thedrifter
02-15-06, 06:03 AM
For Teachers, This Trip Isn't the Usual Drill
Educators spend four days at Marine facilities in Southern California, observing as recruits are transformed into members of the Corps.
By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO — To the educators visiting from the Midwest, the young men looked similar to their own students.
But they had shaved heads and were giving rapt attention to their teachers, who had voices that were loud and demanding, even threatening.
The teaching style was different too. Forget the Socratic method of open discourse.
Rhetorical questions and sharp commands were the instructional method in this open-air classroom.
"DID I TELL YOU TO SAY ANYTHING? DID I TELL YOU TO SAY ANYTHING?" an instructor yelled at a student, whose face was about 6 inches away. "SHUT YOUR FREAKING MOUTH!"
And with that, the student, a recruit in his first days of Marine Corps boot camp, sprinted into the pugil-stick arena and began battering another student who did his best to hit back.
"For a lot of these kids, we have to teach them aggression," explained Staff Sgt. John Johnson. "I don't know where they went to school, but many have never had a good fight before."
The visitors — 79 high school counselors, teachers and administrators from Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin — had accepted a free trip to San Diego to see how boot camp turns teenagers into Marines.
They were still in the first morning of their four-day "educator workshop" last week at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Camp Pendleton and Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.
But the educators had already learned one lesson: This is an educational environment unlike any they had known.
"This is really different," Kass Simila, a high school principal in Houghton, Mich., said above shouts of "kill, kill," from recruits learning martial-arts techniques. "Those drill instructors scare me."
A dozen such workshops are held each year for school employees from the depot's recruiting region, which includes 27 states and the Pacific territories. The cost to the Marine Corps is about $900,000 a year for about 900 attendees.
The Corps pays for airfare, hotel rooms and meals, all in hopes the educators will return home to speak knowledgeably, maybe even favorably, to students who are thinking of enlisting.
The Corps would also like help getting access to high school campuses for its recruiters, a touchy issue in some communities.
"Think of this as a college visit," said Capt. Jamie Nott, part of the Midwest recruiting effort. "It's just that our campus is different and our curriculum is quite interactive."
The program here and a similar one at the Marine Corps' other boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., have existed since the U.S. military became an all-volunteer force or, as the military prefers to call it, an all-recruited force.
But as the war in Iraq enters its fourth year and recruiting becomes even more difficult, visits like the one last week have taken on added importance.
For the year that ended Sept. 30, the Marine Corps reached its goal of 41,000 recruits, but the brass knows it needs all the recruiting help it can get as the Iraq war drags on and public support for the war drops.
The message to educators is direct: You've done a good job educating the youth of America; now let us give them the discipline and purposefulness that will last a lifetime.
"We're all in the same business," Brig. Gen. John Paxton Jr., commanding general of the recruit depot, told the group shortly after it arrived. "We're all trying to make the youth of America into productive citizens."
Paxton invited the educators to be skeptical and to ask questions. And he made no effort to sugarcoat a current fact of life in the Marine Corps: Most of the young men who graduate from boot camp will soon be in Iraq or Afghanistan, possibly for the first of several tours.
"They know that within eight months, they're going to be in harm's way," Paxton said. "The world is being made safe for democracy by a 19-year-old lance corporal."
For most of their stay, the educators were treated as VIPs. But when they first arrived, they got a brief taste of what awaits recruits.
When the buses arrived from the hotel, the educators were confronted by five hyperactive, physically fit, wild-eyed men wearing Smokey Bear hats.
"MOVE IT, MOVE IT. GO TO THE YELLOW FOOTPRINTS."
"DRUGS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"
When a woman gingerly put her purse on the concrete, the response was immediate: "GET YOUR TRASH OFF MY DECK!"
When a middle-aged man mumbled something, the retort was explosive: "THE ONLY THING I WANT TO HEAR OUT OF YOUR MOUTH IS AYE-AYE, SIR!"
After 10 long minutes, the drill instructors ceased their bellowing and welcomed their visitors as fellow adults. The point had been made.
"None of the DIs are really angry," Gunnery Sgt. Timothy Walker told the group. "We're acting all the time, but recruits will never know that."
In the beginning, the instructors are unrelenting, unreasonable authoritarians.
