Marine Corps Training
Conquering the Obstacle Course
Recruits from Company E kicked up clouds of dust as they ran in place, getting pumped to take on the depot Obstacle Course for the second time during their training, May 15.
“This is their first O-Course since first phase,” said Staff Sgt. Christopher Galvan, senior drill instructor, Platoon 2111, Company E.
This time around they were to run it as a fire team, of four men. Two men move at a time to create a staggered movement, so there is always cover provided. (continue reading…)
Basic Warrior Training
Painful – that was the one word used by recruits to describe their time during the Day Walk Course of Basic Warrior Training Nov. 6.
The day walk is just one portion of Basic Warrior Training, but it keeps recruits heaving for breath and aching in every possible way.
“It was more like the boot camp I was expecting,” said Rct. Justis Beaureguard of 2nd Recruit Training Battalion’s Golf Company, Platoon 2109. “It was painful.”
It all started before the sun was ever up.
Cutting through the woods and traveling in circle after circle, the recruits finally arrived at the Day Walk Course at 6:30 a.m.
“I thought the course would be easier,” said Rct. James Ryan of Golf Company’s Platoon 2109. “But it was hard.”
Before starting, the recruits were given a brief demonstration of the course by the staff (continue reading…)
Fear of Heights
With nearly three months of recruit training under their belts, the recruits of Company G have conquered many fears and challenges that they never thought were possible. They have qualified with a rifle, swam in a full combat load and endured grueling physical fitness sessions. With only a couple weeks remaining in boot camp, the recruits are given a task to complete that reaches new levels of fear: the rappel tower.
The day consists of hours of lecture, where recruits learn the proper techniques for rappelling as well as how to create the safety harness that will hold them securely when rappelling. The harness is made using a six-foot rope that is wrapped around the legs and hips and secured by a series of square knots.
Before stepping foot on the tower, recruits are issued the respective safety gear prior to the training evolution. With the assistance of a tactical helmet, gloves, ropes, carabiner and a spotter, recruits make their descent safely to the ground.
“The rappel tower gives these recruits chance to let go of any lasting fears and build their confidence,” Staff Sgt. Nathan Stocking, Platoon 2146, Company G. “At first they seem nervous and shy, but if they just focus on the technique they are taught, they will be fine. Rappel is a simple concept.” (continue reading…)
Poolees Get Marksmanship Training
Blue skies, birds chirping and a cool breeze may be an ideal morning for most people, but add in the smell of gun powder and the crack of a hammer hitting a primer and sending rounds down range is what perks up most Marines.
On recruiting duty, Marines are exempt from attending the rifle range, but for Recruiting Station Milwaukee that does not mean poolees are not offered the opportunity to learn basic Marine Corps marksmanship and gain some familiarity firing the civilian version of the M-16A2 service rifle, the AR-15.
Nine of the 13 recruiting substations with RS Milwaukee each received half a day of marksmanship training, live fire, cover and concealment classes, M240B Medium machine gun familiarization, a partial Initial Strength Test and a Meal Ready to Eat lunch at Stone Bank Sportman’s Club between August 4-7. (continue reading…)
Why Do Marines Drill?
Why do Marines drill?
There are perhaps no other services in the world more proud of their service than Marines.
Just ask them.
They have their own language, sharp uniforms and snazzy commercials. Before equality became formality in the U.S. armed forces, they developed catchy slogans that clued in on how separate they viewed themselves.
�A few good men.�
�The few, the proud, the Marines.�
Marines like to look good and want everyone to take notice. Even when they walk together in groups.
A civilian would call it marching. They call it drill.
When a Marine begins his first days at boot camp, he is taught everything all over again. As if his parents did not do a good job of teaching him to walk, talk, cloth, and feed himself, his new daddy is quick to provide instruction.
Perhaps none of the above instructions are more important than drill.
At first, Marines are filed into platoon formations, looking like green eggs staked neatly in a carton. They begin to master the �box.� Then they �slime� their way around the depot; a gaggle of geese ditty bopping to the familiar sounds of their drill instructor�s voice. Eventually they are taught the simpler drill movements: Position of attention, saluting, left and right faces.
Perhaps the most important is putting their feet in front of the other in unison. This might sound like a hard thing to do, but when there are 50 or more people trying to be on the same page, things get complicated.
Evolution of footwear is also an important step to understanding Marine drill.
Marines are first required to wear sneakers with their camouflaged utilities. Here the basic drill movements are repeated until Marine have a fair understanding of what are basic drill movements. Their pant legs are rolled down and cuffed like a kindergartner wearing his older brother�s jeans.
But then they are issued combat boots. This is like handing a drummer a set of really good sticks. They roll their trousers over their boots and blouse them with green elastic cords. Now the young Marines have reached a new goal. Now the Marines are expected to bring what drill instructors call �thunder.�
After long days under the grueling heat and sand fleas of Paris Island or roaring jet engines of a nearby airport of San Diego, the recruits have grasped the understanding of drill. While they might not be masters, they do gain confidence and discipline through a memorized routine.
