Re:Boot Camp

(Note: this was a 4 day journal entry, so it has been broken up accordingly.)  970802 - Wednesday we snapped in some more and had an ISMT activity which is a simulated rifle hooked up to a computer. I didn't do too bad but not too good either. Thursday it rained all  day and we were supposed to shoot to get our sights zeroed. We did and I did terribly because I was shivering the entire time. By this point I was extremely discouraged. An important component of shooting accurately is having your sights properly adjusted. Without this, there is no way of knowing whether or not you're actually aiming at your target. At the various distances (200, 300, and 500 yards) you make adjustments for distance and wind, but all of that is worthless if you don't first have a good "zero" (or starting off point). In boot camp, the way that we zeroed in our sights was by firing a couple of rounds from the prone (laying down) position at a small target 36 yards away. If I rememb...

(Note: this was a 4 day journal entry, so it has been broken up accordingly.)  970802 - Wednesday we snapped in some more and had an ISMT activity which is a simulated rifle hooked up to a computer. I didn't do too bad but not too good either.  ISMT = Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Training Hey, remember 20 years ago? Back when people were still using pagers (or at least drug dealers were) and no one had cell phones? Remember Golden Eye for the Nintendo 64? (If you don't, then I don't understand why you're reading this. I have clearly missed my target audience) Well, that's when I was at boot camp. In a time where having some sort of "virtual" experience was the most incredible thing I could imagine. Therefore, when we went into a small, dark room and watched a "real" (in that it wasn't actually firing live ammunition) M16 firing at virtual targets, we were amazed! And so we all sat down and tried to shoot this sort-of-real rifle at not...

970729 - Yesterday was just like yesterday minus PT. We learned some new positions and practiced them all day. Easy but fun. 31 days left... When qualifying on the rifle range, Marines fire from three distances (200, 300, and 500 yards) and in four different shooting positions (standing, kneeling, sitting, and prone). A large portion of Grass Week was spent learning how to sit, kneel, stand, and lay properly in order to maximize your stability for shooting. We would form a large circle around a 55-gallon drum that was painted white with lots of mini targets painted onto it. We would then "dry fire" (aim at the barrel target, practice all of the fundamentals of shooting, pull the trigger, repeat) for hours and hours. This had two functions. First, it would hopefully get us used to practicing the fundamentals of shooting. This wasn't really possible though, because firing an actual rifle is vastly different from dry firing. The only real way to get used to shooting is act...

970728 - Yesterday we moved to our new squad bay at Weapons Battalion. It was relatively painless. Today we had PT (3-mile run, Rifle PT) and learned about the fundamentals or marksmanship, how to prepare our sling, and we practiced marksmanship in the prone (lying down) position. It was pretty fun. I'm a little less worried about the rifle qualification but I'll have to see what happens when we actually start shooting. 32 days left... The first week at Weapons Battalion was spent learning how to shoot. Prior to going through marksmanship training, I just thought shooting was simple: aim the gun, pull the trigger, hit the target. Well, as I was quick to learn, it's not quite that simple. Actual marksmanship includes things like: breath control trigger control sight alignment sight picture windage adjustment lots of other stuff Prior to my first class on the rifle range, I already knew that I didn't really know anything about shooting. The marksmanship instr...

970728 - Yesterday we moved to our new squad bay at Weapons Battalion. It was relatively painless. Today we had PT (3-mile run, Rifle PT) and learned about the fundamentals or marksmanship, how to prepare our sling, and we practiced marksmanship in the prone (lying down) position. It was pretty fun. I'm a little less worried about the rifle qualification but I'll have to see what happens when we actually start shooting. 32 days left... The key word in my description of the move from our First Battalion squad bay to Weapons Battalion is "relatively." As with any time in boot camp that there was not a ton to do and an entire day to do it, our move to Weapons Battalion was filled with DI Games. Lots of time dumping our footlockers out, being told to reorganize them, dumping them out, reorganizing them, dumping them, etc. So, I guess technically it wasn't actually painful, in that we were never actually in pain. Frustrating? Yes. Infuriating? Absolutely. But painf...

