Per my Marine in cyberspace:
The culminating event, 56 hours of little food or sleep where recruits are pushed to their limits, which to their surprise might be a lot farther than they thought. The recruits will patrol with day packs (a lot lighter than full packs) about 40-60 miles going from event to event including: team building exercises, day/night fire team assault courses, live fire combat marksmanship, a lot of blanks shooting, field movement exercises, the re-supply exercise (Bastilone's Hill) which was probably the worst one. They will get about 6 hours of sleep total, 3 on each night, and 3 MREs total for the two days they spend out doing the exercises. After their second night's sleep they get up early, pack everything up, and hump out to the reaper (about 5-6 miles.) Here they will stop in Mountain Town and get a break with an orange and some juice before they head up. Then they start. They don't run up it, like I've heard, they "hump" up it just like everything else... it's just so steep for so long that some people just look at it and automatically give up in their minds. You'll go up one steep portion only to be greeted by another steep portion once you reach the top of the first one, and so on and so forth. Anyways, after they reach the top they get a motivational speech from their SDI, and they make the hump back to Edson Range as 3rd phase recruits. From there, they will have the warriors breakfast which... I would need a whole new post to describe that, but to a recruit..it's Heaven on Earth. Then they will get their stuff all cleaned up and ready to go back to supply so that they can get bussed back down to MCRD the following day.
This just about sums up Phase II of training. A lot of the assault courses are actually a lot of fun with actual battle sounds being played out on loudspeaker, crawling under barbed wire, jumping walls, moving from covered position to covered position. Another unofficial competition is setting up hooches on both field week and crucible week. The first platoon to get them all set up wins... good team building exercise. And again, that's an unofficial competition, doesn't count towards honor platoon, just like pugil sticks.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Campin' Out - Marine-Style
What a great day!! Another letter was in the mailbox today - I will again print it as written:
Dear Mom & Dad,
It's Sunday. This will be my last letter for the next week because we leave base and camp out in the hills all week. Field Week will be interesting. We sleep under the stars in tents, eat MRE's 3 times/day, go through the gas chamber, fire machine guns and many other things. Yesterday we had about six classes in the afternoon. One was over camouflage. We learned how to apply paint, how to make natural camouflage out of leaves, sticks grass etc., and learned how to find cover. I have to say, I looked bad ass in camie paint. We also learned about distance estimation, wild life we'll encounter, operation of the SAW249 machine gun and operation of a grenade launcher which attaches to the M-16A2. I'm excited.
I qualified on rifle range just fine. We had a couple who did not qualify so they get another chance on Monday.
The 8-mile hike yesterday was sweet. It wasn't as hard as the 5-mile hike but was definitely longer..... Our packs felt a lot heavier by the end. My hips really hurt today. I think it is because of my pack. My feet are fine though - no huge blisters, just a little achy... what do you expect after a hike though?
Oh, we received dog tags Friday night. We got a whole speech about the legacy of dog tags. They symbolize the identity of a warrior so if his body is found, his body can be returned home for a proper burial. We were all so excited to received them. Our Senior Drill Instructor put them on us individually like a ceremony. It was sweet. Also, now that we qualified on rifle range we can be taken out of boot camp and sent to war at anytime. But, that will only happen if World War III started, so I'm still planning on graduating Nov. 30th.
I don't really have much else to say. I know.. I've received quite a few letters with lots of questions so I'll give you the low-down on our platoon as of now. Currently, we have 93 recruits in one long room we call home. I haven't had a chance to get to know everyone mostly because there are some guys I don't want to get to know for whatever reason, but I do know every one's name. We eat 3 times a day and the food ain't bad. I've lost 18 pounds since the start of recruit training. Sorry to disappoint all of you who were hoping to see me all huge and ripped when I got home, but it just ain't happening. In fact, hardly anyone is looking more buff just the guys who lost a lot of weight. I will probably look similar to what you saw me as when I left. I'll just stand and walk a little differently and have shorter hair. Well, I don't have anything else. Thank you all for the letters! I miss you all.