What the Marines like to call �instant obedience to orders.�
It is through drill that Marines at any rank can go back to the basics. A junior Marine leading a platoon formation is something to be admired in the Corps when a senior Marine is expected.
Drill is used as confidence builder in this instance. Much like civilians with a fear of public speaking, putting a young Marine in front of a platoon of his peers can be slightly uncomfortable. They mumble or stutter their commands, loose focus, and generally do a bad job. Any resemblance of the confident Marine on the boot camp grinder is gone. After some remedial instruction, and egging on by the drill�ees, the young Marine gains confidence. Soon, he�s barking orders and singing cadence like a hard-nosed, barreled-chested, square-jawed drill instructor. Like a Marine.
And is this why Marines drill.
Who Makes a Marine a Rifleman
?Lightweight, air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed, shoulder-fired assault weapon,? these words are embedded in the minds of all Marines. It is the textbook description of the weapon used by modern-day Marines.
The M-16 A4, an upgraded version of the eight pound weapon adopted by the Marine Corps as the standard issue assault rifle in 1983, is useless without trained individuals to properly use it. Marines like Sgt. Michael A. Hauck ensure every rifle is in skilled hands.
Hauck, the platoon sergeant for Wire Platoon, Communications Company, Headquarters Battalion, has taught Marines how to improve their shooting skills as a primary marksmanship instructor since 2003.
The Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran was introduced to firing a weapon in basic training, and fell in love with it.
?I love instructing because I am helping Marines advance in their careers,? Hauck said.
Teaching Marines how to fire more accurately eventually gave Hauck the desire to improve his own skills and led to him join a competitive shooting team.
His first exposure to competitive marksmanship was while stationed in Okinawa, where he competed on the Combat Assault Battalion intramural team. Hauck credits his success to the fact that before the Corps, he never shot a weapon.
?I was like a sponge in bootcamp, soaking up all my teachers had to give me. That?s what made me the platoon high shooter,? the Arlington, Texas native said.
From the first day in basic training, Marines are taught the importance of discipline in everything they do. Marksmanship is no exception.
?Discipline is everything,? said the 1998 Noland Catholic High School graduate. ?It takes extreme discipline to hold these uncomfortable positions, to not jerk the trigger, to look at the front sight post when it?s so easy to focus on the target instead.?
Hauck earned ?Coach of the Week? for his outstanding performance as a marksmanship instructor during the week of Aug. 14 through 18. He compared watching the Marines he coached do well on qualification day, to the look on a child?s face Christmas morning.
?When you see that Marine get expert for the first time, it makes you feel like you just gave them an early Christmas present,? he said.
Santa?s reward for his gifts is milk and cookies, but Hauck receives something he cherishes much more, chevrons.
It is a tradition when shooters either score an expert rating for the first time, or believe their coach helped them score high enough to rate it again, they give the coach one of their rank insignia. Hauck places the chevrons of memorable shooters on the daypack he uses at the rifle range and the rest go into a jar he keeps at his house.
?He helped me a lot,? said Cpl. Nancy E. Burchell, a Marine with Headquarters Company. ?I was having trouble with my stance, and I used to box, so he told me to view it as a boxing match. I shot the best I?ve ever shot.?
Hauck said he looks forward to helping Marines in the future, and hopes to join more competitive shooting teams.
At the end of qualification day, the sun beat down on the 93 Headquarters Company Marines as they left the rifle range and headed toward the bus. Hauck reached into his pocket for his ?milk and cookies,? – three lieutenant bars, three sergeant chevrons, and a Navy ?RP? rate insignia.
USMC Family Day
Family Day, the day before recruit graduation, is a time allotted for recruits to sport around the depot in their new Marine Corps issued uniforms and haircuts after they receive their eagle, globe and anchor emblems.
This is the only day in training where recruits and their visitors may walk the depot freely with few restrictions placed by drill instructors. On this day, recruits will have their final physical training session as a company and receive their eagle, globe and anchors, making them Marines.
The first thing many visitors see is their loved one practicing in the early morning for the following day?s graduation.
Until 9 a.m., recruits do not give any attention to the families observing them; only at the motivational run will recruits be able to face the visitors, after receiving the order ?left face? from their senior drill instructors.
Not being able to see his step son for more than eight months, Leroy Heinrich saw him for the first time April 6 at India Company?s motivational run, which was held prior to the Eagle, Globe and Anchor Ceremony.
Many parents were flabbergasted at the changes that took place while their loved ones were in training.
?His whole attitude, his whole being has changed,? said Heinrich, Pfc. Noah Hardt?s step-father. ?We can see it in his letters. We saw it happen here.?
Though proud their family members are graduating, some are skeptical at first. Because the United States is a nation at war, a few mothers have been apprehensive to send their sons to boot camp.
Ken Kypietz said Hardt?s mother, Corrine Hardt, didn?t want to see her son leave for training. Since seeing him in his Marine Corps service ?C? uniform, Corrine fears have turned to pride in her son?s accomplishments, according to Kypietz.
