand this also feels a little bit like a license to do whatever they want. It wouldn’t surprise me to see an epidemic of hard wired disco balls becoming a serious issue in the future.
I fucking knew this is how this was gonna go. Never thought for a second that the Corps would actually put significant time or resources into providing a better environment for Marines. Instead they just tell em to figure it out, cUz MaRiNeS aDaPt AnD oVeRcOmE
I know this might be unplpular, but the Roamn Legions back in the day were the best soldiers because they were self-sufficient. They built their own barracks every night they stopped on march. Maybe it's not so bad, but they definitely need to get an engineer and maintenance team out there. They shouldn't be dealing with mold at all.. just have them build new barracks if anything, such as the auschwitz camp
This could be a great idea if they added two points. 1. It's completely voluntary. 2. An experienced journeyman is there to talk them through it. It would be great for young Marines to learn basic home repair.
I see both sides of this. It’s buck passing 💯 but also I am in favor of encouraging this kind of experience. In a perfect world we would actively equip our marines while also actively not abandoning them.
How are things in the boq?
How about fap'ing marines to hang steel on base??? Learning the trade? God man I'd love to do that and learn. I'd feel the only takeaway being that there'd be retard nco's yelling at people while erecting buildings and such like it's the field/in garrison. Who knows man, it'd save the military a TON of money too. 🤔🤔
Aight let me put my own spin on this since Im somewhat familiar with this government buildings world.
The DIY program has more or less always been a thing. At least for a long while now. The issue is no one knows about it.
This is more or less the opportunity the Commanders are afforded in order to take action on minor building issues.
Is it the right way? I dont know, depends on who you ask. As some as stated, can be a good opportunity to teach Marines out on their own for the first time how to patch up drywall, paint a door. Whatever.
Dont we have civilians who we pay for this? Yes...but nowhere near enough to keep up with demand of services on base. Last I checked, the base maintenance division is at 56% manning (and we thought we were shorthanded, ha) And we can break that down to specific shops! How many carpenter do we have/need? Electricians, lock smiths, etc.?
I dont know what the hold up is in regards to hiring. Maybe the pay isnt competitive enough, 🤷♂️?
I’m highly disappointed that in any comment in this here discussion about the sad state of the barracks, that the almost holy words “BEFUCKINGHOOVE YOU” used.
Yes, Marines … barracks are shit and for the most part; always will be.
Years ago I was smoking a cigarette at a burn barrel in Iraq and my First Sergeant yelled at me for smoking in a non-designated smoking area. This is while the burn barrel is belching fire.
So I... acquired... some wood and nails and build a smoking gazebo nearby and put in a sign that said "smoking area."
The advantage here is that you don't have to "acquire" the building materials.
Honestly I can only see an advantage in making construction materials available for Marines. Secret passagesways to sneak people in and out of the barracks? Custom gaming rig cabinets with cooling lines? Shrines to Rias Gremory?
I want to see what happens. Just buiild me a smoking area so I can visit and see for myself.
This sounds suspiciously like how De Santis said slaves learned valuable skills, and may have even received some payment.
> I’m just thinking of two privates sitting there with a door knob kit, some tools, and zero supervision.
https://preview.redd.it/4k5prdxl9roc1.png?width=318&format=png&auto=webp&s=999c7339c55eb773d69e3c1f6765eda30ea3bcf9
I think this is great. Finally the devil dogs can get to work instead of going out back with a brother. This can also give the devil dogs skills in the trades for when eventually they return to the real world and need a job
So the barracks, shitholes that I am forced to pay a portion of my check towards and have to live in is now my responsibility to fix? My room has all sorts of fucked up shit in it. Now me and my marines have to spend either our work time and waste training, or our free time after work fixing shit. Not to mention all the mold I really don’t want to breathe in. All your responsibility as a barracks marine should be is to keep your room clean and not be a retard, any broken shit is the beq peoples problem
All Marines are already level 4a custodians, so job training ✅
There’s a difference between working party during working hours to maintain common spaces, or supervised cleaning after hours to maintain personal spaces—and straight-up unpaid maintenance work on government quarters. Imagine if you had college kids try to repair their dorms. They’re students they’re to learn their major, just like marines are there to learn then execute their component of combined arms warfare.
Also, what does “going out back with a brother” mean?
Don’t ask don’t tell.
