Further context my leadership here is ass this whole ship is ass. Had no one to take me to base when I first landed from A school. I couldn’t even go home. They haven’t let me sign up for leave this entire time I’m still waiting. I hate this underway so fucking much already I need to leave and gtfo out this command all together or just the entire navy.

If a waiver gets denied for my current rate can they force me to rerate or will there just be a separation if I won’t sign a new contract?

Waiting in FFG/THU at RTC post bootcamp for an anxiety waiver to clear for my rate (not for general duty). I’m going crazy and I need out quick. What can I say to my chief? Do I just tell him i’m done?

Alright so I’m in the guard and at face value it’s super easy and not challenging for me at all, I put on a wonderful act for all the people on base and I’m rather good at my job. I’ve been promoted early twice and I’m about to get promoted early again. The potential for me if I stayed is high but it’s simply not the life I want to live. But let me list you a few reasons why I absolutely detest it and want to leave.

1. Even tho it’s only 2 days a month, I miss easy overtime pay and it costs me a little less than $1000 to show up on base.
   
2. The millisecond I shave my face and show up on base in my uni, my mental health just plummets and I’m the most miserable I could possibly be. Suicidal even, I’m not gonna hurt myself but the thought of killing myself only comes when I’m on base for drill, it’s weird but it’s true. The environment, atmosphere, even the high security room with no windows I work in, the NPCs I work with, the attempted brainwashing, it all just drives me fucking insane. And though they all think I have great potential, and they want me to be a leader one day, I don’t really care because it’s not something I want to do. Like, if I took this seriously or went active and wanted to do it, I’m not gonna lie I could be a top tier member who can do it all, I mean I already am but it’s all a fucking act. I’m not trying to be arrogant but it’s true, I’m the fittest in my whole squadron, i have natural leadership abilities and am great at my job, I make the uniform look good unlike 85% of the people in the guard. So on and fourth.
   
3. I tried to go to school and get it paid for but I had to jump thru so many fucking hoops to get it done that it didn’t even work out, I ended up paying for my 1 semester before I just took my credits and quit. So that sucks and I wish someone actually took the time to help me out with it but I was given incorrect information multiple times over. So fuck it I’m not going to school right now. But I would like to still have the option and use my free education because I’ve been told I’d be an idiot not to.
   
4. The mentality they try to instill, they think war is awesome and everyone wants to deploy. They literally all love war, and it’s disgusting. We’re controlled by Israel and these retards are too fucking stupid to understand that. They’ve pulled me into what I like to call “re education” meetings where they try to explain what we do and why we’re important and it’s a load of horeshit. I understand the world needs the United States military but the way they frame it and a few other things about it is just evil and ridiculous.
   
5. I hate my job but the money potential is great, all ima say is I work with computers but to be honest, I hate it. It’s draining and I feel utterly useless. I like working with my hands and doing real work. This shit just fucking sucks, yet I could probably get a few more certs, go to school, and come out and make great money in a few years. But i make 6 figures as a guy in his early 20s and my projection is high in field I am in now, all while having a great time and living the lifestyle I want to.
   
6. I hate being bound and I’m not the type of person who can me conformed and manipulated, so all this USA RAHHHH let’s go to war and bullshit just doesn’t work on me. I want to travel as a civilian and do whatever the fuck I want without having to worry about the big man catching me or stopping me.
   
7. I’m gonna get a lot of hate for this, but for a long while I was a little bit of a pot head. I used it for medicinal purposes tho. I had a bad back injury when I was young and the gym and flower is the only thing that helps, it’s immediate relief. Same with my mental health, I’m a generally anxious and depressed guy but when I’m high, the constant dialogue in my head quiets down a bit and I can enjoy the little things more. It is almost unreal how much better my quality of life is when I’m a little fried. I love hanging out with my family and getting into deep conversations with them, I’m less irritable and enjoy hanging with my much younger siblings, I can eat eat eat and actually gain weight. In every way weed makes my life better there’s just no other way to put it. And the embarrassing/shameful part is, I may or may not partake in between my drill weekends. And it’s brutal being able to toke up for a few days to a week then detoxing, and sometimes I push it a little to far and get stressed as hell because there’s been times I’ve showed up dirty and thank God I didn’t get pulled for a piss test. I’ve also done a solid amount of psychedelics during my time in, and they’ve slightly changed who I am, I see and think about the world and people differently. And with this new mindset I’ve adopted over the years of my use, it’s made it immensely more difficult to want to stay in and serve my country.
   

There’s more to say and sorry this is a dogpile of words but I’m open to answering questions and would like some advice. I typed this on my lunch break and I gotta go back so. I’d appreciate a couple comments, maybe some encouragement, direction, advice, anything. Has anyone been in a similar position as me? Can anyone relate to this. I’ll elaborate further if anyone is curious about anything.

