i did so many screw ups. but here is one.
i was guarding the nukes in SASS post 2 onboard the USS Saratoga 1972. the marines have a neat way of relieving each guard from post. we remove the full clip from our .45 and open the chamber, check for clear, and in a most military way , pass it to the new sentry who does the same.
then he loads the clip and holsters the handgun.
well it was 12 mid night and the cpl. of the guard was late. so he just hands me the 45, and i holster it. no check! "big no no"
at about 2am i am bored inside my cage. mess hall workers are sleeping on the floor all around the walls outside my post.  no one is watching, so i start practicing my quick draw.
  somehow manage to fire off a round.
it hits a stainless steel plate in the mess hall, and bounces around the room a little. made a hell of a noise! everyone is up and running. i could hear some guy say, "that marine has gone nuts".  i get on the phone, but its to late.   a squad of well armed marines are on the way at top speed, followed by a very pissed off sgt. major in his underwear,combat boots, duty belt, and .45!
i got releived on the spot.
it was a long walk back to the marine detachment, with an angry, hairy ,old bow legged man in his underwear and combat rig,  waveing a 45 madly in the air, yelling what a fool i am!

punishment!--i gave 2 hour safety course on the US 1911 .45 pistol and 2 months of shit details.

2nd screw up. i stole a mule "small 4 wheeled vehicle" with a 105mm howitzer on it from the aggressor force one night in war games at camp lejuene.
that was good tactics for a small gorilla force!

but then i ran it off into the swamp and it sank.  "not good"

punishment-- cleaned all vehicles and 105 mm's
for 2 months on my off time & restricted to the base.

Partied a little too hard the night before a move out to the field, had alcohol poisoning, ended up in the hospital, missed the move out. Next day ended up in front of the commanders desk getting chewed out with one hell of a hangover!

Out on summer gunnery in Grafenwohr, Germany. Jumped in D7, 1SG's CUCV, took off my aviators gas mask threw it up on the dash, just happened to be canister first, spidered the whole windshield! Big ass chewing! Vehicle was down the entire 3 weeks!

Long story short, was called a liar by another company's CO, told the guy to f**k off in front of my LT. LT's face turned white, jaw just dropped open.......another trip to the CO's office!

When I was in Parris Island in the Rifle Range, I got in deep shit with my drill instructors.  Ever since the beginning of boot camp I was assigned "early chow" and my job was the eat before the platoon and come back to the squad bay to relieve the "late chow" so they can eat and come back with the platoon.  When we came back and relieved the late chow we saw that there was this new series gunnery sergeant in our series and he was trying to act like a badass getting to know the platoon.  He said he wanted us to give an account for all the rifles, footlockers, and seabags and report to him.  So we did.  I remember that day, we (2 recruits per watch) made sure we counted 72 of every rifle, footlocker, etc.  So the series gunnery sergeant start counting all the rifles and to our shock he started to unlock one of the rifles!!!!  It wasn't just one, but two rifles in one cable lock!!!  And he just walked off with two M16A2s!  We were scared shitless and knew we'd be screwed either way.  We couldn't have just stopped a DI (he would beat us up if we challenged him, self-defense rules for DIs that time).  So when our DIs came back from morning chow we didn't report (bad mistake, but it's a lose-lose situation anyway).  So then the series gunnery sergeant comes in saying this,"Hey Drill instructor!  Guess what I got!  And they let me walk off with them!  Did your early chow report in?" My drill instructors knowing we didn't report, call us early chow in.  We got sooooo quarterdecked (place to get smoked, blasted)!!!!  I hated life that time!!!  And that was before we had morning PT!  I never ran a 25 minute 3 mile run in my life!!          
The reason why the Gunny DI was able to unlock the rifles because this dumbass recruit didn't want to take the label with the combination off (we didn't know, or saw it at the time) and even if he did lock it, it was unsecured and he was able to unlock the M16A2s.  God I hated him.  Worse was that he was a shitbag recruit from the start.  Later he went UA for 3 days because he escaped during taps.  He got caught by female drill instructors in civies supposedly to take him out of Parris Island but really took him to MP.  He went to the brig for 30 days and they sent him back to training day one (from training day 32, I think).  He F***ing deserved it.  Would like to hear your boot camps stories too, thanks.    

"Would like to hear your boot camps stories too, thanks. "

Sure, the weather was nice, they yelled at us a lot and used foul words. They made us do exercises a lot, inside and in the sand.
The planes were loud. Some other guys, nicer and more professional, taught us to shoot.
They hurt some guys, and let them stay in the squadbay sitting around to cover up, and then they got caught anyway.
That sums up MCRD fairly well.

I don't like to talk about it but you just reminded me. I shot one of my buddies. Thank God it didn't kill him. I will never forget how scared I was and started crying. NO SHIT I could have got us all killed. I walked point almost every mission after that for 4 months. It took sometime to be trusted again. They told me I was going to be like Barney from Mayberry RFD. One Bullet in my shirt. You didn't want that where I was. I am not proud I was 18 years old and only 2 months into my 1st Tour.