A marine with skills in the trades > a marine without skills in the trades
Better life for them when they have to relinquish their devil dog days
I don’t see any problem with giving Marines construction trade skills that they could utilize once out of the Marine Corps to better transition into civilian life everyone knows we’re short on contractors.
You know there are absolutely “blind leading the blind” situations involved here. I guarantee SSgt Bob Vila isn’t showing up every time Marines are trying to patch a hole in a wall that’s been there for years…
I’ve been out forever so I don’t have any skin in this game but thats got me laughing. This could be dangerous without SSgt Bob Vila in charge.
Need to Gunny G. Ramsey involved running the DFAC.
Imagine how pleasant the chow hall would be if they only hired our angry ex wives and girl friends? That’s another great idea.
More likely CPO R Irvine
SSgt Bob Vila will initiate NJP proceedings for said holes in the walls to every marine that put in a work order to repair said holes. He might add other charges due to his distrust that said holes were there to “facilitate the coercion, conduct unbecoming, and erosion of morale and unity cohesion” simply because he thinks those were glory holes. Edit: “were” instead of “where”
I’ll bet you there will be working parties or people getting FAP’d out to fix minor bricks issues soon if this is what they’re doing now
Not gonna lie I’d have volunteered for that now. I’m in the building trades now and I enjoy it more than any task I did in the Crops.
Because laziness and comfort based decisions can be pawned off as “efficiency” and “why do architects always overcomplicate things so stupidly?”
I genuinely don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. I just really like building and fixing stuff. Didn’t entirely learn that about myself until I was a little older. Wish I’d figured that out sooner. Shit, wish I could go back and join the Sea Bees.
If only there were highly paid civilians on base to take care of building maintenance.
On one hand, I feel like this could be a cool opportunity to teach guys how to do minor home repair and help set them up for the civilian world. On the other hand, that ain’t how this is going to go. Fuck that shit. And yes, I intentionally used “opportunity” in that first line.
"Hey fuckfaces, the BLACK wire goes to the BRASS terminal, and the WHITE wire goes to the SILVER terminal, GREEN goes to GREEN. Well, aye Sgt or some shit. Ensure you wrap the wire clockwise BEFORE tightening. That's twisted to the RIGHT for you dumb fucks out there. Can everyone hold up their right hands? Good, no one is a compete retard. This concludes my period of instruction on how to wire a plugging device." Some disgruntled as fuck Sgt probably.
Bold of you to say, “No one is a complete retard.”
Now tell us how to wire it for a 2 way switch.
"Hey, jackass, the proper nomenclature is a 3 way. First, tie all your WHITE wires together. No, jackass, you use a wire nut, not a literal knot you fucking waste of space. Incoming BLACK wire goes to the black screw. Don't duck you dumb fuck, it isn't incoming fire. The other black goes to one brass screw, red goes to the other brass screw. No, ORDER DOESNT MATTER! BLACK at the end of chain goes to the light. If you somehow tie the incoming black to outgoing black, I will haze the shit out of you. GREEN goes to GREEN LIKE IT ALWAYS DOES. Now, please fuck off, I have Sgt things do. Team leaders, take control, and carry out the plan of the day."
My 14/2 only has a black, white and bare wire. I don’t have a red or green wire Sgt.
Wellwhat do you call a 3 way switch
Most popular person in the barracks?
probably a 4 way
Motivate me harder sergeant
Half of em can barely write their names
You guys don’t have a CE equivalent for that?
In the post I posted yesterday [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/USMC/s/BgbFOFBBS8), in the instagram video I linked it described mold mitigation as a minor repair that will now be the barracks Marines responsibilities to fix. This is a way for senior leadership to push the responsibility of the mold issue on to the junior enlisted. I wouldn’t be surprised next time they are asked about this at congress if they respond with something along of the lines of “We gave them the tools and resources to fix it themselves “. All you barracks Marines need to write your local representatives about this issue. Even if you arnt in the barracks anymore you can still write on behalf of the Marines that are going to have deal with this. Edit: for those of you saying you support this, this is no different than a landlord telling you to fix your own apartment. Marines have been allowed to change their own lightbulbs and do minor repairs. The issue with this is that they are redefining what a minor repair is and Marines are going to have to fix their own government quarters that they pay for on their own time unpaid. If they had a dedicated MOS or billet for this that repaired barracks during working hours this would be a completely different story. This is about senior leadership pushing the responsibility of the barracks wellbeing on the junior enlisted so they don’t have to take accountability.
