Re:Boot Camp

970829 - Graduation!! I don't remember or care what happened 2-day. I'm going home and I never have to see this place as a recruit again! Graduation day begins with a Company formation PT run. It's easily the most motivating run in all of boot camp. Well, it is if you're not stupid enough to volunteer to be a road-guide. My whole "volunteer for everything" mentality finally came back to bite me on the last day of boot camp. Instead of spending the morning on an incredibly motivating formation run through Parris Island, chanting all of the most motivating and possibly not-allowed cadences, I spent it sprinting from intersection to intersection and then jogging in place while the company ran by. It was a not-spectular end to my not-spectacular time in boot camp. After that, my journal actually captures everything pretty well: it ended, I was glad for the end, I was too tired to reflect on anything. I'm actually in a similar mind-set now, having just sp...

970827 - Yesterday we turned in our rifles. That's about it. Today I saw my parents and family for the first time in 3 months. We walked around some and I even rode in a car! Also C____ came with my parents so he was there. We ate at some restaurant on Parris Island. The food wasn't much better than in the mess hall but the company was. When we were touring the squad bay my father met DI Sgt. M______ and told him I thought he was my favorite DI. I wouldn't really care if M______ wasn't on duty tonight. Oh well. I only have one more night here so I don't care!!! The day before graduation is called Family Day. It's exactly what it sounds like: a chance to see your family and show them around the island. When my parents saw me marching in, my mother didn't even recognize me because I had lost so much weight. It was great to get to see them and even better that I was now one night away from leaving Parris Island for good.

970828 - Yesterday we turned in our rifles. That's about it. As we wound down toward graduation, there was less and less that needed to be done. One important detail was returning our rifles. With the return of our rifles, though, I lost the best job, and the thing that undoubtedly sustained me throughout so much of boot camp: Early Chow. With no weapons to guard, there was no longer the need to have firewatch during chow time. This meant that I actually had to eat with the rest of the platoon, like a commoner. I had to wait in line, had to sit in the main section of the chow hall (we'd always sat in small tables on the edge of the room), and had to sit with whomever I'd been near in line (i.e.: not with C___). I was not a fan. On the plus side, I only had two days to deal with it.

970826 - Today I had a dentist's appointment in the morning and paid bills in the afternoon. I came out of boot camp with $905. Not what I expected but still not too stingy. I only hope I can buy some shoes on Thursday. Anyway, 3 days left... I have heard some horror stories of the lies recruiters told people in order to get them to enlist. I once met a Marine who had been expecting his own private room in boot camp. For me, though, I have to say that my recruiter was pretty forthright. I was relatively well-prepared and had few surprises. One area in which, if not lying, he at least wasn't completely honest was the money. I knew that, as a private, I would make about $900 a month. Based on that, I figured I would get out of boot camp with around $2300 after taxes. When I asked my recruiter if that was about right, he just sort of changed the subject. There may have been a vague answer in there, but no real commitment. What he didn't tell me is that, in boot camp, nothi...

970825 - Today was a pretty boring day. We had 2 classes and then ate chow. Then we had our platoon photo, turned in all our government-issued gear (except rifles), and got haircuts. We then had graduation rehearsal and chow. Only 4 days left... There's not a whole lot to say here. We were moving closer and closer to graduation. All of our training was finished (the classes were about how transition back to "normal" life), and we were now learning about the main thing we would do once in the Fleet: wait around. Most of my time in the Marines was not unlike this last week: we sat around and trained for and waited for something to happen. Then it finally happened, and we waited some more.

Note: Because so much happened on this day, I have chosen to break up the journal entry and comment on each element, one at a time. 970824 - My last Sunday here was quite an eventful one. I went to Chapel and R.E.  which were both awesome. Every week at Chapel, there was always a group of recruits singing much louder than the rest of us. This is not because we were singing quietly, mind you. It's because they were no longer recruits at all. They were Marines. They had just completed the Crucible and were attending their final Chapel service on the island. This Sunday, that was us. It was incredible and overwhelming, similar to my first Chapel service but for a very different reason. Then we came back here and, after chow, while C___ and I were walking firewatch, we were caught talking so our liberty was secured. I was bummed but not too bummed because I deserved what I got. After chow, C___ and I were excited beyond words. We were about to have three and a half hours of free ...