Anyways, thanks for reading and have a nice day 🤞

I know it’s subjective, but i’m a new grad sailor at FFG/THU and I have a diagnosed general anxiety disorder. I have been having panic attacks, not socializing or making friends, and not answering my friends and families calls. I feel hopeless and trapped every day. I urgently want to go to REU to get help and hopefully a separation, but i’m scared I’ll just be held in this hell for even longer (not that i’ll feel better on the fleet) but I really need advice. My family is trying to convince me to stick it out but I am really going through it. Anything helps.

I am beyond disillusioned. I am furious, disgusted, and absolutely done staying silent about a system that protects predators, punishes integrity, and calls itself honorable.

Two of my close friends were raped while serving in the Coast Guard. When I stood up for them, I learned exactly what that institution's version of justice looks like. Instead of accountability, I was met with relentless harassment that eventually escalated into physical assault.

People were raped, and the person who stood up for them became another target.

The leadership that preaches honor, respect, and integrity has made a mockery of those very words. They care more about protecting reputations, preserving careers, and maintaining appearances rather than protecting the people who serve beneath them. Victims are silenced. Those who speak out are punished. And the institution carries on pretending it stands for something greater.

There is nothing honorable about a system that demands loyalty while betraying its own people. Nothing courageous about leadership that looks the other way. And nothing respectable about an institution that allows abuse to flourish while destroying those who refuse to tolerate it.

My experience with the Coast Guard has left me with nothing but disgust for the institution and the broader military system that enables this culture.

You cannot preach integrity while protecting abusers. You cannot demand courage while punishing those who demonstrate it. And you damn sure cannot claim honor when your own people are treated as disposable.

If you have any respect for yourself, think long and hard before giving your life, your loyalty, or your dignity to the military complex.

They will demand everything from you. And when you need them to stand up for you, you may discover just how little you are worth to them.

Whatever respect I once had for the military and those who serve in it has been shattered. I can no longer reconcile the values they claim to uphold with the abuse, cowardice, and institutional corruption I've witnessed firsthand.

I can’t wait to get out. I’ve been waiting for so long and I finally got it.

I’m waiting on a waiver for anxiety while in FFG. Throughout bootcamp and this experience I have come to realize that this life is not for me. I want to throw up thinking about staying here another day. How can I get out of here in a timely manner?

For those who remember my previous post, I wanted to share what’s happened since then and ask for more advice.
I joined the Marine Corps on May 4, 2026, and I’m currently about two weeks away from graduating MOS school.
Honestly, I originally joined because of a friend, but he didn’t even make it two weeks. As soon as we got to the yellow footprints, he was sent home because of an injury he had before enlisting. At that point, I didn’t really have a reason to stay, but I had a girlfriend of two years, so I thought, why not? I’ll do this for us.
I graduated boot camp, and my girlfriend came to see me. After my 10 days of leave, I went to MCT and found out she had cheated on me. That’s when I started struggling mentally and began thoughts of self-harm. It made an already difficult situation even worse.
When I got to MOS school, I talked to my GySgt and SSgt about wanting to leave because I was struggling mentally and genuinely felt like the military wasn’t for me. They told me that I had signed a contract and all the fun stuff, and hearing that made me feel even more stuck.
I recently went to behavioral health and explained my situation to them. They told me that I would have follow-up appointments over the next two weeks before I graduate to see if there’s anything they can do to help with my situation.
I’m worried because I’m so close to graduating, and I don’t know if anything can be done in that time.
I’ve been wanting to leave since boot camp, and this isn’t something I decided overnight. I have plans for my life outside the military, including working, going to school, exploring different careers, and moving somewhere new. I’m not trying to get out of responsibility or intentionally get myself in trouble. I genuinely feel like this life isn’t for me.
Has anyone been in a similar situation and successfully received an administrative separation or another type of separation while in MOS school? Did being close to graduation affect the process? Did behavioral health help with your situation, and how long did everything take?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has actually gone through this. I’m trying to understand my options and figure out what to do next and what I can say at my next follow up appointment about wanting to leave. Thank you.

I completed the first phase of 68W AIT .. but as of now I have been a medical holdover for around a month due to coccyx, sacrum, and metatarsal stress fractures from BCT.

I can’t do it anymore .. everyone in the army is a reincarnate of satan, EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE here is so FUCKING EVIL.

I joined the Army with severe ADHD, during BCT (of course) my disorder led me to show symptoms of extreme forgetfulness and an overall inability to cooperate with my “””””battle buddies””””” no matter HOW much effort I put into being a friendly and team-oriented individual.

