In early 1996 the United States Marines were a small, elite corps of only 195,000 men and women. Every one of these, whether officer or enlisted, shares a common experience as a Marine. They face similar physical and mental challenges, and they must pa.s.s the same tests of skill and endurance. Becoming a Marine is an achievement like winning an Olympic medal. No matter what else you may do in life, once you pin on the emblem at the end of Boot Camp, you are a Marine for life. Over the years, the Corps has had its share of members it would like to forget; Lee Harvey Oswald and the idiots who raped a young girl in Okinawa in 1995 come to mind. On the other hand, former Marines such as Art Buchwald, Ed McMahon, Jim Lehrer, and Senator John Glenn exemplify many different kinds of real success.
What kind of person does the Corps want to recruit? The answer to this question determines the kind of Marines we send around the world as America"s representatives and, often, our first warriors in a conflict. Does the Marine leadership want automatons who mindlessly follow the orders of a superior? Or do they want a Corps of restless, intelligent young people, asking questions and exploring new solutions to old problems? Today"s recruits have to be both physically fit and mentally agile, able to work well on a team, but also able to stay cool on their own in stressful situations. Just how you find such people every year is the subject of this chapter.
The Big Green Machine: The Corps Today They serve in every country in the world where the United States has diplomatic relations, and probably a few where we don"t! Their career specialties include everything from senior managers and leaders to pilots, machinists, and computer technicians. The first thing you notice when you enter their world is that as a group they are physically fit, with the sort of "hard bodies" you might find working out at your local gym. This is a product of training, as well as the yearly requirement for every Marine (including the Commandant) to pa.s.s a rigorous physical examination called the Physical Fitness Test (PFT). Composed of a timed three-mile run combined with measured sit-ups and chin-ups on a bar, the PFT is one of the requirements that determines whether someone is still a Marine. Every day, rain or shine, at lunchtime along the riverfront park near the Pentagon, you see men and women in sweat suits running. Running hard. A lot of them are Marines. If you sit in an office all day and live on a diet of donuts and coffee, you won"t pa.s.s the PFT, and failure to pa.s.s it results in an invitation to leave the Corps. This may seem harsh, but it means that Marines are on average the most physically fit personnel in the military services. Every Marine is also required to maintain proficiency with the M16A2 5.56mm combat rifle and other a.s.signed weapons. For staff NCOs and officers this also includes proficiency with the M9 9mm pistol. Failure to maintain weapons qualification is also cause for dismissal. For some 220 years, every Marine has been qualified as a rifleman, and this is not about to change in today"s Corps.
Another striking thing you notice about the Marine Corps is the surprisingly low proportion of officers, compared with other services. Traditionally the Corps has entrusted greater responsibility to enlisted personnel than other services, and it shows in the telling "nose to tail" (officer-to-enlisted-personnel) ratio in each. While the Navy ratio is about 6 to 1, the Army about 5 to 1, and the Air Force a costly 4 to 1, the Marines have some 8.7 enlisted personnel for every officer. Beyond the benefits that such a ratio has on the morale and self-esteem of enlisted personnel, there are other noticeable effects. Person for person, the Marine Corps is remarkably inexpensive to operate and maintain, since enlisted personnel cost less in salary and benefits than an equivalent number of officers. As a result, the Corps a.s.signs many leadership and supervisory responsibilities to non-commissioned officers. This means that enlisted Marines take orders from sergeants who at one time were just like them, raw recruits headed to Boot Camp.
Marines also have a sense of their personal ident.i.ty and position in the world. Ask any Marine, and he or she will be able to trace the chain of command all the way from himself or herself right up to the President of the United States. This is not simply a trick, like dogs walking on their hind legs. It is an indication that every Marine is confident of his or her place in the world. And that shows in confident behavior. More important, Marines learn that they are trusted to make good decisions, follow orders, and accomplish tasks in the best way available. If you have worked for a big corporation, with numbing layers of middle management over your head and no sense of personal empowerment, you can appreciate the refreshing clarity that Marines feel about their individual positions and missions.
In Submarine, Armored Cav, and Fighter Wing, I took you along the career paths of officers. This chapter will be different: It will trace the career path for the real backbone of the Marines, the NCOs (non-commissioned officers). Specifically, you"ll see how a young man or woman rises through the ranks to reach the legendary rank of gunnery sergeant, or "gunny." The t.i.tle harks back to the days of wooden ships, when Marines loaded and fired the Navy"s cannon. Today, gunnery sergeants are the inst.i.tutional "glue" that holds the Corps together, maintaining the traditions and making it clear to new recruits and officers that the gunnies really run the Corps. So follow us on the road to Gunny and learn what a career in the Corps is all about. I took you along the career paths of officers. This chapter will be different: It will trace the career path for the real backbone of the Marines, the NCOs (non-commissioned officers). Specifically, you"ll see how a young man or woman rises through the ranks to reach the legendary rank of gunnery sergeant, or "gunny." The t.i.tle harks back to the days of wooden ships, when Marines loaded and fired the Navy"s cannon. Today, gunnery sergeants are the inst.i.tutional "glue" that holds the Corps together, maintaining the traditions and making it clear to new recruits and officers that the gunnies really run the Corps. So follow us on the road to Gunny and learn what a career in the Corps is all about.
Prospecting for Gold: Recruiting for the Corps The raw material for making Marines is provided by your local Marine Corps Recruiting Station. These nondescript little offices, many on the second floors of strip malls across America, are where the Corps puts its own out to find and deliver new Marine recruits for training. To find out more, I spent a Sat.u.r.day morning at the Recruiting Station in Fairfax County, Virginia. Located just west of Washington, D.C., the station covers much of Northern Virginia. This is a tough place for recruiters. With a median family income of just over $70,000 per year, it is among the most affluent suburban regions in America. That makes recruiting Marines difficult. Very difficult. Running the Fairfax station is Gunnery Sergeant James Hazzard, along with Staff Sergeant Warren Foster and Staff Sergeant Ray Price. Their backgrounds range from artillery operations to helicopter maintenance. Gunny Hazzard also supervises another recruiting annex with two more Staff Sergeants in Sterling, Virginia, covering Loudoun County all the way out to the West Virginia state line. His territory extends from the high-tech headquarters of the U.S. Intelligence community (CIA, NRO, etc.) in Langley and Chantilly to the horse farms and cornfields of Leesburg.
