The Stages of Marine Boot Camp

As the days kept moving on, they consisted much of physical training, marching, weapon cleaning, basic medical training, and the knowledge that we should know if we were graduate and become a Marine. Unlike other branches and their boot camps, there was no down time. There was no time that we could take a smoke break, it was not allowed. There was no use of phones to call home and talk to your family. The only thing we could do was write home on Sundays which was also the same time that we got to read our mail that we received in response. Every Sunday came and you could hope that you were not one of those sorry recruits that got a package from their family that contained food, or a piece of lady’s lingerie from a girlfriend or spouse because that would just cause you more trouble than what it was worth. The rules were very strict and there was no breaking them, or even bending them. Another thing we got to do on Sundays was go to church, if we so wanted to. If we decided not to, it was a time of hanging out with the drill instructors and the last thing you want is them bored. So, obviously most of us went to church during boot camp.

The hardest part of my experience of being in boot camp, besides the knee injury, was that my platoon was there through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and even my birthday. Most of us are away from homes for the first time during the holidays and these days were treated like any other day of the week. Boot camp was split into three phases when you’re going through it. None of the phases had specific labels but phase one was held in San Diego, two was in Camp Pendleton, and three was back in San Diego. Phase one, from what I picked up, was about getting into the best physical shape you can get in a four week time period, before we went to train out in the field in Camp Pendleton. Phase one was about training you into the figure of what is known as a Marine. It was about getting you smart enough to be able to represent yourself as a Marine while you’re enlisted, and while you are done with your service. Phase two was about learning your rifle, how to clean it, how to shoot it, and how to handle it. We also did many hikes and other types of field training. The most memorable part of phase two was the event called the Crucible. I cannot even gather the words that describe this event but I found a quote that describes it very well.

“The Crucible is a test every recruit must go through to become a Marine. It tests every recruit physically, mentally and morally and is the defining experience of recruit training. The Crucible takes place over 54-hours and includes food and sleep deprivation and over 45 miles of marching. The Crucible event pits teams of recruits against a barrage of day and night events requiring every recruit to work together to solve problems, overcome obstacles, and help each other along the way. The obstacles they face include long marches, combat assault courses, the leadership reaction course, and the team-building warrior stations. Each Warrior Station is named for a Marine hero whose actions epitomize the values the USMC wants recruits to adopt. Bottom line -- The Crucible is a rite of passage that, through shared sacrifice, recruits will never forget. With that memory and their core values learned in recruit training, they can draw upon the experience to face any challenge in their path.”

I found this on http://www.recruitparents.com/bootcamp/crucible.asp, which has some very detailed and helpful information that recruits experienced during their training. Here is also a short video of what they to show the Crucible.http://www.marines.com/videos/-/video-library/detail/VIDEO_WEEK11_THE_CRUCIBLE.

The part that is the most unforgettable of the Crucible was a mountain that we had to hike up in the last few miles. I am not sure how tall this hill was but at the time it didn’t look like much, until the medical truck drove up it and when it reached the top, it was the size of an ant. This showed us that the hill was quite larger than it originally looked. A lot of us struggled getting up this mountain and I was one of them. At one point I was even ready to quit, or actually a few times, but with the moral support of my fellow recruits and the drill instructors, they would not let this happen to me or anyone else. Once we got to the top, and that is everyone from all platoons in the company, we took a few minutes to rest so that we could gather our breath and strength before we started hiking again. The Marines name this mountain that fit it very well, due to its difficulty, and maybe not appropriate, but it worked. We called it Mount Mother Fu**er. After our rest was over, we continued our hike across the mountain top and when we got to the point where we would walk down and to the end of the Crucible, we got a delightful rest and a speech from our company commander. The best part is he happened to be a pilot so he was able to schedule a flyover for us right before we began our home stretch down the mountain. This was still a tough hike since it was two more miles but it was the end and we all found the determination to finish as strong as our bodies could. Once we finally got to the end and were able to drop our backpacks, we were welcomed into the chow hall to what was called the warrior’s meal where it was the first time we got to experience an all you can eat buffet with whatever we wanted for dessert. During the 54 hours and 45 miles of hiking and training, we had a total of maybe five meals and they were all MRE’s, which obviously shows that we were quite hungry. Everyone ate so much food that after the meal was over, we all spent the next hour in a food coma either in our racks or in the bathroom because we ate too much.

