Help - Son in Boot Camp - wants to quit

[BillyBobinKY]

Thank you for letting me on the site.

My Son has always wanted to be a Marine and started boot camp last July. The day of the Crucible, he somehow got hurt with a fractured hip and was put into STC/MRP.

So he is now still a recruit and on a holding pattern till he heals with nothing but time to think. He is writing us to help him get out, which we are encouraging him to stay and graduate as the only thing left for him to complete is the Crucible. Frankly when his plans don't go according to his schedule...let's just say his coping skills could be improved...but he is only 19. The Chaplin has told us this is very typical as they have been working toward graduation and now are parked with very little to do in MRP while they heal.

I was looking for posts on the net that I could use to lift his spirits and also show how others that may have quit.... now regret that.

Any thoughts and help would be helpful...I'm trying to get another letter out today to him.

Thank you

[thewookie]

Quiting is easy. No matter what the obstacle is; he should know this at this point in his journey. Being that close to the finish line and quiting would hang over him for the rest of his life.

Good luck.

[TunTvrnWarrior]

Let the young man know that you dont want him to shame you by quitting. Advise him that he will not have a place to stay if he quits. I know this sounds harsh, but if he quits now, if will become a cycle of quitting throughout his life. It would be different if the Corps found him Medically unfit for service, but he has a choice. Tell him to choose.

[micarr57]

you never quit if he is that close he'd be crazy after all he's been through allready
hang in there it's well worth it

[HOWARDROARK3043]

trick him000---tell him to quit...........broke his hip-----weak sauce....

[bootlace15]

Did anyone ask him why he wants to quit. He signed the papers to enlist into the Marine Corp,you did'nt. If he says he wants to quit,simply tell him thats his decision and not to complain to you any more. It seems to me he is old enough to know by now what he wants and what he dose'nt. In other words the pampering is over.

[MasterGunsmith]

I would like to tell him to hang in there. He broke his hip, this means he was putting out 110%. The Marine Corps needs these type of men. It doesn't matter down the road which class you graduate with but that you earned the EGA. You will never, ever belong to a lifelong brotherhood without graduating and being around some of the best group of men you will ever be around in your life. Guys you can trust. I would do it all over again if I could. You only have one chance to be a Marine, no one can take that away from you. You need to dig deep and be a man, don't look back. Quitting is not an option. Boot Camp is not easy.

[TazMatt]

Quiting isn't really an option.My son had a similar sort of situtation only it dealt with trying out for the fire dept. and I know before any one says anything it wasn't boot camp but similar in nature as far as quitting.He was doing the phyiscal part of the test and kept running into that invisiable wall we have all run into at one time or another when we were trying to do something we hadn't ever done before.He hit that wall two or three times and finally wanted to quit and that's when I told him when you hit that wall that is when you do everything in your power to push on through and you will accomplish your goal.Five years later he is still a fireman and enjoying every minute of it.All this to say don't give up.

[HOWARDROARK3043]

invisible wall?? why didnt he go around it===========o he couldnt see the wall,,, after the first time of hitting it he could of went around it......... wait what,,,,, was that on the test???

[MOUNTAINWILLIAM]

Dealing with adversity IS what Marines do. This is just a temporary setback in his, current, chosen field. There are any number of examples of seriously injured Marines (and other service members ) who, despite what some would consider disabling injurys, continue to serve (some may even go on to make a career of the Corps).

Remember the old saying; "Winners never quit and Quitters never win."

What one does in the formative years will "follow" them to the end.

Semper Fi

[Phantom Blooper]

Fear is temporary. Regret is forever.


Choose!

Heart will get you through more than just Boot Camp. A Marine is more than a title...it's a call to duty. One that sometimes, more often than not comes at a time when you are going to wish it didn't. Heart will relieve you from that thought and that struggle of making it through a PT session, a test, an azz chewing,a 15-25 mile hump or anything the Marine Corps or life can throw at you!

If he gets a heart mindset....for motivation....his brain and azz is sure to follow.....

The Marine Corps boot camp is like a fine wine.....the drill instructors will not let him graduate until he is reasonably physically fit and medically cleared....and ready!


Then his intestinal fortitude needs to kick in for the rest of the his stay and complete his mission.....unless he is deemed unfit by reason of not wanting to....

Twenty years from now.....impossible to do it....and still the mindset of a wannabee....

[michagnu]

My two cents for what its worth.
If he can't wait to be a Marine then he isn't qualified. Marines have to wait. They don't have the luxury of immediate gratification.
If boredom is too hard to deal with then he's not qualified. Aside from occasional moments of unadulterated overload every thing else is boring. There is nothing exciting about cleaning your weapon (unless its monsoon season that damned sear spring just sprung).
If failure is acceptable he's not qualified. I will not surrender while I have the means to resist.
If the Corps puts him out because he's damaged he'll never have to justify that to himself. If he quits because healing takes time the he'll always have to tell himself he could have made it ......IF

[mrcharlesb]

From someone with experience quitting boot camp I say do whatever you can to convince your son to stay. I joined the USN in 1975, was doing good except for the anxiety I was experiencing being away from home for the first time. 5 weeks into training one of the recruits told me I had been sleepwalking. I told my CO who sent me to medical, told medical I didn't want out, doctor starting yelling at me so I said yes I want out. I got an Honorable on my DD214 because I had put on my enlistment papers that I had a history of sleepwalking but it means nothing. Truth is I used sleep walking as an excuse to get out. I was very immature and thought as long as I get an Honorable I'm ok. Three years later at age 21 I tried to reenlist and found out I had been given an unsuitable enlistment code because I didn't stay. I went into a deep depression and it almost killed me, it's as if I woke up at 21 years old and realized what a fool I had been. I've done ok in life but always wonder what it would have been like to serve and how much better of a person I may have been if I had just made a better decision. Believe me quitting is not the right option in boot camp, no matter what happens death is better than dishonor. I'm trying to let go of the guilt but sometimes it's hard to forget. I currently volunteer with the Red Cross division of Service to the Armed Forces to do what I can for veterans and at least serve in some capacity. God only knows the regret and remorse I continue to experience even 37 years later. It's only be the grace of God I've done as well as I have in life, but I can only imagine how much better a man I may have been had I been more mature and completed my commitment to God and Country.
NEVER QUIT: Death before Dishonor