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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