How to survive bootcamp/ ask a Marine who just graduated what PI is like now

[JordanB]

Any questions you old Devil Dogs have about todays PI I just graduated with Platoon 2073 today, otherwise heres my top 6 ways to make it through bootcamp and become a U.S. Marine


1. Dont do drugs: What you do before you join the Marine Corps is your buisness, but once you are in you dont do that crap anymore. Go ahead and smoke up "one last time" before you ship out and get caught like a few from my platoon did, you will get drooped in your 3rd week of training, you wont be able to re-enlist for 1-4 years (depending on the drug might not be able to re-enlist period) and when you come back you are probably going to have to come in as an open contract, which basically means they give you which ever job nobody wants to sign up for (usually)

2. Dont sign up if you are out of shape: If you did sports in highschool then chances are you can hack it physically at PI, but if you cant do ATLEAST (I emphasize atleast because Marines never strive for the bare minimum) 5 pull ups and run 3 miles in atmost 28 minutes then your ass is getting drooped to pcp, and they wont let you back into training until you shape up dosent mater if it takes 2 weeks or 2 months, you tracking?

3. Dont come with an attitude: I aint gonna get too into this one but just think about it, your in a squad bay with like 70-95 other recruits and your only as strong as your weakest link. Dont **** off the team by acting stupid.
Your all gonna be liveing togeather in really small quarters (especially if your in 3rd BN) for what is gonna seem like a hell of a lot longer than 3 months.

4. Before you leave for bootcamp do your best to memorize the 11 general orders and the Marine Corps rank structure (yes, including Warrant Officers)

5. Before you sign ANYTHING, remember that whatever comes out of your recruiters mouth is worthless, you only get what is on paper and legally binding. Keep copys of any contracts you sign if possible, had a lot of people that I met up here that got screwed over somehow or another because they didnt pay attention to the exact contract they were signing and all the tiny stipulations (go over that thing with a fine toothed comb, fax a copy to your folks so they can look it over, and do not let a recruiter pressure you, if he trys the old "we dont have that mos right now but sign this and ill get you that mos while you are in bootcamp" hes full of **** go to another office.

6. Make sure this is what you really truely belive in. The worst day ever I would have at bootcamp Id still look in the mirror and be proud of what I was doing for myself and for my country. If you dont TRUELY belive in Honor, Courage, Commitment, if you cant accept becomeing apart of something that is larger and more important than yourself that you may not fully understand, then the Marine Corps is not for you.

[Danman]

How would one become the scribe?

[CBRN5711Tech]

How would one become the scribe?

Know Microsoft Word and Excell and have a good hand writing. They will most likely be looking for you. and have common sense. Trust me it is easy to lose when you first get there.

[GZA132]

the scribe is a random assaignment, and why would you want it anyway

[CBRN5711Tech]

If you are a good scribe you get a promotion. Scribes also have special power.

[SlingerDun]

Damn Jordan, S H I T howdy that is spot on advice!!! Over the years i never lost faith in the Corps ability to train recruits but where the hell do they find you kids at???

--->Dave

[Danman]

scribes dont pull fire watch. thats why

[Achped]

Hahahaha!!! I remember you! 2073, you guys were UGHHH!!!! You know you cheated on the range! You know you did!! And every time our platoon came on your deck to drill, when you did inspection arms half the platoon already had their bolts back!!!

Its all good though, your DI Sgt Johnson was a BEAST though, but I know you loved his cadence. "LEFT RIGHT. LEFT RIGHT" haha

[Marine Kane]

Our scribe accidentally put the same guy on firewatch three nights in a row, so for the next three nights our scribe had the first two hours of firewatch. I mean, no, scribes do not get firewatch ever.

[CBRN5711Tech]

Scribes get firewatch all the time. We always had a scribe on first firewatch until second phase. and everytime something wasn't done one of them got them. We had one scribe who stayed the whole time and two more who were changed out all the time.

[Alphaonethree]

Jordan still home on leave?

[hawks]

I'd become the scribe if I were you. Volunteer for it the first day.

[JordanB]

I dun know about the rifle range but we definately took the PFT and you cant argue that one! Yeah Sgt. Johnson was pretty crazy but I talked to him after the Crucible last week and found out hes actually pretty cool, belives in what hes doing and the reason hes tough on us now is because hes seen what happens to weakly trained Marines in Iraq.

The way we assigned our scribe/scrible was our SDI asked who could write well/ who had been to college, so they made me the scrible (scrible= best job ever, same job but less work) I was the guid like forming day 1-3 because I could do more pull ups than anyone in my platoon by a long shot, but got fired because I cant march worth a damn (go figgure) All the other jobs are really o.k., just never volunteer to be maytag because you'll probably sleep like 4-5 hours a night and never volunteer to be big gear because you have twice as much gear to square away on free time.

[RuffNight2007]

A better job is to be the platoon crackhead. Your job is to pound on the SDI hatch and scream

"Good Afternoon Sir, Recruit [blank] request permission to speak to SDI [rank][name], sir!"
"The **** you want *****?"
"Sir, this recruit request permission to take his CRACK, sir!

Bachle knows what I'm talking about.

Bachle you dumb *****! I didn't know you were a member on this forum. This is Nadrowski AKA crackhead =D Bachle do you know if there are any others from plt 2073 on this site?

And Achped, we didn't cheat on the rifle range... ya'll just suck. About the inspection arms thing... I haven't heard anyone talking about it but I wouldn't be suprised...

[jahhead88]

That pretty much sums it up. Also remember, you may not understand what the DI's are doing at the time, but they are trying to help you and train you to be your best.