Part 3

Disclaimer:

The Basics

Basic Training, particularly for the Marine Corps, is often one of the biggest roadblocks in people's minds when they think of joining the military. In fact, most preconceived notions about boot camp in general probably come from the way Marine Basic has been portrayed. If anyone's ever seen Full Metal Jacket, you might worry about being driven to the point of doing some pretty terrible things from the sheer stress of it. You might worry about not making it through basic, that you aren't "strong" enough to make it through the 3 months of intense training it takes to even earn the title of Marine, let alone the months of training that remain before you that will make you into a warrior with a purpose.

Depending on your MOS (field/job), you can expect to spend well over 3 months spent in training. First there is Basic Training, which will find our young recruits at one of two Marine Corps Recruit Depots, Parris Island South Carolina, or San Diego California. Males will generally go the the nearest MCRD, where as all females will attend Basic Training at Parris Island. The two locations are pretty similar. They do things the same way. The biggest difference you'll find is climate, and chances are you won't care too much about catching a few rays while you're at basic anyway.

After basic you'll attend one of two programs at the School of Infantry. At this point, you will be a Marine. You will have earned the title and rank. You are not a recruit any more, and as a result, all your training after basic will be a bit different. Less about breaking you down and building you up, and more about giving you the skills to operate and lead in the field. All Marines leaving basic will go through some sort of Infantry training. "Every Marine is a Rifleman" rings true. However, for non-Infantry MOS types, you will attend a shorter more compressed course at the SOI, before leaving for more in-depth MOS training. Both the School of Infantry and MOS training will probably be a bit less challenging, if only because you've already gone through a hell of a lot to get there and you're used to a bit of abuse and a good challenge by the time you reach those steps. But you will not have to deal with the constant "treatment" from the Drill Instructors you learned to love at Basic, which means a lot less stress, but more responsibility on you to make use of the lessons they taught you.

Where should you be before you ship off to boot camp?

There are a number of goals you should have for yourself before you leave for basic. The more prepared you are, the easier it'll be to get through the basics and give you more time to practice and excel at the rest. I'll start with some of the things you MUST be capable of before you leave for basic:

Fitness

1) You must be able to do pull-ups: only a couple is all you need to get to basic, but if you're doing less than 5, you need to improve if you don't want the early parts of basic to be even more hellish. Pull ups are first on this list for one reason alone: they are a bitch to get started on and a bitch to improve. You will work yourself ragged, you will be sore, you will hurt and you won't want to do any more because you probably won't feel much of an improvement at first. But stick with it. Work your self up to 10, and you should survive just fine. 20 or more and that's just icing on the cake.

2) You need to be comfortable doing lots of push-ups: push-ups are kind of like the rice of basic training. You'll do a lot of them. You won't be expected to "drop and give me 50" on your first day, but it wouldn't hurt if you could if you were asked. you should be able to do 30 GOOD push-ups at a healthy pace before you ship off, but 20-25 will do fine. Keep in mind that you will expected to have excellent form. That means you keep straight as a blade and get yourself all the way down and all the way up.

4) Running- You should be able to run 3 miles before you go to basic, but you absolutely must be able to do a mile and a half. If you can't, focus on getting your endurance up. A six minute mile isn't worth shit if your next mile is 14 minutes. If you don't think you can get up to three miles, don't worry. Just go for two, and focus on getting that time to something good. Basic is all about getting you into shape. While you don't want to be at the bottom of the list, you don't need to excel at everything. You'll make it there one way or another, but being in good shape will make things a lot easier on you.

3) Crunches- About 45 of them in two minutes. These shouldn't be too hard if you work at it. Find something to keep your legs in place, and do as many as you can manage on a regular basis. I went from about 50 to over 100 (and multiple sets) pretty easily. Once you're doing enough that you're happy with em, it's easy to maintain.

Knowledge

1) Semper Fidelis- Always Faithful. If you don't know what this is or what it means, you should. The Marine Corps Motto is an absolute necessity to have in your head. Never forget it.

2) Honor. Courage. Commitment. These are the foundations of what it means to be a Marine. They are the core values of the Corps. Learn them well.

HONOR: Marines are held to the highest standards, ethically and morally. Respect for others is essential. Marines are expected to act responsibly in a manner befitting the title they’ve earned.

COURAGE: Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the ability to face fear and overcome it. It is the mental, moral, and physical strength ingrained in every Marine. It steadies them in times of stress, carries them through every challenge, and aids them in facing new and unknown confrontations.

COMMITMENT: Commitment is the spirit of determination and dedication found in every Marine. It is what compels Marines to serve our country and the Corps. Every aspect of life in the Corps shows commitment, from the high standard of excellence to vigilance in training.

Leadership Principles and Traits. During training, every Marine will be encouraged to lead. If you stay in the service, sooner or later you will be responsible for Marines under you, and it is extremely important that you know how to be a leader that the Marines bellow you can look to with immense respect. You must be capable

3a) Leadership Principles

• Know yourself and seek self-improvement.
• Be technically and tactically proficient.
• Develop a sense of responsibility among your subordinates.
• Make sound and timely decisions.
• Set the example.
• Know your Marines and look out for their welfare.
• Keep your Marines informed.
• Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions.
• Ensure assigned tasks are understood, supervised, and accomplished.
• Train your Marines as a team.
• Employ your command in accordance with its capabilities.