At the conclusion of the moto run, families gathered in front of McDougal Hall, the depot theater, where Brig. Gen. John M. Paxton Jr., commanding general, MCRD San Diego and the Western Recruiting Region, acknowledged recruits for their efforts and recognized their families for raising men who would volunteer for the duties that distinguish a Marine.
Following the moto run, recruits cleaned up while family members moved to the theater to watch recruit training video to get better understanding of what their loved ones experienced at boot camp.
Shortly after the video, visitors gathered on the bleachers at Shepherd Memorial Drill Field where they witnessed their recruit turn into a Marine during the Eagle, Globe and Anchor Ceremony. After the ceremony, recruits spent time with their visitors until 5 p.m.
One of the recruits who received his Marine Corps emblem and was set free for the day didn?t have any visitors who could make it to his graduation. Even though he didn?t have any visitors, he was elated to have some time to himself.
?I was on cloud nine,? said Pvt. Tebuteb Sidro. Because Sidro?s family is from Saipan, they were not able to fly out for his graduation, but Sidro spent his liberty calling friends and family. Sidro flew home after graduation to see his family in Saipan.
Marines welcome visitors and families to take part in Family Days and recruit graduation ceremonies throughout the year.
USMC Choking Techniques
Recruit Wayne Robinson, Platoon 3073, M Company, cringed when Sgt. Oliver Schiess wrapped him in a python-like blood choke.
“When he squeezed, I felt tingling around my brain,” said Robinson, red in the face. “I got really light headed.”
To perform a rear choke, the choker wraps his bicep and forearm around the opponent’s neck, clasps his hands together and squeezes. The figure-4 variation is a similar move, except the hand on the choking arm is placed on the opposite bicep, and the other hand goes behind the opponent’s head.
These two chokes are in a category called blood chokes, which means pressure on the carotid artery stops blood from flowing to the brain. Air chokes, which block breathing, are another story.
“We teach blood chokes because they incapacitate the enemy faster,” said Taylor. “A blood choke usually takes eight to 13 seconds to work, but an air choke takes between 30 seconds and one minute usually.”
A blood choke’s speediness becomes viable in any combat situation, said Taylor, but especially when fighting multiple opponents.
“It’s much better to incapacitate someone in eight seconds than to fight another attacker off for a minute while you wait for the air choke to work,” said Taylor.
Before the recruits take on the chokes, instructors give a safety brief and demonstration, and the recruits must slowly practice “by the numbers.” Once off the number system, recruits go live with the choking. For training purposes, they apply slow, steady pressure to their opponents’ necks. This would not be the case in actual combat.
We apply slow pressure in training because a jolting, crushing squeeze could collapse the trachea,” said Taylor. “But in combat, a jolting squeeze is ideal.”
If a recruit feels endangered by a constricting arm around his neck, he can safeguard himself with a tap.
“When we teach any chokes or holds, the tap-out rule always applies,” said Taylor.
In accordance with this rule, the choke victim can yell “Tap tap tap!” when the pressure sets in, or he can tap his body or the choker’s body with his hand, like in professional wrestling. Another precaution ITC experts take is that recruits aren’t allowed to hold the choke for more than five seconds.
Drill instructors keep close eyes on the training and walk through the ranks to ensure recruits are following the safety rules.
Transformation into Marines – Receiving
Eighteen unnaturally quiet individuals sit motionless as their clothes gather pools of nervous sweat, which echoes their unanimous belief that they made a terrible mistake. Questions such as, “What have you done?” and “When can we leave?” occupy their thoughts, while the driver smiles as if he enjoys their trepidation.
The bus slices through the primal darkness and blinding fog like an osprey with a tail wind. The passengers sense that their conveyance thrives on fear and relishes haste.
Thirteen weeks from now they will laugh, recalling their first hours on the island with a smile, but 13 weeks is 91 days and 91 days can seem like an eternity at 2 a.m.
As the bus jerks to a halt, the four tires and 18 hearts stop. The front door folds open and the silence screams “run.”
Confident footsteps are heard approaching as the most intimidating person the young men have ever seen enters the bus like a statue on wheels. “Get off my bus,” screams Mr. Strangehat. For a second no one moves, as if salvation lies within their dampened seats.
Recruiting commercials and fire breathing monsters dance through their heads, as their new friend shows no signs of slowing down or shutting up. The confused passengers stumble into the moonlit street to find another statue directing them to stand on sets of yellow footprints that are worn from years of devil pups’ first steps.
Transformation begins here
Their stomachs twist and turn as the bus rolls to a halt in front of the yellow footprints. They are dead silent. The recruits are just moments away from the inevitable collision of civilian and drill instructor.
The turbulent transformation begins when they step onto the yellow footprints, and a drill instructor begins his speech with a simple greeting, “Congratulations on your decision to become a United States Marine. It is a decision you will never regret.”
They make their way through a one-way door adorned with the infamous eagle, globe and anchor. That is where the recruits take their first steps of the training they signed up for.