It is a big territory, with an expanding population and economic base. The demographics combine a solidly white, conservative Protestant majority with a cross-section of almost every imaginable ethnic, racial, and religious group. Something like 70% of the high school graduates in the area go directly into college after graduation. Such young people are unlikely to see the benefits of an enlisted career in the Marines. Even within the various ethnic communities of the area, recruiting is tough. For example, within the Asian American community, tradition dictates that parents want the oldest son to go to school, return to run the family business, and eventually become the head of the family. An old Confucian proverb says: "Good iron is not used for nails, good men are not used for soldiers." That att.i.tude makes it tough for a recruiter who is looking for a few good men.
Marine Corps Recruiting Command has set a relatively modest "mission" (the term "quota" is out of favor) of two per month for each recruiter a.s.signed to the Fairfax station. That"s 120 recruits a year for two small offices with only five personnel. An office"s recruiting mission is based on the number of qualified military applicants (QMAs) historically recruited from an area. The top-scoring Marine recruiter of 1995, based in the small Midwestern town of Quincy, Illinois, averaged 5.5 enlistments per month, so you can see the problems of the Fairfax recruiters.
How does Gunny Hazard"s team recruit enlisted Marines in a place like northern Virginia? Well, for starters, they have the best walking billboards in the world, themselves. As a "brand name," the Marine Corps usually enjoys a strong, positive public image. When you see a story in the media about the Marines these days, it is usually favorable. The rescue of Air Force Captain Scott O"Grady from Bosnia, the evacuation of UN peacekeeping forces from Somalia, and helping liberate Kuwait City from the Iraqis are typical Marines stories seen on the nightly network news. With that in mind, every Marine recruiter is encouraged to wear his or her dress uniform in every possible situation--out on appointments, visiting schools, or just when they are out buying groceries or picking up the dry cleaning. Often, future recruits will just walk up and ask to talk to them about what it is like to be a Marine.
Another tool is television. While the Marines have the smallest advertising budget per capita of any of the services, they spend it wisely. Their television ads are Peabody Award winners, designed to leave a lasting and positive impression on a carefully targeted audience of high school- and college-age men and women. Each ad is designed to have a useful life of about four years, and it is run in key time slots designed to maximize its visibility. "Do you have the mettle to be a Marine?" was a cla.s.sic example.
Much of the recruiting advertising budget is spent on sports broadcasts during football season (early in the school year), and basketball playoffs (during the decision-making period before graduation). A new ad, Transformation, Transformation, was first aired on October 9th, 1995, during was first aired on October 9th, 1995, during Monday Night Football. Monday Night Football. Using sophisticated computer animation and "morphing," it symbolized the mental and physical challenges overcome in transforming a young civilian into a Marine. Using sophisticated computer animation and "morphing," it symbolized the mental and physical challenges overcome in transforming a young civilian into a Marine.
In addition to television, the Marines make careful use of magazine, billboard, and print ads, all in the hope of convincing young men and women to take the plunge and talk to someone like Gunny Hazzard. Other key tools of the Marine recruiter are school career day visits, booths at malls and military air shows and exhibitions, and even "cold calling" young people recommended by friends, parents, and school counselors.
It is tough and sometimes discouraging work. Right after Desert Storm, the U.S. armed forces almost had to turn away applicants, so many young people wanted to be part of a winning team. But times have changed. Just five years after the victory in the Persian Gulf, all of the services are scrambling to keep up the recruit pool required to sustain our forces. And to make matters tougher, the Marines have actually raised the enlistment standards for new recruits. Thus, right now, nine out of every ten applicants fail to qualify and cannot be accepted. The reasons range from problems with the law or drugs to failure to have a high school diploma. With all of the highly technical equipment required to run a modern fighting force, a high school dropout or even a student with a GED certificate simply will not do. This means that while the average Marine Corps recruiter used to have to meet 200 prospects to find one qualified recruit, now that number is over 250 and rising. Gunny Hazzard told me that the number is something between 300 and 400.
The process of qualifying a recruit involves lots of testing--medical, academic, and psychological. Then there is the candidate"s personal situation. Life in the military may be hard, but to a potential recruit it may look like a way to escape an abusive family or a failed relationship. The recruiter must find out the potential recruit"s motivation for joining the Corps, and whether the Corps really wants him or her. The Marines are surprisingly tolerant of past troubles with the law (as long as these do not exceed minor convictions, like traffic violations), or past casual use of drugs or alcohol. The recruiter becomes a coach and big brother of sorts, gathering background information to help the Corps waive any minor infractions. Some of the best Marine recruits come from such "problem situations," and thus are worth the extra effort.