970823 - Thursday at 0200 we got up and were stepping off for the crucible by 0230. After a 3-mile hump we arrived at our C-huts where we dropped off some of our gear and stepped off for our first event. Before I go on, I'll explain that the Crucible is broken up into 6 events which last 4 hours each. Our first event was the Combat Re-supply Course, a Core Values class, and several warrior stations. The CRC was a combat course in which you had to high-crawl w/ ammo cans about 200 yards through barbed wire and other obstacles. It would have been much easier but for the fact that the entire course was mud and 6" of water. The warrior stations are obstacles where the team has to work together to accomplish a mission. They were fun. Our second event consisted of a 3-mile hump to the rifle range, firing on multiple targets at multiple distances and a casualty evacuation. The casualty evacuation is when you have to take one of your teammates out of the combat zone as quickly as pos...

970823 - Thursday at 0200 we got up and were stepping off for the crucible by 0230. After a 3-mile hump we arrived at our C-huts where we dropped off some of our gear and stepped off for our first event. Before I go on, I'll explain that the Crucible is broken up into 6 events which last 4 hours each. Our first event was the Combat Re-supply Course, a Core Values class, and several warrior stations. The CRC was a combat course in which you had to high-crawl w/ ammo cans about 200 yards through barbed wire and other obstacles. It would have been much easier but for the fact that the entire course was mud and 6" of water. The warrior stations are obstacles where the team has to work together to accomplish a mission. They were fun. Our second event consisted of a 3-mile hump to the rifle range, firing on multiple targets at multiple distances and a casualty evacuation. The casualty evacuation is when you have to take one of your teammates out of the combat zone as quickly as pos...

970823 - Thursday at 0200 we got up and were stepping off for the crucible by 0230. After a 3-mile hump we arrived at our C-huts where we dropped off some of our gear and stepped off for our first event. Before I go on, I'll explain that the Crucible is broken up into 6 events which last 4 hours each. Our first event was the Combat Re-supply Course, a Core Values class, and several warrior stations. The CRC was a combat course in which you had to high-crawl w/ ammo cans about 200 yards through barbed wire and other obstacles. It would have been much easier but for the fact that the entire course was mud and 6" of water. The warrior stations are obstacles where the team has to work together to accomplish a mission. They were fun. Our second event consisted of a 3-mile hump to the rifle range, firing on multiple targets at multiple distances and a casualty evacuation. The casualty evacuation is when you have to take one of your teammates out of the combat zone as quickly as pos...

970820 - Today we got high and tights. Very motivating! The rest of the day was spent preparing for the Crucible. I'm a little nervous about it but I just need to keep my eyes on God and I'm sure I'll make it. After all, I do  only have 9 days left... The Crucible is the culmination of boot camp. It's a 3-day final exam. During that time, you hike 45+ miles, complete many obstacles (all focused on learning to work well as a team, even when exhausted), sleep about 5 hours, and eat 2.5 meals. It's physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting, but, if you make it through, you can finally claim the title of United States Marine.

970819 - This morning we received our orders and I found out I have to report to my duty station on August 30 which means I can't spend the weekend in NC as I'd planned. I was a little disappointed but at least it means I get to go to TPC on Sunday. It also gives me more time to hang with my friends which is cool. This afternoon was the Company Commander's Inspection. I guess we did ok since we didn't really get yelled at too much. After evening chow there was a huge thunderstorm and while we were packing our Alice packs for the Crucible the power went out for about 20 minutes. It was a little annoying but not too bad. The rest of the night was pretty normal. 10 days left... I didn't know it at the time, but this was to be the first of many, many times while in the Marines that my orders were incorrect. I found out later that I would not be required to report to my unit until the September Drill weekend (meaning the weekend that my unit always spent on duty; the f...

970818 - Yesterday was your typical relaxing, low stress, Sunday. Today was final testing and our platoon took the series with only 3 failures. That means we get the guidon back! HOO-RAH! Tonight, we prepared for tomorrow's Company Commander's Inspection. I'm a little nervous about it but not too  much. Mostly I'm just looking forward to 11 days from now when I can go home... I would love to say that my being knowledge recruit had something to do with our success on final testing. To claim that I tapped into my gifts as an educator and inspired the platoon to learn, really learn, all of the material. In fact, not just to learn, but to master it. That my pedagogical expertise, while still raw and untrained, shown forth and, like Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Minds , I inspired my rag-tag band of misfits to academic excellence. Unfortunately, I think there was a different reason for their success. As you may recall, every major evaluation like this one is also a co...

