thedrifter
11-22-08, 07:18 AM
Overcoming every obstacle
2 Parris Island Marines drop massive weight to join Corps
Published Sat, Nov 22, 2008 12:35 AM
By PATRICK DONAHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Overweight his entire life, Pfc. Cory Haynes was ready for a change.
An October graduate of Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island’s 3rd Recruit Batallion, Haynes’ journey to becoming a Marine started well before passing through the sentry gate of the storied depot.
“I’m about 5-foot-6, and I weighed about 200 pounds. I mean, I was pretty overweight,” said Haynes, a 19-year-old native of Easley. “I just decided I was going to start losing weight. I started walking, then jogging, and drank a lot of water.
“And by the time I enlisted, I had lost 62 pounds. I was down to about 138 pounds.”
The work he’d done to get in shape prepared him for what lies ahead for every recruit at Parris Island.
“The physical training program that I had been in with the Corps really helped me in boot camp,” he said. “It was still really bad and really hard, but that PT made it a little easier.”
Now serving his first duty station at Marine Corps Detachment Fort Lee, Va., as a food service specialist, Haynes said he can understand why overweight young people might gravitate towards the Corps, which seems more willing to work with them than other military branches.
Another with a similar story is Ulysses Milana of Lewiston, Maine, who arrived at Parris Island on Nov. 10 after the 23-year-old man lost 140 pounds in 11 months just to become eligible for basic training.
Once tipping the scales at 330 pounds, Milana was turned away by Army and Navy recruiters in December 2007, before Marine Staff Sgt. George Montieth came on board.
“When I initially talked to him, I could tell that this was a person who didn’t just have goals but was going to follow through. This wasn’t a New Year’s Resolution,” Montieth said. “I didn’t know how long it would take. I mean that’s a lot of weight, but I told him that we had to do some weight training and improve his nutrition because drinking beer and eating pizza won’t get you to where you want to be.
“I just gave him the tools; Ulysses did all the work.”
What followed was a remarkable body transformation, in which Milana shed nearly 20 pounds a month before meeting the Corps’ weight requirement for recruits.
Montieth said Parris Island’s infamously rigorous boot camp likely won’t derail Ulysses’ odyssey of becoming a Marine.
“After seeing his drive and knowing the caliber of person he is, I don’t think there’s anything that boy can’t do,” he said.
Attached to the depot’s 3rd Recruit Battalion, Milana was unavailable for interview for this story. While most recruits see their bodies transform during basic training, recruiters nationwide work with would-be Marines to help them get into shape before ever arriving at Parris Island, said Staff Sgt. Alex Diaczenko, the noncommissioned officer at Marine Corps Recruiting Substation Savannah.
The substation oversees Marine Corps Recruiting in Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties, as well as in the Savannah area.
Diaczenko said he wasn’t surprised to hear a Corps recruiter took a chance on a then-overweight Milana.
“It takes a different kind of person to walk into a Marine Corps recruiting office,” Diaczenko said. “If someone is willing to come in here and step up to the plate, we’re willing to do what we can to help them achieve their goals.” One of the Savannah substation’s recruits graduated Friday from Parris Island after dropping more than 60 pounds. “When he came to us, he weighed more than 250 pounds; he’s graduating at 184,” Diaczenko said.
The Marine Corps Body Composition Program dictates how much a Marine should weigh in accordance with his height. Career Marines also must meet body fat standards, but new recruits are not required to do so upon enlisting.
Recruits fighting the battle of the bulge often enroll in the Corps’ Delayed Entry Program, which allows young men and women to commit to the Corps as much as a year in advance, even though they might not be ready to begin basic training.
“When we send recruits to Parris Island, they still might be a little fluffy, but a lot of the most radical body transformations we’ve seen actually happen at the depot,” Diaczenko said.
Ellie
2 Parris Island Marines drop massive weight to join Corps
Published Sat, Nov 22, 2008 12:35 AM
By PATRICK DONAHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Overweight his entire life, Pfc. Cory Haynes was ready for a change.
An October graduate of Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island’s 3rd Recruit Batallion, Haynes’ journey to becoming a Marine started well before passing through the sentry gate of the storied depot.
“I’m about 5-foot-6, and I weighed about 200 pounds. I mean, I was pretty overweight,” said Haynes, a 19-year-old native of Easley. “I just decided I was going to start losing weight. I started walking, then jogging, and drank a lot of water.
“And by the time I enlisted, I had lost 62 pounds. I was down to about 138 pounds.”
The work he’d done to get in shape prepared him for what lies ahead for every recruit at Parris Island.
“The physical training program that I had been in with the Corps really helped me in boot camp,” he said. “It was still really bad and really hard, but that PT made it a little easier.”
Now serving his first duty station at Marine Corps Detachment Fort Lee, Va., as a food service specialist, Haynes said he can understand why overweight young people might gravitate towards the Corps, which seems more willing to work with them than other military branches.
Another with a similar story is Ulysses Milana of Lewiston, Maine, who arrived at Parris Island on Nov. 10 after the 23-year-old man lost 140 pounds in 11 months just to become eligible for basic training.
Once tipping the scales at 330 pounds, Milana was turned away by Army and Navy recruiters in December 2007, before Marine Staff Sgt. George Montieth came on board.
“When I initially talked to him, I could tell that this was a person who didn’t just have goals but was going to follow through. This wasn’t a New Year’s Resolution,” Montieth said. “I didn’t know how long it would take. I mean that’s a lot of weight, but I told him that we had to do some weight training and improve his nutrition because drinking beer and eating pizza won’t get you to where you want to be.
“I just gave him the tools; Ulysses did all the work.”
What followed was a remarkable body transformation, in which Milana shed nearly 20 pounds a month before meeting the Corps’ weight requirement for recruits.
Montieth said Parris Island’s infamously rigorous boot camp likely won’t derail Ulysses’ odyssey of becoming a Marine.
“After seeing his drive and knowing the caliber of person he is, I don’t think there’s anything that boy can’t do,” he said.
Attached to the depot’s 3rd Recruit Battalion, Milana was unavailable for interview for this story. While most recruits see their bodies transform during basic training, recruiters nationwide work with would-be Marines to help them get into shape before ever arriving at Parris Island, said Staff Sgt. Alex Diaczenko, the noncommissioned officer at Marine Corps Recruiting Substation Savannah.
The substation oversees Marine Corps Recruiting in Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties, as well as in the Savannah area.
Diaczenko said he wasn’t surprised to hear a Corps recruiter took a chance on a then-overweight Milana.
“It takes a different kind of person to walk into a Marine Corps recruiting office,” Diaczenko said. “If someone is willing to come in here and step up to the plate, we’re willing to do what we can to help them achieve their goals.” One of the Savannah substation’s recruits graduated Friday from Parris Island after dropping more than 60 pounds. “When he came to us, he weighed more than 250 pounds; he’s graduating at 184,” Diaczenko said.
The Marine Corps Body Composition Program dictates how much a Marine should weigh in accordance with his height. Career Marines also must meet body fat standards, but new recruits are not required to do so upon enlisting.
Recruits fighting the battle of the bulge often enroll in the Corps’ Delayed Entry Program, which allows young men and women to commit to the Corps as much as a year in advance, even though they might not be ready to begin basic training.
“When we send recruits to Parris Island, they still might be a little fluffy, but a lot of the most radical body transformations we’ve seen actually happen at the depot,” Diaczenko said.
Ellie