Now, it should be said that not every person who walks into a recruiting station like that in Fairfax is a troubled kid with problems at home and school. One recruiter I spoke with was quite emphatic about this, and backed it with a recent success story. He was just finishing up a miserable month, without recruiting even one QMA. As he was walking out of the station to his car in the parking lot, on his way to get chewed out by a superior for not making his monthly mission, it happened. He saw a young man approaching the door. He looked like a recruiting poster Marine: hair "high and tight," with every b.u.t.ton in place and a hard-body physique. The recruiter, thinking he was looking at a Marine, respectfully asked which unit he was a.s.signed to. To his surprise, the young man told him he was walking in to join the Marines; he had wanted to do that since boyhood! The recruiter thanked G.o.d for his good fortune and took the young man inside, finding him to have an excellent school record, not so much as a speeding ticket, and near-perfect scores on the qualification tests. The young man was sworn in and on the bus to Recruit Training the very next day. As might be imagined, the recruiter"s superiors forgave him for missing the meeting, and the Corps had another gold nugget to forge into a warrior.
a.s.sume that a young person has decided to join the Marine Corps and has qualified. There is usually one more obstacle for the recruiter to overcome, and this frequently is the show-stopper. The parents. Despite the generally good image the Marines enjoy, many parents just cannot accept the idea that their son or daughter could join the Corps. Many parents from the generation of the 1960s and 1970s have a deep-seated anti-military bias rooted in the Vietnam War. Others resist the idea that their child is "giving up" on college and going into the military as an enlisted recruit. They see this as a "low cla.s.s" career choice. Also in the back of every parent"s mind is the fear their child may be killed or maimed in a far-away place. In a parent"s mind, these are valid reasons to dissuade a child from enlisting. The recruiter thus finds himself in the role of family counselor, having to prove to a parent that the Marine Corps is not just a sump for the sc.u.m of American society. Recruiters frequently lose this round in the recruiting game.
Despite all these problems, Gunny Hazzard and his team do "win" their share. The week before our visit, they had enlisted three female QMAs, a real prize for any recruiting office. The following week, their office would swear in four more male recruits. Gunny Hazzard was quite candid when he told me that not every month went so well. Like salesmen, each month Marine recruiters start at zero and are judged on current, not past, performance.
When a candidate has been qualified, and all the paperwork is complete, the next step is to schedule a time to report for processing and transportation to one of the two Marine Corps Recruit Depots (MCRDs). MCRD San Diego, near Point Loma in the harbor district of San Diego, California, provides Recruit Training for all male recruits west of the Mississippi River, including Alaska, Hawaii, and the Pacific (Guam, Samoa, etc.). Folks in the Corps like to call the recruits trained there "Hollywood Marines" because of its proximity to that entertainment capital. The other MCRD, at Parris Island, South Carolina, handles Recruit Training for male recruits east of the Mississippi, as well as all of the Corps" female recruits.
The wait for a reservation at Recruit Training is short these days--unless you are a female recruit, as there is only one female recruit battalion at Parris Island, with a limited number of openings each year. When the time comes for the new recruit to report for training, he or she is transported to a Military Enlistment Processing Station (MEPS), and then to the MCRD. In the mid-Atlantic region, the MEPS is located in Baltimore, and recruits are accompanied by the recruiter. After an entry physical, they are sworn in and driven to the airport for the flight to Charleston, South Carolina. From there, they are bused to their new home for the next three months or so, the MCRD at Parris Island. Let"s visit this gateway to the Corps, and see what makes it such a special place in the hearts of Marines.
The Island: Parris Island and Recruit Training Deep in the palmetto groves and scrub pines of tidewater South Carolina you can still find a land that looks little changed from the 1800s. When you arrive, you might swear that you have seen this place before, and you would be right. This is the home of the novels of Pat Conroy; and in fact The Great Santini The Great Santini and and The Big Chill The Big Chill were filmed in the nearby town of Beaufort. The place is Port Royal Sound, the finest natural harbor between Virginia and Florida and home to several Marine Corps bases. Up the sound, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort is home to Marine Air Group Thirty One (MAG-31), flying F/A-18 Hornet fighter bombers. Across from Hilton Head, with its beautiful golf courses and resorts, is our destination, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. were filmed in the nearby town of Beaufort. The place is Port Royal Sound, the finest natural harbor between Virginia and Florida and home to several Marine Corps bases. Up the sound, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort is home to Marine Air Group Thirty One (MAG-31), flying F/A-18 Hornet fighter bombers. Across from Hilton Head, with its beautiful golf courses and resorts, is our destination, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
Parris Island was fought over by French, Spanish, and English forces even before the Revolutionary War. Later, during our own Civil War, it was one of the first bits of Confederate territory taken by the Union, in 1861. Throughout the Civil War, the sound"s superb natural harbor was a base for Union amphibious and blockade operations along the Southeastern coast. Later, during the Spanish-American War, the sound served as a naval base and staging area. The old stone dry dock near the commanding general"s quarters is mute testimony to past naval activity. Parris Island became an MCRD during the run-up to World War II, when it supported the vast expansion of the Corps. Warm year-round weather makes it ideal for training, though it does get pretty steamy and tropical during the summer. One of the consequences of the climate is the profuse and voracious insect life, which must be seen (and felt!) to be believed. All the same, its close proximity to Charleston to the north and lack of encroachment by civilian development mean that it will probably be training Marines long after southern California real estate development has crowded MCRD San Diego out of existence.
Facilities at MCRD Parris Island are a mix of new and old, with modern mess halls and shooting-simulation galleries right beside old landing strips for World War II-era bombers. Even in these days of tight budgets, modernization and new construction of barracks continue. Parris Island is unique among East Coast Marine bases, having virtually no active Fleet Marine Force units. First, last, and always, Parris Island is dedicated to just one mission: taking raw, civilian recruits and making them into Marines. The core of this process is the Recruit Training Regiment (RTR), commanded in late 1995 by Colonel D.O. Hendricks. His senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) was Sergeant Major P.J. Holding, a veteran of over twenty years in the Corps. The RTR includes a support battalion and four training battalions--three for male recruits, with the fourth reserved for female recruits. At any one time, Parris Island is home to over seven thousand training and support personnel, and some 4,800 recruits. It is a busy place, and you can feel the energy as you enter the base.