970726 - Today was a good day. We had Final Drill in the morning and even though we didn't win, we did well and worked as a team. After chow we went to the confidence course. It was very tiring but fun. I'm looking forward to next week as we'll be on the rifle range (for the next 3 weeks, actually). Only 34 days left... When our platoon got back to the squad bay after Final Drill, our Drill Instructors were pretty furious. This time, though, they were angry at someone other than us. As far as they were concerned, our platoon had performed far better than the other two platoons in the series and should have gotten first place. We got second, though, and they were certain that it was because this was the final platoon for the Senior Drill Instructor of platoon 1070. Because of that, they concluded, the drill masters (those who score the Drill competitions) had given his platoon the victory. Whatever. As long as they were angry at someone other than us, I didn't really c...

970725 - This morning we had 2 shots. After shots we got measured and tailored for our service and dress uniforms...HOW MOTIVATING!!! Then we went to chow and came back here. The rest of the day was pretty normal. 35 days left... If you're heading off to boot camp sometime soon and you make it as far as being measured for your service and dress uniforms, chances are, you're going to make it all the way. This is not to say that there aren't still obstacles which must be overcome; there's final testing, more inspections, and the rifle range. Plus, there's the Crucible (essentially a three-day final exam; more on this in a couple of weeks). In fact, I didn't know it at the time, but my own bunk mate was not going to be around much longer. Nonetheless, getting measured for dress and service uniforms means that even the Marines are beginning to think you'll make it through.

Note: While at Basic Warrior Training, I was unable to write in my journal (the horror!), so I have one long entry that covers all three days. In order not to spoil anything here, I will only include the journal entry portion relevant to the given day. 970724 - Mon: morning, nothing really. Afternoon: moved out to bivouac area for BWT, set up hooches (tents). Evening: 6 mile night hump (hike)...very challenging. Tue: Morning: Mock PFT (7 pull-ups, 87 sit-ups, 20:40 run), rappelling off a 47 foot tower once with a wall, once as a free fall (FUN!); Afternoon: classes on tactical weapons, Laws of War; Evening: moved to a cabin because of the threat of lightning, M______ was on duty...Wednesday: Morning: class on Gas Chamber, Gas Chamber (we got in there w/ our masks on and they lit the gas. We then pulled our masks off over our heads for about 1 min. I was  really  struggling! We then put our masks back on and cleared the masks but I was still choking a little and my eyes were ...

Note: While at Basic Warrior Training, I was unable to write in my journal (the horror!), so I have one long entry that covers all three days. In order not to spoil anything here, I will only include the journal entry portion relevant to the given day. 970724 - Mon: morning, nothing really. Afternoon: moved out to bivouac area for BWT, set up hooches (tents). Evening: 6 mile night hump (hike)...very challenging. Tue: Morning: Mock PFT (7 pull-ups, 87 sit-ups, 20:40 run), rappelling off a 47 foot tower once with a wall, once as a free fall (FUN!); Afternoon: classes on tactical weapons, Laws of War; Evening: moved to a cabin because of the threat of lightning, M______ was on duty... Wednesday: Morning: class on Gas Chamber, Gas Chamber (we got in there w/ our masks on and they lit the gas. We then pulled our masks off over our heads for about 1 min. I was really  struggling! We then put our masks back on and cleared the masks but I was still choking a little and my eyes were burni...

Note: While at Basic Warrior Training, I was unable to write in my journal (the horror!), so I have one long entry that covers all three days. In order not to spoil anything here, I will only include the journal entry portion relevant to the given day. 970724 - Mon: morning, nothing really. Afternoon: moved out to bivouac area for BWT, set up hooches (tents). Evening: 6 mile night hump (hike)...very challenging. Tue: Morning: Mock PFT (7 pull-ups, 87 sit-ups, 20:40 run), rappelling off a 47 foot tower once with a wall, once as a free fall (FUN!); Afternoon: classes on tactical weapons, Laws of War; Evening: moved to a cabin because of the threat of lightning, M______ was on duty... Rappelling training was definitely fun, though not without its misadventures. Prior to beginning the actual rappelling though, we naturally had to have lots of instruction about how it was going to take place. Additionally, we had to be taught how to tie a harness for ourselves out of a 4-foot lengt...