Over the next couple of days, we would return our gear to the supply center and get ready for our transition back to MCRD San Diego. What we would do for the next couple of weeks would be plan and prepare for our graduation but to continue our physical training so that we stayed in tip top shape. Graduation was just around the corner and this would be the beginning of our new lives.

You can also find a series of short clips of each week of boot camp at http://www.marines.com/becoming-a-marine/recruit-training/-/twelve-weeks/slide/0

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Initial Days to Marine Corps Boot Camp

The next phase is a little tough to recall because unless something stood out more than normal, everything blended together very well.

Before the sun even came out, Reveille was sounded, which is the sound that all military folk knew as the time to wake up. We all got dressed in our greens that we received the night prior and the briefing began. After briefing was complete, we then packed up everything we had issued to us in our sea bags, closed it up and we were escorted to our three Drill Instructors that would take us through basic training. These are the faces that we would soon, never forget. The hard part is that we had to run to this location, with one bag on our back and the other either in our arms or lying down across the other. It made it for a slow run, so slow that walking with no bags was actually faster, but we did what we had to do.

Once we finally arrived at the location, or squad bay, that our permanent Drill Instructors were, we all lined up and were told to have a seat, as we waited for the proper introduction of these stellar Marines. The first one to stepped outside the Drill Instructor hut, or also known as a common office, was our Senior Drill Instructor, Sergeant Bamba. He was the one in charge of the entire platoon and made the final decisions on everything that was conducted. The next one to come out was the Jade Hat Drill Instructor, Sergeant Faley (spelling might be wrong on this) who was in charge of Drill, or marching. The third and final one was our Kill Hat Drill Instructor, Sergeant Tyson. Yes, that is correct I said Kill hat and he was in charge of well, killing us by the means of making our lives miserable when we screwed up. (This is the title that I was always referred to it as, it might be called something different but for the sake of this, it will remain to what I am familiar with the position being called.) Once we were introduced to all of our instructors, they took over and our receiving drill instructor (the one we have had since we arrived at MCRD) left to never be seen again.

Over the next couple of days we would go get our medical and dental checks taken care of, which included all of our vaccinations. This part was quite interesting because we were standing in a single file line, taking one step at a time, while getting jabbed with a needle in each arm. After that, another step forward to get the next set of vaccines. If you did not like needles, well you better get over it fast because you were about to get stuck a dozen times in less than a few minutes. Yup, a few people were in line that did not like needles at all and a few of them did pass out before they even got their turn. Was quite humorous but at the same time, we would not dare laugh because the kill hat was watching all of us closely! Those that did pass out would never do it again because when they came to; they would be reminded that it was in their best interest to toughen up quickly.

During these couple of days, when we were not doing our medical and dental thing, we were down at supply getting our uniforms, being that digital camouflage utilities. Sadly we were not issued any name tags for our uniforms until it was closer to graduation. Our uniforms also didn’t get the U.S. Marine tag on it because were not yet Marines until we graduated basic training. We also stopped at a few other locations during these first few days, such as the PX (shopping center) to get any hygiene things we needed and writing equipment so that we could write home on Sundays to whoever we wanted to.

After the first week was complete, the real training was to begin, which included getting in physical shape, the right mental state, basic medical training, leadership skills, and many other different things that were required to be a Marine. The challenges I faced over the next twelve or so weeks were rather tough, mostly the physical portion because, if you remember, it was only a few months ago that I was learning how to walk again. I, still at this point in my life, had regular knee pains that lasted for quite a long time and what complications I faced during basic training were rather tough.

