Week three: Polishing

So Week 3 of Phase One continues "tearing down" of Recruit.

"At this point, civilian thoughts and habits are considered detrimental to training, so they are squashed during this period by intense physical training, unchanging routines, strict discipline, and heavy instruction."

The "I"  in individual goes away, they are not allowed to even say it. The term is "this recruit" when they are talking about themselves. Unit, unit, unit.
Recruit is becoming friends with his rifle, M16A4. He has memorized its serial number and is practicing four weapons safety rules and four weapons conditions.

Safety rules
1. Treat every weapon as if it were loaded.
2. Never point a weapon at anything you do not intend to shoot.
3. Keep finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to fire.
4. Keep weapon on safe until you intend to fire.

Conditions
1.  To place a weapon in condition 1, a round must be in position to be fired and the safety must be on.
 2.  To place a weapon in condition 2, a round must be in position to be fired, the weapon’s action must be closed, and the hammer must be forward. (This condition only applies to weapons that have external hammers).
3.  To place a weapon in condition 3, ammunition is in position to be chambered, the chamber is empty, the action is closed, and the safety is on.
4.  To place a weapon in condition 4, all ammunition is removed, the chamber is empty, the action is closed, and the safety is on.

Week three is bayonet training. There will be lots of yelling and attacking tire people with a knife at the end of the weapon. Recruit will be good at this and have a great time with it. In fact, I haven't seen anything in boot camp yet that I don't think he will be getting a kick out of. The pugil stick training looks to be almost exactly like Amtgard activity he used to love so much.

In all this activity, Recruit will also be studying Marine History and First Aid.

Note: Various sources put the things the recruits are learning in different orders, for example, in some schedules pugil sticks began in week 2 and first aid begins in week 4. This is deliberately to confuse the enemy and not be predictable.

"Marines know how to use their bayonets. Army bayonets may as well be paper-weights." -- Navy Times

Letter time!

So we finally got notice from Recruit of his address! Now we can write him. His wife got the letter and even a personal note at the bottom saying he is fine, he misses everyone and he is having fun.

The suggestion for writing letters is to not get sappy and sad and talk about how much you miss him or all the things he is missing, instead focus on what he is doing, stay positive and show him that you are interested in what he is doing.

We are not supposed to send care packages, cookies or hearts.

Recruits have had to eat entire batches of homemade cookies all at once, had to give them all away, or just have them taken away. Some have had to do extra PT (physical training) to be allowed to keep their "surprise" gifts from home - or do extra PT in addition to having to eat them all or give them all away. Other items might be taken away from your recruit until graduation.

Anyone who knows him and would like his address to write something to him, let me know.

"Any Drill Instructor will tell you that recruits who regularly receive mail are better motivated, have fewer illnesses or injuries and generally do better than recruits who do not regularly receive mail.
Your mission is to see that your recruit receives mail of one sort or another every day."

My marine

Some more suggestions:

After you hear from your recruit and check, they will probably like to get pre-printed labels, with their address on some and yours on others. Make sure you have the proper postage on your letters - one recruit had to pay in sweat for 12 cents postage due!

Week Two

It looks like this is them most boring week. A week to get caught up on routines, getting things done properly and on time. Line up, boots, teeth, clean, physical workouts, feat, and start over and over again.
Here is a site that goes week by week in video, quite cool:  12 Weeks Module - Marine Corps recruits

And a quote from our Trinity Site visit April 2. This Marine was getting on a shuttle bus. He must have heard me read the quote out loud twice. It is from Elenore Roosevelt.

Doubts?

So tonight I wonder about doubts. Is Recruit lying awake wondering if he can make it? Is he depressed and frustrated over some failure to meet a goal? Is he angry because some drill instructor has disovered something to hurt him with?
I want to say to you my son, I love you so much I want to wrap my arms around you. I believe in you.
There will be doubts and moments you wonder if you can make it. I want to say, I know you can, I know your pushy ability to get over and under and through. I know your loyalty and friendship will create bonds for life with those around you.
You are my rock, my knight, my hero.