The funniest thing that I have seen was a marine sentry standing on the pier and pointing down into the water. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but when I came topside 4 hours later and he was still there, still pointing I had to ask WTF. He had dropped his 16 in the water and had to stay there until it was retrieved by divers.

"Would like to hear your boot camps stories too, thanks."[left]Well, the only thing that comes to mind is.......I was our battery's "High BRM," so I got to wear a white armband that said so, and got to go to chow ahead of everybody else. One day, my DS told me to go ahead and go do my sit-ups, push-ups, and chin-ups and get on over to the chow hall. I had to go by 3rd plt's barracks to get to the chow hall, and as I passed by, DS Zachary (I will NEVER forget this guy) said something to me. Not hearing him, I slipped up and said "huh?" Oh, man. He catapulted out of his seat and came after my ass......I don't know exactly how many push-ups I did, but I do know he had me pushin' for a WHILE. It still maikes me smile when I think about it.[/left]

downtown Panama City Panama, middle of the nite on a saturday, at a meet with a CI, was arrested by CID and charged with attempting to buy coke.  CID agents cooked up story in spanish(they for some reason didnt think that I spoke the language) while transporting me back to base.  CO and 1sg took sweet time to come get me, when they did get to the CID office found me alone in a interrogation room with an M9, 3 mags of ammo and a bullet proof vest.  Needless to say there was a major shake up in CID right after that, but the pucker factor was very high on my part.  

"would like to hear your basic training stories"

Ft. Leonard Wood was hot, humid and covered with what seemed like a million square miles of gravel that had to be raked and policed for cigaret butts every day.  The barracks were "temporary" structures from WWII that had exposed plumbing that we had to Brasso every day.  Most of my fellow boots were from Philadelphia and were members of various street gangs, so there were fights in the barracks on a more-or-less daily basis.  Drill Sgt. Staten was a world class prycke w/o managing to have any of rude charisma some drills exhibit.  The only amusing incident I recall was when some of the Philly boys stole banana peels from the mess hall because they heard you could get high by smoking them.  I don't know how high they got, but they did get discharged from the Army after they all showed up at sick call from smoking that stuff.  Not much happened to me personally at Leonard Wood, I kept a very low profile.

[i][green]Hey Everyone,
It was 1989 and I was a Marine LCpl assigned to ship security detail during the WestPac. We would stand 8 hours on, 8 hours off. While off, you were part of the reactionary force for Security Alerts. If one sounded, you had to report to the ship's security office(I don't recall the title).You were then directed to a post. If real, you got loaded mags. Two man teams, one A2, and one M9.
Security Alert! Security Alert! All hands stand fast!" When I got to the office, I was handed a loaded mag! Oh, sh*t! This is for real! My partner and I were off, running at top speed. Enroute to our post, a Sailor in a kaki uniform was standing in our path. I screamed,"Gangway! Make a hole!" He acknowledged me with a glance, but didn't move. I moved him. Hard.
Now, I should point out that ships are made from heavy steel and so is just about everything on them, like say, a fire hose support welded to the wall. They are big, heavy, and apparently pretty sharp if you're thrown into one...face first...
After checking his ID, we were off to our post. Nothing happened, so we return to the office to turn in our magazines. Standing outside is a Commander with a towel on his forehead, covered in blood. He started screaming at the Petty Officer in charge,"That's him! That's the fuc*ing Jarhead that assulted me!" Needless to say, I was disarmed and taken into custody. Chasers assigned, I was escorted to "Officer's Country", and a position of attention outside the Ship's Captain's door. First to pass on the way in was my Bn CO,without saying a word. My chasers were happy to pointed out that I was fuc*ed, after he had passed. Next came my Platoon CO, a silver spoon Lt., who hated me. Something about my asking if getting his degree in English was as hard as in Basketweaving. When he couldn't speak and started sputtering out words, I informed him that it sounded like his college education was money well spent...No sense of humor...He shook his head on the way in. The chasers agreed that I was deffinitely fuc*ed. Finally, the Commander I hit, showed up in a fresh uniform with a bandage around his head, and in he went. My partner was also called in. Eventually it was my turn. I reported to the Captain. He looked calm, and in a low voice said, "Marine tell me what happened." The Commander who was standing off to the side with the others burst out, "He assaulted me! That's what happened! Forty-three stitches! That's what happened!" The Captain cast a glance at him and he quieted. I told him what had happened. I was ordered back to the hall, and my partner dismissed. My chasers were talking about food in the brig. Eventually, I was called back in. Standing at attention in front of the Captain's desk,I looked at my Lt.Col. for reaction. His face was stone. My heart sank. The Captain looked up at me and said,"You did what you were suppose to do. Keep up the good work. Dismissed."
I didn't see the Commander for a while. Then, on another Security Alert, a drill, I saw him, while running to my post. He had a pink scar running from the middle of his forehead, down around his eye, stopping near his ear. When he saw me, he literally threw himself against the bulkhead as I passed...
[marines]
[newbie]
Respectfully,
Harry[(:)][/i][/green]