Their minds are blank as they turn on auto pilot. When told to do something, they seem to do it without thinking.
The hard-learned lessons of the Corps are beginning to soak into their minds.
As their time at receiving begins to slowly creep into the early morning hours, they have already had a haircut, been given nearly all of their gear and are beginning to show signs of sleep deprivation. This is when they will be given the chance to put on their Marine Pattern camouflage utility uniforms for the first time.
Finally, their second day on Parris Island is here. However, the week-long process is not complete, they still have medical in-processing and field gear issue to undergo before their training cycle begins.
Square Away Time
What was moments earlier a calm, quiet squad bay, now bustled with the more than 60 Marine Corps recruits rushing back after another fast-paced day of training.
After a brief from their senior drill instructor, Sgt. Kenneth Morgan, on their upcoming final drill evaluation, the recruits of Platoon 3078, Lima Co., 3rd RTBn., secured their rifles and rushed back on line as they prepared for their evening basic daily routine Monday.
A recruit spends well over half his time during recruit training on his feet, marching from here to there and completing countless training evolutions. Little time is afforded them to sit down for even a couple of minutes, but each night they have about an hour or so to do just that, among other personal matters.
Morgan said this time is important to a recruit’s well being, especially at the beginning of a training cycle.
“It gives them a chance to de-program and allows them to interact with other recruits,” he said. “It helps them develop teamwork themselves, rather than us having to push it on them.”
During this hour of “square away time,” recruits generally start off by shaving, brushing their teeth and hitting the showers. Once their personal hygiene is complete, they will each find their way back to their racks and tie up loose ends in preparation for the next day.
Many will read any mail they received that day and write home to loved ones, while others might brush a day’s worth of recruit training off their combat boots.
The majority of recruits from Platoon 3078 took a special interest in their personal appearance and physical fitness. Rather than read letters or gaze at photos of their former civilian lives, they looked ahead to their new ones in the Marine Corps and spent a good amount of time doing pull-ups, crunches and even lifting weights on the quarterdeck.
While a small group practiced rifle manual, a few others spent what seemed like almost the entire hour trimming loose threads or perfecting the sleeve-rolls of their MARPAT camouflage utility uniforms, all in effort to look their best during the final drill competition.
Once their “free hour” was complete, they hurried back on-line to await Morgan’s next command.
After a brief security check of all footlockers and rifles, a few minutes were set aside for evening devotion, then they prepared to hit the rack. As they stood silent and still, Morgan gave them one of their final commands of the evening, and with that, each recruit hopped onto their beds.
The playing of “Taps” signaled the end of another arduous day of recruit training, but though they enjoy “the night off,” most recruits will say they look forward to the next day – it puts them one step closer to becoming a Marine.
San Diego has Something Parris Island Doesn’t
Among the coastal hills at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., the Reaper rises from purgatory and ascends toward a promised land where every Marine recruit on the West Coast wants to be.
Each man can see his title from the crest of the Reaper.
At 700 feet, it climbs approximately 150 feet higher than Mount Suribachi, the famed Iwo Jima volcano upon which five Marines and one sailor hoisted the American flag in 1945 during bloody World War II fighting. Though smaller, that volcano’s spirit oozes through the Reaper’s veins like magma.
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego recruits traditionally contend that by marching together to the summit. They tip the scales in boot camp comparisons with MCRD Parris Island, S.C., which has its own trials but no discerning landmark like the Reaper.
After hiking about seven miles in the Crucible’s final hours – culminating the 54-hour severe test of will – recruits approach the Reaper’s scythe exhausted and hungry. Sleep and food have been minimal, but a warrior’s breakfast sizzles beyond the summit.
Dawn breaks and daylight exposes the challenge ahead: a third of a mile with an average incline of 25 degrees. On paper, the climb draws out like a suspension cable ascending a Golden Gate Bridge tower.
Sports drinks and apples offer pre-climb nourishment as the company first sergeant gives a history lesson on something that took place on a battlefield far away, long ago. This makes the Reaper seem a little smaller.
“This is nothing. It’s a hill,” said a I Company drill instructor to his platoon waiting at the base. “We don’t stop until we reach the top of the hill. We never stop, because there is no top!”
With packs and rifles weighing them down, the company steps off by platoons in one-minute intervals. They stay formed as tight as possible, each man whittling his distance to the top. Hopes dim as the morning fog thickens in the ascent. Pack straps dig deep into shoulders and boots hit the dirt harder. Platoons start to spread out as drill instructors shepherd formations.
A few brief plateaus taunt the climbers until they approach the last stretch and surge to the top.
At the peak, the recruits find pictures of Medal of Honor recipients mounted in wooden frames and drill instructors congratulate the men on their accomplishment. After marching almost 40 miles, the Crucible is over.
With a couple more miles back to garrison, it’s all downhill from there.
Recruits Learn Hand to Hand Combat with Pugil Sticks
With a helmet, some pads and a cushioned stick, recruits from B Company battled one another as they honed their skills to be named the victors of pugil sticks.