The new recruit"s first impression of Parris Island comes during the last stage of the bus ride down from Charleston. The MCRD is extremely isolated, connected to the rest of the world by a single two-lane causeway. Except for that, the entire depot is surrounded by salt marshes, swamps, and the sound. This makes security relatively simple, and "going UA" (Unauthorized Absence, the current term for AWOL) virtually impossible. Though the leadership of the Corps only smiles when you mention it, new recruits always seem to arrive in the middle of the night, around 2:00 AM. This intensifies the new recruits" sense of being cut off from their past and the outside world and focuses them on what is to come in the next few months. The buses roll up in front of the "receiving" building. There recruits are dumped onto a stretch of road marked by a line of yellow-painted footsteps. Each recruit stands on a set of the painted prints and takes part in his or her first formation on the way to becoming a Marine. It is a moving, memorable moment. Throughout the next few months of Recruit Training, the recruits will probably never again see this spot. Only afterwards do they always seem to find their way back to where their individual journeys into the Marine Corps began. From the yellow footsteps, they are marched inside the receiving building for a short orientation.
They spend the rest of the night with paperwork, haircuts, and gear issue, before they move on to a holding barracks for some rest. All personal belongings (civilian clothing, CD/ca.s.sette players, even combs) are taken from the recruits and placed into storage, to be returned upon completing or leaving Recruit Training. This has a further effect of cutting recruits off still further from their past lives, and makes any attempt by a rogue recruit to leave the island more difficult. Then there is "the moment of truth," where each new recruit is asked, for the last time, whether he or she really wants to be there, and if there is anything in their background which would keep them from serving as a Marine. This is important, for any lies detected after this point can result in immediate dismissal from the Marines. Admission of a past infraction means that if the problem can be worked out, the Corps will do so without damage to the recruit"s career. The next few days are spent in further testing, physical examinations, an initial strength test, and appointments with various counselors. These activities are designed to alert the RTR training staff to any physical or psychological problems that might cause trouble with a new recruit. In the case of a physical injury or shortcoming, the RTR staff retains the recruit and tries to place him or her back into the training cycle later.
The other examinations can take a darker turn. Many young people in our society come from abusive families or destructive situations; and such people may choose the military as a way out of these situations. Although the Corps views its role as "making Marines and winning wars," as it accomplishes that it tries to provide a safe, positive place where qualified young men and women can get a clean start on life. Thus, when the RTR personnel find a young recruit with a problem, they work to help the person overcome it, rather than throwing that person back into society"s reject bin. Throughout Recruit Training, you find examples of such interventions by RTR staff members. At times they have to physically place themselves between the recruits and dangerous situations. At other times they have to give a young recruit an "a.s.sist" or "push" when they hit the "wall" that all recruits seem to hit somewhere in training. Like runners in a marathon, recruits often reach the point where suddenly the end goal seems unattainable; but with a little help and support it comes into focus and sight. Other interventions can be more hazardous, like having to drag a recruit clear of a mishandled grenade on the training range. A lost recruit hurts, and the RTR staff work hard to make sure as many as possible make it through. On another plane, the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps looks after the spiritual well-being of the recruits, as well as that of the staff and their families. Through a program of lay readers, chaplains manage to cover virtually every religious tradition and denomination. They are a vital link back to the rest of the world for the recruits, also providing a liaison to the Red Cross in the event of a family emergency.
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Marine recruits on the Parris Island confidence course. This series of obstacles is designed to promote physical fitness and mental toughness in traversing a.s.sorted obstacles.
JOHN D. GRESHAM.
Following the orientation period, recruits are a.s.signed to one of the four training battalions. They are a.s.signed to platoons of about seventy to eighty personnel. Three or four platoons make up a "Series," which is the basic organizational unit within the battalion. Two Series make up a Company, with four companies per battalion. Each series is commanded by a 1st Lieutenant or Captain, with a Gunnery Sergeant as the senior NCO. Within each platoon, a team of four Drill Instructors is a.s.signed to watch over the training and well-being of the recruits. The legendary Marine Drill Instructor (DI) is as revered by the Corps as he is misunderstood by the public. DIs come in two flavors, Senior DIs with their distinctive black patent-leather belts, and Junior DIs with green web belts. The Senior DIs are supervisors, taking charge of each platoon and the other sergeants.
Despite the popular notion that Recruit Training is a program of s.a.d.i.s.tic torture, and the DIs demented bullies, the truth is surprisingly different. Series commanders and DIs are selected volunteers whose mission is to get as many recruits as possible through Recruit Training successfully and safely. Now, this has not always been the practice of the Corps, and the 1956 incident at Ribbon Creek at Parris Island is always on the minds of DIs. They take care of their recruits the way a mother hawk watches over her young. This does not mean that Marine Recruit Training is easy or enjoyable. It is specifically designed to be neither. It is a tailored curriculum of physical, mental, academic, and skills training, designed to take recruits to their own personal limits, and keep them there for a long period of time.
During this training, the DIs work hard to keep the pressure on without losing any recruit who is capable of meeting the challenge of becoming a Marine. It is a very tough job. From the moment new recruits are a.s.signed to a training platoon, there will be a DI overseeing every moment of their lives. This means that the Drill Instructors are running a twenty-four-hour-a-day watch schedule every day of Recruit Training. On average, the DI"s day runs about eighteen hours long, with constant vigilance being the minimum requirement. Burnout is a common problem among the DIs and Series Commanders, and a program of rotation to non-training posts within the RTR helps keep them focused during their two year tours in the job.