Note: While at Basic Warrior Training, I was unable to write in my journal (the horror!), so I have one long entry that covers all three days. In order not to spoil anything here, I will only include the journal entry portion relevant to the given day. 970724 - Mon: morning, nothing really. Afternoon: moved out to bivouac area for BWT, set up hooches (tents). Evening: 6 mile night hump (hike)...very challenging. I really love camping. I love waking up to the sound of nature, going out and having a cup of coffee. I love cooking on the campfire and even just sitting by the campfire. I love the mixed smells of campfire smoke and nature. I love playing cards or other games by the light of a lantern, telling stories and riddles. And I love going on leisurely walks through the woods, stopping here and there to examine some tree or trail, or just stopping to enjoy the view. Going to the field in boot camp had none of that. Instead, we awoke to the sound of screaming Drill Instru...

970720 - Had Chapel. It was OK. Religious Ed. was good but I kept thinking about home. After noon chow, we had a short field day. It was cut short because Sgt. V__________ was hosing the squad bay and got a fire alarm wet so it went off and we had an impromptu fire drill. Then we practiced setting up our tents for Basic Warrior Training which is Mon-Wed of this week. Then we had some drill and chow. We packed our alice packs up and did the usual activities. All in all, it was a pretty easy day. I can't believe I have less than 6 weeks left! 40 days to be exact!... In my experience, the Drill Instructors did not make mistakes very often. The rare occasions that they did were always a challenge. On the one hand, they had done something stupid (like spraying a fire alarm with a hose because they weren't paying attention, for example), which would have brought a recruit endless ridicule plus a trip to the quarterdeck. On the other hand, they were Drill Instructors. Laughing at th...

970719 - Yesterday morning we were issued some gear including: an alice pack with frame, poncho liner, half-shelter tent, tent pegs, shovel, butt pack, sleeping mat, and waterproofing bag. We then had a Series Commander's Inspection in the afternoon accompanied by a J.O.B. inspection. J.O.B. stands for Junk On the Bunk which means that we had to arrange all of our gear neatly and uniformly on our racks. I easily passed both inspections. Today we messed around with drill, I got put in the pit for scratching my nose, we had a class on substance abuse, we kicked some more drill, and that's about it. I'm looking forward to Chapel tomorrow since it'll be the first time in 3 weeks I can go. 41 days left.  This particular Saturday was a transitional day. We had just finished Swim Qualification (plus Mid-Cycle Testing, Initial Drill, some inspections, and Mess and Maintenance Week) and were heading out for Basic Warrior Training (BWT) in two days. With no tests, inspections, ...

970719 - Yesterday morning we were issued some gear including: an alice pack with frame, poncho liner, half-shelter tent, tent pegs, shovel, butt pack, sleeping mat, and waterproofing bag. We then had a Series Commander's Inspection in the afternoon accompanied by a J.O.B. inspection. J.O.B. stands for Junk On the Bunk which means that we had to arrange all of our gear neatly and uniformly on our racks. I easily passed both inspections. Today we messed around with drill, I got put in the pit for scratching my nose, we had a class on substance abuse, we kicked some more drill, and that's about it. I'm looking forward to Chapel tomorrow since it'll be the first time in 3 weeks I can go. 41 days left. The gear that we were issued for for the next component of our training. In two days (on July 20) we were going to be heading out to the field and spending the next three days there. Therefore, we needed to get some gear. The Alice pack is just a basic pack, in this ca...

970717 - Nothing happened today. From morning chow to noon chow we prepared for tomorrow's series commander's inspection. Then we had drill for 2 hours and prepared for inspection until evening chow. Like I said, boring ! 43 days left. One thing did happen; I finished reading Mark and started on Genesis. Preparation for the Series Commander's Inspection was nearly identical to preparations for the previous, Senior Drill Instructor's Inspection with a couple of minor differences. First, we had much less time to prepare. This is partly because our training schedule was moving more rapidly, what with swimming added to the normal classroom instruction. It's also partly because we didn't really need as much time to prepare for an inspection by this point. We had (slowly) gotten better at preparing our uniforms and the preparation for what to say to the Series Commander wasn't really necessary since it was the same as with the Senior Drill Instructors. The o...