Slowly, over the 12 weeks, as the recruits gain confidence and discipline, the DIs become teachers and then mentors.
Finally, on the heavily ritualized graduation day, the recruits are called Marines for the first time and the instructors treat them as equals.
There is, Paxton said, "method to the madness."
The educators were briefed on the technical training and college-fund benefits open to recruits. But much of the discussion was about what the Marines call the "intangible qualities" that they believe lead to success in the military or in civilian life.
"It's not just a matter of being smart — I learned that a long time ago. It's a matter of having discipline," said Master Sgt. Edgar Carpenter IV. "This is us. We're not hiding anything."
The questions to Carpenter and Walker were sharp and doubting.
Can the DIs strike the recruits? Absolutely not.
What about foul language? It's discouraged but it pops out on occasion.
Can recruits phone home? Only one call is allowed, unless it's an emergency.
What about writing letters and attending church? Greatly encouraged.
Are there psychologists to watch if recruits are stressing out? Yes.
What's the washout rate? About 10%, mostly because of the physical requirements.
Can recruits just quit? Are you kidding?
For four days the visitors saw recruits being trained.
At Camp Pendleton, they used simulators to learn what it's like to fire an M-16 and witnessed recruits on the verge of graduation receiving the coveted Marine emblem. There was also free time to enjoy a trip to the beach, a world away from the frigid weather back home.
On the morning of the last day, much of their initial skepticism was gone.
"You hear horror stories of boot camp, but it's different than that. I think it's doable for most kids," said Paul Sulisz, a counselor at Calumet High School in Michigan. "The DIs really are here to help them. If they don't do things right, they make them do it again and again."
Donald Morgan, assistant principal at Manley Career Academy in Chicago, said he thought enlisting in the Marines might be good for students "who don't have a sense of direction, who are capable but for whatever reason aren't motivated."
At a farewell breakfast, the mood was buoyant. Group pictures were taken.
Paxton rejoined the group, complimented them "for who you are and what you do" and invited any last comments or questions.
"The drill instructors and recruiters who took care of us were absolutely awesome," said Simila, the principal who was first frightened by them.
The group applauded and broke into Marine Corps cheers.
Ellie
Educators spend four days at Marine facilities in Southern California, observing as recruits are transformed into members of the Corps.
By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO — To the educators visiting from the Midwest, the young men looked similar to their own students.
But they had shaved heads and were giving rapt attention to their teachers, who had voices that were loud and demanding, even threatening.
The teaching style was different too. Forget the Socratic method of open discourse.
Rhetorical questions and sharp commands were the instructional method in this open-air classroom.
"DID I TELL YOU TO SAY ANYTHING? DID I TELL YOU TO SAY ANYTHING?" an instructor yelled at a student, whose face was about 6 inches away. "SHUT YOUR FREAKING MOUTH!"
And with that, the student, a recruit in his first days of Marine Corps boot camp, sprinted into the pugil-stick arena and began battering another student who did his best to hit back.
"For a lot of these kids, we have to teach them aggression," explained Staff Sgt. John Johnson. "I don't know where they went to school, but many have never had a good fight before."
The visitors — 79 high school counselors, teachers and administrators from Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin — had accepted a free trip to San Diego to see how boot camp turns teenagers into Marines.
They were still in the first morning of their four-day "educator workshop" last week at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Camp Pendleton and Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.
But the educators had already learned one lesson: This is an educational environment unlike any they had known.
"This is really different," Kass Simila, a high school principal in Houghton, Mich., said above shouts of "kill, kill," from recruits learning martial-arts techniques. "Those drill instructors scare me."
A dozen such workshops are held each year for school employees from the depot's recruiting region, which includes 27 states and the Pacific territories. The cost to the Marine Corps is about $900,000 a year for about 900 attendees.
The Corps pays for airfare, hotel rooms and meals, all in hopes the educators will return home to speak knowledgeably, maybe even favorably, to students who are thinking of enlisting.
The Corps would also like help getting access to high school campuses for its recruiters, a touchy issue in some communities.
"Think of this as a college visit," said Capt. Jamie Nott, part of the Midwest recruiting effort. "It's just that our campus is different and our curriculum is quite interactive."
