Marine Corp Training - Day 2

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Attention! Step Down 😊
You will be glad to hear that I survived Day two and am quickly becoming a huge fan of the US. Marines. The only part I don't like is the yelling. It wouldn't be quite as bad if I could understand what they are yelling - but it sounds like a foreign language to me. The drill sargeants bark out marching instructions and I just try to at least keep on the right foot. By the time I get home I should be an expert marcher.
THis morning Brigadier General Angela Salina, one of three female generals in the Marines, talked to us about how the goal of the Marines is to take young men and women and make them into good citizens. I was especially impressed with the Core Value Based training Marines receive. They are taught the importance of Honor, Courage and Commitment. After meeting some of the young recruits today and talking to them about their experiences in the Marine Corp I am starting to believe that maybe we should institute some of their methods into our schools, or better yet let the Marines run the schools. We also observed several of the activites that all Marine recruits go through from aquatic training to the assault rifle course. I will try to post a couple of photos and check in again tomorrow. I am exhausted and plan to finish this blog and hit the deck. Ms. E. (Patty, Mom, Grandma)

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Photos

General Salinas
General Salinas was a great speaker and a supporter of young people. I was amazed at all of the incredible educational opportunites she told us about for Marines.

The Boss
When this guy says "March!!!" you better be on the right foot!

Aquatic Training
Every Marine will be swimming before they leave basic training. The pool was an Olympic sized and one Marine demononstrated swimming underwater from one end to the other - a requirement for traininers.

The Barracks
Not exactly Martha Stewart - but definitely clean and orderly.

Washing Up
Everything is built to accomodate lots of people. Here we are washing up before we go into the Mess for lunch.

Lunch with Recruits
We all sat down with recruits ready to graduate in two weeks. These two young men had nothing but good things to say about the training they had received. I was impressed with their dedication and manners. Both expect to be in Afghanistan before the end of the year.

Assault RIfle Course
As you can see these flap jackets lacked enough flap to go around me. THe helmet was heavy as was the rifle with the bayonet. It's good the USA doesn't depend on older women to do its fighting!

Comments

[Caryn]

Getting some flack
Is it a flap jacket (kind of like a pancake) or a flack jacket? Looks like you're not missing the two mile walk around the lake, but where's the mud? Keep up the good attitude.