Canteens a Day?

[119Wrestler]

Around how many canteens a day do you drink to during boot camp over the summer? Because I plan to go about a week after I graduate.
I'm talking about MCRD SD by the way.

[Marine84]

As many as you need to drink and you better drink the hell out of it because you'll need it.

[Haffner]

As Marine84 said it'll be how many you need: and then some.

The odds are that it'll be more than you've ever drank, because no matter how active you have been in your life prior to bootcamp, you'll be up and burnin' more of that midnight oil than you could previously concieve.

Once a person becomes a heat casualty, ie having heat stroke or heat exhaustion, their body is actually more susceptable to heat stroke/exhaustion in the future. Amongst other reasons, that is a forerunner in the, "Hydration is essential," philosophy.

As with everything else in bootcamp, remember, there are reasosn for EVERYTHING that happens there, even if at the time you can't understand those reasons.

[yellowwing]

I really don't recall. I do remember they will tell you when to drink and when to pee. The overall idea is the strength of the Wolf is in the Pack. A dozen Marines can kick the crap out of a third world mob of 100.

[119Wrestler]

Oh ok, I thought they lined you up every certain amount of time, and made you chug a whole canteen, like before you hit the rack.

[1stRad2671]

Oh ok, I thought they lined you up every certain amount of time, and made you chug a whole canteen, like before you hit the rack.

They'll do that too.

[CplKJSpevak]

I was at PI in the Winter time and I remember drinking (on-line chugging) like 6 canteens a day!

[ianmusto]

You will be told to drink 8-12 canteens a day. atleast thats what I was told when I was on the depot.

[jackson07]

You will be told to drink 8-12 canteens a day. atleast thats what I was told when I was on the depot.

Word! I always told the Corpsman i drank 12. Even the time it was 10 AM. She got me on that one.

[darkgreen0311]

I agree with yellowwing you were told when to drink and when to make a head call. I don't recall drinking canteens after canteens of water.







:marine: :flag: Semper Fi 4 Life
Yours is not to question why but to do or die!!!

[CplKJSpevak]

Right! Told when to drink and ****.....but never denied more water or a head call!

[SlingerDun]

Once a person becomes a heat casualty, ie having heat stroke or heat exhaustion, their body is actually more susceptable to heat stroke/exhaustion in the futureActually, thats pretty damn accurate. The last bout of heat exhaustion i recognized the symptoms comin but it was to late, my inner canteens had not been topped off and its freakin misery for about 5 days. Different things can trigger heat exhaustion after you've been hit a couple times like working in the sun with a hangover, cold or flu, losing or donating blood. All weaken the immune system. Eating to much of the wrong thing on a hot day just before going back to work did it once but mostly comes down to low reservoirs and challenged immunity.

Best thing to do is stop all activity and commence hydration and cool down but you can't do that in boot camp. So from hands on experience it seems like the only defense when your forced to perform, is the strength of your immune system is and how much water your body is carrying. Toughness wont take you far once the symptoms draw a bead on your ass and i can damn near work as hard as i did before my first episode with a heat malady, like the other day with ambient temp of 121F but i must start fully hydrated and not run low to where no matter how much i drink, i feel hot and thirst is never quenched.

Water rights in boot camp used to be a privilege, a treat and i wonder if the DI's were ordered to let us water more freely but ignored it. Anyway, recruits lined up at free time to get a drink of cold water from the scuttlebutt which ran room temp after about 4 or 5 recruits loaded up but it still seemed better than drinking from the sink and so-cal tap water is foul but you get used to it. The military doctors must have known the importance of staying hydrated and not waiting until your overheated to drink but it took awhile to make it on the boot camp itinerary.

I don't know much about heat stroke except the symptoms and my pops got it once in Tombstone AZ. He broke the record a that county hospital in 95' for having the highest temp and surviving. I was sure it was gonna cook his brain but it didn't, he has a very large head and it must have dispersed the heat.

I could go on and on about slaving in the heat.....but i wont http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif

--->Dave

[DanCross]

In recruit training, you should expect to drink between 8 and 12 canteens per day, but that's only part of the equation. You also need to make sure you eat properly and are getting electrolytes into your system: you will sweat them out, and with the amount of water you will drink, you run the danger of washing them out of your system, so it's imperative that you replace them with a balanced diet. This means, eat what they put in front of you, and don't skimp because you think it's moto to go low on food. It's not, it's stupid, and it makes you a liability.

If you aren't used to consuming that amount of water, I'd start drinking it NOW. It's a bit of a shock at first, so utilize your time to prepare your body not just through exercise, but also through diet and hydration.

An anecdote: in a company 12 mile hump in PPE with weapon and about 50 pounds of gear, a Marine fell out. He got to the 12 mile mark, said "uh oh" and collapsed. By the time the Corpsman got to him, his core body temperature was 109 (your brain starts cooking around 106-107). It turns out that failed to hydrate properly beforehand, that he took no water with him (he only had one canteen and was dismayed to discover, on the first leg, that it was empty), that he had PTed strenuously the day before, and that he only ate a light dinner the night before and had eaten nothing the morning of. Oh, and he was an officer and should have known better. The point? Don't be the one. Make sure you hydrate and get electrolytes into your system. If you need water, ask for it: the DIs won't kill you.

[Wyoming]

Heat stroke is bad ****.

We were working cattle a few years back, in South Texas, helping out our Dad.

It was a hot ****ing day, and Dad got overheated. Big time! Three brothers together saw him sitting by the water trough, and NOT sweating. He looked ****ing bad.

We picked him up and put him in the water trough, one of those 8' wide by 2-3' deep. Submerged him. Jeez, he squalled and raised hell. he cussed us to know end.

BUT, he survived. We were all wetter than hell, but all turned out well.

[119Wrestler]

Yeah, I've been drinking about a gallon of water a day
But 8 canteens is 2 gallons. So ill drink more
Thanks to everyone.

[DEVILDOG2008]

About 12 To 14

[Mindgame]

They stress 12-14 canteens a day.