  970716 - Yesterday I qualified WS-3. It consisted of wading 50 meters with flak jacket, kevlar [helmet], and alice pack [back pack]; jumping off a 5 foot platform and swimming 25 meters, both also with full gear. Last night M______ was on duty but he wasn't too bad. This morning consisted of a 3-mile run (21 min.) and 1 circle around the circuit course. We had a class on terrorism and then chow. After chow we had swim qual for WS-2 but there was lightning so I didn't get a chance to try. I'm tired because I have had firewatch from 0300-0400 for the past two nights. I can't wait to sleep but I'm very motivated. 44 days left...  I really only have one thing to say about today's entry: There is only one reason to get firewatch two nights in a row, especially firewatch from 0300-0400. Punishment. As you may recall from earlier posts, from 0400-0500, the firewatch recruit announces the time every five minutes. This means that the recruits who have firewatch right...

970716 - Yesterday I qualified WS-3. It consisted of wading 50 meters with flak jacket, kevlar [helmet], and alice pack [back pack]; jumping off a 5 foot platform and swimming 25 meters, both also with full gear. Last night M______ was on duty but he wasn't too bad. This morning consisted of a 3-mile run (21 min.) and 1 circle around the circuit course. We had a class on terrorism and then chow. After chow we had swim qual for WS-2 but there was lightning so I didn't get a chance to try. I'm tired because I have had firewatch from 0300-0400 for the past two nights. I can't wait to sleep but I'm very motivated. 44 days left...  WS-4 and WS-3, the two lowest levels of swim qualification, require very little actual swimming. For WS-3, in fact, there pretty much none. Because the alice pack contained a waterproof bag, it essentially served as a floatation device. That meant that, even with all of the extra gear, staying above the surface of the water was simply a matt...

970714 - Today was pretty easy. PT (2-mile run, max pull-up (7!), max sit (82!)), drill, and a Medal of Honor class made up the morning. After noon chow we had swim qualification until evening chow. It consisted of: 25-meter swim; 10-foot plank jump; 2 min. tread water; 2 min. "dead man's float;" 1 min. floating w/ blouse as a floatation device; and another 25-meter swim. Extremely easy. Since my M.O.S. is supply, I think I'm done with the swim qual. I'm very motivated and I got 3  letters today! 46 days left. First of all, it's a testament to how far I had come in boot camp that this extremely full and active day was called "pretty easy." Because the Marines are in the department of the Navy and are, technically, an amphibious branch of the military (to quote Melissa McCarthy, " It's in the name. "), all Marines are required to pass swim qualification. As I understand it, there are 5 levels of qualification, beginning, of course, w...

970713 - Slept in today...until 0400. After morning chow I slept some more and was q'decked twice. At 1500, after some "games" (DI style), we came back "home" (our normal squad bay). Then we did some drill and played more "games." We squared away our gear and prepared for inspection. I'm very motivated about the rest of boot camp. This week is swim qualification and I'm not real worried about it. 47 days left. Sometimes, even the best plan for sleeping without detection fails. This is probably because, unlike when I had previously employed the tactic, now the whole platoon was there, as were all of the Drill Instructors. It's notable that I got caught twice; I'm nothing if not persistent. The games mentioned were excruciatingly frustrating in the moment, but completely pointless in the long run. Essentially, the Drill Instructors needed to make sure we packed everything up well for the trip back to our regular squad bay. If we start...

970712 - Woke up @ 0400 because Sgt. V__________ overslept. I didn't mind. I then had chow and came back to the squad bay where I sat and sat until noon chow. After noon chow I sat some more and was quarterdecked for talking to B_______. At 1430, me and 8 other guys went to the Weapons BN Chapel to set up the chairs. It was amazing, we set up 400+ chairs perfectly aligned in under 20 min. We then came back to the squad bay and M______ had gone to pick up 4 92-day reservists who were joining our platoon. When he returned they were immediately put on the quarterdeck. They've been treated sort of poorly but not as bad as some. I found out today that 1st BN is actually the toughest, tightest BN here. Our DIs have been saying it but now I know it's true. COOL! I'm extremely motivated and excited about the 2nd half of boot camp. 48 days left. Been here 41 days. It's a little funny to me the things that I thought were important enough to record in this journal. Twenty ye...