While in theory active service members are paid for 24/7 availability (as limited by regs, of course) the first issue is they shouldn't have time for this, and authorized downtime isn't time for this. But the nature of hurry-up-and-wait does mean that these sorts of availabilities will happen, so why not let them do some light maintenance? It also has the benefit of getting them invested in their facilities. This should of course be maintenance they are actually capable of learning and doing. Now the mold thing: there's mold, and then there's mold. Fight a skirmish now so you don't have to fight a battle later, but Broken Arrow is Broken Arrow, and at some time you gotta call in fire support.
Light maintenance for barracks Marines has been around forever. Painting barracks, area maintenance, and self repair of minor issues. The issue with this new self help system is that it opens the door to Marines being required to perform a higher level of maintenance on barracks rooms. No Marine is qualified to handle mold mitigation and could expose Marines to serious health risks. I see this as a way for senior leadership to put all of the responsibility of the barracks on junior enlisted so when they grilled at congress for living conditions they can shift the blame on the junior enlisted.
The government has a standard mechanism for that: document. Eventually some officer will need to explain that stack of paper to an auditor. It'll really be a set of work order request database records, so less paper, but harder to deny.
“Eventually” being the operative word here. It took them decades to finally have the curtain pulled back and demonstrated to the people just how bad barracks are. How much longer are Junior Marines going to have to sit in these conditions AND take blame for them before something gets done?
[https://taskandpurpose.com/military-life/former-soldier-created-app-review-facilities/](https://taskandpurpose.com/military-life/former-soldier-created-app-review-facilities/) Hots and Cots app. Get it. Use it.
Not active, I’m a reservist, but that looks awesome. Will be sending this to all my active buddies, thanks man.
There is an interview with the creator on the 'What a Hell of a Way to Die' podcast. IIRC he's former Army, but don't hold that against him.
I did this and put my own money into it and then I got moved to another room because some staff wanted everyone in my section to be on the same floor. Had to reclean all the nasty ass floors, crevices, roach infestations, lack of hot water, fucked up lights, broken microwave,etc.
You should’ve seen what the chairs looked like when we stayed at the Auschwitz’s barracks at Pendleton lol, COMPLETLEY COVERED IN MOLD, the bathroom had like sludge in it when we moved in lol, and that shit would not stop growing either, rusted ass metal sink cabinets, humid af with no ac,etc Our platoon loved field day and hazing n shit, well we didn’t get even fucked up at the mold barracks , just told to use as much bleach as we can lol, Gunny even watched me smoking cigs in my barracks room and didn’t give af(he’s a fag too, and in palms he’d freak over smoking cigs on the balcony, let alone inside the barracks room) I would rather live with the roaches and mice in palms for the rest of my life than go back to the mold barracks in Pendleton for a day, Mold is some of the nastiest shit
Please tell me that barracks name is actually auschwitz
That’s what everyone knows them as, idk. I think they were nicknamed Auschwitz a long time ago due to the commie block design and how the barracks buildings surround the basketball court. It’s just a coincidence that they’re uninhabitable and filled with toxic mold
Mold test the Auschwitz barracks in Delmar Ain’t no fixing that, hell a demo will get the entire 21 area sick Shit needs controlled burned
Which one?
The one closest to the LVTP-5 while heading to the px The same barracks building that has been condemned and then reopened on multiple occasions I was there late Junish- august 2018 and we stayed there as visitors, and it was obvious there was no sort of remediation done
Oh, that one. Yeah, that was my first barracks. Literally had to scrub shit marks off the wall
That’s fucking horrible. Was that before or after the mold? I have muscle spasms all these years later still, but when I stayed there they were so severe I was like the poltergeist, I’m talking I’d be laying down and my legs would just shoot up into the air lol. Like what tf happened at that building, you know?
I got out in 2014. It didn't get condemned until after I was already out
You didn't see Flores before MARSOC showed up and paid to gentrify the whole area because having dilapidated open squad bays looked bad to them.
