Today was, in a word, tough. Another early start for me, the night creature. We shipped off to Parris Island from our hotel this morning at 6 a.m. which means we were up at 5. I suppose I’ll be fairly used to that early wake up by Friday, which makes me believe it’s going to be a long week when I get back to work. Once on base we were shown the very first room the recruits enter. The building entrance was adorned with a set of rather imposing silver doors, in the center of which was the eagle, globe and anchor. We weren’t let in through those doors, they’re for recruits only. Once we were all seated, Captain Keith walked us through a bit of what we would be doing over the next two hours.
Each recruit fills out a set of forms in these seats while they meet their drill instructors for the very first time. Now I know what you’re thinking….and the answer is no, Full Metal Jacket is NOT an accurate portrayal of a United States Marine Corps (USMC) drill instructor. But that is not to say they aren’t tough cookies! Once paperwork is filled out the recruits file into the next room over to call home. The room has about 10 telephones and a script for the recruits to recite once they reach their next of kin. I can’t remember word for word, but the script was essentially “Hello. Recruit (last name) has made it safely. Please do not mail food or bulky items. I will reach out to you in the next 7 weeks. Thank you for your support.” How charming! We did not actually make the calls….which was a bit of a bummer because I was definitely looking forward to saying that to my parents at 7 a.m. After the phone room we made our way outside to dive into the thick of it. Our drill instructors put us through some of the paces of running, high stepping, planking, and other physical training exercises. I can’t imagine we were put through the full paces, but it was definitely enough to make me realize I am not in any kind of shape.
Another stop on our trip was the barracks. The beds were neater than most hotel rooms I have seen. Here we got a chance to ask the drill instructors a few questions without them barking at us for speaking out of turn (it really wasn’t that bad, I just like embellishing) and I have to say, they are a group of very inspiring individuals. If there is one thing that the Marine Corps does well, it is teach a code of honor, morals, and respect; that code was on full display in these instructors. You could tell just by looking at the way they move, these marines mean nothing but the best for each other.
I think my favorite part of the day was watching the Parris Island band drill for us. As a marching band alumni I can tell you I was geeking out hard. BUT BIG OL’ IDIOT HOTKEYS left his phone charging in one of the previous buildings and therefore I don’t have photo or video to share with you. Just know that there wasn’t a single horn out of tune nor a single soldier out of step. They put the skill of Drum Corps International bands to the challenge for sure. What was curious to me was that instead of a mellophone, which typically replaces a french horn in marching band, the soldiers marched with french horns! I asked the band leader why this was, and it was purely for the instruments tonality. Another interesting tidbit: the ONLY position in the USMC that has any kind of pre-qualification requirement is that of a band member! From the sounds of it, the audition you have to complete prior to boot camp is on par or above that of a collegiate band audition. Again, I am kicking myself for leaving my phone behind, but I hope you understand it’s easy to forget something like that when a drill instructor is yelling at you to get on a bus in 30 seconds. After the band we headed to chow!
At each table was one USMC recruit. We were able to ask them whatever came to mind. I met recruit Banjo, a 22 year old gal from Virginia. She explained how she turned to the corps for a sense of direction in life. Recruit Banjo had recently been pulled back from her platoon she started camp with so the she could spend a few more days training in the water survival basics course. What I thought was most interesting was how Recruit Banjo had earned her marksmanship on the rifle range relatively easily even though she had never touched a firearm prior to enlisting. Speaking of firearms, immediately after lunch we headed to the firing range! This was probably the second most interesting demonstration, purely because the soldier that gave us the safety demonstration was so passionate about the weapons system. And of course the fact that this soldier could speed reload so fast I missed it the first time he demonstrated because I blinked. We learned about the M16-A4 standard issue service rifle, what has changed on it from the A2 model, and how to safely operate the weapon. I grew up in a hunting household, so I was excited to test my marksmanship at the range! We are split up in two recruit squads (RS) on this trip, so once we arrived at the range it was Lansing RS versus Detroit RS for who could hit the most targets.
Detroit won by almost 100 points. This brings us to the most fascinating demonstration of the day: water survival basics. The USMC training pool is 50 meters by 25 meters with a deep and shallow end. As we filed into the viewing stands two squads were practicing parts of the swim challenge that all marines have to pass before they can move on in the phases of boot camp. Part of it is to shed your full combat gear, while under water, in less than 1o seconds. The other part recruits were practicing was a 10 meter drop with full gear and then a 25 meter swim to safety. It looked incredibly difficult. We then met a few Marine Corps Instructor of Water Survival (MCIWS) officers who told us all about what the recruits experience, and beyond that what THEY had to experience to earn the title of MCIWS. Let’s just say there is a lot of swimming involved. If South Carolina is humid then inside this pool was some entirely new level of that. It was like walking into a sauna that was also filled with soggy cotton balls, the air felt that thick. I didn’t bring my phone into this segment because for all the tests phone companies do to waterproof new devices, I still don’t trust tech in water. Didn’t want to take the risk on a brand new phone. Our final stop before dinner chow was at a separate base here in Beaufort.
It was the airbase and boy howdy do I like a good aircraft. I was most certainly the kid that watched Top Gun once and immediately wanted to enlist just for a pilot position. That dream went out the window when I passed the 6’2″ height marker…but I still marvel at the fighter jets. We saw these, the FA-18 Hornet, on display, and also under maintenance inside the hangar. What I noticed first was that the parking lot of this hanger was filled with Mitsubishi Lancers and Subaru Imprezas. I guess when you’re good with mechanics, the trade transfers over to all tings mechanical! These were definitely tuner cars, I just wish I had the chance to talk to the owners to see how much of that know-how is interchangeable. To close out our day we had dinner at the officers club on this airbase. The meal was good, if you’ll recall from yesterday’s blog these marines don’t mess around when it comes to nourishment. The fun part of this officers club was definitely all of the hand painted memorabilia on the walls. 
That pretty much draws this day, Wednesday the 4th of April to a close for me. We returned to the hotel around 8, and most of us went straight to bed. I am looking forward to what tomorrow brings, even if it means more physical activity. I like the idea of pushing myself to find new limits, and to eventually break those limits. That being said, I’m also looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and having no set wake up time.
OH! I almost forgot! THIS HAPPENED