Every Marine in boot camp undergoes this exercise. During this event, which simulates fighting with an M-16A2 service rifle with fixed bayonets, recruits were shown proper techniques and execution with the weapon.
Though this combat simulation is a part of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, it serves a different purpose.
?It is a designed inoculation of violence,? said Sgt. Sergio Esquivel, martial arts instructor. ?A lot of recruits have never been put in a situation where people try to attack them. This introduces them to a different spectrum of violence.?
Before the fight began, recruits were given safety gear to avoid injury. Their safety gear included a helmet with full face mask, groin protection and flak jacket with a neck roll. The stick they used was also padded around their hands to circumvent broken phalanges.
To ensure the recruits executed moves properly, a Martial Arts Instructor was present.
For the recruits to pass this intense training, they must demonstrate proficient skill in three stages, which takes place over the last three weeks of first phase.
During the first stage, B Company, drill instructors and Instructional Training Company instructors demonstrated fighting techniques and then had recruits practice it on a flat dirt surface near the depot?s war-fighting infiltration course, which is included in bayonet training. In the course, recruits low-crawl under barbed wire and through tunnels, jump walls and cross ropes in firing teams of four.
Once recruits showed instructors they knew what they were doing, they were given their first opportunity to fight.
?I liked it,? said Recruit Jeremy Jones, E Company. ?The feel of fighting and having the other recruits screaming for you. Even if you are scared, the recruits around you make you want to win.?
The thought of defeating another recruit from a different platoon in a pugil stick bout intensified the combat, especially when the drill instructors watched and encouraged the fierce battles, according to Jones.
After the first fight, a third man was thrown into the mix. Between the three recruits, each took a turn defending against two recruits and then teaming up to attack one recruit.
The final stage of combat is fought in the Thunder Dome. Already fatigued from completing an infiltration course, recruits geared up and screamed down a path leading into a padded room. In this dome, recruits fought the final bout with drill instructors and company staff motivating them.
The purpose of this training went beyond bragging rights and platoon rivalry.
?It trains Marines to function when faced with stress and violence,? according to pugil Sticks training guide, MA?1.05. ?It prepares Marines to deliver a blow and take a blow.?
Loud cheers and hard blows kept recruits fighting in the ring. Now experienced with their simulated rifle and bayonet, recruits are able to fight their enemies at a close range.
Recruits Get a Taste of Gas
Barely into their third week of training, dozens of nervous recruits file off from their squads into a Weapons and Field Training classroom and wait for the inevitable – the Gas Chamber.
In the classroom, the recruits are educated on how to use a gas mask and how it can save their lives on the battlefield if used properly and to help build their confidence about being in an environment with a potentially hazardous substance.
The gas used in the Gas Chamber is chlorobenzylidene malonitrile, or CS Gas, a non-lethal substance that is used in all branches of the military and police departments as a riot control agent.
Each recruit spends approximately 3-5 minutes, perhaps the longest 3-5 minutes of their life, in the chamber – depending on how well they want to cooperate.
The terrified recruits enter the Gas Chamber with their masks donned and clear, but once the doors are sealed, the masks come off. The first exercise they must execute is to break the seal of their mask, which will allow them to breathe in a little of the gas, but just as the tearing eyes and the coughing sets in, they are instructed to put their masks back on.
The next step is to break the seal again, but only this time, they will set the mask on top of their heads. It is at this time that some recruits feel that they have lost control and panic begins to set in. The recruits’ eyes are now full of tears and the coughing gets worse because the gas is in their lungs.
The gas also burns the skin a little too, similar to a sunburn. Some of the recruits refuse to take off their masks because they see the other recruits’ reaction to the gas and they fear that they will not be able to put their mask back on again. However, they quickly realize they will not be able to leave the smoke-filled room until they complete the exercise and they regain some of their sanity.
Once their masks are donned and cleared for a second time, they must then remove their masks completely and hold them straight out in front if them, but by this time, most of the recruits have a little more faith in their masks. They know that the faster they take them off, the quicker they will be able to put the masks back on and be able to breathe again.
Once this step is completed, they file out of the Gas Chamber with arms spread out to their sides. Their eyes water like they just stepped out of a shower, and they cough uncontrollably as they pray that they will never have to go through anything like that again.
Their fears are overcome and the recruits now believe in their gas mask and that it will protect them. For those with lingering fear, there is always next year when they will be required to do it again as part of their annual training.
Recruit field day – a Sunday ritual
Following religious services each Sunday, recruits assemble back at their “homes” for the weekly field day and following a quick sweep of the floor with their “scuz” brushes, the chaos of cleanup begins.
In an example of teamwork, dozens of recruits scatter to their designated areas, which are often determined by their squad leaders and the hour-long process starts.
Footlockers, shoe displays and any other items found on the deck are quickly and orderly tossed up on each bottom rack. Almost instantly, another group of recruits make their way down the aisles, spreading water and cleaning solutions in preparation for mop recruits to come through.
