Parris Island, South Carolina is an 8,095 acre military installation located 5 miles south of Beaufort. Here, they transform civilians into marines. There are 4 phases in the Marine recruitment process: the Receiving Phase, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Altogether, recruit training lasts 13 weeks.
Luka Ivanov was fresh off the bus when he, and many others, were given their first warm welcome. Fat, skinny; fit, scrawny; short, tall; a wide assortment of characters found themselves standing before a short and stout man with the face of a bulldog.
It was the dead of night. The short and stout man introduced himself as Drill Sergeant Matthew Reyes. Short or not, his presence demanded respect. "Stand at attention!" the man bellowed in a gravelly voice.
There were yellow footprints engraved into the concrete. Recruits had to align their feet with them, standing tall. The drill instructor would then inform them of the Code of Military Justice. In basic terms, you had to abide to the rules of engagement and follow strict procedures else you'd be punished by dishonorable discharge or prison.
After that was said and done, the recruits were given an opportunity to message their families. Many took the chance to do just that. A young recruit was calling his mother when three DIs - including Reyes - surrounded him. "LOUDER! LOUDER!" they yelled. "MOM, I HAVE COME TO INFORM YOU THAT I HAVE ARRIVED SAFELY AT MY DESTINATION, AND AM BEING TREATED WITH THE UTMOST RESPECT AND DIGNITY; I LOVE YOU, GOODBYE!" Then the recruit hung up.
Harassment ran rampant: it served to simulate the stresses of combat and to instill submission. In short, a DI would do whatever he can to make your life a living hell. A former drill sergeant made this remark: "During your training, you'll come to find boot camp a shitty place, but when out on the field, you'll thank God almighty that you got it in the first place."
Physical fitness is obviously a requirement: almost daily, recruits are required to jog, climb, jump, crawl, and mantle in a specified amount of time, all the while barrated by screaming and hollering from their drill instructors. It might seem like a pointless thing to do, but the constant screaming could, and did, get to many of the men's heads. It made them nervous; they couldn't think or react properly. Fail these requirements, and you go home, but if you're able to persevere, then you'll be subjected to gratuitous amounts of exercise, with little - if any - breaks inbetween.
Not even during "break time" are you safe; studying is also a must: you learn marine terminology, weapon functionality, and other related topics. Luka found no reason to complain, up until the moment that Drill Sergeant Reyes burst into the learning room with a devilish grin on his face, "Well, ladies, schedule's changed!" Nobody dared to openly complain. They wordlessly went into the field and worked themselves to the bone.
A similar situation happened at the mess hall, but that time the recruits were slogged down by spaghetti. "Bastards," Luka cursed under his breath.
By the time Phase 2 rolled around the corner, they were already learning the ins and outs of the military. Slowly but surely, they were adjusting themselves to the warrior lifestyle - the backbone of the Corps. The recruits are in shape, able to follow orders, and can march.
They're no longer individuals; 3rd person pronouns are now the only way to address oneself.
Swim week had begun. Besides another obstacle course being added to the workload, water survival lessons were mandatory for the recruit to pass the next phase; fail twice and the recruit would be evaluated to see if they warrant another chance. The qualifications for water survival training are as follows:
·25-meter swim
·10-foot jump followed by 25-meter swim (recruits must abide by the proper swimming technique in order to pass this test)
·Tread water in 3 minutes or less
·Recruits must take off their helmet, rifle and vest in less than 10 seconds
·25-meter swim with gear
By the end of week 5, recruits are given fresh haircuts and uniform fittings. They'll also undergo the combat fitness test: an array of strenuous real-world task that will bring them to the absolute limit. A 5 kilometer run marks the climatic end to phase 2. Here, they transfer over to Camp Pendleton.
Edson Range at Camp Pendleton is where marksmen are born. Phase 3 is partly spent on the range where recruits learn how to operate a rifle and maintain proper stances. Sitting, kneeling, prone, standing - it's all learned. Shooting at ranges of 200 to 500 yards, shooting up to 50 rounds. Each shot is given a score of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 0, which is a miss. The rifle qualification levels:
·Marksman (250-279)
·Sharpshooter (280-302)
·Expert (305-350)
Luka achieved a score of 309.
At the end of the week, recruits will hike 8 kilometers.
With the final weeks of bootcamp drawing close, the conglomerate of skills learned over the coming months would then be put to the test. The crucible was their final trial.
Housed in an enclosed space filled to the brim with gas, everybody scrambled to achieve their given orders. Some ran out. "I was told to take off my gas mask," Private Jacob Hopkins later recalled, "and I did so. My eyes and nose stung to the point I openly cried - and I never cry!" When the exercise was over, everyone found themselves to be stocked high full of mucus and tears. "It was a disgusting mess."
The Crucible is the final test in recruit training, and represents the culmination of all of the skills and knowledge a Marine should possess.
For 56 hours, recruits must use teamwork and their indvidual skill sets to progress.
Some of the challenges encountered during the Crucible are team and individual obstacle courses, day and night assault courses, land navigation courses, individual rushes up steep hills, large-scale martial arts challenges and countless patrols to and from each of these.
These challenges are often made even more difficult by the additions of limitations or handicaps, such as the requirement to carry several ammo drums, not touching portions of an obstacle painted red to indicate simulated booby traps, and evacuating team members with simulated wounds.
On the final day of the Crucible, recruits are awoken and begin their final march (including "The Reaper" a forced march up a steeply inclined hill to the top of Edson's Ridge on the west coast) when they arrive the drill instructors will offer the recruits the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor (EGA) emblem which give them the title Marine.
Immediately after this, Marines hike back down The Reaper and are then offered the "Warrior's Breakfast", where they are permitted to eat as much as they like, even of previously forbidden foods, such as ice cream. During this meal, the new Marines have the opportunity to eat and talk with their Drill Instructors informally for the first time.
Matthew Reyes - the origin of many a recruits' torment - was seen as an actual person.
Contradictingly, he was a gentle and soft spoken man, with kids and a wife.
"Drill Instructors make the best actors," one Marine joked. _
The graduation cermony was a time of celebration. The now-Marines had seen a drastic transormation: they started out as fat/scrawny, acne-ridden teens and came out "as lean, mean, and hella keen," as Luka described it. With his cropped, blond hair, and his dress blues, he paraded along the streets in celebration, alongside his new brothers. The feeling of achievement reverberated throughout. Families sitting by the sidelines waved and cheered, exclaiming with pride, "that's my boy!" and all sorts of endearment.
After graduation, Marines are given a 10 day leave. The leave is a time to rest up and think over the things they've accomplished, as well as to incorporate their newfound discipline into civilian life.
Luka's mother had disproved of his going to the armed forces. She was the type to smother. But his devotion to his country far surpassed his need to please his mother.
When word came that they were shipping out to Okinawa, Japan, many of the boys bid their families farewell; it would be months before they return to the States.