Love, Mike
Ok, I have to add a little note............ Aren't you all smiling? I'm SO proud of our guy. Who in their right mind enjoys an 8-mile hike with a 50-60 lb. pack on his back? Or who is excited to get their dog tags so that their body can be sent home for a proper burial? Even if Michael doesn't think he's ripped, losing 18lbs. is a major physical change! I know he'll be a different looking person when we see him. Maybe his body will be smaller but I think his heart will be 10 times bigger because of all the letters and love we've all been sending his way. As always, thank you everyone for your prayers and support. Words cannot explain how much this means to us.
I found out today that he will be graduating on time (Lord willing) and that means that next Tuesday - Thursday he'll be enduring the 56-hour Crucible. Following is an excerpt from an article written by a Marine parent:
"The purpose for the crucible is to purify by turning up the heat and removing the dross (impurities). The definition of "dross" is:
-Waste or impure matter
- The scum that forms on the surface of molten metal
-Worthless, commonplace
Symomyms of Crucible include: Difficulty, adversity, burden, challenges, distress, hard time, hardship, load, ordeal, rigor, severe test, tribulation, and trying time.
The Crucible our boys are about to "enter" is their "Main Event" on the road to becoming a United States Marine. This event will underscore the need for, and importance of, engaging in teamwork to overcome the various trials they must face. The cahallenges will demand the best of their mental and physical strengths. This exercise will, in many ways, reflect the stresses associated with life on the field of battle. The boys will encounter and overcome what appear to be insurmountable tasks and obstacles. The entire process lives up to the name: Crucible."
Exerpt from an article written by Steve, Proud Parent of Raw Material sent to the Man Factory
Julie
Dear Mom & Dad,
It's Sunday. This will be my last letter for the next week because we leave base and camp out in the hills all week. Field Week will be interesting. We sleep under the stars in tents, eat MRE's 3 times/day, go through the gas chamber, fire machine guns and many other things. Yesterday we had about six classes in the afternoon. One was over camouflage. We learned how to apply paint, how to make natural camouflage out of leaves, sticks grass etc., and learned how to find cover. I have to say, I looked bad ass in camie paint. We also learned about distance estimation, wild life we'll encounter, operation of the SAW249 machine gun and operation of a grenade launcher which attaches to the M-16A2. I'm excited.
I qualified on rifle range just fine. We had a couple who did not qualify so they get another chance on Monday.
The 8-mile hike yesterday was sweet. It wasn't as hard as the 5-mile hike but was definitely longer..... Our packs felt a lot heavier by the end. My hips really hurt today. I think it is because of my pack. My feet are fine though - no huge blisters, just a little achy... what do you expect after a hike though?
Oh, we received dog tags Friday night. We got a whole speech about the legacy of dog tags. They symbolize the identity of a warrior so if his body is found, his body can be returned home for a proper burial. We were all so excited to received them. Our Senior Drill Instructor put them on us individually like a ceremony. It was sweet. Also, now that we qualified on rifle range we can be taken out of boot camp and sent to war at anytime. But, that will only happen if World War III started, so I'm still planning on graduating Nov. 30th.
I don't really have much else to say. I know.. I've received quite a few letters with lots of questions so I'll give you the low-down on our platoon as of now. Currently, we have 93 recruits in one long room we call home. I haven't had a chance to get to know everyone mostly because there are some guys I don't want to get to know for whatever reason, but I do know every one's name. We eat 3 times a day and the food ain't bad. I've lost 18 pounds since the start of recruit training. Sorry to disappoint all of you who were hoping to see me all huge and ripped when I got home, but it just ain't happening. In fact, hardly anyone is looking more buff just the guys who lost a lot of weight. I will probably look similar to what you saw me as when I left. I'll just stand and walk a little differently and have shorter hair. Well, I don't have anything else. Thank you all for the letters! I miss you all.
Love, Mike
Ok, I have to add a little note............ Aren't you all smiling? I'm SO proud of our guy. Who in their right mind enjoys an 8-mile hike with a 50-60 lb. pack on his back? Or who is excited to get their dog tags so that their body can be sent home for a proper burial? Even if Michael doesn't think he's ripped, losing 18lbs. is a major physical change! I know he'll be a different looking person when we see him. Maybe his body will be smaller but I think his heart will be 10 times bigger because of all the letters and love we've all been sending his way. As always, thank you everyone for your prayers and support. Words cannot explain how much this means to us.