970818 - Yesterday was your typical relaxing, low stress Sunday. With less than two weeks left on the Island, there were parts of Boot Camp that were ramping up, and other parts that were winding down. For starters, over the course of the upcoming week, we would be taking our final academic test. If you recall, our platoon performed horribly on the first test we took, scoring the lowest in the entire company. Now that I was knowledge recruit, I was tasked with reviewing knowledge in any free moment. Additionally, we were getting ready for another inspection. This one would be more challenging than any of the previous ones had been, so we were spending a good deal of time on our uniforms. Finally, at the end of the week we would be heading out on The Crucible, a three-day final exam of sorts. But it wasn't all high-stakes anticipation. The Drill Instructors had finally started to mellow a bit. There were definitely still times when they would erupt, don't get me wrong. But...

970816 - Wed, Thu, & Fri was more A-Line. I could go into detail about it but I hated it so much that I've blocked most of it out of my mind. One thing I remember is that the DIs treated us like DUNG all week. Partly because they wanted to and partly because there's a DI from San Diego who's here for the rest of our stay here on "Paradise Island." Anyway, there was a 4-mile motivational run this morning and the rest of the day was spent moving back "home." I actually like this squad bay; especially after spending the last 3 weeks in that tiny one at Weapons Bn. But who cares? I could stand anything for the 13 days we have left... To be clear, the barracks we had in weapons battalion were a dump. It was cramped, the toilets didn't have dividers, the AC could never keep up. All in all, it sucked. Nonetheless, it was surprising that I was actually happy to be back in our old squad bay.  It was only slightly less crappy than the squad bay we had li...

970816 - Wed, Thu, & Fri was more A-Line. I could go into detail about it but I hated it so much that I've blocked most of it out of my mind. One thing I remember is that the DIs treated us like DUNG all week. Partly because they wanted to and partly because there's a DI from San Diego who's here for the rest of our stay here on "Paradise Island."  The other day, my journal entry mentioned that A-Line was both boring and high-stress. A large reason for that is that we had lots and lots of down-time. And if there's one thing that Drill Instructors can do, it's filling down-time with "games," frustration, more "games," and more frustration. With some trips to the quarterdeck thrown in just for fun. At one point during A-Line, we found ourselves in an extended (i.e.: hours-long) rifle cleaning session. The entire platoon had our footlockers pulled out from the bunks and we were sitting, cross-legged behind them, cleaning our rifles...

970816 - Wed, Thu, & Fri was more A-Line. I could go into detail about it but I hated it so much that I've blocked most of it out of my mind. One thing I remember is that the DIs treated us like DUNG all week. Partly because they wanted to and partly because there's a DI from San Diego who's here for the rest of our stay here on "Paradise Island."  One of the components of A-Line was the Night Movement Course. It's a simulated night combat course, minus the bullets. This course consists of two elements. First, you walk through a section of forest. Prior to each step, you make an S with your forward hand (i.e.: the hand not holding the pistol grip) from the ground to the height of your head. The purpose of this is to check for tripwires. Once you've checked the space immediately in front of you, you take one step forward and repeat the S maneuver, checking once again for tripwires. As you might expect, this takes quite a while. The relative silence ...

970816 - Wed, Thu, & Fri was more A-Line. I could go into detail about it but I hated it so much that I've blocked most of it out of my mind. One thing I remember is that the DIs treated us like DUNG all week. Partly because they wanted to and partly because there's a DI from San Diego who's here for the rest of our stay here on "Paradise Island."  First of all, the DI was not from San Diego. Eventually, we learned that he had just completed DI school and was now finishing up his training by spending time with an actual platoon of recruits. At times it was extremely frustrating, like when the DIs treated us as though we had just gotten to boot camp. At other times, it was actually entertaining, like when the new DI (Sgt. J____) would call out some command and we would follow it, knowing it was the wrong command. Then, one of our DIs would slowly walk over to Sgt. J____ and whisper something to him. Then, he'd call out the command that he should have call...