970711 - Woke up @ 0230. Ate chow and slept until 0700 when I went to work. At work we did unimportant and extremely easy work to keep busy. After work we had to go work in the chow hall. It wasn't bad. When we got back here, we worked out and did max sit-ups in 2:00 (85!). I have firewatch tonight but I'm not too tired so it's ok. I got a letter from the entire family and for some reason they still think I switch platoons. I'll have to straighten that out. 49 days left. 7 weeks left. Near the end of boot camp, recruits have to take the Physical Fitness Test. It's the same test taken annually by all Marines. The test consists of a 3-mile run, maximum pull-ups, and maximum sit-ups in two minutes. The highest possible score is 300, and in order to earn that score, you must "max-out" each event. The best time for the run is 18 minutes; the maximum for pull-ups is 20; and max sit-ups is 80 (well, it was 80 when it was sit-ups. When they switched to crunches,...

970710 - Woke up @ 0230. Went back to sleep in the head until chow and after chow slept between the racks until 0645. Went to work @ 0700. Mowed until chow. After chow, we slept 45 minutes and mowed until 1500. We then cooled off and relaxed in the office until 1530 when we came back here. Tonight I probably won't have to work chow hall duty which is good. I'm kind of sore but not too tired. Today for noon chow I ate steak and fried shrimp. 50  days left. I said earlier that I was an expert in sleeping in class. Well, during the Mess and Maintenance Week, I turned sleeping into an art form. Those poor, eligible-for-mess-hall-duty recruits must have had some very difficult days during this week, what with waking up at 2:30am and working pretty much all day until 6:30pm. The rest of us, however, had challenges of our own. For example: how do you sleep after the 0230 wake-up call without getting caught? This journal entry describes two different techniques for sleeping...

970709 - Woke up @ 0230. Ate and slept again until 0700 when we went to work. It rained last night so, instead of mowing, we fixed footlockers. We then had chow. About chow: this week we've eaten afternoon chow in the enlisted and officers' mess hall and we've eaten like kings! For example, today I had veal, spaghetti, pizza, salad, PB&J sandwich, cherry pie, Tang, an apple, and mixed veggies. Unfortunately, after chow today we didn't get our usual nap so I was pretty tired. After chow, we went through some squad bays stacking faulty mattresses so we can replace them tomorrow. Right after returning from work, we were sent to the chow hall to help them. After that, we ate chow and B_______ and I were sent to post as firewatch. It's 1850 and we'll probably get to bed around 1930. I'm pretty tired but I'm doing alright. 51 days left. I mentioned a few days ago that non-Drill Instructor Marines were vastly different than Drill Instructors. This point ...

970708 - Woke up @ 0230. Ate chow @ 0500. At about 0545 I was caught sleeping and put on the quarterdeck. It wasn't too bad. At 0700, I went to work. We mowed until chow time. At chow, we ate like swine ! After chow we slept for about 30 min. We then mowed (I got to use the gas-powered weed-whacker). Then we came back here and sat around here for a few hours. SSgt. B____ is on duty today and tomorrow and he turned the TV on to Headline News. We went to evening chow and are now here doing nothing. I LOVE IT!!! When the chow recruits get back we'll probably get showers and go straight to bed. 52 days left.   Each morning (and the rare afternoons that weren't too hot to work outside) during maintenance week, before we were allowed to use the lawn mowers or weed-whackers, the Cpl. made us duct-tape actual steel toes onto the outsides of our boots. His explanation for this, which seemed far-fetched at the time, became more and more plausible the more time I spent in the Mari...

970707 - Today we woke up @ 0230. At some time we had chow and we went to work @ 0700. Me, B_______, and another guy mowed lawns until 1100 and went to chow. Then we checked squad bays for unserviceable pillows, lights, and faucets. Gotta go. 53 days left. I'm back...we had to hit the rack. I forgot to mention that after noon chow we were told to go to an empty squad bay for 45 minutes. So we all slept. After checking the squad bays, we came back here and did nothing until 1700 when we went to chow. After chow we stayed and helped the rest of the platoon. I was in scullery where the plates, trays, forks, cups, etc. are washed. It was pretty easy. We then came back here, showered, and were given square away time to torture us more. I didn't mind 'cuz I got two letters. Anyway, I'm a little tired but not too bad. As I said earlier, 53 days left. Aside from the Marines who gave us our initial gear and uniform issue back in our first hours on Parris Island, the only enlis...

