Recruits climb high obstacles for confidence before advancing to 2nd phase

[thedrifter]

Recruits climb high obstacles for confidence before advancing to 2nd phase
Submitted by: MCRD San Diego
Story Identification #: 2005422103939
Story by Cpl. Jess Levens



MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO (April 22, 2005) -- One week before recruits go north to Camp Pendleton and begin rifle and field training, they execute a motivational exercise called Confidence Course II.

"It's really a confidence booster," said Staff Sgt. Roger Taylor, close combat instructor, Instructional Training Company. "Confidence Course II is where the recruits tackle all the high obstacles."

The three high obstacles are the Confidence Climb, A-Frame and the Slide for Life, a trademark of recruit training. Along with these three obstacles, the recruits also take on four of the low obstacles for Confidence Course I, which they completed a week prior, according to Taylor.

The Confidence Climb is like a vertical railroad track into the sky. Logs spaced apart connect two poles, and ascend about 30 feet. The recruits must climb to the top, straddle over the top log, and descend the other side.

The A-Frame is the toughest obstacle for recruits to conquer, according to Taylor. Recruits must climb a rope and maneuver through three logs. Once through the logs, they walk about 20 feet over wooden beams to two A-shaped structures. Recruits must climb to the top, swing on to a rope and inch down to the ground.

The last obstacle the recruits overtake is the Slide for Life - three cables stretching off a tower, over a swimming pool and onto the ground. Recruits start by inching along a cable like a caterpillar. Once a recruit traverses a portion of the cable, a drill instructor orders him to hang by his hands and face the end of the pool. From there, the recruit kicks his legs up to catch the cable, and works his way to the end. Many recruits lose their grips and fall into the pool with a chilling splash.

"The pool is only about four feet deep," said Taylor. "A lot of recruits can't swim because we haven't trained them yet, so when they fall in, we tell them to just put their feet down."

Also for safety reasons, once a recruit falls in the water, he is done training.

"If a recruit falls in, we tell them to un-blouse their boots to let the water out, and then go back to the (barracks). This is to prevent the recruits from getting sick."

Not all recruits fall in the water though. Under the higher portion of the cable is a safety net. The net is in place because the shallow water may not break a recruit's fall from that high up, according to Taylor.

Safety is a priority in recruit training, and the confidence courses follow that idiom. ITC instructors give the drill instructors a safety brief before the course to point out emergency phones and give instructions on what to do in case of a recruit injury. The recruits also receive a safety brief and demonstration for each obstacle.

Drill instructors are equipped with whistles. A blast from the whistle stops all training and summons the company corpsman. The drill instructors also know and practice CPR.

Confidence Course II is a motivational tool, said Taylor. It also weans recruits' acrophobia.

"Some recruits are terrified of heights," said Taylor. "And sometimes, recruits don't know they are scared of heights until they get up. But we encourage and motivate them to complete the obstacles, and once they do, it's a great sense of accomplishment and they leave for Camp Pendleton ready to take on any challenge."

And challenges do lie ahead up north. On the Crucible, recruits will face many of the same obstacles from Confidence Courses I and II, but on larger scales.

Too at more pix's click link.............
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/76B491FB19D8407785256FEB005088D6?opendocument


Ellie

[thedrifter]

Parents learn the drill at Marine recruit event
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By Glennda Chui
Mercury News

As 200 fresh Marine recruits did pull-ups and field drills, their families went through their own form of boot camp on Saturday -- one designed to prepare them for the anxiety-provoking experience of having a loved one in the military.

It was Poolee Family Day at Camp Parks Military Reservation near Dublin.

Poolees are people who have joined the Marines but haven't gone to boot camp yet. They're allowed to postpone boot camp for up to a year while they finish high school, wrap up business or whip themselves into better physical shape.

For worried parents, Family Day was a chance to ask questions and hook into a support network that has blossomed over the Internet.

``I'm glad because I have tons of questions, and he's a teenager and he doesn't like to talk a lot,'' said Sue Allen, 44, of Vacaville, whose 18-year-old son came home six months ago and announced that he was talking to a recruiter.

``I've had a whole couple of months of crying and all that stuff,'' she said. ``Now that I'm over that part, I'm very proud of him. It's his calling, and he needs to do what makes him happy.''

Families saw a video about boot camp, including the 54-hour food-and-sleep-deprived finale known as the Crucible. They peppered drill sergeants with questions: Can my son call home from boot camp?

No.

Is it OK to send goodies?

Depends on the drill sergeant. ``Please do not send two cookies, and there are 96 recruits in the platoon,'' one sergeant warned, ``because they're going to break those two cookies into 96 pieces.''

Teddy bears?

Not a good idea.

What should they pack for boot camp?

Nothing but the clothes on their backs. No laptops, CD players, Swiss Army knives or cell phones.