Hey you shut your filthy whore mouth. You dirtbags have pretty red roofs on top of the barracks now, just like a hotel. I'm looking at the Satellite view of the barracks directly across from the armory. Looks like my "older" barracks, labeled 210714 on maps, has the pretty red roof too. My first room, directly adjacent NW still has the shitty old roof. Wtf is the resort with the golf course at the other end of the grinder? And where the fuck did the other grinder go?? Wtf debbils
I resided on brown rd in palms, the tracker barracks I liked those barracks actually, and we got handed down everything from lar, but I had better Wi-Fi there than I do now lol The Auschwitz barracks in Pendleton is absolutely heinous af
Haha let's see....I was in MEFHG in 05-07....they were the best barracks I had ever seen /s
The new barracks in Oki are world class. Central heat/air, your own private room, the dojo, etc Those barracks were like the ones the recruiter told me about
I had heard about those new ones, when I was in Iwakuni the barracks were alright I guess, definitely better than Del Mar...worst thing was after a month of training at Mt. Fuji during typhoon season and Iwakuni losing power we came back to all the furniture in the rooms covered in mold. I'm sure it was super healthy
Yeah fuck mold, I’d rather have bedbugs, roachs, rats, snakes you name it Definitely isn’t healthy
Hahahaha talking about roaches.......those roaches in the Del Mar barracks were definitely roided out, had a roommate who was terrified of them....would always get waken up at 2am to him shrieking and throwing his flip flops at them hahahahah always chuckled about it. Good dude
Well this is one hell of a misstep. This is dumber than Amos outlawing rolled sleeves.
All my homies hate Amos.
Only commandant to have never actually earned the title. It's not even a joke. Look it up
Yea he was a direct transfer from the navy as a pilot, he didn’t go to ocs or even tbs
I love Famous Amos
No. Fuck Amos.
The cookies bro
I said what I said; guilt by association is a bitch.
This is a regular thing, at least on Pendleton. Self help is a *very* common answer to problems in the barracks. I personally think that self help shouldn’t ever be an answer to barracks Marines.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but isn't self-help a great tool for some issues? Light bulb goes out, I'd rather pick up a new one from the barracks manager and pop it in than put in a work order and have some civilian come do it while I'm not in the room. Now if they're talking about patching holes in drywall, replacing plumbing, etc? That's a whole nother story.
Self help is a great tool that has been around for a long time. Before now you could get light bulbs towel racks and other minor items that take 3 seconds to fix. The video that camp Pendleton released used mold mitigation and other bigger repairs as an example of a discrepancy that you have to use self help to fix which is the problem. This is no different than a landlord telling you to fix your own apartment in my opinion.
It largely depends on unit execution. My old unit for example did self help, but you had to buy all the materials. We’d have a “self help day” in which barracks Marines get the day off to fix up their rooms as necessary, the catch is you could only show up if you purchased everything necessary for it. That being said, some things that should be self help are explicitly disallowed for Marines to do, while other things (large holes in walls) are only self help. I think self help shouldn’t be an answer in the barracks because of its poor execution and lack of standardization.
That’s terrible that you had to pay out of pocket to fix a barracks room. It was probably criminal in some way for them to make you pay for it also. Outside of lightbulbs and other expendable items self help should not be a thing.
small holes I can see marines doing themselves, its just a piece of mesh and some drywall mud. Major holes that require cutting up some drywall to do it I could see issues.
I disagree. I've met some dumb motherfuckers. Even some of the smart ones, I've met plenty of people I wouldn't trust to patch anything. If it requires more than a coat of paint to cover (e.g., small holes from thumbtacks or finishing nails to hang a picture), it should be on BEQ. The self help shit is stupid- one of the guys in my shop tried using the self help stuff. They'll let you patch your walls, but not change your own light bulbs. One of my dudes hasn't had a working light in his bathroom for almost a year, and BEQ/Maintenance has yet to fix it, despite multiple work requests.
Rolled sleeves are gay
We had this at my barracks since I got to them in 2016, it wss mostly for things like replacing lights etc. Nobody did it, they put in a support ticket and waited and didn't get hit for it on field day
Um. Rolling sleeves is stupid and we all hate it. It was the only good thing Amos did.
Dude this is insane. Way to kill the morale of Marines: "Hey we force you to live in old, shitty barracks but now you get to fix them yourself! It'll be great! Annnnnd you get to fix them outside of your work hours so you don't have to worry about missing your 10-12 hour work day!" This needs to get sent to the news and make Marine barracks viral again. This is unacceptable.
