thedrifter
04-25-05, 09:57 PM
Woman rises to Marine Corps' challenges
By WARREN ARCENEAUX
AMERICAN PRESS
It was just a little pain.
That's how Shannon Thomas described the fractured sacrum she received during U.S. Marine Boot Camp. Thomas finished the final two weeks of camp with the injury, never telling her superiors about the injury.
The ability to fight through the pain is one of the things that resulted in Thomas finishing third in her class, and receiving a promotion on merit at the end of the 13-week boot camp.
"There are Marines in Iraq putting their lives on the line every day, and I was just going through training, so I was not going to let a little obstacle like that stop me," Thomas said.
"I never thought about quitting. It was hurting, but I did not tell anyone or even think about stopping," she said. "If I was ever going to be capable of serving my country in war, I would have to learn how to deal with little things like that. So I had to keep pushing. This exercise was training for combat, if I am ever put in that situation, I will have to deal with much more."
Thomas' injury occurred during the Crucible, a 54-hour training exercise, in which participants had to march more than 45 miles and complete eight events. Each event had 10 components.
"The whole time, we had our face in the mud or sand and were always tired and hungry," Thomas said. "It was miserable, the hardest thing I have ever been through."
She survived the exercise and went on to graduate third in a class of 63 recruits. She was one of two recruits promoted to private first class.
Thomas got off to a rough start at camp, crying her way through the only phone call she was allowed to make from Paris Island, S.C.
"We had to call as soon as we arrived, and could only read from a piece of paper," she said. "I was crying the whole time because I had just gotten off the bus and was yelled at for the first time."
The yelling was a daily occurrence, but the crying soon stopped.
"When I was a kid, I would go to California for a week of vacation and would cry to come home," Thomas said. "I did not know how I would get through this. But we were so busy the whole time that I did not have time to get homesick. I tried to make it from chow to chow and Sunday to Sunday.
"It was tougher mentally than physically. Being away from my family and not being able to call home. I never knew what was going on back here at home, so I was always worried about my family."
The military lifestyle grew on Thomas.
"Before I left I was hard-headed and did not like being told what to do. It was definitely culture shock at camp, where I was told what to do and how to do it every second of the day. But I became so used to it, that it was an even bigger shock when I came home. It was shocking to see how kids were speaking to their teachers after being taught how to respect superiors at camp. I had to step back when I saw the students, but my recruiter told me I was just like that before I left. It made me realize that I had changed a lot.
"Now I love the whole military lifestyle, all of the structure and discipline. That was a major reason why my dad, Kenny, allowed me to go, because he knew I would get some discipline there."
Mom Diana has noticed the difference in her daughter.
"She said before she left that she needed structure, and how to learn how to follow through on something she had started," she said.
"Shannon would never finish anything. I was proud to hear her admit those things before she left. It was almost shocking to see how much she had changed once she came back. She has so much respect for authority now, her room is spotless and you can see the pride she has in herself now."
Thomas said the boot camp experience has boosted her self-confidence.
"Before I left, I did not know what I was going to do with my life. I am more confident and outgoing. I have pride now, something I did not have before. That all comes from knowing everything that I had to go through. I proved to myself that I could handle it; now I think I can do anything."
Thomas left yesterday for Camp Geiger in North Carolina for a month of combat training. From there, she will receive job training. After that, she may be deployed to Iraq.
"Whenever I first signed up, the thought of going to Iraq terrified me. But after going through boot camp and getting all of the training, I know I would be prepared. Now I would love to go. If not that, I would love to go overseas, maybe to Japan."
Thomas plans on making a career of the military, and is considering becoming a drill instructor. At her graduation ceremony, it was her instructor who was in tears.
"When she saw my mom at graduation, she said only two girls were being promoted, and it was not hard to choose me as one of them. Then she started crying. That made me feel good, after she had been yelling in my face for the past 13 weeks."
Ellie
By WARREN ARCENEAUX
AMERICAN PRESS
It was just a little pain.
That's how Shannon Thomas described the fractured sacrum she received during U.S. Marine Boot Camp. Thomas finished the final two weeks of camp with the injury, never telling her superiors about the injury.
The ability to fight through the pain is one of the things that resulted in Thomas finishing third in her class, and receiving a promotion on merit at the end of the 13-week boot camp.
"There are Marines in Iraq putting their lives on the line every day, and I was just going through training, so I was not going to let a little obstacle like that stop me," Thomas said.
"I never thought about quitting. It was hurting, but I did not tell anyone or even think about stopping," she said. "If I was ever going to be capable of serving my country in war, I would have to learn how to deal with little things like that. So I had to keep pushing. This exercise was training for combat, if I am ever put in that situation, I will have to deal with much more."
Thomas' injury occurred during the Crucible, a 54-hour training exercise, in which participants had to march more than 45 miles and complete eight events. Each event had 10 components.
"The whole time, we had our face in the mud or sand and were always tired and hungry," Thomas said. "It was miserable, the hardest thing I have ever been through."
She survived the exercise and went on to graduate third in a class of 63 recruits. She was one of two recruits promoted to private first class.
Thomas got off to a rough start at camp, crying her way through the only phone call she was allowed to make from Paris Island, S.C.
"We had to call as soon as we arrived, and could only read from a piece of paper," she said. "I was crying the whole time because I had just gotten off the bus and was yelled at for the first time."
The yelling was a daily occurrence, but the crying soon stopped.
"When I was a kid, I would go to California for a week of vacation and would cry to come home," Thomas said. "I did not know how I would get through this. But we were so busy the whole time that I did not have time to get homesick. I tried to make it from chow to chow and Sunday to Sunday.
"It was tougher mentally than physically. Being away from my family and not being able to call home. I never knew what was going on back here at home, so I was always worried about my family."
The military lifestyle grew on Thomas.
"Before I left I was hard-headed and did not like being told what to do. It was definitely culture shock at camp, where I was told what to do and how to do it every second of the day. But I became so used to it, that it was an even bigger shock when I came home. It was shocking to see how kids were speaking to their teachers after being taught how to respect superiors at camp. I had to step back when I saw the students, but my recruiter told me I was just like that before I left. It made me realize that I had changed a lot.
"Now I love the whole military lifestyle, all of the structure and discipline. That was a major reason why my dad, Kenny, allowed me to go, because he knew I would get some discipline there."
Mom Diana has noticed the difference in her daughter.
"She said before she left that she needed structure, and how to learn how to follow through on something she had started," she said.
"Shannon would never finish anything. I was proud to hear her admit those things before she left. It was almost shocking to see how much she had changed once she came back. She has so much respect for authority now, her room is spotless and you can see the pride she has in herself now."
Thomas said the boot camp experience has boosted her self-confidence.
"Before I left, I did not know what I was going to do with my life. I am more confident and outgoing. I have pride now, something I did not have before. That all comes from knowing everything that I had to go through. I proved to myself that I could handle it; now I think I can do anything."
Thomas left yesterday for Camp Geiger in North Carolina for a month of combat training. From there, she will receive job training. After that, she may be deployed to Iraq.
"Whenever I first signed up, the thought of going to Iraq terrified me. But after going through boot camp and getting all of the training, I know I would be prepared. Now I would love to go. If not that, I would love to go overseas, maybe to Japan."
Thomas plans on making a career of the military, and is considering becoming a drill instructor. At her graduation ceremony, it was her instructor who was in tears.
"When she saw my mom at graduation, she said only two girls were being promoted, and it was not hard to choose me as one of them. Then she started crying. That made me feel good, after she had been yelling in my face for the past 13 weeks."
Ellie