I found out today that he will be graduating on time (Lord willing) and that means that next Tuesday - Thursday he'll be enduring the 56-hour Crucible. Following is an excerpt from an article written by a Marine parent:
"The purpose for the crucible is to purify by turning up the heat and removing the dross (impurities). The definition of "dross" is:
-Waste or impure matter
- The scum that forms on the surface of molten metal
-Worthless, commonplace
Symomyms of Crucible include: Difficulty, adversity, burden, challenges, distress, hard time, hardship, load, ordeal, rigor, severe test, tribulation, and trying time.
The Crucible our boys are about to "enter" is their "Main Event" on the road to becoming a United States Marine. This event will underscore the need for, and importance of, engaging in teamwork to overcome the various trials they must face. The cahallenges will demand the best of their mental and physical strengths. This exercise will, in many ways, reflect the stresses associated with life on the field of battle. The boys will encounter and overcome what appear to be insurmountable tasks and obstacles. The entire process lives up to the name: Crucible."
Exerpt from an article written by Steve, Proud Parent of Raw Material sent to the Man Factory
Julie
Phase II Rocks!
We received 2 letters this past Tuesday, October 23rd. I tell ya, there's nothing like opening the mailbox to find a letter with Michael's handwriting on it. It's reassuring to know that he's still able to write and it gives me joy to get a glimpse of boot camp from his perspective. As you will read, he sounds very upbeat and this phase is obviously better than the last. Sit back, picture Michael lying on his rack in his scivies with pen and paper in hand........
"Nothing sounds better right now than a mocha from Si Jambo (our local cafe.) It's about 4:00 am Monday morning. We've been here for more than a week now. This will be my second letter to go out since I've been here. The mail boxes are packed full! I don't know how soon this will get out. Well, one week down! Saturday we arrived at Camp Pendleton sometime in the afternoon. The drive up was beautiful! When we arrived we got off the buses and headed for our new house. The houses here are only two levels high, but we got stuck on top again. I don't really remember what we did other than set up our house. Sunday we had church which was nice and free time for the rest of the morning as usual. Our afternoon was spent at supply getting our packs, flak vests, kevlar helmets and sleeping bags. ALL AFTERNOON! Boring... Monday through Friday was the same thing everyday - no joke. We have what's called Grass Week. Basically we go to these outdoor classes in bleachers with an overhang and learn how to fire our M-16 A2's. We are taught rules, condition, techniques, positions, and much more. After some class time we have what's called "snap in" time. "Snap-in" is just snapping into a position we learned and practice perfecting it. This takes place in front of the bleachers.
There is a huge half circle with two barrels in the middle. The barrels are stacked on top of each other and have targets painted on them. I would say we had class about 4-6 hours/day. The rest of the day was spent doing what needed to be worked on... drill, hair cuts, etc. Tuesday we had a 3-mile hike. It was very easy and uneventful. everyone made it. There were no huge hills, but it was quite warm. Our 5-miles hike was on Saturday. The 3-mile somewhat prepared us but not enough. The 5-miles hike was cold and rainy. Then we had to climb some steep hills about 50-60 degree incline. We had a half-way point where we stopped and changed socks and got our canteens filled. The second half was much harder than the first half. Plus we were down in a valley so the scenery was dirt and dead plants. Oh boy!
Yesterday (Sunday) we had church and spent our afternoon in a core values class with our drill instructors and snapped. Today and all week we fire our rifles. I'm so excited as is everyone else. Good news!
I've been promoted to a fire team leader. I'm in charge of 3 people and make sure the four of us are always ready, hygiened, packed and good to go. It's evening now and today rocked! I shot pretty damn good for the first day. I didn't figure my score because I don't know how to do that yet, but I do know I hit the bulls eye at 200 meters, 300 meters, and 500 meters. My first 2 shots at 300 meters were black (bulls eye) and my first 3 shots at 500 meters were black also. The 200 meters were not as good because I had an unaligned weapon. After 15 shots of close range fire I adjusted windage, rear elevation, and the front side tip. Tomorrow should be even better and hopefully it won't rain again.