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End of Day One of Marine Boot Camp

After our experience on the yellow footprints, we were then instructed to go inside the building that we stood next to, one by one, in a single file line. Here we would take our bag to a specific table and dump out all belongs onto it so that a drill instructor could sift through it and make sure that there was no contraband. We were also instructed to empty our pockets out, including our wallets and everything that was inside. I had very little belongings but the contents in my wallet were things that had some sentimental value to me. It was nothing that was of serious value or anything but it was things that I meant to take out before going off to boot camp. They were things that I had that belonged in a scrapbook from the trips that I took within the last year around the country for school. Most of the items were tickets to places like Alcatraz with dates and on them as well as other locations of interest around southern California area. The drill instructor grabbed all of these and tossed them into the garbage can that was right next to him. Obviously, being smarter than the average there, I didn’t dare to open my mouth but my thoughts were an entire different story.

After everyone had the belongings sifted through, we were then put in another single file line to do another famous step into enlisting in the military, the haircut. Anyone that knows me knows that my hair has never been long, so the process for me was nothing abnormal. Some of the individuals though had hair that extended from reaching to the middle of their backs as well as some having a true Afro. Sadly I did not get to watch them get their haircuts, since we were led to a different line directly after that. For anyone that is not familiar with the initial military haircut, it is shaven down to the scalp to the point that everyone looks alike. After that we were given a list of gear and clothing that we were to pick up from a room full of clothes that were sorted out in the respectful order, so that there was no confusion. After we got everything we needed, we all stripped down out of our ‘civilian’ clothes and put on a green shirt, green shorts, white socks, and New Bound running shoes. Everything that we had brought with us was put into a box, sealed and labeled with our names. We were told we would not be seeing this box until our last few days of boot camp, and they were right. Since everyone had their heads shaved and their green clothes on, everyone officially looked identical. We then got lined up in rows of 15 or so where we got to make our phone call home to let our families know that we arrived safely. When the first group stepped up to the pay phones, they were told they had 45 seconds to make the call and that they better hope someone picked up the phone. After the 45 seconds was up, the phones would shut off. I am glad that my mother picked up the phone so I could hear her voice, because just like everyone else, I had no idea what I had got myself into.

The next step we were escorted down to our squad bay where we would sleep that night. Racks (beds) were all picked at a first come first serve basis. Once everyone was in the bay and got to their racks, a Drill Instructor came in and talked to us about what had happened so far, what was to come, and how to properly present ourselves from here on out. He also instructed us on how to talk to our future Drill Instructors and some basic rules that we needed to know before we got really started on our basic training. After this was all done, we got to wash up in the head (bathroom), and after everyone was done, lights out for the entire bay. That night I could not tell you if I slept well or had a sleepless night but I just remember that it took me a long time to fall asleep. I had a lot to wrap around my head from the past few hours and was in deep thought. I was also pretty worn out from the experience and when I did finally fall asleep, I was out cold.

Day 1 of Basic Training

The time we arrived in San Diego, it was dark, but not much later after sunset. We were met at the terminal by an escort who would take us to a backdoor exit that had an airport employee, a few chairs, and nothing else. Suddenly a silhouette of a person came to the door as it opened and we all knew exactly who it was. It could have been the posture or maybe the uniform that gave it away but it wasn't. The image of the Drill Instructor's hat was drilled into our head before we got there and the moment this individual walked in, we knew who it was. What caught us off guard was that he was not as intimidating as we were taught. He basically had everyone stand in a single file line, called off our names like a roll call, and had us walk to the bus. As we got on the bus, and it was a normal size school bus, they had us sit three people to the seat filling up the front rows first. We all had one bag with us at which it really had nothing in it. When we sat down, we all put our bags in our lap and got all snuggled in, nice and tight, with everyone else that was going off to Marine Corps basic training. If you think this was already not comfortable, think again, because it is about to get worse. As the bus started, they informed us that we were not privileged to know how to get to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, so we were instructed to put our heads in between our legs, or as far as we could get them. When I look back on the experience, I believe it was because they did not want us to have the viewing pleasure of traveling through downtown San Diego, on the way to the depot. From what I can recall, the ride was about fifteen minutes but it felt like hours as well, because of how uncomfortable the ride was. At the time, none of us understood why we sat so tight, because the back half of the bus was entirely empty. I figured, once again, they wanted to make this the most undesirable experience that anyone would ever want to go through, and it was.