Families of Marines have set up a number of online support groups: Marine Moms and Dads, Marine Moms Online, even a special discussion group for those who have two or more offspring in the corps. They can also follow the boot camp schedule, day by day, on the Internet.

A cornerstone of this network is Max Beerup, 70, a former Navy corpsman from Kansas City who retired from the Federal Railway Administration and devotes all his time to helping Marine families. His Web site offers advice on attending boot camp graduation in San Diego. He also fields phone calls on matters big and small -- from translating military jargon to getting a recruit out of boot camp for his father's funeral.

``IF you have questions. IF you have problems. WRITE me,'' he said, almost barking the words. ``You are my friends.

Barbara Morris, 49, of Cupertino was one of four local Marine moms who came to answer questions and lend support. Her son, Cpl. Joseph Morris, is a linguist, specializing in Chinese, doing intelligence work in Hawaii and, she says, itching to go to Iraq.

As a junior at Cupertino High School, he came home from touring college campuses and announced that he wanted to be a Marine. As a senior, he took classes at De Anza College so he could graduate early and sign up, Morris said.

Morris said she used to think the military was something people did when they had no options. ``I'm ashamed of that now,'' she said.

Sherry Yonker, 53, of Pleasanton watched her son Kenneth, 20, drill with other recruits on a grassy field. He's enlisted in the Marine reserves with an eventual goal of being a history teacher.

She said she was apprehensive about him joining the military, given the emotional damage so many men of her generation suffered during the Vietnam War.

``My son is very spiritual, very sensitive. I hate to have that broken,'' she said. On the other hand, Yonker said, ``He's just been waiting for this day. He's so excited. I think it's very honorable. All these young men -- look at them out there -- in the midst of war, and they're ready to go.''

The Drifter's Wife

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine event held for teens in delayed enlistment program
By DAN McLEAN
Union Leader Correspondent

HOLLIS — U.S. Marine Corps boot camp came to Hollis for a few hours Saturday.

Roughly 35 teens who have expressed interest in joining the U.S. Marine Corps are participating in the Marines' delayed entry program, which offers weekly drilling to prepare new recruits for boot camp in Parris Island, S.C.

Former Marine John Ferlins hosted the second annual U.S. Marine Corps Field Meet and Weapons Exhibition — complete with a large inflatable Marine — at his Dow Road home in Hollis.

"The whole objective is to celebrate the commitment these kids have made. We are at war. . . . Freedom is something you have to fight for. And they deserve our support," Ferlins said.

Lance Cpl. Rick Weeks, a U.S. Marine Corps reservist stationed in Londonderry, explained how the M-249 squad automatic weapon works. The gun can fire up to 1,000 5.56 mm bullets per minute. After two minutes, however, the barrel must be changed to prevent it from melting, he said. The gun weighs 22 pounds, fully loaded; each platoon has nine Marines equipped with the M-249, he said.

Most of the those who meet this weekend in Hollis have already enlisted and will head to boot camp by September. Some, however, have not satisfied the necessary criteria to begin boot camp, said Staff Sgt. Zerrick Wilson of the Marines' Lawrence, Mass., recruiting station.

To enlist, you must have a high school diploma, not have an extensive criminal background and be over 18; 17-year-olds may enlist with permission from parents, he said.

Each Saturday, the group of mostly 17-year-olds in the delayed entry program physically and mentally prepare themselves for boot camp, Wilson said.

"The more they are familiar with it, the less small mistakes they will make down there (Parris Island)," Wilson said.

Boot camp is 13 weeks long and ends with a 54-hour field training exercise known as "The Crucible," according to the Marine Web site.

After one year of college at Keene State, Christopher Spalthoff, 19, of Nashua decided the U.S. Marine Corps is a better fit.

"I love it," he said of the weekly drills. "I'm actually really excited to go to boot camp."

Spalthoff is not worried about the war in Iraq because he said he will be trained for aviation electronics. "It's not all just guns and all that other stuff," he said.

Travis Lemiux, 17, of Brookline said he wants to join the Marines because "it seemed interesting to me, more like a brotherhood" than the other services.

"I was going to take a year off and work, but it would have been a lot of hassle," he said, trying to find a place to live and pay bills.

Lemiux is not an official recruit since has not graduated high school and his parents have not given him written permission to enlist yet.

Ryan Coleman, 18, of Merrimack said he initially planned to join the U.S. Air Force, but he was too heavy. The Air Force lost interest in Coleman after learning he was over 190 pounds, he said.

Upon leaving the Air Force recruiter, "one of the Marines came out and said, 'Hey, look at the Marines.' And I said, 'Sure.'"

Coleman said the Marines' weekly program has brought him down to 186 pounds.

"The Marine Corps can give them more of a challenge. And the other branches will admit to it," said Staff Sgt. Nicholas Gagnon of Nashua.

Southern New Hampshire Marine recruiters — in Nashua, Salem and Keene — generally recruit seven to 10 people a month, Gagnon said.


Ellie