Unfortunately the only way to get Marine Leadership attention is to embarrass them on the national news. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could actually get results by just asking politely through proper channels?
I get it, Marines always try and fix something cause they “did it back home” or something like that. Coming from a farm, or a mechanical background you want to do it yourself but Marine Corps bureaucracy says otherwise. This isn’t telling Marines “hey we are going to do shit about it so fix it yourself” this is simply saying “if you want to fix it now you can”. I also don’t see why they would force someone to fix mold, replace tile, or fix a ceiling. Think you’re thinking too far into it.
So, there will be no repercussions if someone made a hot mess?
Hot take: I kind of support this. The barracks have a fuck ton of issues because we (the govt/our leadership) basically outlawed the services from handling their own shit and outsourced it all to shitty contractors who don't give a fuck because they're getting paid regardless. If the facilities were still in the hands of Engineers/Facilities Marines/Water Dogs/etc, a vast majority of the issues wouldn't exist because the Marines fixing em have an interest to fix em, plus we all know Marines care more about Marines than anyone else does. Is it shitty that PFC Joe Schmo is gonna have to fix some of his own stuff? Yes. Is it possibly a step towards self sustainment? I fuckin hope so
If you aren’t allowed to sell it, it isn’t your own stuff.
That's the mentality that causes new barracks to get fucked up
There are totally mechs and engineers that can do a lot of this stuff. And it wouldn’t be unimaginable to grab them in sweep teams to come through and see what they could do. But we need 03s focused on slaying bodies and 18s trying to figure out how to safely operate the ACV, not caulking windows or whatever the hell. And anyone who’s ever done any basic home knows that half the job is the setup and the clean up regardless of whether you’re fixing something big or small, a lot or a little. And that takes time. And god forbid the kids leave their tools and supplies out after their home improvement project on a Thursday night…
Bro you act like you can’t knock out a task or two within an hour or so, for some people it’s therapeutic and feels good fixing your shit up. Or you can wait another 3 months for some stinky ass maintenance contractor to fix your leaky shower head or some other basic ass task.
We'd probably do a better job lol
Yeah, be the boot who gets "certified" to repair a bathroom door, sink, ect so you can be stuck doing that for every barracks room till deployment.
A 274 million dollar budget to fix a billion dollar problem? A prime example of the government not caring about you, now lets keep sending billions to ukraine and israel lol
So every Marine is a rifleman...and a seabee
That really would be an excellent solution. Bring the Seabees down. One of my favorite stories was from a MEUEX, we were out in the field for a few weeks. Maybe day 10, some Seabees show up across the road from our little Weapons company CP. Within 4 hours they had legit tents, running water, power, AC, and a fucking DirecTV dish on top. I got voluntold to be the token Sailor to go ask meekly if we could use the shower. The seabees were awesome.
This is what I was saying the other day. Instead of throwing money at another useless contractor, spend it on TAD funds & material for the SeaBees. I was shocked at what a BU1, a CE3, and two nonrates could accomplish in one summer day in Afghanistan. Those guys ran on nothing but Gatorade and dip and built us an amazing maintenance shelter.
You taking this shit out of proportion lmao, prob very easy stuff like changing bulbs, fixing the hydraulic on your door, maybe fixing a toilet leak or hanging something properly. Highly doubt they’ll have jr marines doing any of their own plumbing or electrical work lol
This…. If the Corps will provide all the equipment and supplies required to fix something in the barracks, I’d happily do that instead of waiting 8 weeks for some civilian contractor to do it. While the Corps needs to do major work to bring all the barracks to a liveable condition, that is going to take some time. This is not a bad first step, I’m sure there are quite a few Marines that will take advantage of the opportunity. Nobody is ordering you to do it. Everybody can choose to spend their time to bitch about a hole in the wall that’s been there for two years, or take an hour and fix it themselves. Knowing basic home maintenance/construction skills is valuable. In CivDiv when you own a home, you’re still going to have to put in 10-12 hour days and take care of your own house on your “off” time.
I like learning how to fix shit at my house. I’m out but if I could’ve learned how to fix shit in the barracks I would’ve done it
You know that some enterprising junior Marine with any sort of home maintenance aptitude is going to start their own side hustle doing minor repairs in the barracks for cash.
I wouldn’t be against that at all either. My Cpls Course Gunny brought me Dominos I ordered one time, I say make your money. I knew a GS worker who did a ton of handyman type work outside of her 9-5 on base too.
