Andrew09
10-07-10, 06:00 PM
Recently RSS Canton, GA was given the opportunity to take a trip to MCRDPI for a "day in the life of bootcamp" sort of deal where 2 Drill Instructors were assigned to our group of what I remember to be about 100 poolees. We left RSS Canton at midnight and arrived on the island in the early hours of the morning. We were given MRE's for breakfast, formed up, and headed off to watch the graduation ceremony that was going on that morning. After that, our recruiters and turned us over to two drill instructors. From that point on not a word we said was not at max volume -- and trust me, when you think your yelling as loud as you can, but the DI doesn't seem to agree, you will ****ing scream louder and harder until you feel like a pinecone is in your throat and until the DI gets sick of dealing with how pathetic you (and we) are as poolees. On a more progressive note, we walked in formation on a tour of the whole island. Including going inside the buildings (barracks, processing, hygiene, museum, the place where you take all your classes [can't remember the name of it at the moment], the pool where you do swim qualification, etc). It was an incredible opportunity to be able to visualize where we'll be spending 3 months. We also ate in the chow hall as if we were recruits. Eating with one hand, look straight ahead, legs 90 degrees, hand over cup when walking, squared your corners, etc. Except everything we did, including making head calls, took about 6 times as long as you would think it would because somebody would miss something like the greeting of the day when passing a Marine, getting out of step, not yelling loud enough, or not shouting the commands correctly -- just go ahead and get used to being more patient than you've ever been or could ever imagine being.
Another point I'd like to bring to attention is that it wasn't even half way through the day before everything started becoming automatic. STEP IT OUT - step it out aye sir, STOP - stop aye sir good afternoon gentlemen, FORM IT UP - aye sir form it up, 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 - done sir, E-5 in the Marine Corps - sir, E-5 in the Marine Corps is, Sergeant, he wears 3 stripes up crossed rifles in the center SIR, he is the backbone of the Marine Corps! Alright anyway.. even if you didn't follow that, don't sorry about it. It all starts to become natural quicker than you ever thought. THAT SAID, DO NOT ZONE OUT WHEN YOU THINK YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING. I can't tell you how many times we either went to the pit, got IT'd, got yelled at, etc because some guy zoned out and responded automatically, but wrongly. The DI's are smart, they know what the deal is, they will intentionally mix things up to keep you on your feet.
All in all it was an incredible experience that I'm glad I was able to be apart of. It wasn't easy and we were only there for one day. It was a gut check, but a motivating one. Just wanted to share that with everyone and possibly get some of you other poolees to share some of your own opportunities and learning experiences.
Another point I'd like to bring to attention is that it wasn't even half way through the day before everything started becoming automatic. STEP IT OUT - step it out aye sir, STOP - stop aye sir good afternoon gentlemen, FORM IT UP - aye sir form it up, 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 - done sir, E-5 in the Marine Corps - sir, E-5 in the Marine Corps is, Sergeant, he wears 3 stripes up crossed rifles in the center SIR, he is the backbone of the Marine Corps! Alright anyway.. even if you didn't follow that, don't sorry about it. It all starts to become natural quicker than you ever thought. THAT SAID, DO NOT ZONE OUT WHEN YOU THINK YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING. I can't tell you how many times we either went to the pit, got IT'd, got yelled at, etc because some guy zoned out and responded automatically, but wrongly. The DI's are smart, they know what the deal is, they will intentionally mix things up to keep you on your feet.
All in all it was an incredible experience that I'm glad I was able to be apart of. It wasn't easy and we were only there for one day. It was a gut check, but a motivating one. Just wanted to share that with everyone and possibly get some of you other poolees to share some of your own opportunities and learning experiences.