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View Full Version : Feet Care...Swim qual...Rifle Range



devantelj
04-17-10, 02:28 PM
I was wondering about feet care @ boot. I have begun training and developed some callous areas on my feet. I know that with a razor you can shave them down or with something else you may be able to file them down but i wanted to know if there was a foot care kit given when you recieve your initial gear at boot.

Also I wanted to know about shooting your rifle, I have never shot before and wanted to know if it was reasonable to have hopes of shooting expert on qual. day.

Lastly I joined the YMCA to learn how to swim better and I searched the site for the minimun swim qual. I understand the swimming 25 meters and such i just wanted to know about the length of time i will have to tread water.

Thank you in advance and I hope I can one day become a Marine....ship date 20100524

Potato Salad
04-17-10, 03:27 PM
As far as I know, they only initial issue is Dr. Scholl's foot powder. Before your first hike, you'll get a class on foot care and how to prevent/take care of blisters on your feet. I've never had problems with my feet in training. It may have just been my boots.

Since you don't have any experience with firing weapons, you have the best chance of getting expert. Anyone with rifle experience tend to have bad habits that they use to shoot. You are taught how to shoot an M16 the Marine Corps way, not the civilian way.

It all depends on how you swim. There are different methods that you are taught and different scenarios. Research the ways you'll be swimming in boot camp and practice them. It's more than just swimming a certain distance in a set time.


P.S. It's not boot. It's boot camp or recruit training.

TinDragon
04-18-10, 07:29 AM
5 minutes of treading water for Swim Qual 4, which is the minimum. Pretty sure you have to tread water for each level and it gets longer each time, but I know for sure 5 minutes for the first level.

Moderboater
04-18-10, 09:39 AM
Devan,

I would NOT recommend you touch your calliouses with a razor blade, if they get really bad have them drained by a Corpsman (blisters not callouses). Your going to be in pain in boot, thats a fact and you might as well grow very familar with it before you leave. The best advice I can give you is when you go to the PX to get your stuff for the crucible be sure to grab your self a pair of insoles and put those puppies in your boots..they make a hell of a difference. Swim Qual..well i'd recommend you practice swimming with your clothes on because when I went through 3 years ago we did everything in our cammies with boots on.

Hope some of my ranting helped

Moder

dizark
04-18-10, 03:58 PM
Rifle range is easy for the non-shooter. I'm right handed but am forced to shoot left handed due to vision restraints. I thought I was going to have a problem with it, but was able to shoot a 225 on pre-qual and a 218 on qual for table 1.

Best of luck to you and remember... speed, volume, intensity.

Old Marine
04-18-10, 10:00 PM
Do not worry about your feet.

Your Drill Instructor holds a Hygiene Inspection every night before you hit the rack.

Sgt Leprechaun
04-18-10, 11:23 PM
Do NOT attempt to 'work on' your own feet. Unless you are an expert podiatrist, leave 'em alone. Calluses happen for a reason, and unless they are painful or prevent you from doing something or wearing combat boots, leave em alone.

devantelj
04-18-10, 11:42 PM
Well they do get painful, what would you suggest. The only thing that works is wearing comfort insoles and occasionally shaving the callous. I wonder if the Navy Dr. would shave it down for me if i went to the med. area. I know i may be able to buy the insoles at the px.

Sgt Leprechaun
04-18-10, 11:55 PM
See a doc. Oh, and don't go trying to learn how to shoot. You are better off knowing nothing and being trained 'fresh'. It'll make things easier.

devantelj
04-19-10, 12:12 AM
Thanks alot, I tihnk i have the idea of "working " on my feet from my grandpa, an army vet. He taught me these little tricks but hey im not trying to be in the army so ill scratch those. Thanks again for the help I know that all the Marines on this site are doing this out of kindness. Ill continue swimming and wont touch a weapon until it is issued to me at Bootcamp. Less than a month now until MCRDPI...thanks again.

Phantom Blooper
04-19-10, 08:22 AM
If your toes are webbed you shouldn't have any trouble with the swimming.

Taking a razor to your feet is not a good idea...if your grandfather done it and had no repercussions he was one of the lucky few.

Using a razor to scrape calluses and if you go to deep can cause allot of infections and complications that you don't need.

Some calluses on your feet are good in spots where a blister normally forms.

Don't take care of your feet until after boot camp and the only use the proper tools and don't use things that can get you in sickbay with blood poisoning and gangrene.:evilgrin:

devantelj
04-19-10, 09:21 AM
I never considered a callous being a good thing, but i'd rather that feeling than the feeling of a blister. Also what is this moleskin I hear about?

Hanzo
04-19-10, 10:53 AM
Moleskin is kinda of like a squishy sticker. You cut it to go around the problem area (usually a blister). The idea is to raise the area around the problem so that your shoe or whatever rubs the moleskin rather than the blister. How long do you have before you ship? If its a good amount of time, you might consider seeing a civilian podiatrist to get their thoughts.

To echo what others have said, don't try to learn to shoot. I was a shooting instructor in the civilian world for a number of years, before and after the Corps. It was always the timid 20 year old girls who shot the best because they had no bad habits. Oh, and even being a shooting instructor, we had two guys in the platoon who beat me on the range, neither of them had ever shot before.

As for swimming, like ModerBoater said, swim with clothes on, long sleeve, long pants, loose fitting and with some kind of loose footwear if you can. You don't wear YOUR cammies or YOUR boots in the pool, so they are always 6 sizes too big and flop around and make it difficult to swim. Learn various strokes (I didn't make it very far because even though I'm a fairly strong swimmer, I had never learned the elementary backstroke).