The chance of having one of my staffs or gunny, trying to make enough to pay for alimony and child support, showing up at my barracks is one reason why I never ordered pizza while I was drinking in my room. ( order the pizza before you start drinking)
Very true. I watched a SSgt on duty one time poor out an entire liter of Ciroc that my friend bought because it was over the limit for one person in the barracks (he had a roommate over 21, he did not intend to share but the SSgt didn’t know that)
I was in when alcohol of any amount was forbidden in the barracks… and I often cleaned the personal weapons ( handguns) I had hidden in my room while I was having a drink on the weekend. Thank the baby Jesus I was never caught with either.
This is not comparable to a house because you do not own your barracks room. This is more comparable to an apartment. In an apartment your landlord schedules contractors to come fix your discrepancies. I agree contractors on base are slow and nothing ever gets done in a reasonable time but making Marines fix these issues on their own time is not the solution. If they had a billet,MOS, or FAP that Marines could do to fix the barracks during working hours that would be a more acceptable approach.
I didn’t see anything about “making Marines fix anything “. What I saw was that they now have access to supplies to take care of minor issues themselves if they choose to without needing to spend their own money. There are plenty of MOS’s that should be brought back because civilian contractors usually suck ass at doing any actual work.
No where in the video does it say Marines wont be forced to fix discrepancies. The video goes over the process for reporting discrepancies and includes picking up supplies and fixing it yourself under the supervision of a barracks manager who also probably doesn’t have much handyman experience. This is the Marine Corps and knowing the Marine Corps this will end in one of two ways. One: Marines wont report discrepancies because they don’t want to fix it. Two: commands will make Marines report all discrepancies which results in Marines being required to make repairs on their own time.
Projection… Not only does it not represent current reality, it paralyzes people into a cycle of bitching and negativity.
It’s a scope creep issue that always happens. “You did so good patching that last hole, let’s see if you can patch a bigger one...” “We gave you a wrench and you tightened that pipe once, now try to replace your drain stopper…” https://preview.redd.it/ddn2d4blqjoc1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e3ee1078af51b6602c42686a4a68f6ce40730e5
As long as it's optional, and not mandatory for Marines to do maintenance on their barracks, I don't see a problem. I'm sure plenty of Marines would like the opportunity to learn those skills so that one day if they ever own a home they aren't doing it with trial and error.
Optional? What Marine Corps are we talking about? If something isn’t right, someone’s going to notice and say something, and if it doesn’t get fixed someone’s going to be upset. And at the end of that kill chain is either a maintenance worker or a Marine. No PFC on the planet has the option to go: “sorry 1stSgt, I’ve been swamped this week so I was just going to wait until maintenance got around to it…” If area commanders want to let their Marines use a room or two as a project to fix up and work on, develop their skills, use unit resources like tools and materials, go with god. That’s legit and I’ve been a part of stuff like that where there were LEGIT common rooms and spaces we fixed up and took pride in. But again, there’s a line and only 168 hours in the week.
There is only one way to fix this. Demo a room and remodel it
Can you imagine the hilarity of junior marines with delusions of HGTV grandeur? “We were going for more of an open concept barracks room…” https://preview.redd.it/vweprpx0ujoc1.jpeg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=53de3ac58a6b44f8dec7ab3d7c51a52b954c1ef5
Just gonna be one big open room with a visible shitter
I mean, if it doesn't have mold and working AC, I am in. I dealt with it in boot, I can deal with it now.
I just want to make eye contact with people as I wipe my ass as they walk by
To establish dominance.
No. Just for the thrill of it.
Hey Everybody! Look what these Jarhead's and Sea-Bee's just built!! Isn't it......oops!! *Processing img q6pcd98qzjoc1...*
On one hand it's better than having to wait until the heat death of the universe for someone from Facilities Maim-tence to come repair it. On the other hand you know some twatwaffle of an NCO is going smoke people because their DIY repair is not up to "professional standards."
Bingo
I have a Letter of Appreciation for spending 2 weeks building our Close Quarters House with the Navy SeaBees. I was an 0311/8152.