3b) Leadership Traits

• Dependability
  The certainty of proper performance of duty.
• BearingCreating a favorable impression in carriage, appearence and personal conduct at all times.
• CourageThe mental quality that recognizes fear of danger or criticism, but enables a man to proceed in the face of it with calmness and firmness.
• DecisivenessAbility to make decisions promptly and to announce them in clear, forceful manner.
• EnduranceThe mental and physical stamina measured by the ability to withstand pain, fatigue, stress and hardship.
• EnthusiasmThe display of sincere interest and exuberance in the performance of duty.
• InitiativeTaking action in the absence of orders.
• IntegrityUprightness of character and soundness of moral principles; includes the qualities of truthfulness and honesty.
• JudgementThe ability to weigh facts and possible solutions on which to base sound decisions.
• JusticeGiving reward and punishment according to merits of the case in question. The ability to administer a system of rewards and punishments impartially and consistently.
• KnowledgeUnderstanding of a science or an art. The range of one's information, including professional knowledge and an understanding of your Marines.
• TactThe ability to deal with others without creating offense.
• UnselfishnessAvoidance of providing for one's own comfort and personal advancement at the expense of others.
• LoyaltyThe quality of faithfulness to country, the Corps, the unit, to one's seniors, subordinates and peers.

5) Basics of Drill I won't get into it here mostly because it requires some diagrams and there's a lot to it, but you sure as hell better know how to walk like a Marine. You're going to be doing a LOT of it. Hell, I have to know this now.That should give you a decent idea of what you'll be doing, at the least. If you want a more detailed look, take a gander through this: http://nrotc.mma.edu/pdf/DrillManual.pdf If you do look through that, keep in mind that chances are anything past the rifle bits aren't really needed if you're on your way to Basic. Those can be left for later.

6) 11 General Orders of a Sentry. This one's a bit tricky but you'll need it so you mind as well learn it now. Go over it several times a day and in a couple weeks you should have it down. After that recite every week or so to make sure you still have it down. I have them down pretty well and have for a while.

1. Take command of this post and all government property in view.
2. Walk my post in a military manner, keeping always on the alert and observing everything that takes place within sight or hearing
3. Report all violations of orders I am instructed to enforce.
4. To repeat all calls from posts further from the guardhouse than my own.
5. To quit my post only when properly relieved

7) The Marine Corps birthday- November 10th. Every year, Marine's celebrate hundreds of years of proud tradition and excellence. You should at least know the day of the year. Not super important but if you can't remember this, you'll have bigger problems.

8) M16A2 Rifle Parts and Maintenance: This did a good job of getting me familiar with major parts of the rifle and how to take it apart and clean it. I used this video along with the Marine Corps Rifle Manual to study the weapon and processes you need to be familiar with. The video is a great visual aid and makes the parts and placement easy to identify, but the Marksmanship manual will obviously give you a better idea of specifically what the Corps is looking for, as the process differs. The Manual also goes over the firing cycle in great detail, which is good to know, as well as firing positions and techniques. For those of you who haven't fired a rifle at all or hardly at all, this will be very useful. I've never used so much as a pistol, so I know this helped ease my concerns about learning the rifle. It's actually not that complex. The manual may not be the most colorful thing in the world, but it's a pretty good read if you're interested in firing a rifle. Which brings me to my last couple of points...

If you want to join ANY branch of the armed services, you ABSOLUTELY must be willing to fight. It'd be nice if you were willing to fight for your country, but you can slap whatever reason on there you want. You have to be willing and able to fight for something. It could be your child, your spouse, your brother or sister, your family and all the people you care about, your country, yourself, your damn dog. And you need to be willing to fire a gun, at another human being, you need to be willing to be the direct cause of loss of life, or limb. I don't care how safe and tidy your job might be in the Corps or the Army or the Air Force or the Navy or the Coast Guard or whatever. There is no way to insure you won't have to fire your rifle at another person. If the next World War starts tomorrow and you're a Marine, you better be ready to take part in that conflict, because there's a pretty damn good chance you will one way or another. If you are not willing to shoot at and be shot at by another human being, this is not the line of work for you. You have to be able to shoot a gun without freaking out. Yeah, the first time you see a buddy die, you might lose it a bit. The first time one of your rounds impacts a target isn't going to be the best time of your life in all likelihood. But you have to be capable of getting through that and firing that weapon again. Too many people will be depending on you to go into a combat zone when you aren't ready to combat the enemy. If you don't fire, you or any of your fellow Marines may lose their life because of that action.

At the same time, if the only reason you are joining is to kill some "sand niggers" or "camel jockeys" or whatever other bullshit your buddy in junior high is putting in your head, this is not the line of work for you. The Corps may be looking for warriors, but it is certainly not looking for murderers, nor idiots who just want a body count to brag about. Remember that the reason we are at war, and a lot of what we do in places like Afghanistan is for the people. We build roads, form relationships, and oppose their enemies. This is not to say that every member of the armed forces of our nation is perfect, or that we are not there to kill. Just that we are not there to spread intolerance, nor to carry out a crusade against those people. The Afghan people are people just like us. Be pissed all you want at the men brandishing guns, but don't let that anger turn you to racism or bigotry. The people that act like that within the services are doing so against the core beliefs of their branches, and are usually under enough stress that warrants a little understanding. Do not join the military if all you want to do is kill. You join to serve, not to destroy. Don't be the jackass writing stupid shit on a ratty piece of cardboard for some poor oblivious kid to smile and grin at. That is not honorable, it is not tolerant, and does a piss poor job of representing the dignity and bearing of the Marine Corps or any branch of the military involved in combat operations.

Next up, I'll go into what happens at basic!