The term "positive control" is used to describe the way DIs watch over each recruit. Designed to keep recruits safe and obedient, positive control is exercised through a combination of physical presence and what the Marines call the "command voice." The physical presence is a function of appearance, so DIs will wear an immaculate uniform topped by the famous Marine campaign cover (also known as a "Smokey Bear"). But the command voice is what really does it. Like the famous "rebel yell" of the Civil War, it is impossible to describe, but you know it when you hear it. Every DI and Series Commander has one; and some say it makes any order, comment, or statement presented to the new recruit sound like the voice of G.o.d himself. The DIs need the command voice, because the days of physical hazing and verbal abuse towards recruits is over. DIs use words the way a surgeon uses a scalpel to cut out a tumor. To an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old recruit, it is like being torn apart emotionally. One of my guides, public affairs officer Captain Whitney Mason, had just completed a tour as a series commander at Parris Island, and she confessed to having such a "voice" for those occasions when she needed it. Now, looking at this slender and slight lady, you might find it hard to believe, but she indeed does. The lessons delivered through the "command voice" last a lifetime. More than one Marine I"ve spoken with has told me that in the heat of combat, when he was so scared he was p.i.s.sing in his pants, lessons delivered from a particular DI years before came through loud and clear through the terror, and saved his life.
Back to the new recruits. Much has been happening during their testing and transition period. During their early days at Parris Island, they rapidly lose the ident.i.ty they knew in civilian life. Along with the mandatory "buzz cut" haircut for male recruits (female recruits enjoy a little lat.i.tude in permitted hairstyles), uniforms and other gear are issued. And just before they are a.s.signed to their training platoon, recruits acquire the most important tool of the Marine rifleman, an M 16A2 rifle. They will carry it throughout Recruit Training, and will learn to use it better than any other basically trained warrior in the world.
When the time comes to meet their Dis, this is done in a unique ceremony called a "Pickup Briefing." The new recruits march to their new platoon barracks (called a squad bay) and stow their gear. This done, the seventy or so recruits sit cross-legged on the floor and await the appearance of their DIs. Starting with the Company Commander, then the Senior DI with the distinctive black belt, the recruits are introduced to the Marines who will hold their lives in their hands for the next few months. The speeches are compelling, almost intimidating in their presentation. But if you look over the recruits then, you"ll see that they are not just intimidated, they are actually frightened, as well they should be. The first time you experience a DI in full regalia and command voice is something you never forget. The DIs talk for a short time about what will be expected of the recruits and how things will run in the platoon, with special emphasis on safety and looking out for each other. Then things begin to happen. The recruits are lined up in front of high double bunks, and the DIs begin to drill them. At first they are ordered to dig into their duffel bags and footlockers and quickly find particular pieces of equipment or articles of clothing. Later, they begin to drill with their M 16s. The idea is to get them to rapidly respond to the orders of the DIs and build the trust that will be required to make Recruit Training effective. In this way, more difficult and dangerous training tasks, particularly those involving firearms, can be safely accomplished.
Marine Recruit Training is accomplished in phases, spanning about three months (for female recruits, a few days more). It starts with the Forming Phase that we have been looking at. Lasting three to four days, it is designed to teach the recruits the basics of squad bay life and "getting green," as some of the recruits call it. During this time, the DIs take the time to interview each recruit, to get to know them better, and to establish what will be needed to lead a particular recruit through Recruit Training. It also is a final check to see if any personal problems need to be referred to professional counselors or medical personnel. The four Dis then split up the job of watching over the platoon; and one DI remains on duty in the squad bay at night during what is called the "fire watch." Recruits are enlisted to help with the fire watch, which further serves to indoctrinate them into the twenty-four-hour-a-day nature of military life. Though this experience is vital, for combat often requires going without sleep for extended periods, efforts are nevertheless made to ensure that recruits get adequate rest. It"s usually lights out by 9:00 P.M., and up at 5:00 A.M. every day.
Following the Forming Phase is Phase I, which lasts approximately three weeks. This is mainly an orientation phase, where the recruits are given a daily regime of intensive physical training (PT), close-order drill, introductory cla.s.ses in general military academic subjects, and their first experience with the obstacle course, which is a confidence-builder composed of a.s.sorted barriers to climb over, jump across, or crawl under. Recruits run the course repeatedly during Recruit Training, and by the time that they are done, they will know how to run it literally with their eyes closed. The daily PT is also vital, because the Corps requires a certain minimum level of physical fitness just to perform basic tasks. While many of the recruits are in good shape, PT makes them better, and it helps instill a desire for a daily regime of such exercise later. It"s always easier to get in the exercise groove early in life. Take it from one who has discovered this too late, and is paying the price.
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A Marine recruit armed with an M16A2 combat rifle maneuvers on the Parris Island combat a.s.sault course. The instructor in the background is monitoring the safety and perfomance of the recruit.
JOHN D. GRESHAM.
Recruits also study various academic subjects. The public perception may be that the Corps is not a collection of intellectual heavyweights, but officers of other services who serve on joint staffs will tell you that some of the top military thinkers today are Marines. Subjects range from basic tactics to Marine Corps history. The Corps believes that smart recruits make good Marines. The stereotype of the ignorant "jarhead" is simply no longer accurate. The vast array of tasks and equipment required of even a basically trained Marine would make your head spin. As a nation, we ask a lot of our Marines, and they have to be properly trained if they are to deliver.
The att.i.tude of recruits is constantly monitored as they adapt to life in the squad bay. Despite the best efforts of recruiters like Gunny Hazzard to prepare them mentally and physically, most recruits who "wash out" of Recruit Training are lost in the first three weeks of training. It is a tough thing to send a young person home from Parris Island, and the Corps does everything it can to minimize attrition. If recruits are injured in training, they are given time to heal and rehabilitate if possible. When recruits fall behind in academic or skills areas, they receive special help to make up so they can get back with the rest of the platoon. Through it all, the DIs watch over the recruits around the clock, making sure they stay safe.
