Marine scout sniper has promotion ceremony in the mud

| July 11, 2022

Task & Purpose has the story of Marine Sergeant Jordan James’ promotion ceremony. In true Leatherneck style, his location of choice was the field. The best part of the above photo for me are the guys in the back just waiting to slip silently back into the swamp.

We salute this Marine for having a promotion ceremony in the muck

Scout Snipers are a special breed of Marine. They go through extensive training to learn how to become masters of camouflage and marksmanship, to move without being detected, and to operate as a two-Marine team: One spotter, one shooter.

Given how much time Scout Snipers spend living and training in austere environments, it’s fitting that one of them held his promotion in a swamp that was likely a spawning ground for leeches.

A picture shared on social media shows Sgt. Jordan James being promoted to his current rank while stoically standing chest deep in chocolate brown water. James is currently the chief scout with Scout Sniper Platoon, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, said Master Sgt. Matt Epright, a spokesman for the 3rd Marine Division. As chief scout, James serves as a platoon sergeant and an expert on many of the platoon’s tactics, techniques and procedures.

In the picture, James is wearing a ghillie suit made from local reeds and other plants, which Scout Snipers use to blend into their surroundings. Seven other Marines can be seen in the background observing the promotion ceremony while submerged up to their chins in the murky water — one Marine is nose-deep in the ooze.

James, who is currently in Okinawa, told Task & Purpose that he decided to have his promotion ceremony during a training event in which he and his fellow Scout Snipers would be in swampy water to use mud to make their ghillie suits.

He explained that he did not want the entire platoon to focus its attention on him when he picked up sergeant. Instead, James decided to hold his promotion ceremony in the fetid swamp, which the Scout Snipers nicknamed “The Pig Pond,” because all the Marines would be equal in that environment.

“Everything we do in Scout Sniper Platoon is very team-oriented,” James said. “So, doing it in the Pig Pond, being together, all wearing the same garb, all kind of suffering together, just made it seem like more of a team thing.”

James’ promotion ceremony shows how creative service members can be for important events. Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt was sworn into the Space Force at a May 2021 ceremony attended by nearly all the villains in the Star Wars universe. Cosplayers dressed as Imperial Stormtroopers, an Imperial Guard, Boba Fett, and Darth Vader were on hand for the event.

Other service members have selected unique venues and themes for their reenlistment ceremonies. About five soldiers took the oath while inhaling CS fumes inside a gas chamber. Another service member managed to hold his reenlistment ceremony underwater. And yet another involved an Imperial stormtrooper either administering or receiving the oath.

Category: Marines

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BlueCord Dad

Nary a cosplayer in sight. Congratulations Sergeant! OOORAH!

FuzeVT

Nary a cosplayer in sight

Something for which he can be commended.

Congrats, sergeant!

Graybeard

Kudos, Sgt.

NDHoosier

This might be the most Jarhead thing I have ever heard of.

I am in awe! 👍

AW1Ed

Nope. Ever hear of Cobra Gold?

ninja

Yep…Good Ole CG..

We remember telling either the Army or the Marines to stay away from those durn monkeys…the monkeys will either steal your Ray-Bans or give you a nasty bite or do both.

Did they listen?

Nope.

BTW, rabies shots cost more than a pair of Ray-Bans…

😉😎

rgr769

The series of shots are quite unpleasant, I am told. They used to stick them in the middle of the solar plexus. And each progressive shot was more painful than the last one.

ninja

rgr769:

Heard the same thing about those shots (note the plural)…😉

Am guessing that war story made it on the annual CG predeployment briefing along with the annual VD predeployment briefing…😎

ninja

*Sigh*

Not Duffle Blog or Babylon Bee or The Onion:

“Victory! No Animals to Be Killed in Cobra Gold 2022 Military Drill”

https://www.peta.org/action/action-alerts/u-s-marines-beheading-cobras-drinking-blood/

jeff LPH 3 63-66

While he was standing in Muddy Waters, the Sgt could have sang Hoochie Coochie Man.

jeff LPH 3 63-66

Forgot to add Hoochie Coochie Man sung by Muddy Waters.

Green Thumb

We used to have some dudes re-enlist in some crazy, and conversely, very cool places.

On the nasty side, it was fun to make the Officer suck it up. Kinda like the picture.

On the cool side, it was also fun to make to Officer dress up or have to put a lot of time into the uniform, logistics, travel, etc.

KoB

Was the promotion dinning in menu leeches, lizards, and (frog) legs? Maybe the Good Sergeant’s future won’t be as murky and he’ll never be posted to the swamp of DC.

 :saluting: 

Roh-Dog

Never got fancy with it. Reenlisted about a dozen times, only ever for that sweet, sweet taxpayer cash and the rest of the day off or a long weekend.

The retention NCO yelled at me one time for rat fucking the little nicknack bag he offered me and handing back the rest, “They’re complete sets! All or nothing!”.

“You fucking throw the rest if you want, or throw out that contract.”

Congrats to the Sergeant and his Team. A Section that suffers together, stays together… or something.

AW1Ed

There I was, my last re-enlistment. I chose to have the ceremony performed in-flight, on the mighty P-3 Orion, with my DivO administering.

We moseyed up to the flight station, and I grabbed an NB-8 Navy Backpack parachute on the way up.

The Ell-Tee first discharged me from the Navy, and was a bit surprised when I began to don the parachute.

“AW1Ed, what are you doing?”

“Just Mr.Ed now, sir. Please ask the Flight Station to depressurize, ’cause I’ll be getting out here.”

His look was priceless, and the Flight Engineer couldn’t stop laughing through the rest of the ceremony.

Roh-Dog

So are we all to join you in your delusion that ANY of this is in english?

(kidding, that shits funny as heck right there!)

AW1Ed

Yeah, we put the “Aero” in Aeronautical.

Mick

After you landed following your inflight re-enlistment, did you splice the mainbrace at the Flytrap?

Mick

*Fly Trap

AW1Ed

Sadly no. Wrong side of the world.

Mick

Roger.

I enjoyed the Fly Trap the couple of times that I was there. There were always a couple of Navy Aviators/NFOs in there who we knew in Flight School who would buy us drinks with their per diem money.

Good times.

Last edited 2 years ago by Mick
AW1Ed

Heh.

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”

Crew debriefs at 0400- Epic.

Mick

I can only imagine…

RGR 4-78

Now that is a re-inlistment that should have been videoed.

A Proud Infidel®™

Talk about a legendary Promotion Ceremony, sure beats doing it in the Gym or Motor Pool!

OldManchu

The motorpool!!! That made me laugh!

Sparks

Congratulations Sergeant!

OldManchu

In 20 years this photo will be on some stolen valor assholes digital media page….

“no shit, there I was, being promoted to Master Specialist Admiral Rear Entry… “

SgtBob

“In the picture, James is wearing a ghillie suit made from local reeds and other plants…” He is?

OAE CPO USN Ret

I reenlisted at the geographic South Pole. That picture made it into one of my ships cruisebooks with the phrase “I said I’d reenlist when hell froze over.”

Messkit

My last was in-country. The Major yelled out over the compound, “Hey! Messkit! You got your six. Catch!” Having successfully interrupted the hand made flight of the AAFES brand E6 double package, the Major then yelled, “Consider that my salute!”

Since we were in the midst of a BBQ with the El Salvador troops, the ensuing party was quite festive 🙂

President Elect Toxic Deplorable Racist SAH Neande

My most memorable re-enlistment was on the “deck” of the USS Arizona Memorial……very still and quiet in the early morning, very somber, with all those names of the deceased behind me.