John Robert Benwell; another phony tattooed Marine
You know these are never going to end well when the post begins with your mugshot. But this is another one from Scotty “The FOIA Machine” about John Robert Benwell who claims to be a Marine Major – and he has tattoos to prove it. He has it on his résumé at posted at Scotty’s place. But the NPRC and the Marines say “Who?” (Scotty had his social security number and that’s what they used to search for his records);
On the résumé, he says that he joined the USMC in 1995, which would have made him 16, since when he was arrested he was 33 last year. So the math isn’t working in his favor either. SO he went through the trouble to get the tattoos so, that’s just like boot camp, right?
Category: Phony soldiers
16 when he got his commission, eh? We had a guy on my second boat who got his at 19 and we called him Doogie Howser. Then again, he pretty much was the boy genius, unlike this turd.
And if you can get something just by getting a tattoo, how ’bout we tattoo DUMBASS on his forehead? Be a lot more accurate, that’s for sure.
Am I imagining things, or is there a douchebag surge over the holidays?
@1: I was honestly wondering if it was possible for someone younger to earn a Commission.
@3 NR Pax
19 under federal law. Obviously it rarely happens.
In the Army it mostly happens with Junior Military College kids
They get commissioned after their 2nd year of college into the Army Guard or Army Reserve and serve as LTs until they finish their BS/BA then they can move on into active duty or stay Guard/Reserve/
In my experience the vast majority of them are horrible Officers.
I’ve seen a couple of reserve programs that say 18, but I’d love to see someone have a degree at that point.
http://stayarmyreserve.army.mil/oa_preq.htm
The guy in question on my boat was, IIRC, NUPOC, meaning that he wasn’t commissioned, but paid as E-5 to finish his degree, then sent to OCS.
That’s correct, that’s how that program works. They are technically in the Nay as a paid E-5 to attend college, and I think that time does count towards retirement. But make no mistake, those NUPOCs did not go to boot camp unless they were already a prior. And they do not receive their commission until after they graduate.
@4.
I agree.
Also, did this dude submit his resume to APL?
#4 O4E and GT–
Thanks, guys.
That’s what I did.
Phildo has had a tsunami of qualified APL applicants, I wonder if he/it has linked up with them?
…and for what it’s worth, the 2 1/2 years I spent enlisted in the Wshington National Guard (while in ROTC at WSU) was great training for my later assignments as a platoon leader, then detachment commander before coming on active duty for 20 years.
I think the progression made me a better officer, not worse.
@9.
Gotta be honest here.
I was prior service and I went through advanced camp with a handful of these 2-year folks and was not impressed.
Now maybe mouth got head of me and I should have said on a case by case basis, but overall, there was a serious lack of maturity due to the age especially when compounded with certain Guard units being that their is a very different level of discipline and functionality.
Also, when I commissioned, 85% of my class were SMP or designated to Guard assignments. While a I consider most of these folks my peers and in some cases close friends, many were less than stellar officers. Only a few of us went AD.
Sorry for the misspellings and incomplete sentences.
Computer issues.
GT…
As in any Army system, there are good guys and bad guys.
I had an SMP cadet in my platoon when I was a platoon leader/detachment commander who would not have survived deployment…guys would have killed him. As it was the NCOs sent him into a dudded area to dig a foxhole once. And he went.
In my ROTC class, the vast majority of us ended up AD, too.
I think the “seriousness” of the Guard unit and the ROTC program has a huge effect on the quality of the officers, regardless of their ages.
SMP gave me the opportunity to actually apply the concepts I was learning in ROTC at the infantry dismount team level in the Guard.
When I came on AD, I was well ahead of my peers in experience, and I also made 1LT before he did due to the AD time credits for Basic, AT, etc. Which meant I was in a leadrship position all through OBC and flight school, as well.
Like I said, I chalk it up to the good, in general.
@12
Excluding you of course 😉
It has nothing to do with their JMC (IMHO) background but with the age.
As GT stated my experience with them started in Advanced Camp…their maturity left a lot to be desired. But that comes with time.
Fast forward to active duty…these guys are generally senior 1LTs when the come into active duty. They may or may not have had PL time in the Guard/Reserve and then they quickly make Captain without that day-to-day leadership experience you normally get in the first 2-3 years as a new 2LT on active duty. So a lot of them struggle.
I would happily agree that the amount of time ANYBODY spends as an LT is now far too short to learn the trade adequately.
I was blessed to have two platoons in the Guard and two on AD before making CPT. Again, I think the seriousness of the two parts of the SMP program play a huge part in building that maturity.
And I accept the exception. Heh. See what I did there?
@14
I am a huge fan of the SMP program however. IMHO it is the absolute best way we currently produce Officers in the military and I think it should be mandatory for all ROTC Cadets.
I am AGR (Guard). Our Brigade runs a solid SMP Program and most of our Cadets come back from LDAC as top graduates and are usually at the top of the OML at their school.
Problem is we tend to lose a lot of them to active duty