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thedrifter
10-23-05, 07:26 AM
Recruits get up-close introduction to Marine training
Mike Morrow

EUREKA - The words rolled out like he had said them over and over again.

”Somewhere,” said Michael Grosshans, “someone is training harder than you, and when you two meet, he will win.”

Grosshans, a staff sergeant in the United States Marine Corps and a recruiter stationed in Eureka, held a clipboard, pausing to gather his thoughts.

In a quiet, out-of-the-way location on the College of the Redwoods

campus, that training process continued again Saturday morning for a dozen or so young men who are still months away from beginning basic training.

They were gathered for an introduction to hand-to-hand training, an intense three-hour program developed by the Fortuna Police Department.

”This is going to be hard, physical ... and when you think it is over, it really has just begun,” the recruits learned.

And, “this is nothing compared to what you will face in boot camp.”

The recruits are part of the Marines’ Delayed Entry Program, primarily designed for high school students who have signed on in advance of their graduation.

Saturday’s training program also included two students from the Police Academy at College of the Redwoods, LaRonda Bettencourt and Evan Jo Krupp.

Standing beneath a poster - “When two tigers fight, one will be wounded, the other will die” - are Grosshaus, Sgt. Keith Phillips and Lance Cpl. Jacob Grafflin, discussing one of the maneuvers.

Seconds earlier, the instructor stopped a drill, emphatically saying, “Do not kiss your enemy ... snap it out ... you stop your attack when the threat is neutralized. And, understand, the point of neutralization is different in Fallujah than it is on the streets of San Francisco.”

There is no laughter. The point has been made.

”Take him to the wall, take him to the wall,” the instructor says, interrupting another drill. “Don’t be nice. This person intends to do damage to you, he intends to eat your babies. Don’t kiss him. Put some force behind it.”

Grosshaus pauses again.

”This is good,” he said, recalling his own training in the Marines.

The drills are an eye opener to most of the recruits because none of them has undergone boot camp, none of them has an idea what it’s all about.

”It’s all about being a Marine,” said Grosshans.

This is not martial arts, karate, jiu-jitsu, the sparring is no-onsense, chin down, protect your throat, back and forth, side to side, they go left you go right, don’t drop your leg.

Forty-five minutes into the initial session, the training is stopped, the instructor’s voice booms again, and there is silence.

”Don’t duck ... don’t duck ... this isn’t the Army, this is the Marines,” he says in a clear tone. “Don’t back off from the attack, go into the attack. More force, more force.”

Grosshaus tries not to smile, but one breaks through.

”No one trains more or trains harder than the Marines ... no one in the world,” he said. “While other countries are sitting on their butts, the Marines are training.”

Rodney Hines, an 18-year-old from Crescent City, said the training was more than he expected.

”I wanted to gain self discipline,” he said. “I like the challenge, the Marines seemed like the right choice for me.”

Hines said he grew up in a variety of foster care programs and that he was looking forward to leaving for boot camp.

The hand-to-hand training program simulates a variety of situations, including what to do against weapon attacks.

”It’s important they get a feel of what’s expected, what they can look forward to once they enter boot camp,” Grosshans said. “They have to meet minimum physical standards -- like, three pull-ups , 45 crunches in two minutes, 1.5 miles in 13:30 or less -- and we try to put them through the same sort of challenges, both physical and mental, they might face when they go to camp.”

Included in the preliminary training is the hand-to-hand program, possibly the most intense of the Delayed Entry Program requirements.

”I remember my boot camp and how different it was,” Grosshans said. “My father was a Marine, but he encouraged me to look into the other branches of the military. It was the recruiter, the pride of being a

Marine, how they carry themselves ... that’s the image I want to portray to these individuals.”

But in the gym, on the mat, there is no image. Just the reality.

”Why am I wearing a watch?” the recruits are asked.

”Because it’s a weapon,” one says.

”Right ... everything on your body is a weapon, so learn to use what you have,” they are told.

The three Marine Corps representatives - a fourth, Sgt. David Young, has had to stay behind while signing up a recruit - do their part in the training as well, drawing cheers from their young recruits.

There is applause when one of the women takes down one of the Marine sergeants.

”It takes a lot,” Grosshans said. “When I went to boot camp, I was 17, I was in excellent shape, at least physically. I was captain of my high school wrestling team. The most difficult thing for me may have been getting used to the team concept. It was learning the ‘we’ concept rather than the ‘I’ concept.”

The training program is designed to do just that.

”The Marine Corps,” Fortuna Police Department representative Enoch Ibarra said, “has a tremendous training program, a tremendous Martial Arts program. You better be in shape before you begin your (boot camp) training because there is a physical fitness platoon.

”It is not easy being a Marine, it takes a lot to get that anchor. The squids, they just give it away. Marines earn what they get.”

Mike Morrow covers five cities for the Times-Standard. He can be reached at 441-0517 or mmorrow@times-standard.com.

Ellie

Tallboot
10-31-05, 05:30 PM
This inspired me, thank you ... ill check into DEP and see when i can join it