Once the decks are complete, windows are wiped down and footlockers and shoes are quickly and carefully placed back in their positions by each rack. The racks are then tightened and inspected to make sure each sports a perfect, 45-degree-angle fold.
At the two-minute warning, some members of the platoon take one last sweep of the squad bay and while others hurry back to their respected racks to get on line.
After a quick, but thorough walk through by the drill instructors, the chaos of field day is complete … until next week.
Rappel tower tests recruits will and guts
As a young recruit peeks over the rappel tower?s edge, his forehead begins to perspire and his limbs begin to shake. The recruit knows he must face his fear of heights as he knows the only way off this obstacle is straight down.
He gets into position with his toes on the edge and his heels facing away from the tower. In a matter of seconds, he rappels safely to the ground.
With a little more than a week left until graduation, recruits are challenged with the depot?s 60-foot-tall rappel tower. Recruits get the opportunity to become familiar with rappelling through a basic course.
?During this training evolution, the recruits learn the basics of rappelling,? said Staff Sgt. Rafael Trevino, an instructor with instructional training company. ?This also helps some of them overcome their fear of heights, and it allows them to gain trust in their equipment. This obstacle is definitely a confidence builder.?
Recruits learn the proper techniques for rappelling as well as how to create the safety harness that will hold them safely when rappelling.
The harness is made using a six-foot rope that is wrapped around the legs and hips. Then it is secured by a series of square knots.
On the modern battlefield, wars are fought in urban areas. The best way to secure a building is from the top to the bottom as it throws the enemy off, according to Sgt. Juan Lopez, an instructor with Instructional Training Company.
Recruits get the opportunity to learn several different rappelling techniques. Fast roping, wall rappelling and descending a simulated helicopter hell hole are the three different training scenarios featured on the tower.
Fast roping, a method used for quick insertion on an objective from a helicopter, is the first technique recruits learn during this training phase. Sliding down 15 feet of rope to the ground, the fast technique is similar to the way a fire fighter slides down a pole during an emergency.
The recruits must do their part when sliding down the rope to quickly clear the landing zone to prevent being landed on by the following recruit.
Each recruit has the opportunity to experience fast roping during boot camp; however, they may not have the chance to do both of the other methods due to the short amount of time for the training evolution, according to Trevino.
Like the fast rope technique, the hell hole is used for fast insertion from a helicopter. The term hell hole refers to the hole in a helicopter?s fuselage. But unlike fast roping, hell hole insertion is used with safety equipment and is done at a higher altitude. This version of rappelling is a vertical drop from the top of the tower.
The other technique recruits may learn is the wall rappel. This method is also used with safety equipment, and simulates rappelling down the side of a building.
Recruits are issued the respective safety gear prior to the training evolution. With the assistance of a tactical helmet, gloves, ropes, carabiner and a spotter, recruits make their descent safely to the ground.
Although this training only gives recruits the basics, it will benefit them later when they continue this training while they are in the Fleet Marine Force, according Trevino.
During the one-day course, recruits learn three different techniques of rappelling. Although some recruits will not be in combat units, there?s always a chance they may be called to fulfill the duty of every Marine and be a rifleman.
Personal Limits Tested during the Crucible
During the Crucible, a 54-hour event that tests everything recruits have learned throughout training, recruits are evaluated on their skills and knowledge by completing numerous team-building obstacles at Edson Range, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
The confidence course, along with every other obstacle in the Crucible, is comprised of several events that allow the recruits to compose a plan before pursuing a timed mission.
�We have a similar confidence course on the depot, but it doesn�t have all of the obstacles we have here,� said Staff Sgt. Chad R. Kiehl, drill instructor, Platoon 2037, Company H. �Their only mission is to get across.
�Here, they have to transport ammo cans and five gallon jugs in a timed situation with simulated casualties,� continued Kiehl. �It forces them to think for themselves for the first time in recruit training and come up with a solution to accomplish the task.�
During the Crucible, recruits are only required to get four hours of sleep per night and have to stretch three proportioned meals to last three days. Sleep and food deprivation are a crucial aspect of the Crucible because it helps the recruits experience a combat situation, said Kiehl.
Although tired, hungry, and mentally and physically exhausted, the recruits still have to come together and accomplish the assignment set before them, said Kiehl, a native of Richfield, Minn.
The confidence course on the depot is designed to help recruits overcome their fear of heights and prove to themselves that even though their minds tell them they cannot do something, anything is possible, said Kiehl. The confidence course here goes a little further and forces the recruits to work as a team, which leaves no time for individual fears.
The recruits are made to solve their problems together with no guidance from the drill instructors. Each recruit has a turn developing plans to complete each obstacle on the confidence course.
�I think the (confidence course) helps us to build teamwork, self-confidence and shows us the true meaning of honor, courage and commitment,� said Pvt. Anthony D. Lanza, Platoon 2037.
He said he learned honor by helping out his team, courage by doing something even though it was challenging, and commitment by not quitting what he started.