970812 - Today we had classes all morning on A-Line information. Then, in the afternoon, we got our zero for A-Line and did some other stuff. Tonight, the platoon is working the pits for Lead Series' night fire but me and Cash are staying behind as firewatch. I'm looking forward to A-Line...ending. It's boring and high-stress (if that's possible). 17  days left... A-Line was a week in which we learned to shoot in combat-like situations. We learned to fire from behind cover, how to fire at night (using tracer rounds), and we also went through day and night movement courses. There were long, long stretches of time where there was nothing scheduled, so, naturally, the Drill Instructors took that time to torment us. Despite all of this, (spoiler alert) the next three days of A-Line contain three of my favorite boot camp stories...

970811 - This morning we ran the obstacle course and did a 3-mile "boots 'n utes" run. The run was challenging but extremely  motivating. The rest of the day we had classes. Tonight, while getting undressed, my boot laces got tangled, so I got firewatch for being too slow. Lucky me. Oh well, I really don't mind. I just hope I'm not too  tired tomorrow. It's obvious that the DIs are really letting up on us. I just can't wait until after the crucible when they talk to us like we're human. Luckily I only have 18 days left on this island... It's not insignificant that I was specific in stating that the run was difficult, while leaving the obstacle course, that thing that had been impossible for me weeks earlier, out of it. Yay me! Or, more accurately, yay really intense Marine Corps training! Today was another transitional day. We had just completed the rifle range, and were about to begin A-line training (combat shooting; more on this tomorrow). F...

970810 - Sunday. Very easy. We cleaned house, cleaned weapons, and had square away time all day. I've been on double rations all week so hopefully I'll gain back some of the 15 lbs. I've lost. Anyway, only 19 days left.  In boot camp, if you're deemed too heavy, you are placed on limited rations. At each meal, you are given a much smaller portion of food than the rest of the platoon. Likewise, if you are deemed to be too thin, you are placed on double rations and are given a much larger portion of food. When you are placed on double rations, you are given a paper, or "chit," which lets the recruit serving the chow know that you get extra. Well, I wasn't technically placed on double rations so I didn't actually have a chit. What I did have, though, was a 6'2" body that weighed 150 pounds. My ribs were visible through my skin. So, despite the lack of a chit, when the recruits serving chow took one look at me they quickly piled my tray with f...

970809 - 2 mile Boots & Utes run with rifle. Easy. After which we had a Field Meet which consisted of 8 events. (1) 880 yard relay; (2) 1 mile relay; (3) 3-legged race; (4) obstacle course relay; (5) tent set-up; (6) chariot races; (7) Dizzy Izzy; (8) tug-of-war. I took part in Dizzy Izzy which is a 50 meter run to a cone where you spin on a bat and run back. You were supposed to spin to the right which I did  but when I ran back, one of my teammates said, "You were supposed to spin to the right, Bailey." To which I responded, "I did  spin to the right, DUCKWORTH!" One of the other Senior Drill Instructors heard me and thought I'd said "dammit" so he took me to M______ who pitted me. After noon chow were some classes and weapons maintenance. I'm looking forward to Chapel but mostly I just want to go HOME! Luckily, I can in 20 days... Field Day: cleaning the barracks and head thoroughly. Field Meet: (1) a "fun-filled" day in which ...

970808 - Yesterday was pre-qual. I passed. Today was Qual. I qualified "Marksman" with 205/250 points. I'm just happy I don't have to go home. I'm motivated but in a hurry so I can't write more. 21 days left... As my journal indicates, I made it through rifle qualification. I didn't do exceptionally well, but I at least qualified. The same could not be said, unfortunately, for my bunkmate, recruit B______. He and I had shared a bunk since very early in our training and had therefore gotten to know one another pretty well. Unfortunately, since he didn't qualify on the rifle range, he would be leaving the platoon. Actually, he wasn't just leaving the platoon; he was leaving boot camp altogether. B______, like me, was a 92-day reservist. For those who might not have read the post that explains that (or have forgotten), that means that he enlisted into the Marine Reserves and was heading to college immediately after graduation from boot camp. Evi...