Once we arrived at the depot, we were then herded off the bus like cattle. We were then told to find a set of 'yellow footprints' and stand on them. Now these yellow footprints at significant meaning behind them in a way that we cause us to never forget what these looked like or just the idea of them. It has been close to ten years since I have seen these things and still to this day, I can picture them like it was yesterday. Once we all got on a set, roll call began again and apparently there were other buses there with more recruits on them as well, about a dozen more buses. We all picked it up quite quickly that when our name was called, we responded in ' YES SIR' as loud as we could yell. If we didn't, well we did the next time. The next part left a bitter sweet taste in my mouth that I will never forget. What they had me do, I still do not agree to, to this day and I most likely will not ever or even forgive what they had me do. It was nothing inhumane but it really hit a spot in my heart that hurt and made me resent the experience for the last ten years.

Please leave a comment on your opinions and I will go over them. Thank you for taking the time to read about my experience in the Marines. Keep in mind this is an experience in my life I would never change because it has made me who I am today and I have no regrets. I also welcome anyone to share these blogs with anyone of their own, I am always in the mood for feedback. Please keep it respectful. Thank you!

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Trip to Mount Saint Helens in Washington, U.S. 5-11-2014

Well the day started off relatively slow. This entire weekend I, as well as my girlfriend and her mother, have been running a garage sale of many different kinds of antiques that they inherited from a sad and unfortunate loss in the family. We were scheduled to run the garage sale from 8am in the morning until 5pm. With it being Mothers Day and all, we knew the traffic was going to be light.

About 1230pm, my girlfriend got home from work and she surprised me with a sandwich from Subway. Best thing ever on an empty stomach. She instantly noticed that the traffic had been slow all day by seeing how much money we had made. She suggested that we should close shop and go for a drive, but to where, we were not sure yet. We have in the past few weeks talked about going up to the observatory a few miles away from Mount Saint Helens on a ridge called Johnston's Ridge. Great place to learn about the mountain and view the north side of the mountain. This observatory gives you a great view of the side that blew off.

As we started to drive up there, we couldn't help but stop at every viewpoint and taking a few picture of the valley floor below, which was cleared out by the pyroclastic cloud during the mountain's explosion back in 1980. All you see on the valley floor were a bunch of little rivers crisscrossing, headed out to the Washington coast.

We came to a point in the day when we realized that it was running late. It was about 430pm and we knew that the observatory closed at 600pm. We decided to stop going to all the viewpoints so that we could at least spend an hour up at the observatory learning about the mountain and watching the two short videos they had up there. On the final stretch to the observatory, we came around a hairpin turn and noticed instantly a car stopped in the middle of the road but we were not sure why at the time. Suddenly, what looked like a fox, ran from in front of the car to the right side of the road. I decided that I did not get a good enough look at it and asked Olivia, my girlfriend, to turn around so that we can get a better picture of him. We were not sure if this animal was a large fox or a small coyote but later on we were told by a forestry ranger that it was a small coyote. After we took a few pictures we proceeded up the mountain to the observatory, which was about another eight miles.