Warfare training begins in Phase II, which lasts six weeks for male recruits, and seven weeks for female recruits. Here they practice marksmanship with the M 16A2, to include their first experiences on the rifle range. The Corps takes marksmanship very seriously. If you cannot consistently hit targets on the range with a M16, you will never be a Marine. In Phase II, the general military knowledge taught in Phase I is tested, and there is the recruits" first experience with the Physical Fitness Test (PFT). Like proficiency with the M16, the successful completion of the PFT is mandatory to be certified as a Marine. Also in Phase II is the recruits" first experience with the new water-training facility recently completed at Parris Island. A surprising number of recruits have never seen a swimming pool, lake, or ocean, and they must learn to swim if they are to serve in an amphibious service. In the swimming facility the recruits learn how to float and move through the water, even when fully loaded with a rifle, uniform, boots, and pack. This training includes a series of drops from platform boards, which can be terribly unnerving to young people whose only experience with water may have been an open fire hydrant in an inner-city neighborhood.
Female Marine recruits await their turns at the Parris Island Grenade course. Female Marines have to qualify on all the same weapons and courses as their male counterparts.
JOHN D. GRESHAM.
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Finally, there is the tactical training that is so necessary to becoming a Marine warrior. This includes rudimentary small-unit and a.s.sault training, as well as traditional Marine training in "hitting skills" (fundamental to hand-to-hand combat), and training in the use of pugil sticks (large padded clubs). This part of basic training introduces the recruit to the unpleasant fact that life as a Marine can involve the very personal act of a.s.saulting other people, and perhaps even killing them. Tactical training not only does this, it also teaches the new Marines how to measure and use force in combat.
Earlier, I pointed out that female recruits spend a week longer in Phase II than their male counterparts. Now is a good time to talk about why. Since World War I, women have augmented the strength of the Corps, freeing men for combat jobs. And like other branches of the U.S. military, the USMC has gradually expanded its range of opportunities for women. Today, something like 93% of all Marine MOSs (Military Occupational Specialty codes, which determine the jobs personnel are trained and certified to perform) are open to women Marines This even includes aviation jobs, such as flying fighter jets and attack helicopters. But for women Marines the official Defense Department definition of "combat" still restricts them from combat-related MOSs, the specialties senior leaders consider most necessary for promotion. This includes infantry, armor, and other ground combat positions. The stated reasons for this restriction are the same as those of the U.S. Army: Women are said to lack the strength and endurance necessary for the rigors of ground combat. But this situation is changing, as General Krulak is currently considering lifting the restriction from artillery and some other combat MOSs.
Now, despite the restrictions on women serving in front-line ground units, the Corps still has training and readiness standards for all Marines, and every Marine has to be prepared for combat, anywhere and at any time. This means that female recruits also train for combat. But the female recruits have a somewhat different training regime from their male counterparts. For starters, they are housed and trained in a separate training unit at Parris Island, the 4th Recruit Training Battalion. The 4th Battalion facilities make few concessions to alleged female requirements (personal privacy and such). Squad bays have roughly the same layout and equipment as the male ones. Some 4th Battalion executive officers and Sergeant Majors are male, but there are no male DIs or Series Commanders.
One significant difference between male and female training, however, reflects an ugly reality of our society: A high percentage of the women who enter the Corps report they have been physically or s.e.xually abused, molested, or raped prior to their entry into Recruit Training. While Marine leadership is quite discreet in discussing this subject, its action on behalf of female recruits is specific and effective. The 4th Battalion has a psychiatrist on call to help deal with emotional problems, as well as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Beaufort Naval Hospital. Though the percentage of female recruits with previously confirmed histories of victimization is reported as 7%, something approaching 50% of these wind up telling of such experiences during initial Recruit Training interviews. You may think people scarred with such experiences should not be put in a position of responsibility (like becoming a Marine), but the Corps views this situation differently. Marine leadership sees any person who is mentally, morally, and physically qualified and who completes Recruit Training as someone worth having--a part of their family. Furthermore, it is the experience of the Marines that such women are survivors, exactly the kind of people who can succeed in the male-dominated culture of the Marine Corps. The payoff is that while the initial dropout rate among women has always been about 50% higher than that of men, the rate has been dropping rapidly over the last few years. As a bonus, the retention rate of women Marines who re-enlist for additional tours of duty is actually higher than that of their male counterparts.
Female recruits do everything at Parris Island that their male counterparts do. At the same time, the generally smaller build and lower body strength of women (compared to men) is taken into account. For example, on the obstacle course, a few (though not all) of the obstacles are scaled down slightly. It is just as difficult for women to get over them as it is for the men to get over the obstacles on their course. I should also say that the Corps is constantly reevaluating the curriculum of both the male and female recruits to see where improvements and/or additions should be made. For example, the Commandant recently merged the male and female requirements for distance running in the PFT, a change many leaders felt was long overdue.
When male Marines finish Recruit Training, they go to the School of Infantry at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where they learn ground infantry tactics and master heavy weapons. The Corps requires graduation from the School of Infantry before a Marine can join a ground combat unit. But because of the Congressionally-mandated DoD prohibition on women in ground combat units, female Marine recruits get an abbreviated course in heavy weapons and infantry tactics while they are still at Parris Island, adding one week to the training cycle. Thus, even before their male counterparts, the women recruits are firing machine guns and practicing rudimentary a.s.sault tactics!
For everyone, Phase III arrives as the most cherished part of Recruit Training. Once a recruit is in Phase III, he or she is over "the hump," and the DIs are working hard to ensure that every last recruit completes the course. Lasting two weeks, Phase III consists of final examinations and makeups. Final marks for PFTs, marksmanship, and other drills are scored; and records are updated. Included in all this are final inspection, drills, and rehearsal of the graduation ceremonies. It is a heady time for the young recruits. Frequently, new training series/platoons will be allowed to march to see the Phase III units, so they will know that it really is possible to become a Marine!
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The official seal of the United States Marine Corps. The eagle, globe, and anchor in the center is the official emblem of the Corps.
JACK RYAN ENTERPRISES LTD., BY LAURA ALPHER BY LAURA ALPHER.
