They'll Always Have Parris

[thedrifter]

They'll Always Have Parris


By Rebecca Deusser
sentinelandenterprise.com

PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- Marine Corps drill instructor Staff Sgt. Daniel Arcentales herded 50 wide-eyed recruits into a small barbershop to shave their heads. The room, pungent with chemicals, was silent other than the buzz of the electric razor and the drip of a lone water faucet. Just after 1 a.m., the southern heat had faded into a cool evening as recruits stood heel-to-toe, lining the perimeter of the barbershop.

A barber quickly and deliberately sheared off hair with long strokes, down to the scalp. "It's really overwhelming," new recruit Lucis Hamilton, of Stratford, Conn., said minutes before losing his hair. "There's a lot to take in, a lot to learn."

Anyone from North Central Massachusetts who signs up for the Marine Corps will travel to Parris Island, S.C., for basic training. During those 12 weeks the soldiers will be taught to fire an M16 rifle, to survive in the woods and learn to cope with chaos, before potentially heading overseas to fight the war in Iraq.

The Sentinel & Enterprise recently visited Parris Island to watch how the Marines train soldiers after they arrive on the island by bus in the middle of the night. "The bus was very silent, and I had butterflies in my stomach once the drill instructor got on the bus," said Shaun-Paul Sicard, a recruit from West Fitchburg, recalling his first night on the island. "I was nervous -- I didn't know what to do."

Drill instructors greet recruits with intense yelling, barking commands to move them off the bus while often standing only inches from a trainee's face. "A lot of people don't understand why drill instructors are yelling," said Major Ken White, director of public affairs for Parris Island. "But there's a method to our madness."

Drill instructors are constantly on recruits, White said, to get them to assimilate to Marine standards. New recruits must stand on yellow footprints painted on the road in front of the depot's receiving building, where they are told the rules and regulations of the Marine Corps. Recruits are allowed to make one phone call home to tell a loved one they arrived to Parris Island safely.

"They will say the following words: They'll say 'this is recruit whatever-their-last-name-is. I have arrived safely to Parris Island. Don't send me any items, I will contact you in three to five days by postcard with my address,'" Arcentales said. "That's all they say."

Arcentales shuffled trainees into a dreary classroom where they filled out paperwork and instructors confiscated any contraband, from cell phones to toothpaste. In between steps, recruits put their heads down on desktops and waited for further instructions.

Recruits must respond to every statement made by a drill instructor with either "Yes, sir" or "Aye, sir."

The classroom vibrated with 50 voices yelling "Aye, sir," as Arcentales stripped recruits of any "illegal" personal belongings and threw them into two brown paper bags. Recruits stumbled over themselves to toss anything questionable: postcards, notebooks, soap. Marine recruits receive clothing and hygiene products for their stay on Parris Island. These trainees started their day at 5 a.m.; recruits typically stay awake for more than 24 hours before they can sleep.

When the physical training at Parris Island does begin, the cadence of hundreds of young men and women echoes over the damp athletic fields, just before sunrise. Recruits push through painful repetitions of exercise: crunches, push-ups and running, counting all the way.

"One, two, three -- one."

"One, two, three -- two."

Amid biting sand fleas, gnats and mosquitoes the recruits work through an hour of physical training -- a key aspect of basic training. Recruits go through an initial strength test when they first arrive to Parris Island, and those who don't make the cut are put into a remedial training platoon. Trainees must pass a physical fitness test before they can graduate. Men must complete a minimum of three pull-ups, 50 crunches and complete a three-mile run in 28 minutes. Women must maintain a flexed-arm hang for a minimum of 23 seconds, do 50 crunches and finish a three-mile run in 31 minutes.

But the physical challenges are small when compared to mustering the will to overcome pain and exhaustion to complete their goals.

Recruit Shaun-Paul Sicard of West Fitchburg said he struggled to meet daily physical demands during his first month of training, although he was a varsity athlete at Fitchburg High School. "My crunches were not as high, but we'd work on it at night in the rack (bed) to better ourselves," said Sicard, 19." My running has improved greatly."

After four weeks of doing nearly everything as a group, recruits start to focus on individual skills, said Capt. James Nott, deputy public affairs officer on Parris Island. Marine recruits must also become qualified swimmers and marksmen -- skills not necessarily required during boot camp in other branches of the military, Nott said. Each week the indoor pool facility at Parris Island is lined with young recruits standing at attention in sopping wet uniforms.

"Once a Marine fell off a ship and he floated for 48 hours," said Sgt. Gene Kardos, the head swim instructor at Parris Island.

Kardos said 25 percent of recruits have never swum before, but everyone leaves knowing how to survive in the water. "Some kids (are from) the inner city, others have a fear of heights or a fear of water," Kardos said.

In one section of the pool beginners learn how to float, while more advanced swimmers practice 10-foot jumps in full uniform at the other end of the pool. Trainees learn to fill their jackets up with air, while in the water, to create a flotation device.

Marine recruits spend two full weeks learning to master the M16 A2 service rifle and hit targets from 200, 300 and 500 yards. "There's a heavy emphasis, -- every Marine is a rifleman and every Marine is an infantryman first," Nott said. "We know no matter what we're doing, whether we're in the front ... leading the charge or in the rear ... we're all in harm's way."

Nott said the U.S. Army is trying to adopt a similar philosophy in light of the kidnapping of Jessica Lynch in Iraq last year. "They were a maintenance company. They were one of the frail elements," Nott said. "Marines -- we're prepared for that kind of stuff."

Trainees must face the Crucible -- a 54-hour skill and survival test -- to put all their new lessons to use after nine weeks of training. The test begins at 2 a.m., when recruits hike six miles in full gear with only three ready-to-eat meals, known as MREs, to last them for the next two days. "It's their introduction to some combat (situations), such as hunger and fatigue," Nott said. "It's the defining event in recruit training."

Trainees go through six major events during the Crucible, including crossing cables and carrying heavy objects through an obstacle course as a team. With painted faces and wearing full gear, recruits crawl along their stomachs in the dirt almost silently. Using only hand signals, a few leaders move their group to the next location. Parts of the Crucible simulate an explosion with casualties, where recruits react and practice bringing a wounded soldier back to safety.

At the end of the two-day test, recruits hike back nine miles, where they are treated with a Warrior's Breakfast.


Ellie

[CPLRapoza]

I hate that she refers to them as soldiers. They are recruits, who will become Marines, not soldiers.