Well, I am going to end this. I hear they pick up mail once or twice a week here but we'll see. I'll try to write again before Sunday. Miss you all."
Love, Mike
Letter #2 - Dear Mom & Dad,
It's Tuesay night. Almost everyone is asleep except fire watch and a few other recruits. Today at rifle range I was switched to shoot in the afternoon with recruits who did not shoot well yesterday. It's kind of a confidence booster but you can't let it get to your head because anything can happen. I didn't shoot as well as I did yesterday but I feel more confident. I had some wind to deal with in my kneeling and ESPECIALLY my standing position. Because I wasn't shooting as well my coach gave me a few extra clips of rounds to practice with. We'll see what tomorrow brings. I feel so bad that I haven't been sending letters, but our time here is so minimal. I've written almost every letter in my rack after lights out. And I try to keep short because I really need sleep. It's a sacrafice I am willing to make. Well, from our last hike I've noticed that I have 5 blisters now, the tips of my toes don't have feeling anymore, and I did something really weird to my chest. I have a bruise from my pack on my collar bone, only now it's a bruise which went numb. And not just the bruise but about half of my left pectoral. I can still move fine, it just feels like your mouth does after getting novacaine. Other than that, life is going good. I'm off to bed. I miss everyone very much. Thank you for your letters too!
Love, Mike
"Nothing sounds better right now than a mocha from Si Jambo (our local cafe.) It's about 4:00 am Monday morning. We've been here for more than a week now. This will be my second letter to go out since I've been here. The mail boxes are packed full! I don't know how soon this will get out. Well, one week down! Saturday we arrived at Camp Pendleton sometime in the afternoon. The drive up was beautiful! When we arrived we got off the buses and headed for our new house. The houses here are only two levels high, but we got stuck on top again. I don't really remember what we did other than set up our house. Sunday we had church which was nice and free time for the rest of the morning as usual. Our afternoon was spent at supply getting our packs, flak vests, kevlar helmets and sleeping bags. ALL AFTERNOON! Boring... Monday through Friday was the same thing everyday - no joke. We have what's called Grass Week. Basically we go to these outdoor classes in bleachers with an overhang and learn how to fire our M-16 A2's. We are taught rules, condition, techniques, positions, and much more. After some class time we have what's called "snap in" time. "Snap-in" is just snapping into a position we learned and practice perfecting it. This takes place in front of the bleachers.
There is a huge half circle with two barrels in the middle. The barrels are stacked on top of each other and have targets painted on them. I would say we had class about 4-6 hours/day. The rest of the day was spent doing what needed to be worked on... drill, hair cuts, etc. Tuesday we had a 3-mile hike. It was very easy and uneventful. everyone made it. There were no huge hills, but it was quite warm. Our 5-miles hike was on Saturday. The 3-mile somewhat prepared us but not enough. The 5-miles hike was cold and rainy. Then we had to climb some steep hills about 50-60 degree incline. We had a half-way point where we stopped and changed socks and got our canteens filled. The second half was much harder than the first half. Plus we were down in a valley so the scenery was dirt and dead plants. Oh boy!
Yesterday (Sunday) we had church and spent our afternoon in a core values class with our drill instructors and snapped. Today and all week we fire our rifles. I'm so excited as is everyone else. Good news!
I've been promoted to a fire team leader. I'm in charge of 3 people and make sure the four of us are always ready, hygiened, packed and good to go. It's evening now and today rocked! I shot pretty damn good for the first day. I didn't figure my score because I don't know how to do that yet, but I do know I hit the bulls eye at 200 meters, 300 meters, and 500 meters. My first 2 shots at 300 meters were black (bulls eye) and my first 3 shots at 500 meters were black also. The 200 meters were not as good because I had an unaligned weapon. After 15 shots of close range fire I adjusted windage, rear elevation, and the front side tip. Tomorrow should be even better and hopefully it won't rain again.