The recruits gained a better understanding of the importance of being open to suggestions when tasked with a mission. When a recruit had a good idea, whether he was leading the mission or not, his idea helped the rest of the recruits in conducting the obstacle within the time limit.
They used the knowledge the drill instructors gave them prior to the Crucible, and added it to their common sense to complete each mission set in front of them.
�We had the bigger recruits hold security on the two-line bridge while the smaller recruits went across first,� said Lanza, who is from Twentynine Palms, Calif.
After they crossed, the bigger recruits followed with the ammo cans, while the smaller recruits held security on the other side of the bridge, said Lanza.
Kiehl said when his platoon left the Crucible, they were different recruits. The confidence they gained by going through the Crucible became apparent when they returned to the depot as third-phase recruits.
�We make the most elite war fighter of world,� said Kiehl. �Besides being tired and worn out, the recruits feel good about their accomplishments and returned to the depot as role models for the junior recruits, whether they realized it or not.�
More Team Work During Crucible
From behind a gutted amphibious assault vehicle, the men charge to their first rally point. There’s no time to discuss tactics or make a game plan and they have to find a way to work together. Their orders are simple: finish as a team.
Weary from training, the recruits of Company M traverse the recently remodeled daytime infiltration course in four-man teams during the 54-hour Crucible at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.
The course changes add more teamwork drills in the Crucible. Recruits run the course in fire teams, moving in synchronized efforts through barbed wire, across an open road, over a wall and through a tunnel into a skirmisher’s trench. The fire team regroups and concludes the course with an organized rush on a stationary target.
The new renovations include a hill for taking cover and a skirmisher’s trench that recruits lie in and provide simulated cover fire for fellow team members to advancing to the next obstacle.
The course changed to make recruits more tactically proficient in combat situations, according to Sgt. William F. Cerny, a Weapons and Field Training Battalion instructor.
Cerny said the course modifies to fit the situations recruits are more likely to see in combat.
Without direction from drill instructors, recruits move from cover, negotiating as a team to the next cover spot. In the previous course, recruits moved individually, incorporating low-crawling, high-crawling and rushing a target.
“We combined the skills we were teaching … with fire team skills,” said Capt. Robert Richardson, Field Company commander, WFT Bn.
Combining the three techniques taught during the Crucible is an introduction to assaulting an objective as a team, he said.
Throughout the new course, the fire team reunites at designated cover positions after each obstacle. The fire team leader yells, “Follow me,” and his team rushes to the next cover point. This builds leadership and unit cohesion.
In the previous infiltration course, recruits simulated infiltrating an encampment enclosed by barriers. The renovated course teaches recruits how to infiltrate such objects and minimize harm in the process.
“It took teamwork to do this,” said Danny Lerma, a recruit from Plaino, Texas, after finishing the course, “And a lot of motivation and a lot of heart.”
More Educated, the Harder Bootcamp Will Be
Three years into earning a biology degree, Josiah F. Schultz had it made as a college student and was about to graduate. But something was missing, which Schultz knew couldn’t be found in any college classroom.
After Schultz had finished most of his credits and was planning for post-graduation life, serving in the military came to mind.
The El Paso, Texas, native decided to enlist after graduation, and he said he had no problem deciding which branch of service he wanted to join.
“It wasn’t really a question; I knew that I wanted to be a Marine,” said Schultz. “I wanted to conquer my fears. I signed up for the (infantry) field, and I figured that anything I was afraid of would be cured there.”
Schultz shared his decision with his mom and dad.
“We were very surprised,” said Suzanne Schultz, Josiah’s mother. “We told him that if this was his choice, we were proud of him and we supported him.”
They were very supportive, according to Schultz, who said the news surprised his family because no one before him had served in the military.
Schultz told his parents he felt there were freedoms he enjoyed, and it was his turn to fight for his parents’ freedoms, according to Suzanne. “I thought that was admirable,” she said.
Schultz shipped off to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego wanting a challenge, but he soon learned that in recruit training, some challenges are hard to predict.
His maturity and intelligence helped him stand out among the other recruits, according to Staff Sgt. Pedro R. Hernandez, drill instructor, Platoon 3067, Company I.
Drill instructors first chose Schultz to be the platoon’s guide, but that leadership position came too soon and became too hard to bear.
“Being thrown into a place like this at such a fast pace and not knowing what to expect was a little stressful,” said Schultz, who found that even marching with a guidon was difficult. “I just had so many problems with that stick.”
Schultz held the position for only two weeks.
“He did all right,” said Hernandez. “The transition was hard for him, so we gave the position to someone else,” said Hernandez.
Pfc. Jonathan R. Hiller – a recruit who served four years in the Army National Guard as a Black Hawk helicopter engineer – assumed the guide position.
“Around the fourth week, (Schultz) realized this is how it is. He kicked it on from there … 110 percent.”
Schultz experienced the conundrum that everyone wants to be the guide, but nobody wants to be the guide. The guide has the most leadership authority among recruits, but he also answers to practically every mistake they make.
