“Get off my bus NOW! Move, move, move,” shrieked Drill Sgt. Garcia from the gallows of his lungs to our unsuspecting group of civilians who were left (intentionally) unattended on a bus at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) awaiting our next briefing. As the sergeant violently and loudly entered, chatter and laughter came to an abrupt halt and our group of successful civilians participating in the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference (JCOC) class 77 snapped to attention. The air of authority a United State Marine Corp drill sergeant commands is unmistakable.
Within seconds, I found myself in the peculiar spot of experiencing the first two minutes of basic training boot camp as an enlisted man, one of 21,000 just this year, in the United States Marine Corp.
“You will not look at me. You will look straight ahead. Click your heels together. SIR, YES, SIR. Say it soldier! LOUDER!”
Sir, YES, sir, I replied in my best Forrest Gump voice.
Sgt. Garcia is about 6’7, but cannot weigh more than 210 pounds. However, the sharp dress of a marine drill sergeant combined with that famous hat made Sgt. Garcia very intimidating. A couple minutes later I found myself marching in perfect formation with my classmates (okay, our formation was not perfect – a fact we were told about numerous times in the next hour).
A march around the base took us to an Olympic swimming pool where we witnessed full dress survival exercises in water followed by a trek across base to a giant sandbox where 400 recruits were punching, crawling, yelling, swearing, climbing, sweating and carrying each other in the hot sun. All the time, with drill sergeants reminding them to try harder at the top of their lungs. It was hell and made me proud to witness such discipline and commitment. The faces of the soldiers told the story of their inner struggles to complete the rigorous 12 week training that gives recruits “basic” skills which would serve them well to pass the famous 54 hour Marine Crucible.
The above account is just one of many experiences realized over the course of my four days as a guest of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and the Pentagon Public Affairs office. For a day-by-day accounting of our overall experience, check out the following Twitter feeds from Jason Liebman, Dave Evans (JCOC staff) and myself.
The United States military is the most intimidating, disciplined, powerful, flexible, caring, trained killing force in the world. I am a proud of our men and women who serve and I go to sleep each night confident in their ability to protect our homeland as well as help in times of civil distress.
In the coming weeks, I will explore each of the five branches – Marines, Navy, Army, Coast Guard and Air Force.
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Tags: Army, Coast Guard, JCOC, Marines, military, Navy, Tinker Air Force Base, USA Today