Well, I am going to end this. I hear they pick up mail once or twice a week here but we'll see. I'll try to write again before Sunday. Miss you all."
Love, Mike
Letter #2 - Dear Mom & Dad,
It's Tuesay night. Almost everyone is asleep except fire watch and a few other recruits. Today at rifle range I was switched to shoot in the afternoon with recruits who did not shoot well yesterday. It's kind of a confidence booster but you can't let it get to your head because anything can happen. I didn't shoot as well as I did yesterday but I feel more confident. I had some wind to deal with in my kneeling and ESPECIALLY my standing position. Because I wasn't shooting as well my coach gave me a few extra clips of rounds to practice with. We'll see what tomorrow brings. I feel so bad that I haven't been sending letters, but our time here is so minimal. I've written almost every letter in my rack after lights out. And I try to keep short because I really need sleep. It's a sacrafice I am willing to make. Well, from our last hike I've noticed that I have 5 blisters now, the tips of my toes don't have feeling anymore, and I did something really weird to my chest. I have a bruise from my pack on my collar bone, only now it's a bruise which went numb. And not just the bruise but about half of my left pectoral. I can still move fine, it just feels like your mouth does after getting novacaine. Other than that, life is going good. I'm off to bed. I miss everyone very much. Thank you for your letters too!
Love, Mike
Monday, October 22, 2007
Phase II - Week 3 - Field Week
As expected we have not received any letters from Michael this past week. I'm sure they're keeping him busy. Here is what I know he's doing this week per my Marine friend out in cyberspace:
Here the recruits will go out to the field and set up hooches where they and a "hoochmate" will sleep. Hygiene out there is......well, I'm guessing they have to learn how to relieve themselves in the wilderness. I'll have to get more info on then from Michael :] He'll have lots to do this week including a night infiltration course, a day assault course, land navigation, patrolling, gas chamber and MOPP gear training. He'll also have combat marksmanship (yep, he's firing again this week.) This is all in preparation for the crucible coming up next week, when he's evaluated on all he's learned.
Tomorrow Michael will go into the gas chamber. I know he was excited and nervous about that. Please keep him covered in prayer and keep sending letter. He needs your encouragement and support more than ever this week and next. Thanks everyone!
Julie
Here the recruits will go out to the field and set up hooches where they and a "hoochmate" will sleep. Hygiene out there is......well, I'm guessing they have to learn how to relieve themselves in the wilderness. I'll have to get more info on then from Michael :] He'll have lots to do this week including a night infiltration course, a day assault course, land navigation, patrolling, gas chamber and MOPP gear training. He'll also have combat marksmanship (yep, he's firing again this week.) This is all in preparation for the crucible coming up next week, when he's evaluated on all he's learned.
Tomorrow Michael will go into the gas chamber. I know he was excited and nervous about that. Please keep him covered in prayer and keep sending letter. He needs your encouragement and support more than ever this week and next. Thanks everyone!
Julie
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Phase II - Week 2 - What's he up to?
There's a Marine who has given us boot camp parents some great info as to what our guys are doing. I thought I'd share some of it with you. He says the mail from our recruits will slow down while they're up north. They have a lot more to do - they have field equipment to get ready and they also have to clean their weapons. Weapons cleaning has to be done, if the rifle fails the marine fails in his job. The Marines have now added training/learning about the Squad automatic weapon and the AT 4 which is an anti-tank weapon that can be used against buildings. This adds about 30-40 hours to the training during field week, and the crucible week.
Last week -Week 1 - Grass Week - The moved up north, set up the house and got other equipment that they'll need for this phase of training. Daily activities are basically the same as they were at the depot. Wake up, hygiene and get ready for training. Even though they have a chow hall, now they get to eat some MRE's. Meal Ready to Eat is the correct name for them but some of the guys call them Meals Rejected by Everybody, or Meals Refusing to Exit!!! :) Yummy..... The recruits "snapped in" with their PMI (Primary Marksmanship Instructor.) He's more laid back and allows the recruits to relax a bit so they can learn better.