Once we finally got there, the first thing we did was go to the lookout, just outside the building to take a few pictures of the volcano, but it was hard to see with all the snow on it as well as the clouds that engulfed it. We went inside the building, paid the $8.00 entry fee per person and started looking around at all the educational displays that they had around the room. After that we watched two fifteen minute movies, the first one being about the nature and habitat around the mountain and how the wildlife is slowly coming back to live on the mountain again, since the blast that happened 34 years ago. The second movie was about the geology of the mountain and what the explosion consisted of. What we learned, set me straight about volcanos and not all of them do damage with lava. This mountain in particular damaged itself and its surroundings by mostly rock slides and the pyroclastic cloud.

Once we were done with the videos, we sat and listened a ranger talk about everything in his own words which lasted only a few minutes. We then proceeded outside where the sun had finally come out and gave us a more clearer view of the mountain besides a few clouds still in front of it. While we were outside, we were observing all the trails that we could hike that would lead us to either Spirit Lake or to the actual Volcano itself. These hikes ranged from a mile in length all the way to a ten mile round trip. The good thing is we both like to hike and I do not foresee us passing up on great opportunities in the near future.

One hike that we did was called the Eruption Trail, which was the small one mile hike. All this did was lead up to a small peak outside the observatory so that you can see the valley floor a little better. This view made it great for pictures. What we found funny is that you could get fined $100.00 for just stepping off the marked trail, mostly because of the greens that were growing all over the ground. This made sense because they did not want these ruined after years upon years of recovery since the eruption of 1980. After we were done with Eruption Trail, we decided that it was about the time that we should head back down home. When we started to drive down the mountain, we did not stop at any viewpoints on the way, just so we could get home in a timely manner. The only thing that slowed us down was that a car had a tire blow right in front of us. We stopped to offer assistance but he politely declined and we went on our way. The trip down the mountain took only half the amount of time that it took to get up there.

The day in entirety was a great trip. I got to spend it with my amazing girlfriend as well as getting to see some beautiful views. On the way down we immediately started to plan out what we were going to hike, when, and with who. We are hoping to do a few of them this summer, as long as time and weather permits it.

Pre-enlistment into the United States Marine Corps. 5 chapters

I took everything I wrote and instead of doing an entry on specific topics, multiple times, I figured I'd keep my stories in one entry so that it doesn't limit me to what I can write. For those who have been reading, this is nothing new to you, for those who haven't, enjoy!

Chapter 1:

Many ask how I got to the point I'm at in my life. Sadly I don't have much to show for it at this point, but what I have experienced in my first nine years of adulthood is quite a bit. I would call these years more of a rollercoaster if anything. Great times, beautiful times, even upset and depressing times, but these times are what have made up who I am today and I wouldn't change a thing.

Directly after high school I experienced a few life changing events from a detrimental knee injury to joining the military and even getting married to being deployed overseas. All this happened in less then an two year period at which at a later point I will go into more detail.

Over the years of my service, I grew and became more wiser. I learned life at its greatest and lowest points. After my service I ended up getting divorced while in the midst of having two kids and completing a college degree while working two jobs. My hands were nonetheless full during my entire adult life. That is until the past year when school finished and I ended up on my own, kids two to three days a week and only one job. No solid residence of my own, but living once again with my parents, just how everything started. Just like that life starts all over again, but with two wonderful kids in my life, to guide me along the correct path this time and so far they have. What is to come is something I ponder on everyday and I know it will be nothing but greatness and success.

Chapter 2:

On January 21, 2005, a day before my eighteenth birthday, I was informed that if I truly wanted to enlist in the Marine Corps, I had to come down to the recruiting office where I would be transported to the local MEPS, Military Entrance Processing Station. I was unsure if I wanted to join but at the same time I wanted the challenge. The challenge I faced was that I was told there was no way that I could accomplish what would be laid in front of me while in boot camp, let alone active service and that my running capability was never the greatest. Nonetheless, I was not going to allow these minor things stop me.

That morning I did go through with it and the tests that they had us do were nothing short of awkward. The obvious physical fitness check and the medical check ups, including something they called the 'Duck Walk'. Obviously at the time I passed all these tests, because I've always been injury free and from that day forward, I would wait until my departure date to Marine Corps boot camp. This was located at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. The date I was given could've been any other date then my own mother's birthday but it had to be August 15, 2005. This was just a month after graduation from high school was scheduled.