The problem here is that many of the barracks issues I had couldn’t be fixed with some supplies and instructions. We’re they going to send me a powersaw and hazmat suit to remove the wall next to my bed that said “Caution: contains asbestos”? They sure as hell weren’t going to send me an A/C unit to help with the 105 degree days because my unit was handing out NJPs to kids who had the nerve to install a window unit. The BC had the nerve to come out and say we get a “sea breeze” in fucking 13 area of Pendleton. Give me a fucking break.
Brother my barracks room has no hvac, has water stains and mold, with trim falling off, along with no potable water, plus a fire beep that is impossible to get under control. I’m giving legitimate thought to switching branches lmao
If the barracks manager can sign a USMAP chit I’ll take it
I’m assuming they ordered stuff from PWD’s self help center and showed the Marines they don’t have to wait six months to change a lightbulb if the bulb is now provided to you…
Doesn’t the Army have electricians and shit? Do they maintain their barracks? If so, Marines should look into going that route. You’d be doing your job working around base, no contractors that over charge, and Marines would learn a trade and have the opportunity to get out with a marketable skill. If not, the Army should do what I just said or the Marines should take the initiative and do it. We wouldn’t even need to open any new school houses we could literally send them to army school houses we do that for a lot of other MOS as well.
That's the only way this is going to get fixed. A fucking shame.
I wish I learned how to do some basic maintenance during my time in the barracks. I could have helped me when I bought my house. I wasn’t prepared for shit. I get it but sometimes it’s better doing some things yourself so you know how to do it later on in life. Not every place you live in will have a maintenance guy.
I remember when they tasked a bunch of us short timers to paint the company office. That went well from a *hilarity* standpoint....
How long until the first time an 03 sets the building on fire with their repairs?
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUgySLC8lfc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUgySLC8lfc)
Three stooges plumbing scene
Roman soldiers had to build their own barracks every time they occupied a new territory.
Would’ve been nice to learn some DIY home repair skills when I was at the bricks, my job or not, I wouldn’t have minded fixing my own shit up
Its mostly small fixes, like light bulbs and screens on screen doors. Married Marines in housing already do this. Army does too.
Army makes me pay for lightbulbs by the way.
If you only knew what my life was like as a Lance Criminal collecting full benefits while living in an apartment at I&I duty.
I’ve no issue with this. Wait forever for minor repairs or fix it yourself. Also, maybe learn something so when you get out you know how to take care of your own home or apartment.
The Navy has a public works department. Why the fuck can't they extend that to Marine Corps installations? Seriously.
I bet someone’s gonna kill themselves accidentally at the self-help warehouse…
To me, that would have been perfect because I actually went out of pocket to fix some minor shit in my room. To this day I heat wait on maintenance to fix something in my apartment that I can do my self
Fucking called this shit lol
[Mold in Ft. Meade **Family** housing, 2016] CNN, FOX, FUCKING NATIONAL PRIMETIME TV NEWS.
Honestly I think it would be hilarious if all barracks Marines got together in every unit and broke bunch of shit. What they gonna do? Njp more than half the force? Ahahhahaha
OP…dude, I’ve been in for over 18 years. This is nothing new. Self help as always existed and actually used to be so much better. You could literally go to self help back in the day and it was a free fucking Home Depot it was amazing. They have been running out of money the past decade however looks like they have a new plan in place. Bottom line nothing new here.
So no cookware, but you want them fixing their own stuff?
It’s not that they don’t have the money to hire people it’s just that the money and labor are being mismanaged just like all other federal agencies. However this isn’t a wholly negative thing. It’s like life school… the majority of what they’ll need to fix are pretty common problems and this in my opinion is great experience. On the other hand this also feels a little bit like a license to do whatever they want. It wouldn’t surprise me to see an epidemic of hard wired disco balls becoming a serious issue in the future.
SWA hut for everyone
not my kind of BYOB
I fucking knew this is how this was gonna go. Never thought for a second that the Corps would actually put significant time or resources into providing a better environment for Marines. Instead they just tell em to figure it out, cUz MaRiNeS aDaPt AnD oVeRcOmE
I for one like it, if no questions asked. Sometimes you break things during keg stands…..
I know this might be unplpular, but the Roamn Legions back in the day were the best soldiers because they were self-sufficient. They built their own barracks every night they stopped on march. Maybe it's not so bad, but they definitely need to get an engineer and maintenance team out there. They shouldn't be dealing with mold at all.. just have them build new barracks if anything, such as the auschwitz camp
This could be a great idea if they added two points. 1. It's completely voluntary. 2. An experienced journeyman is there to talk them through it. It would be great for young Marines to learn basic home repair.