Funny guy!.... Proof that you can be the same person you were when you went to boot camp. Unless, of course, it was boot camp that made him crazy in the first place.

"When in doubt, empty the magazine."

Anon

 

Moms speak out

I am obviously not the only mom to go through Recruit withdrawl. Here are a couple that resonated with me a lot...
The first ...well the vegan-dyed PEACE T-shirt just says it all.

"I wore my best vegan-dyed PEACE T-shirt. I was wary but not too worried. Zach was barely 17, graduation seemed far off still and the notion that he would volunteer was laughable. He didn’t like killing anything, even insects. The sight of blood made him gag. His favorite hobby was napping.
...
Zach looked over my shoulder as I examined dreamy photos of Hawaiian bird life and Munich’s museums and beer festivals. 'Great opportunities if he likes culture. … '
“What about the war?” I said.
'The Iraq thing?' I recall him saying. 'That’ll be over in no time. Let’s take a look at some of the great educational benefits.'"

"My Marine" By KATE BRAESTRUP

This second one resonated not so much with this quote but with the full text of a couple of the recruit's early-in-the-experience letters which pretty much describe what Recruit must be feeling and doing. The above editorial is from 2006 and the below post is from September 2010.

"I am so proud of him I could cry.

He seems to be doing well, and is good about letting us know as much detail as he can.

When I read about him coming in 3rd in the race, I was so thrilled!  That's my boy!"

"Thats what she said" blogspot

Field day Sunday

So apparently today is cleaning day for Recruit. Following a morning off for worship, the brushes, mops and chemicals come out and the recruits get to sparkle their habitat. Teamwork is emphasized and off they go swishing, tossing and scrambling to get everything just right for inspection in an hour.

Teamwork seems to be the focus of boot camp although one starts hearing over and over again the words "Marines boot camp will tear down and rebuild the recruit while weeding out the undesirable recruits thereby leaving only the best to earn the name Marine."
I feel like teamwork is probably the foundation of being a Marine. Starting with the drill instructors and their behavior, the recruits are given a common enemy and a reason to work together.
Drill instructors "almost certainly be the most sadistic, maniacal tyrants you have ever met," but they are also all special duty volunteers for the job and  "off duty they are kind hearted, honorable men and women who want to do the best they possibly can to help insure that you come home safe should you be deployed to a combat zone."

I liked this video/slide show a lot because it has some great images and probably captures the life of Recruit very well.

    

    "Marines are about the most peculiar breed of human beings I have ever witnessed. They treat their service as if it were some kind of cult, plastering their emblem on almost everything they own, making themselves up to look like insane fanatics with haircuts to ungentlemanly lengths, worshipping their Commandant almost as if he were a god, and making weird animal noises like a band of savages. They'll fight like rabid dogs at the drop of a hat just for the sake of a little action, and are the cockiest sons of bitches I have ever known. Most have the foulest mouths and drink well beyond man's normal limits, but their high spirits and sense of brotherhood set them apart and, generally speaking, the United States Marines I've come in contact with are the most professional soldiers and the finest men I have ever had the pleasure to meet."

--An Anonymous Canadian Citizen

Another day

Last night I picked up my phone to call him to see what he was up to. It didn't work too well. Those tears are always right behind the eyes waiting to fall out. It's like perminant PMS.
Today is Saturday. We went to Trinity site where all that is left of a lake of green glass is little bits of green crackle which you can find hiding in the dirt.
It's toxicity has declined to the point where it is less radioactive than a person.
Such a small indicator with so much anguish coming.
I can hope the world has gone beyond that and my golden warrior child won't have to face true evil.
Tomorrow, Sunday, at least he gets the morning off for worship. I wonder what he will do with it?

"It is at this point that a recruit must come to terms with the decision he or she has made and develop the true determination needed to make it through the process of becoming a United States Marine. The final "moment of truth" is offered to those who have been dishonest about their eligibility, such as drug use, judicial convictions, or other disqualifying conditions."  

                                                                                                                           --- wikipedia