Want to become a Marine, scared of going to recruit training.
Create Post
Results 1 to 5 of 5
  1. #1

    Want to become a Marine, scared of going to recruit training.

    I first talked to a Marine recruiter when he came to my high school in my senior year, later that month I was at his office talking about enlisting, after i graduated I signed the contract and went through MEPS and was put into the DEP, I originally got a ship date of January 22, 2018, however multiple times I was called and told that my ship date had been moved forward, one of these times I even went to MEPS again but told the Liaison that I was not ready to ship, I'm thinking about leaving the DEP because honestly I don't feel like i'm capable of being a Marine, My IST is 12 pullups, 65 Crunches and the 1.5 mile run is where I need to improve at, I can complete it in about 11:30, however I can't do the entire run with stopping to catch my breath. My recruiter assures me that I'm ready to go, but I feel like he just wants to ship me right now to meet his quota even if i'm not physically fit enough. At recruit training I feel like i'd fall out of the runs and be punished for it, is recruit training as hard as Marines make it seem, or are they exaggerating parts of it? I've heard many different things about the amount of running in recruit training, some Marines say all you do is run, other Marines say they rarely ran and even lost running endurance during Bootcamp, I can't afford to lose running endurance especially when i'm already struggling to not stop during the 1.5 mile run, so my question is; Is it normal to be this nervous about going to recruit training? Should I prepare more before I go? Am I simply just not cut out for the Marine Corps? Thank you for your time.

    Similar Threads:

  2. #2
    If you can run an IST in 11:30 you're fast enough and you'll be fine. Many people go much less prepared for you. The PT at Parris Island isn't that hard. It's at the pace of the weakest recruiters. I got in worse shape there.

    Being nervous is normal. Nobody isn't/wasn't nervous.

    Mike


  3. #3
    The technical requirement for being fit enough to ship is passing the IST. I can't tell from your scores if you're passing the IST or not (don't know the minimum requirements). If you're failing the IST then no, your recruiter should not be pushing you to ship cause you're not ready; and you'll just fail the IST at bootcamp too.

    You'll have to take the IST again the Friday of the week you arrive at bootcamp. Some recruits do fail their IST but that's usually a result of sleep deprivation/being tired. Those who fail are dropped to the Physical Conditioning Platoon (PCP) for at least two weeks where they do nothing but PT and work on the area of the IST they failed (run portion in your case).

    What you've been hearing from Marines about PT in bootcamp is true - it all boils down to one's individual perspective/experience. For anyone who has no issues with running, they hardly ran at all in bootcamp. Someone who struggles with running (like you) will feel like that's all they did. There are those recruits who excel at PT and want even more than what is mandated by the training schedule.

    Being nervous is normal like Mike said. But, not being ready is another matter. I can't tell exactly how long you've been in your DEP but I get the impression it's been some time. My question is, why aren't you ready by now? And, when, if ever, will you be ready? If the answer is never, then obviously you need to drop out of the DEP and seek a different career path/vocation.

    Good luck.


  4. #4
    when I was in Recruit training, (back when we were called privates, not recruits) but anyway, we ran every morning as a platoon, in the early days of Bootcamp we would run then circle around to pick up the stragglers but by the time we got into week 3 or 4 we had no more stragglers, at the end of each run we ran as fast as we could to increase our lung capacity.


  5. #5
    Marine Free Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Colorado Springs
    Posts
    6
    Credits
    858
    Savings
    0
    I learned to use my nervousness to out-perform others. It has served me well in civilian life too. Recruit Training is actually not quite as tough as you're making it out to be. Learn to detach yourself mentally (it takes practice) and make the decision that you're going to finish and move on to the next mission. Physical part of recruit training is not difficult if you've gotten yourself in half-decent shape. Best of luck!


Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not Create Posts
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts