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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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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The start of Marine Corps boot camp

The start of Marine Corps boot camp:

The day was November 6^th, 2005. I was picked up by the recruiter to head down and do a few more things before I went off to boot camp and was scheduled to stay the night in a hotel, near the airport. I honestly do not remember what the tests were; just remember that they were necessary. I was not the only one either; there was a group of us all going together, roughly ten others.

On November 7^th, when we woke up, there were a few other things we had to do, including a briefing with everyone involved. We knew later on that day that we would be getting on a plane, flying down to San Diego, where we would begin a new chapter in our life that will create us into who we will become forever. Today was also the first time I would get to ride a light rail, also known as the MAX line in Portland, Oregon. We finally got to the airport, and from my memory, we seemed to be there for hours before it was time to board. We also looked like a bunch of kids going on a school field trip to SeaWorld or something.

Finally the time came, and we got to board that airplane. Once we took off, the captain on board stepped out of the cockpit and started talking to the passengers, which is commonly done. He then proceeded to recognize all of us that were headed down to Marine Corps boot camp and that he would have all the flight attendants give us a large bottle of water, on him. We also received an ovation from the entire crew and passengers. At first we thought us getting the water was cool but now that I look back on it, I realize he gave us that water because he knew we would need our source of water for what was to come.

Even though the flight was less than two hours, it seemed like an eternity. At the same time, we had no idea what was to come. We thought we knew but when we took our first steps off the airplane, it would make us never to want to fly again. From this point on, my life was changing by the second.

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