Once I finally came home that day, I was welcome to a warm surprise to a few friends that were at my house to celebrate my future changing decision. Unfortunately, no one knew what was
to come that would not allow me to go on to boot camp on that day, not even I. What happened would force me to have to wait longer because of an incident that would change my life forever.

Chapter 3:

What is there to say about this day that could be described as a bi-polar day? What I mean by that is that when I woke up, I knew what the plans were for that day but when I would go to bed, the image of the plans I had in mind did not reflect what I thought it would be. That morning my recruiter was scheduled to show up at my house to pick me up so that we can join all the other pre-recruits, also called Poolees, in an event that would allow us to bond with the recruiters. This event was water rafting but not the normal kind you hear about the tourists going on. This was going to be combat water rafting! The rules were simple, you get in a raft with your recruiter and all of his poolees and the object here was to attack other rafts and take their oars from them. The rapids were mild at most points but when they did pick up, the activity was suspended until the waters would calm down. This event took place out near Madras, Oregon, that some NW natives will be familiar with known as Deschutes River.

Everything started off very well and quite entertaining. We were one of the first rafts to get attacked by another and lose a few oars but it was just a matter of time before we would regain some oars. This went back and forth for quite some time and mind you that there is roughly 30 rafts out here with all these highly fit, soon to be Marines. Taking an oar from someone was difficult and you had to use a technique to get it from them. About a half hour in on the activity, the rapids started to pick up and there were people on the river sides announcing a timeout during these moments. Unfortunately for us, I was the only one on the raft because everyone else got thrown off from wrestling with others. Better yet, I had the only oar and it was broken in half. This happened right before the rapids picked up and someone leaned over to our raft, or my raft at the time, tried to grab the oar out of my hands but I would not let go. I had my legs wrapped around the metal bars on the raft to hold my position and after enough strain on the oar, it snapped in half. As I recovered I notice that we were in a high rapid zone so I just sat up and enjoyed the ride but being the only one on the raft, I forgot how imbalance it made it.

I thought I could see the end of the rough rapids at the bend of the river ahead but I did not see what was around that corner that would cause a life altering injury. Up to this point in the trip, everything was very exciting! I was there with a great friend from High School who ended up enlisting into Coast Guard and we were enjoying ourselves greatly. He at the time was not on the raft when I hit the rapids, in fact I had no idea where anyone was that had originally been on board with me.

Chapter 4:

As I came around the bend in the river, I saw a good 15-20 foot waterfall; part of the course was to go off that but to go off it the correct way. There I am, sitting in the raft, all by myself, half an oar, facing this waterfall sideways and nothing I could do about it. As I went off the waterfall, I was catapulted off to the side and landed directly onto a few rocks, right on my left knee. At the time I did not notice anything, probably from the adrenaline going through my veins but that was the last thing on my mind. After I hit the rocks, I rolled off back into the water. Somehow, my right leg would end up getting caught under a rope that went around the raft. Now imagine those old western movies when they would drag someone behind their horse by the rope, and how painful it looks, yah that was happening in this situation but over submerged water carved rocks (sharp). Suddenly my leg was let loose and I pulled myself to the side of the raft and then up on it.

Once I got up on the raft, I noticed that a miracle had happened, but a few minutes to late. The raft was filled again with my fellow pre-recruits, and they had no clue where I had been, just that I came up from under the water. Right when I got up, everyone instantly noticed my knee. I had sustained a pretty painful injury of two puncture wounds right above my left knee, in the lower quadriceps, and a laceration on my lower knee that stretched a few inches in length. Needless to say that there was blood, quite a lot of it. Thankfully someone on a raft had a wrap they were using for their knee. She took it off and gave it to the recruiter who would then wrap my knee up instantly to help the bleeding stop.

