June 23, 1997 - More About Knowledge, This Time With Pictures!

970623 - Ate chow. After chow we came back and cleaned the squad bay some and reviewed knowledge. We then practiced for a parade. We then ate chow. After chow we went to 602 for First Aid IV. We then came back to the squad bay for classes on Fraternization, Equal Opportunities in the Corps, and Sexual Harassment. Those were all taught by the series commander, Capt. R______ (a nice guy). Then more review, chow, drill, showers, and free time. B____ is on duty so we're pretty laid back. Feeling good. 67 days left.
Like most of the days leading up to this one, there was a lot of time spent in classes. That's because we were fast approaching our first academic exam of boot camp. Because of that, I thought I would upload a few pictures of the "knowledge" binder that all recruits were to carry. Any time we were in class, this was our textbook. Any time we were waiting for something (waiting to get in to the mess hall for chow, waiting for a class to start, etc.), we were to take these out and review the materials.

The cover of my "Knowledge" book.

The title page. And apparently, also the place where I practiced using my "clothing marking" stamp.

A page from one of the history classes. Each class consisted of 10-20 pages of material. Typically, the underlined text was something that we were expected to know for the exam. If I put a box around it, that's because the instructor had told us it would definitely be on the test.

This is from a general class on Marine standards. If you can't read the circled portion, it reads: "While in uniform, never put hands in your pockets, chew gum, whistle, smoke while walking, embrace or hold hands or hold an umbrella." A little weird, and everyone broke the rule about embracing on graduation day.


This is a page from our class on counter terrorism. I have a feeling that the terrorism portion of instruction is a little more thorough post 9/11. However, the three goals that I wrote in at the bottom (Keyword "TIG" Topple governments, Influence top-level decisions, and Gain recognition for their cause) are still pretty spot-on.

This one is from a lesson on clothing, specifically civilian attire. I really like the quote from the instructor: "TheMarine Corps is professional, not fashionable." I still follow some of the requirements to this day: If I'm wearing something that has belt loops, I always wear a belt. I also always lace my shoes and boots left over right (I would be willing to bet that I'm one of the few Marines who even knew that was supposed to be done.).

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