Graduation week pa.s.ses in a rush, with parents, friends, and loved ones coming down to visit, often for the first time since the recruits were taken in hand by their recruiters. Parents are usually amazed and proud to see what their son or daughter has accomplished. Their bodies will have become toned, their dress immaculate, and their manners impeccable. It is a wonderful thing when a parent sees a son or daughter leave as a child and reappear as a young man or woman. The day before graduation, there is a small ritual for each platoon-called an "emblem ceremony"-out on the parade ground. Standing in formation, the DIs award the recruits the eagle, globe, and anchor badge of the USMC for their dress hats. From that moment on, for the rest of their lives, no matter what they do or become, they will know the satisfaction that once in their lives, they were good enough to earn the t.i.tle Marine.
The following morning, there is a large parade and ceremony on the parade ground for the graduating company. Awards are given for the top recruit and marksman in each platoon. And as their loved ones look on, there is a final parade. Then it is over, and you just have to watch what happens after to know that you have seen something special in the lives of several hundred young people. Hugs and kisses. Firm hand shakes and looks. Perhaps most impressive of all, new Marines rushing to introduce their families and friends to their DIs. "Thanks for getting me through Boot Camp" are words you hear often from former recruits to their DIs. Frequently, the parents also thank the training staff-for turning their child into something better, or different, or both. I defy you to watch this moment and not shed a tear or two. I did.
More School: Warrior Training and Beyond Following graduation, the new Marines get a short leave, and then report for their next duty a.s.signments. For male recruits, it"s the School of Infantry at Camp Lejeune. There they are taught the use of heavy weapons and demolition and breaching gear, small-unit tactics, and other skills of ground combat. Every single male Marine in the Corps completes this training, whether he is to become a crewman in a helicopter unit or a public relations specialist in the Pentagon. It is just as grueling as the Recruit Training course, and is a foundation of the combat ethos that makes every Marine a rifleman. From there they head out to their MOS schools, following their female counterparts, who received their warrior training during Basic School. Women recruits go directly to their MOS school, and from there on to their first unit a.s.signment.
Marine recruits graduate from basic training on the Parris Island parade ground. They are now basically trained Marines, ready to move onto their next school.
JOHN D. GRESHAM.
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School is a common experience in a Marine"s career, with some officers and enlisted personnel going through several dozen training courses by the time that they finish a twenty-year-plus stint in the Corps. Each school can last anywhere from two weeks to a year. The Intelligence Training School down at Dam Neck, Virginia, for example, lasts a full year and is considered to be among the best intelligence schools in the military. By the time they complete their first MOS school, most enlisted Marines will have made the rank of Private First Cla.s.s (E-2) or Lance Corporal (E-3). Normally, this is the point where a Marine would start moving into combat a.s.signments, such as a rifle platoon. Thirty months to four years after making Lance Corporal, Marines generally make Corporal (E-4), continuing to function in their chosen MOS, but with growing responsibility and more training.
There is also the option of transferring to other duties, which can give an enlisted Marine"s career some balance and variety. While the concept of "career enhancing" or "joint" billets has yet to take hold in the enlisted ranks of the USMC, the Corps tries to provide Marines a chance to try different things and broaden their horizons. This might include serving as an emba.s.sy guard or on a General officer"s staff. It may also mean going back to school, an activity that the Corps encourages all of its members to try. A surprising number of enlisted Marines even study for a college degree. The Marines have several ways to facilitate higher education for enlisted ranks: Some are paid to attend a university. And some few who choose to seek a commission as an officer are admitted to the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. In fact, the USMC recruits a larger percentage of its officer corps from the enlisted ranks than any other U.S. military service. Promoting from within (the "Grow Our Own" program) is a key feature of the Corps, and such avenues for advancement contribute a lot to the morale of enlisted Marines.
The Road to Gunny...and Beyond There comes a point in the life of a Marine where he or she begins to think of the Corps as more than just a job and a paycheck; it becomes a career. This is when a Marine begins the drive to the magic rank of Gunnery Sergeant (E-7), or just "Gunny." It takes a Corporal about four to six years in grade to make it to Sergeant (E-5). When you make it, the level of responsibility rises quickly, and so does the workload. But the move up to Staff Sergeant (E-6), about four to six years later, is an even bigger step in a Marine"s life, for it means that you have committed yourself to becoming part of the inst.i.tutional "glue" that holds the Corps together. It also means a lot of hard work and patience, and a certain level of tolerance for the actions and views of those less experienced than yourself. As a Staff Sergeant, you will probably be a.s.signed that most dreaded of duties, a new 2nd Lieutenant to watch over and hopefully make into a useful officer. You also will become a kind of parental figure to younger Marines a.s.signed to your care. A Staff NCO never commands (that is the responsibility of officers), but a good Staff NCO is priceless as an advisor and partner to the officers who make up the leadership of the Corps. Good officers seek this kind of help as a matter of instinct.
At this point, a Marine is considered a middle manager and leader, with oversight over rifle squads, tanks and other vehicles, and aircraft. Finally, there is the drive to Gunny. Like making Staff Sergeant, it takes four to six years; and making it puts you in a different category within the Corps. Along with the almost mythic t.i.tle that it carries, being a Gunny earns the respect of officers of any rank, and something like awe from younger Marines. You become one of the keepers of the "tribal knowledge" that keeps the Marine tradition alive from generation to generation. It also means more practically that you can look forward to a twenty-year-plus career, with retirement benefits and a pension. Trust me when I say that every Gunny I have known has earned the t.i.tle. As an insight, consider that most of the Marine officers I have spoken with have told me more than once that Gunny is the best job in the Corps, with the widest ranges of responsibilities and duties.