“We really gave it to him,” said Hernandez. “We knew that he was one of the smarter recruits, and that made him a target (worth challenging).”
After losing his position as guide, Schultz’s drill instructors still gave him leadership responsibilities as one of four squad leaders. Recruit squad leaders generally direct about 15 to 20 recruits, so Schultz still had his challenges.
He said his earliest leadership experiences began in El Paso as a teenager on the baseball diamond – experience that has helped him put his leadership theories in perspective.
“It just helps to see everything on the field so you know how everything goes best where,” said Schultz. “In sports, you can’t lead from the back, and leaders have to be on top of their stuff.”
As a squad leader, Schultz finally found his groove, and the training became more natural. He said leading a squad was something he could handle.
When Co. I arrived at Camp Pendleton during the second phase of recruit training, for field exercises and weapons training, Schultz found his niche with the other recruits.
According to Schultz, the biggest challenge during second phase was waking up in the cold air when sleeping outdoors – something all infantrymen must learn.
“During the second phase, it’s not necessarily worse, but it is a little more complicated,” said Schultz. “The new stress didn’t faze me because I knew how to handle it, but the environment was different.”
On a whim, drill instructors can relieve a guide of his duty. In Schultz’s platoon, the position was still within reach. Drill instructors pitted Schultz and Hiller in a physical training competition, but Hiller won and held his title.
“It was too hard to choose because they were both perfect for the position, so I just worked them out until there was only one left,” said Hernandez. “They both have great characteristics about them. (Hiller) has that leadership experience and Schultz is a brainiac.”
Nevertheless, Hiller and Schultz continued to work together within the platoon.
“They compliment each other very well,” said Hernandez, adding that though Schultz did not graduate training as the guide, the entire platoon respected him.
According to Hernandez, Schultz exudes something more than smarts.
“He has got a self discipline, not the forced discipline,” said Hernandez. “He doesn’t just lock up for the drill instructors and wait for them to leave. He is disciplined when we are not around.”
Schultz’s goals exceed becoming a Marine. He hopes to one day become a commissioned officer, but he felt the right way to go about that was to enlist first.
Hernandez asked Schultz why he wanted to be enlisted instead of going straight to Officer Candidate School, and Schultz gave a mature answer.
“He told me that he wanted to learn leadership from the Marine Corps before he became commissioned so that he would be able to lead Marines,” said Hernandez. “I think he found his leadership.”
Marksmanship Training – Marine Basics
The Marine Corps is full of administrative clerks, combat photographers, supply chiefs and so on, but just like infantrymen, all Marines must become riflemen first.
After four weeks training at the depot, recruits move 40-miles north to Edson Range, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., for field and weapons training.
Much of the marksmanship training is conducted with classes formed in half circles in which recruits practice aiming in on palm-sized targets. Instructors coach recruits through shooting positions and procedures. All the while, instructors casually preach weapons safety. They want recruits to relax.
“One of the first things we tell recruits or Marines to remember when shooting is to relax,” said Sgt. Matthew J. Maruster, primary marksmanship instructor. “Once you relax, you can apply what you learned a lot better than if you were stressed out.”
To relax while shooting, Recruit Micah S. Parsons, Platoon 1065, Company D, said he used breath control: “The slow, steady breathing really helped slow me down.”
Before actual firing takes place, recruits must become familiar with the M-16 A2, a rifle they carried for the first month of training. Before second phase, however, that rifle has only been a drilling tool to them. The first week of second phase recruits learn weapons handling, safety, functions and marksmanship. Instructors also throw in their own two-cents.
“We give advice on our own experiences,” said Maruster. “Show them some tricks of the trade.”
Different shooting positions are a big part of the syllabus. Recruits learn four: the prone – lying flat on the stomach, the kneeling, the standing, and the sitting.
Maruster said kneeling is the best position to learn because it is used most frequently on the range and in combat.
“Most of the time when you engage your enemy, you don’t have enough time to get down on the deck, so you just go to the kneeling or sitting position,” said Maruster.
“The prone was the easiest position for me,” said Parsons. “Being able to steady the weapon helped me to take my time. I had a little trouble in the standing.”
Marksmanship instructors make sure recruits are familiar with three carrying positions and four weapon conditions because range officials do not tolerate unsafe weapon handling.
“Safety is important, obviously,” said Maruster. “You never want to lose or injure a recruit when it could have been prevented. Most of the time, it is easy enough. The safety is already in their head. It is engrained through boot camp.”
Drill instructors, coaches and marksmanship instructors keep a constant watch on the recruits, who are given no room for error.
“Coaches and drill instructors were always on the alert,” said Parsons. “Making sure your weapon was cleared and on safe after you were done firing – everything was pretty locked on according to safety.”
“Marksmanship in general should be taken very seriously,” said Maruster. “Whether you are an (administrative Marine) or an (intelligence Marine), no matter what military occupational specialty, you should have the ability to put rounds down range in a particular direction and be able to hit a target. The past few years have shown that you don’t necessarily have to be an (infantryman) to be a rifle man.”
