thedrifter
05-08-05, 03:22 PM
Marines give prospects early taste of boot camp
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By JANE SCHMUCKER
TOLEDO BLADE STAFF WRITER
The U.S. Marine Corps would have accepted the excuse of a Friday night high school prom for missing its Saturday morning fitness trials for prospective recruits.
But 18-year-old Jessie Smith didn't think that was quite fitting for a future Marine and told herself that a short night would help give her a true taste of boot camp.
So running on two hours sleep - 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. - and still sporting the blue nail polish that matched her dress, she was among almost 400 northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan young people at the Marines' field meet at the GM Powertrain-United Auto Workers Park on Jackman Road yesterday.
The requirement of at least 45 partial sit-ups in two minutes and three pull-ups went OK, she said.
But she took almost 20 minutes to run 1 1/2 miles instead of the 14 1/2 minutes the Marines allot for women arriving at its basic training facility at Parris Island, S.C.
Her recruiter undoubtedly will mention her slower-than-hoped-for performance during their next conversation.
But Ms. Smith, 18, of Wayne County, Michigan, has 2 1/2 months and many full nights of sleep to improve her times before her basic training starts July 25.
And yesterday's field meet was about far more than physical fitness challenges.
Information about what to expect at the nearly 13-week boot camp hit the recruits in waves.
"What would you recommend we females take with us to boot camp?" a young woman asked a drill sergeant.
"Nothing. Everything you need will be issued to you," was the response.
No books, except for an address book and religious material, such as a Bible.
No cigarettes.
No jewelry. Not even a wedding ring, the sergeant strongly advised Donna Cornett, a 21-year-old newlywed from Lima, Ohio.
"Being a recruit is quite easy," Master Sgt. Mike Giannetti said. "Your day is planned for you."
Drill instructors are with the recruits every moment, marching them to the latrines, instructing them in the most minute details of getting dressed: The left sock always goes on first.
The only place the drill instructors don't accompany recruits is church - and the opportunity to get away from their instructor for the time a minister takes to preach a sermon or a priest uses to celebrate Mass is enough to encourage many recruits to become regular attendees.
"A lot of these kids might not believe in God," Sergeant Giannetti said.
"But they'll go to church. And they might come out of boot camp believing in God. So that's not a bad thing."
The most important factor in getting through boot camp is simply staying motivated, said Pfc. Keland Hill, who inserted the word "motivated" as an adjective in almost every sentence as he talked to recruits about his first year in the Marines.
The recruits even enjoyed a military-style lunch: Meals Ready to Eat.
"They're better than people say they are," said Dakota Dishong, a senior at Arlington High School in Hancock County, who favorably compared his cheese tortellini to "Chef Boyardee in a bag."
The Drifter's Wife
Ellie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By JANE SCHMUCKER
TOLEDO BLADE STAFF WRITER
The U.S. Marine Corps would have accepted the excuse of a Friday night high school prom for missing its Saturday morning fitness trials for prospective recruits.
But 18-year-old Jessie Smith didn't think that was quite fitting for a future Marine and told herself that a short night would help give her a true taste of boot camp.
So running on two hours sleep - 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. - and still sporting the blue nail polish that matched her dress, she was among almost 400 northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan young people at the Marines' field meet at the GM Powertrain-United Auto Workers Park on Jackman Road yesterday.
The requirement of at least 45 partial sit-ups in two minutes and three pull-ups went OK, she said.
But she took almost 20 minutes to run 1 1/2 miles instead of the 14 1/2 minutes the Marines allot for women arriving at its basic training facility at Parris Island, S.C.
Her recruiter undoubtedly will mention her slower-than-hoped-for performance during their next conversation.
But Ms. Smith, 18, of Wayne County, Michigan, has 2 1/2 months and many full nights of sleep to improve her times before her basic training starts July 25.
And yesterday's field meet was about far more than physical fitness challenges.
Information about what to expect at the nearly 13-week boot camp hit the recruits in waves.
"What would you recommend we females take with us to boot camp?" a young woman asked a drill sergeant.
"Nothing. Everything you need will be issued to you," was the response.
No books, except for an address book and religious material, such as a Bible.
No cigarettes.
No jewelry. Not even a wedding ring, the sergeant strongly advised Donna Cornett, a 21-year-old newlywed from Lima, Ohio.
"Being a recruit is quite easy," Master Sgt. Mike Giannetti said. "Your day is planned for you."
Drill instructors are with the recruits every moment, marching them to the latrines, instructing them in the most minute details of getting dressed: The left sock always goes on first.
The only place the drill instructors don't accompany recruits is church - and the opportunity to get away from their instructor for the time a minister takes to preach a sermon or a priest uses to celebrate Mass is enough to encourage many recruits to become regular attendees.
"A lot of these kids might not believe in God," Sergeant Giannetti said.
"But they'll go to church. And they might come out of boot camp believing in God. So that's not a bad thing."
The most important factor in getting through boot camp is simply staying motivated, said Pfc. Keland Hill, who inserted the word "motivated" as an adjective in almost every sentence as he talked to recruits about his first year in the Marines.
The recruits even enjoyed a military-style lunch: Meals Ready to Eat.
"They're better than people say they are," said Dakota Dishong, a senior at Arlington High School in Hancock County, who favorably compared his cheese tortellini to "Chef Boyardee in a bag."
The Drifter's Wife
Ellie