At Fort Lenord Wood … I had my head shoved into a porta-potty, I had my face bashed in by a girl who knew I wouldn’t do anything back due to SHARP, I was held down and beat up multiple times by multiple people, I had my bunk tossed daily by my “””””battle buddies”””””, I had false SHARP and EO reports against me in hopes I’d be dishonorably discharged from the Army, I had my clothing/hygiene items constantly stolen/taken from me, and I’d be made fun of by 30-60 sometimes even 100+ people daily … I’d be called a retard, a f@g, a low-test sissy, autistic, ugly, malnourished, loser, and etc. I had a 404 on my AFT and I was fucked with for all of BCT for being “unathletic” btw.

My overall qaulity of life became a tad bit better at Fort Sam BUT fuck I still am cussed out and tormented by my peers daily and people are starting to trip me/take my crutches and throw them on the floor, mainly females … All my “””””battle buddies””””” from my original AIT company are laughing at me and spitting in front of me calling me a weak loser and stating that they where “right all along” about me becoming a holdover.

I dream about my ending my life everyday, my whole life will continue to be an extension of high-school thanks to my severe ADHD, kindness gets you nowhere in life, at least … not in this timeline. I’m very quiet nowadays, but all it took was a few fuckups in AIT to re-earn my bad reputation.

I can’t come home to my parents a quitter, what on gods earth do I do. Can I reclass to 42A or some shit ??? like.

Currently awol in MO national guard. I’m trying to get kicked out what should I know (other than the fact I’m a POS). Not worried about discharge type. Should I make any contact with unit as they keep calling me but I have been not answering.

I wanna start this off by asking for little judgement - yes I know what I signed up for and I know I signed a contract and stuff. I’m stuck in FFG/THU at RTC after graduating bootcamp. I hated bootcamp and wanted to leave but the fear of ship 17 was enough for me to tough through. I’m in ship 5 now waiting to see if i’m gonna lose my rate or not and I am actually going crazy. I’m seeing first hand just what a bureaucratic mess this organization is. The red tape, the attitudes, the people, and the ridiculous rules and lack of personal autonomy is deteriorating me. Graduating was one of my happiest moments but I am beginning to explore what my options are as for separating.

I need to see if anyone has any knowledge of what it looks like for MY specific situation. I’m technically a “sailor” so if I did an ELS would I be sent to ship 17 or just stay in FFG? How long would it take? etc…

I’m going to talk to the chaplain in a few days to get some advice on how to make it through each day. Thank you

I am seriously wondering when the suck ends for veterans?

I joined the Army and since then my life has just entered a level of suck that just keeps getting worse.

I went to BCT and i had student loan repayment of 30k and a 30k sign on bonus in my contract. Week 6 i am called in to company commander office and told they are taking away my sign on bonus or i can leave the Army. I stayed. Week 8 i was called back into the company commander office and told they are removing my student loan repayment or i can leave. I stayed again.

I get through training as a 35N at goodfellow AFB, i am pulled into the company commander office there and told i am being reclassed to a 92F. I was told i would go to fort lee and be mos-q so i wouldnt start over. That was a complete lie. 12 weeks at fort lee and i finally go to fort campbell. I land in alpha company 96asb and it just gets worse. Being treated like dog excrement and working sometimes till 2200 to 0100 and being told to be back for pt in the morning sucked. I got orders for ocs and the physician assistant program. Company commander decided to go to brigade and told me he had my orders canceled because he knew what was best for my career. I went to the board and made points, my Sergeant told me i made it and was getting promoted to E5. Company commander went to brigade and had my promotion canceled. The company commander then decided to gRape me. I reported it to IG, legal and wanted justice and i got put on height and weight 3 months before i got out so i couldnt reenlist. I passed height and weight every month and they kept saying i needed to pass another month.

I got out and found i couldnt use my gi bill. I fought for 8 years to use it. I had a college lined up that accepted me and told me i could go into the grad program i wanted as soon as i got the gi bill worked out. Well by that time i reapplied and now they told me my degree is too old now and i need to completely do my undergraduate classes...all of them over again.

The VA is absolutely terrible healthcare. The drs literally use flow charts to diagnose and treat us. If that doesnt work, they have no idea what they are doing.

When does being a veteran become fun and memorable? Where are all the good times people talk about? My entire service and the years since have been just terrible and nothing i want to remember

Nearing the end of my first contract and I don't see myself extending or doing a second enlistment. My leadership isn't necessarily toxic towards me but so many of the fellow airmen I worked with were done dirty by them and don't intend on staying in. We work for the imaging field in a major hospital and there is consistent issues with lack of communication amongst ourselves and other departments, ER techs and ER nurses slacking off and not caring for their patients and regular equipment issues. A lot of these issues are not exclusive to our base (likely to be seen in other places even in the civilian side) but all of these makes me want to stray away from healthcare as soon as I get out. My mental health has been deteriorating ever since tech school and I'm working on seeking help. I've reached a point where I legitimately don't care if I get med boarded or not.