When Marines make it to E-7, if they wish to continue their career in the USMC, they get to make a choice. The next step is Master Sergeant (E-8). And from there they can choose to take the route to Master Gunnery Sergeant (E-9), a career track which leads to greater opportunity and responsibility within technical fields. The other option is the command side of the NCO ranks, which leads to 1st Sergeant (also E-8). A First Sergeant is typically the senior NCO of a Company or similar unit. Beyond First Sergeant is the exalted rank of Sergeant Major (E-9). These extremely rare birds are the right hands of officers commanding MEUs, regiments, divisions, and the Corps itself. At the very summit of the Staff NCO pyramid stands the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, a post currently held by Sergeant Major Lewis Lee, a veteran with over thirty years of service. Sergeant Major Lee sits in an office near to that of General Krulak; and the Commandant would tell you that he is the voice of the enlisted personnel in the Corps. Lastly, there is also the possibility of a direct commission to Warrant Officer (and the slang t.i.tle of "Gunner") for enlisted personnel with specialized skills, though this is extremely rare in the USMC.
The Mettle to Lead Marines: Officers Though there are some subtle differences, the career paths of the small cadre of commissioned officers who const.i.tute the leadership of this more-than-220-year-old inst.i.tution are generally similar to those of the Army ranks described in _Armored _Armored Cav and the Air Force ranks described in Fighter Wing. However, unlike the other services, the Marines don"t get most of their officers from the service academy of their parent service. The USMC receives only a few of its new 2nd Lieutenants (0-1s) from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. (A much larger percentage of Army and Air Force 2nd Lieutenants come from West Point and the Air Force Academy.) Every year, a portion of the Annapolis graduating cla.s.s chooses a career in the Marines and is directly commissioned into the Corps. But this small group (no more than 175) fills only a fraction of the Corps" demand--it needs over 1,500 new officers per year. Most of the other officers the Corps develops are recruited from colleges around the country. Cav and the Air Force ranks described in Fighter Wing. However, unlike the other services, the Marines don"t get most of their officers from the service academy of their parent service. The USMC receives only a few of its new 2nd Lieutenants (0-1s) from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. (A much larger percentage of Army and Air Force 2nd Lieutenants come from West Point and the Air Force Academy.) Every year, a portion of the Annapolis graduating cla.s.s chooses a career in the Marines and is directly commissioned into the Corps. But this small group (no more than 175) fills only a fraction of the Corps" demand--it needs over 1,500 new officers per year. Most of the other officers the Corps develops are recruited from colleges around the country.
Whether they are Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) graduates or join directly out of college, they all go to the inst.i.tutional home of Marine officers, the USMC Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Quantico, Virginia. A few dozen miles south of Washington, D.C. along the lower Potomac River, Quantico is where the Corps makes the majority of its officers. Interestingly, some leaders at Quantico wish the Corps would require Academy graduates to go through OCS as well, so that all Marine officers would share a common initial training experience. The ten-week OCS is similar to the Recruit Training course at Parris Island. Though there is a greater emphasis on leadership training and basic command and control skills like radio procedures, land navigation, and calling in artillery and air strikes, the training is just as physically demanding, the hours just as long, and the tests just as challenging as those enlisted Marines must meet. To prove it, just watch the officer candidates (the officer equivalent of a recruit) go through a particularly demented Combat Obstacle Course nicknamed the "Quigly." It starts with a slime- and ooze-filled ditch that flows into a small creek. The course continues through dense woods, followed by climbs and descents on a steep hill. Other obstacles follow, ending with a crawl over ground under fire from a light machine gun (don"t worry, the staff uses blanks!). The sight of a slime-covered group of officer candidates moving down a bone-chilling creek is bad enough. But when you see the instructors moving a few yards/meters ahead of them, to clear out poisonous water snakes that linger in the area, you get some idea of how much these young officer candidates want to lead Marines. They quickly come to understand that they are being entrusted with the most valuable a.s.set the USMC possesses, its young men and women. Supervising them throughout OCS are the ubiquitous Gunnies.
Following OCS, officers go through another training course at Quantico called the Basic School. Here they learn the skills needed to run a rifle platoon. This training includes not only weapons and tactical instruction, but lessons in the inevitable supervisory and paperwork skills necessary to keep any bureaucracy running. Infantry officers must complete Camp Lejeune"s twenty-six-week School of Infantry as well. From there, they head out into the Corps to their MOS schools and their first a.s.signments. Like the enlisted Marines they will lead, there is one common thread: Whatever their primary specialty (pilot, logistics officer, etc.), they are all riflemen first. They are all capable of fighting on the ground. This makes the USMC different from any other U.S. military service. It is also why the national leadership trusts Marines above any other military force to get a tough job done. You can trust Marines!
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A pair of Marine officer candidates transit the "Quigly" stream at Quantico, VA. This course is designed to train Marine officers how to transit water obstacles silently and still keep their weapons dry and ready to fire.
JOHN D. GRESHAM.
Taking young men and women and turning them into Marines is hard work, and General Krulak would tell you that the Corps only entrusts such work to its best members. From the recruiters like Gunny Hazzard at the Fairfax Station, to Series Commanders like Captain Whitney Mason at Parris Island, to the instructors at the Basic Warrior School, the process of building new Marines is the toughest job you can imagine. It goes on and on, and the process cannot be allowed to end, lest the very survival of the Corps be put into jeopardy. It remains in good hands.
When I was visiting the Fairfax recruiting office, Gunny Hazzard showed me a special corner. On a crowded bulletin board were dozens of letters, snapshots, and postcards from some of the young Marines he and the other recruiters had sent to Parris Island. Every letter I saw was a message of deep, personal grat.i.tude from the new Marine, thanking the recruiter for showing the path to a new life. This is the payoff for a recruiter who has had too many rejections and not enough commitments. Or, as Gunny Hazzard likes to point out, this is what the Corps is all about--finding young people and showing them a path to a life of service and honor.
Small Arms THIS IS MY RIFLE. There are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I master my life. It is my life. I must master it as I master my life.
My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than any enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will.... I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will....