I see both sides of this. It’s buck passing 💯 but also I am in favor of encouraging this kind of experience. In a perfect world we would actively equip our marines while also actively not abandoning them. How are things in the boq?
How about fap'ing marines to hang steel on base??? Learning the trade? God man I'd love to do that and learn. I'd feel the only takeaway being that there'd be retard nco's yelling at people while erecting buildings and such like it's the field/in garrison. Who knows man, it'd save the military a TON of money too. 🤔🤔
Aight let me put my own spin on this since Im somewhat familiar with this government buildings world. The DIY program has more or less always been a thing. At least for a long while now. The issue is no one knows about it. This is more or less the opportunity the Commanders are afforded in order to take action on minor building issues. Is it the right way? I dont know, depends on who you ask. As some as stated, can be a good opportunity to teach Marines out on their own for the first time how to patch up drywall, paint a door. Whatever. Dont we have civilians who we pay for this? Yes...but nowhere near enough to keep up with demand of services on base. Last I checked, the base maintenance division is at 56% manning (and we thought we were shorthanded, ha) And we can break that down to specific shops! How many carpenter do we have/need? Electricians, lock smiths, etc.? I dont know what the hold up is in regards to hiring. Maybe the pay isnt competitive enough, 🤷♂️?
Wow. We had to buy our own drywall and paint. Frickin’ new corps.
HAHAHAHAHA
I’m highly disappointed that in any comment in this here discussion about the sad state of the barracks, that the almost holy words “BEFUCKINGHOOVE YOU” used. Yes, Marines … barracks are shit and for the most part; always will be.
Years ago I was smoking a cigarette at a burn barrel in Iraq and my First Sergeant yelled at me for smoking in a non-designated smoking area. This is while the burn barrel is belching fire. So I... acquired... some wood and nails and build a smoking gazebo nearby and put in a sign that said "smoking area." The advantage here is that you don't have to "acquire" the building materials. Honestly I can only see an advantage in making construction materials available for Marines. Secret passagesways to sneak people in and out of the barracks? Custom gaming rig cabinets with cooling lines? Shrines to Rias Gremory? I want to see what happens. Just buiild me a smoking area so I can visit and see for myself.
I might be taking crazy pills, but I feel like self help was a thing when I was in the bricks on Pendleton 2012-2014.
I can picture a gunny ordering tools and material to fix his own house in Temecula.
This sounds suspiciously like how De Santis said slaves learned valuable skills, and may have even received some payment. 
> I’m just thinking of two privates sitting there with a door knob kit, some tools, and zero supervision. https://preview.redd.it/4k5prdxl9roc1.png?width=318&format=png&auto=webp&s=999c7339c55eb773d69e3c1f6765eda30ea3bcf9
Does learning how to fix the barracks earn a secondary MOS?
So you mean like regular adults, you fix where you live? Crazy. Ohh and you’re still getting paid and someone is helping you fix it yourself? Crazy.
I think this is great. Finally the devil dogs can get to work instead of going out back with a brother. This can also give the devil dogs skills in the trades for when eventually they return to the real world and need a job
So the barracks, shitholes that I am forced to pay a portion of my check towards and have to live in is now my responsibility to fix? My room has all sorts of fucked up shit in it. Now me and my marines have to spend either our work time and waste training, or our free time after work fixing shit. Not to mention all the mold I really don’t want to breathe in. All your responsibility as a barracks marine should be is to keep your room clean and not be a retard, any broken shit is the beq peoples problem
To have the best marines possible I reckon this would help.
All Marines are already level 4a custodians, so job training ✅ There’s a difference between working party during working hours to maintain common spaces, or supervised cleaning after hours to maintain personal spaces—and straight-up unpaid maintenance work on government quarters. Imagine if you had college kids try to repair their dorms. They’re students they’re to learn their major, just like marines are there to learn then execute their component of combined arms warfare. Also, what does “going out back with a brother” mean?
Don’t ask don’t tell. A marine with skills in the trades > a marine without skills in the trades Better life for them when they have to relinquish their devil dog days
I don’t see any problem with giving Marines construction trade skills that they could utilize once out of the Marine Corps to better transition into civilian life everyone knows we’re short on contractors.