970808 - Yesterday was pre-qual. I passed. As I said before, rifle qualification involves firing from the 200, 300, and 500 yard lines in various shooting positions. If memory serves, this is what we did: 200 Yard line: 5 rounds, slow fire, in the standing position 5 rounds, slow fire, in the kneeling position 5 rounds, slow fire, in the sitting position 10 rounds, rapid fire, in the sitting position 300 Yard line 5 rounds, slow fire, (I don't remember the position; either sitting or kneeling) 10 rounds, rapid fire, in the prone position 500 Yard line: 10 rounds, slow fire, in the prone position By "slow fire," I mean that, after each shot fired, the recruits "pulling butts" would pull your target down and mark where the round hit (assuming that it did), as we as your score for the shot. Each shot earned 0-5 points, depending on where it hit. After marking the shot in the logbook, the recruit would make any necessary adjustments to the rif...

970806 - Today was just like yesterday minus a few points on the range and minus the tornado that hit the squad bay. I'm pretty motivated and not real worried about qualification. 23 days left. There's not really much to add to this entry. I spent the morning in the target factory again, shot in the afternoon again,  and grew gradually more and more comfortable shooting. The same was true for most of the platoon, though not everyone. Fortunately, though, the improving recruits now outnumbered the not-improving recruits, so we didn't all have to get punished.

970805 - Yesterday was a very bad day. In the morning I worked in the target factory making targets and in the afternoon I shot. Right after shooting we came back tot he squad bay. I had done OK on the range. Not too bad for my first day. Apparently, though, no one else had because we were all crushed upon return to the squad bay. Then, later that night, I was quarterdecked for about 30 minutes and given 2 hours of firewatch. Needless to say, I was a bit discouraged. This morning, I worked in the factory and this afternoon I shot again. I did much better than last time (Mon=161, Today=229). Again though, the rest of the platoon (or about 1/2) did poorly, so when we came back to the squad bay there were racks, footlockers, Alice packs, and shoes and boots everywhere. Then while fixing the house, I was quarterdecked. It didn't really bother me today, though. Right now my spirits are pretty high. 24 days left... The rifle range can be a stressful area. Many of the recruits are shoot...

970805 - Yesterday was a very bad day. In the morning I worked in the target factory making targets and in the afternoon I shot. Right after shooting we came back tot he squad bay. I had done OK on the range. Not too bad for my first day. Apparently, though, no one else had because we were all crushed upon return to the squad bay. Then, later that night, I was quarterdecked for about 30 minutes and given 2 hours of firewatch. Needless to say, I was a bit discouraged... During the week we spent on the rifle range, we actually only spent half of the day on the range.The rest of the time, we were assigned either to work in the target factory or to "pull butts." I was assigned to work in the target factory. Each morning, we would make large canvas frames and glue targets to them. That's pretty much it. It was pretty low-key, as there weren't usually Drill Instructors around. They'd come by periodically though, so we had to be working and not goofing off. This was al...

970803 - Sunday.  Chapel here was ok. We had communion and that was great! It really helped me focus my trust for this upcoming week on God. He'll pull me through. Today was a good day of rest but I'm looking forward to this week because I want to go home and after this week there'll be 1 less week. Right now there are 26 more motivated days left on this island.  It's difficult to express how great it was to have communion on the day before heading to the rifle range, which is probably the most difficult single test in all of boot camp. Up to this point, throughout all of boot camp, we were told to get just get through. We were told to get tougher, get stronger, be better, on our own. We were also told to rely on our fellow recruits to help us to get through. Even I, the drama-loving-too-smart-to-stop-talking-too-weak-to-belong recruit was called upon to help fellow recruits make it through. At previous Chapel services, and even at this one, we were given a basic ...

(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. Yesterday morning we ran the PFT. I did 80 sit-ups, 8 pull-ups, and ran the 3-mile run in 20:07, for a total of 227 points. Our platoon avg. was 228; the best in the company by 11 points. After the PFT, we re-shot the zeroing exercise. This time I did  very  well. After chow we did the ISMT again and I did Awesome! Today we hiked 10 miles. It wasn't bad until we got back and stopped. Then I got sore. That wore off eventually, though and now I'm just motivated. There are only 27 more days left and I'm very excited! Wh...