The program here and a similar one at the Marine Corps' other boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., have existed since the U.S. military became an all-volunteer force or, as the military prefers to call it, an all-recruited force.
But as the war in Iraq enters its fourth year and recruiting becomes even more difficult, visits like the one last week have taken on added importance.
For the year that ended Sept. 30, the Marine Corps reached its goal of 41,000 recruits, but the brass knows it needs all the recruiting help it can get as the Iraq war drags on and public support for the war drops.
The message to educators is direct: You've done a good job educating the youth of America; now let us give them the discipline and purposefulness that will last a lifetime.
"We're all in the same business," Brig. Gen. John Paxton Jr., commanding general of the recruit depot, told the group shortly after it arrived. "We're all trying to make the youth of America into productive citizens."
Paxton invited the educators to be skeptical and to ask questions. And he made no effort to sugarcoat a current fact of life in the Marine Corps: Most of the young men who graduate from boot camp will soon be in Iraq or Afghanistan, possibly for the first of several tours.
"They know that within eight months, they're going to be in harm's way," Paxton said. "The world is being made safe for democracy by a 19-year-old lance corporal."
For most of their stay, the educators were treated as VIPs. But when they first arrived, they got a brief taste of what awaits recruits.
When the buses arrived from the hotel, the educators were confronted by five hyperactive, physically fit, wild-eyed men wearing Smokey Bear hats.
"MOVE IT, MOVE IT. GO TO THE YELLOW FOOTPRINTS."
"DRUGS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"
When a woman gingerly put her purse on the concrete, the response was immediate: "GET YOUR TRASH OFF MY DECK!"
When a middle-aged man mumbled something, the retort was explosive: "THE ONLY THING I WANT TO HEAR OUT OF YOUR MOUTH IS AYE-AYE, SIR!"
After 10 long minutes, the drill instructors ceased their bellowing and welcomed their visitors as fellow adults. The point had been made.
"None of the DIs are really angry," Gunnery Sgt. Timothy Walker told the group. "We're acting all the time, but recruits will never know that."
In the beginning, the instructors are unrelenting, unreasonable authoritarians.
Slowly, over the 12 weeks, as the recruits gain confidence and discipline, the DIs become teachers and then mentors.
Finally, on the heavily ritualized graduation day, the recruits are called Marines for the first time and the instructors treat them as equals.
There is, Paxton said, "method to the madness."
The educators were briefed on the technical training and college-fund benefits open to recruits. But much of the discussion was about what the Marines call the "intangible qualities" that they believe lead to success in the military or in civilian life.
"It's not just a matter of being smart — I learned that a long time ago. It's a matter of having discipline," said Master Sgt. Edgar Carpenter IV. "This is us. We're not hiding anything."
The questions to Carpenter and Walker were sharp and doubting.
Can the DIs strike the recruits? Absolutely not.
What about foul language? It's discouraged but it pops out on occasion.
Can recruits phone home? Only one call is allowed, unless it's an emergency.
What about writing letters and attending church? Greatly encouraged.
Are there psychologists to watch if recruits are stressing out? Yes.
What's the washout rate? About 10%, mostly because of the physical requirements.
Can recruits just quit? Are you kidding?
For four days the visitors saw recruits being trained.
At Camp Pendleton, they used simulators to learn what it's like to fire an M-16 and witnessed recruits on the verge of graduation receiving the coveted Marine emblem. There was also free time to enjoy a trip to the beach, a world away from the frigid weather back home.
On the morning of the last day, much of their initial skepticism was gone.
"You hear horror stories of boot camp, but it's different than that. I think it's doable for most kids," said Paul Sulisz, a counselor at Calumet High School in Michigan. "The DIs really are here to help them. If they don't do things right, they make them do it again and again."
Donald Morgan, assistant principal at Manley Career Academy in Chicago, said he thought enlisting in the Marines might be good for students "who don't have a sense of direction, who are capable but for whatever reason aren't motivated."
At a farewell breakfast, the mood was buoyant. Group pictures were taken.
Paxton rejoined the group, complimented them "for who you are and what you do" and invited any last comments or questions.
"The drill instructors and recruiters who took care of us were absolutely awesome," said Simila, the principal who was first frightened by them.
The group applauded and broke into Marine Corps cheers.
Ellie