After the bleeding had slowed down, we then noticed that we were in a mini canyon and the only way out was to ride to the end and just go out of commission to the game that we were playing. This was about a two mile raft ride but thankfully it was quite calm waters the rest of the way. As we got to the end, I had two guys help me out of the raft and onto the bus that everyone was getting on. We then proceeded back to where we got into the water when we began the day. What I did not know was that the pain of the knee that I had already experienced had not even started yet. What was to come was so painful and would make this incident even worse; when I thought there was no way.

Chapter 5:

After we returned to the starting point where we took off into the water, I was helped out of the bus on laid down on a flat bed trailer when I noticed another person bring a medical kit to my recruiter who then opened it. He grabbed this bottle with a dropper at which I had no idea what it was. He looked and me and told me that this will hurt and that it was Iodine. If you have never experienced this pain of this stuff being put into an open wound, you have no idea what pain is. it is basically liquid salt so that it will clean out and dirt or future infections. I literally had to bite down on some clothing just to help reduce the pain... some. After this was done, the recruiter wrapped it back up with a clean bandage and then we loaded up back in the vehicle that we arrived in. Since the bleeding had stopped and everything was under control, besides me being light headed, we started to head back to Portland to a hospital near the recruiting station. That ride was the most uncomfortable ride in ages, mostly because I could not bend my knee at all. Anyone that have been in any type of car know that putting your leg straight is near to impossible, so my leg was jammed in there pretty well. Once we finally got to the hospital, some 2 hours later, I was to the point i could not even walk. Thankfully there was someone that could carry my big ass until we found a working wheelchair. We rolled into the hospital to find out that I would have to wait because there was an elderly lady who just came in as a stab victim and that everyone was tending to her needs at the moment. I sat their and waited and during that time, my father showed up to see how I was doing and to relieve the recruiter from having to sit there all night.

From this point on it became a little foggy and not because I forgot, but because when I finally got to see a doctor. He then had me lay down on a bed and gave me three doses of morphine, because the first two were not enough. After that point, all I remember is the doctors stitching up my battle wounds, running x-rays, and telling me that nothing was broken or torn but ligaments were being held on my hair size threads and that I needed to take it easy for the next few months. After that, I just remember waking up the next morning in my bed in mass amount of pain.

Needless to say that I was not going to be going to boot camp in 11 days like I was scheduled. Instead, my departure date was postponed until further notice. A few days later I was then taken to an orthopedic surgeon to get looked at and he basically told me stay off it and put me in a full leg cast. Now come on, I am 18 years old, am I really going to listen to this or am I going to want to get up and do things still? That is right, that same day I went to a rock concert at night with a cane. Probably one of the best concerts I have ever been to as well and possibly one of the worse decisions ever. Thankfully I did no extra damage to the knee but just made it hurt a little more. What was a little more pain anyway when it was already at its peak? 

The only thing that irritated me about going to see this orthopedic surgeon is that he recommended no physical therapy for me or anything. I am not sure why but once that full leg cast came off, I had to learn how to walk all over again. what I mean by that is when I got the leg cast off, I could not remember how to bend my knee, even though I still had one good one. It was such a weird feeling to forget such a thing. Basically I had to use my arms to bend it and get used to that feeling once again and when I finally was able to, I still could not support my own weight on it. After weeks and weeks of rehab, I started wearing ankle weights and going for walks and slow jogs. I started to get the feeling back but what was worse is that my recruiter got me cleared to go to boot camp, from my doctor who never saw me. only three months later after the incident, I was slotted to go to boot camp, November 7th 2005. Needless to say I was not ready physically for this and I was not in any kind of shape to even think that this would be possible. I knew that the first few days there, I would be required to run 1.5 miles in fifteen minutes or less, which was not fast, prior to my injury, but post injury was a different story. My boot camp experience was a different one but never something I would change. It made me who I am today and I am honored to be a United States Marine and what I was put through.