970706 - Moved to Weapons Battalion for Mess Week. Today, me and about 12-13 other recruits stayed in the squad bay and alternated firewatch while the others had mess duty. It was very easy and fun since the DI wasn't here. There's only one DI on duty each day and today and tomorrow it's Sgt. H__. He assures us that by Tues. morning we'll be exhausted. I'm sure he's right. I have maintenance duty with 4 other recruits somewhere. I have firewatch tonight and we wake up at 0230 tomorrow. Fun, fun, fun. 54 days left. Mess and Maintenance week serves as a sort of mini-break from the rigors of boot camp. By that, I mean to say that we don't have formal training during that week. Instead, we are either assigned to work in a mess hall or to do some other maintenance. As I said in an earlier journal entry , I was deemed ineligible to work in the mess hall. I don't know why this was, and I don't care. As you will read throughout the next several days, being...

970705 - Yesterday was very easy! We had SDI's inspection in the morning and I passed. then the day was pretty much free. After evening chow and showers we went out to the parade deck and watched fireworks. It was pretty fun but we got to bed late and I had firewatch so I only got about 5.5 hours of sleep. Today was easy but M______ was a real jerk so the day dragged on a bit. I'm tired but tonight I have 9 hrs. of sleep so that's good. Plus, we only have 55 days left. Before I forget, I'm going to document this: when we got here there were 78 of us. There are now 64. They've definitely weeded out the weak. There's not much to say about July 5. It was a typical Saturday with a typically annoying Sgt. M______ on duty that night. This Saturday marked the end of the first Phase of our training. After this, we were headed to "Mess and Maintenance Week" (more on this tomorrow), followed by Swim Qualification, the Rifle Range, Basic Warrior Training, A-L...

970705 - Yesterday was very easy! We had SDI's inspection in the morning and I passed. then the day was pretty much free. After evening chow and showers we went out to the parade deck and watched fireworks. It was pretty fun but we got to bed late and I had firewatch so I only got about 5.5 hours of sleep. Today was easy but M______ was a real jerk so the day dragged on a bit. I'm tired but tonight I have 9 hrs. of sleep so that's good. Plus, we only have 55 days left. Before I forget, I'm going to document this: when we got here there were 78 of us. There are now 64. They've definitely weeded out the weak. A Display The Senior Drill Instructors' Inspection was the first of several that we had over the course of boot camp. The preparation for it involved mostly cleaning our rifles, pressing our inspection cammies (once they got back from the laundry following the "scrub brush" incident), and polishing our boots to a mirrored shine. The Drill Instru...

970703 - Today was one of the best days of boot camp yet! First, we had PT which consisted of the obstacle course and a 2.5 mile timed run. I made it through every obstacle on the first try and pretty quickly. Major confidence booster. Then was the run. I did it in 18:15; my personal best! After our PT showers, we found out who failed the exam...I PASSED!!! For the remainder of the day, I was on a high. The rest of the day was pretty normal w/ a class on Group Values (taught by a Presbyterian Chaplain), and a class on History VII. Then we had chow and prepared for inspection (tomorrow). We kicked some drill and learned about fraternization. After evening chow, we cleaned our guns inside and out (very cool!). A corpsman came by to evaluate those who could and could not go on mess duty next week. I can't. I don't know why not and I don't know what I'll be doing instead. I just hope it's not too awful. Right now I'm still feeling pretty good (especially since I go...

970702 - Today we had the Mid-Cycle Testing. It was very tough. 20 people in our platoon failed and we don't know which 20. I'm very worried that I'm one of the 20. Half of me is convinced that I got more than 20 wrong and the other half is convinced I got more than 80 right. Who knows, though. The way things have been going lately, I probably did fail. If I did fail, I'll have to retake the test on Fri. and if I fail again, I get moved to a different platoon. I will probably have to go home, though, since I'm a 92-day reservist. How embarrassing to get sent home because you're not smart enough to be a Marine! I can't wait to sleep tonight just so I can get my mind off of this issue. At any rate, 58 days left... Mid-cycle testing was the first real  assessment in boot camp. By that I mean that it was the first test where failing meant stopping training. If we lost in pugil sticks (which I did), we would still be able to continue. If we failed miserably at ...