June 17, 1997 - Breaking Down to be Built Back Up

970617 - Today was for certain the hardest day yet. After morning chow we marched to Leatherneck square. There we did line, but before that we had to do an insane amount of exercises to show that we could do line while still being exhausted. After that we went over and had Pugel Sticks I. It was pretty fun but tiring. After that we marched back. Every time we march to or from L-Neck Sq. we pass a convenience store. The store has a sign on it that has the time and temp. on it. At 11:00 AM, it was 93 degrees.  Once inside the squad bay we were tortured by having to hold our guns at certain positions for a long period of time. Then we ate chow. After chow we went to building 602 for First Aid II. We then had a class on foot maintenance. Then we ate. We cleaned our guns etc. While I was shining my belt buckle, a recruit slipped and cut himself bad coming out of the shower. I've been praying for him ever since. I got no mail but my early chow buddy got 2 letters and I was praying he would. I've gotta go. I'm a little sore and tired but I'll make it. 59 days left.
Not much to add to today's entry, except this: Throughout boot camp, recruits pass through three phases. During the first phase, the primary focus is to break the recruits down, both mentally and physically. Mentally, the DIs spend a great deal of time and effort stripping away the individuality of the recruit. It's why we aren't allowed to speak in first person. During these first weeks, chaos often seems to be the order of the day. The reason for this is to make it clear that we are not in charge. Physically, the same thing is happening; I was stunned and frustrated often in those initial weeks, as I watched my pull-up and sit-up counts drop significantly. I was supposed to be getting stronger; why did I seem to be getting weaker? It wasn't until weeks later that I finally began to see improvements, both in my mental and physical condition. This journal entry is an example of a typical day during that first, breaking-down phase of boot camp.

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