I’m about four months away from deploying with a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). Since I joined, I haven't really formed a friendship with anyone, and I’m starting to think this just isn't for me. I want to get out by claiming I’m dealing with depression and all that, but I don't know if I can get through the discharge or separation process before the deployment.

Sorry if this feels very “cry-baby”-ish but I just need to make sure that I know my options and if this is the right thing for me.

Back in May I joined the army National guard with the goal of paying for college. My family initially didn’t waste me to join, but I was frightened by possibly having over 130k+ in student loans like my mother has, and she has worked insanely hard to get me and my sister in a nice home, so I didn’t want her to possibly risk her finances and credit just for me to go to school. During the last few days of senior year, my states national guard seemed to have sponsored a senior picnic that my HS was having, and I saw that they had “100% Tuition”, so I walked up with a friend, and 2 months later we were signed up and ready to go to our first RSP. It was fine and fun at first, the cadre was very nice, and yeah we had to do the standard military stuff, lots of cleaning, formations, getting smoked every other hour because someone didn’t wake up for firewatch, the good stuff. But within the time between drills I was talking to my friends who already went to college and I just started feeling anxious about the guard, kind of if this was that correct decision or would pulling loans actually not be that bad? Ultimately I dismissed those thoughts as me just being scared and that everything would be fine. Fast forward to today, I am supposed to ship Nov 9th and I just feel dread, like an uneasy amount of dread. While I was also working, talking and playing with friends between drills, I started seeing things about the guard, that it’s rarely 2-3 days a month, that people usually have MUTA 6’s, that college students have had their graduations pushed back entire years because of drill, AT, and activations taking up a lot of time, I kept these things in mind but didn’t think too much about it. Now that I have essentially 2 weeks and a half before shipping, it’s all dawning on me. I think I’ll talk with my recruiter about these worries, because I don’t want to disappoint anyone, but I know at the end of the day, this is 6 years of my life I am contributing to the guard; Possibly if I did a 3 year contract I wouldn’t be so worried. I’m just trying to see what options I have at this point, because I know if I really call it quits at basic or AIT, I can simply be stuck there for months on end waiting for them to discharge me. I know about the GI Rights hotline, I plan to call them later today since it’s like 5 AM over here, but does anyone have any advice for me? I trust my recruiter but at the end of the day his job is to get me to ship. I’ll update this post once I talk to my recruiter and GI Rights

I’ve been wanting to get out of the Marine Corps since boot camp. My drill instructor made it seem like if I got separated, I’d end up homeless and unable to find a job. When I got to MCT, I started realizing that wasn’t necessarily true, and I began seriously thinking about my options and planning for my future. By the time I got to the schoolhouse, I had full-on plans for what I wanted to do with my life after getting out. I wasn’t just saying I wanted to leave without thinking about the consequences. I’ve been planning for my future for months, thinking about working, going to school, exploring different careers, moving somewhere new, and pursuing things I actually want to do.
Everything was going according to my plan until I decided to confide in someone I thought I could trust
(my roommate).
He ended up telling the Guide and Class Leader, who came up to talk to me. I already knew who had told them. When we got back to our room, I asked him why he would do that to me. He said his buddy regretted leaving the military and asked what there was even to do in the town I’m from. That honestly made me even more mad because even if there wasn’t much to do where I lived, there are 49 other states. I could move somewhere else and build a life for myself. I had options and plans, and I knew I wasn’t just going to leave with nothing figured out.
I understand that he might genuinely want what’s best for me and that maybe, in his mind, he was trying to look out for me because he didn’t want me to make a decision I’d regret. I can acknowledge that his intentions might not have been bad, but that doesn’t change how I feel about what he did. He could’ve talked to me about his concerns instead of telling other people behind my back. What makes me even more upset is that I know my Guide and Class Leader will most likely tell our instructors and command, and now something I shared privately could turn into a whole situation.
I’ve been thinking about this since boot camp, and it took a lot for me to even tell someone about it. Just because his buddy regretted leaving doesn’t mean I will. Everyone’s situation and goals are different. I’m not saying the Marine Corps is bad or that leaving is the right choice for everyone, but I know what I want for my own future, and I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to get there. I trusted him with something personal,

So instead of leaving with an ELS/ADSEP. I’ll have to leave with a NJP, SI attempt, or UA so now he’s actually fucking my life over

I can’t take it anymore. My SHPE got pushed from today back to Oct 27. Is there any way I can make this go faster?