Most any person knows a United States Marine is pretty hardcore, but I learned how truly “hardcore” a Marine recruit trains to receive the title Marine.
I had the opportunity to take a pretty wild field trip over spring break as a CCP student at Wayne High School. I have been in Air Force Junior ROTC for four years and I had the opportunity to take a trip to Parris Island, South Carolina, a Marine base where recruits go to train for thirteen weeks to become a U.S. Marine.
We were to stay one night and one day. We arrived, unloaded our bags and carried them into our respective barracks, boys with boys and girls with girls, where we would spend the night, bunk to bunk with very little privacy.
Our drill instructor (DI) loudly and quickly displayed how to properly make our beds, with hospital corners. We were given less than a minute to perform each step, tripping over one another to get around the closely located bunks. We were also not allowed to speak to our randomly assigned partner, making this task challenging.
Once we got through a testing night of running around our barracks, we were finally allowed to sleep, though it was not a comfortable one.
We woke up bright and early at 5 a.m. the next morning and prepared for a long day of exercise, commands and learning. We walked about a mile to the mess hall, which is the dining facility, and were met by our DI, who proceeded to yell at us to stand heel to toe in line, no talking and at attention, while we received our meal and ate it.
We arrived afterward at the outdoor firing range, where we watched recruits train in live fire, and we ourselves got to use an M16 simulator.
We then went on to eat lunch the same way we ate our breakfast, quickly and quietly.
After this we made it to an obstacle course that recruits trained on. This was one of the most testing parts for me. I consider myself a fairly fit person, but I most definitely did not have the upper body strength to finish each obstacle.
We then visited a confidence course, a course designed to train marines to perform physical activity that may seem more frightening. Many obstacles were very high off the ground. One particular obstacle required users to navigate over and under logs, getting taller and then shorter in a triangular shape.
After this course we went back to our barracks to clean ourselves up, and pack up to leave. We had little to no privacy and time, but it wasn’t unbearable. We left for dinner and ate it, once again quickly and quietly.
I can not put into words the relief I felt leaving after only one day, but also, I cannot say how truly accomplished I felt. I did a lot more than I thought I could. It was fun sometimes, and it was emotionally and physically trying at others.
This trip was by no means anywhere near as difficult as one day at Marine Basic Military Training, but was incredibly educational for those of us interested in the possibility of one day pursuing a military career.
Kelsey Fitzpatrick
Reporter