Last week was Marksmanship I. They spent a lot of time on this cause every Marine is a rifleman, and this is where they teach them to be the best in the world. They learned the firing positions, the correct way to align the sites, how to breathe, and how to adjust the sites for their rifle. A lot of this is done before they ever step foot on the live fire range. Then they will zero their rifle. It is a long process for some and for others it's easy, but they will have a coach and the DI's to help them do it.
They had 3 and 5-mile "humps" (that's marine for hiking with heavy packs), with a full combat load (kelvar helmet, flak jacket, and a LBV (load bearing vest.) The 5-mile hike is harder than the 3-mile since they add hills to this one.
Week 2 - This week he's spending all day Monday -Thursday at the rifle range. They will split them up and have half of them pulling down in the pits, while half of them fire, then they switch out around midday. Thursday will be qualifying day. Whatever they shoot that day will determine what badge they get. The DIs won't pressure them much this week because they want them to be able to concentrate on shooting. The 8-mile hike isn't as hard as the 5-mile only because there are fewer hills. They will probably get a 5-10 minute break on this one too, where they drop packs sit down and drink water. They usually try to do the hikes in the morning when it's not too hot yet. Marksmanship week and Grass week are probably the two easiest weeks of training.
I'll let you know what he's up to next week. Please keep in mind that Week 4 is the Crucible (Oct 30-Nov. 1.) This is a culminating event of 56 hours of little food and sleep where recruits are pushed to their limits. Mark your calendars so that you can keep Michael in your prayers. I have no idea how he's feeling and hope that he's getting over his bronchitis. This has to be bringing him down but I know he'll never admit it. He's tough!
As always, Ken and I (and Michael) appreciate all your thoughts and prayers. I'm missing him more than ever right now but know that God is watching over him for us. Until next time........
Julie
Last week -Week 1 - Grass Week - The moved up north, set up the house and got other equipment that they'll need for this phase of training. Daily activities are basically the same as they were at the depot. Wake up, hygiene and get ready for training. Even though they have a chow hall, now they get to eat some MRE's. Meal Ready to Eat is the correct name for them but some of the guys call them Meals Rejected by Everybody, or Meals Refusing to Exit!!! :) Yummy..... The recruits "snapped in" with their PMI (Primary Marksmanship Instructor.) He's more laid back and allows the recruits to relax a bit so they can learn better.
Last week was Marksmanship I. They spent a lot of time on this cause every Marine is a rifleman, and this is where they teach them to be the best in the world. They learned the firing positions, the correct way to align the sites, how to breathe, and how to adjust the sites for their rifle. A lot of this is done before they ever step foot on the live fire range. Then they will zero their rifle. It is a long process for some and for others it's easy, but they will have a coach and the DI's to help them do it.
They had 3 and 5-mile "humps" (that's marine for hiking with heavy packs), with a full combat load (kelvar helmet, flak jacket, and a LBV (load bearing vest.) The 5-mile hike is harder than the 3-mile since they add hills to this one.
Week 2 - This week he's spending all day Monday -Thursday at the rifle range. They will split them up and have half of them pulling down in the pits, while half of them fire, then they switch out around midday. Thursday will be qualifying day. Whatever they shoot that day will determine what badge they get. The DIs won't pressure them much this week because they want them to be able to concentrate on shooting. The 8-mile hike isn't as hard as the 5-mile only because there are fewer hills. They will probably get a 5-10 minute break on this one too, where they drop packs sit down and drink water. They usually try to do the hikes in the morning when it's not too hot yet. Marksmanship week and Grass week are probably the two easiest weeks of training.
I'll let you know what he's up to next week. Please keep in mind that Week 4 is the Crucible (Oct 30-Nov. 1.) This is a culminating event of 56 hours of little food and sleep where recruits are pushed to their limits. Mark your calendars so that you can keep Michael in your prayers. I have no idea how he's feeling and hope that he's getting over his bronchitis. This has to be bringing him down but I know he'll never admit it. He's tough!
As always, Ken and I (and Michael) appreciate all your thoughts and prayers. I'm missing him more than ever right now but know that God is watching over him for us. Until next time........
Julie
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Finally...Another Letter and Phase II Begins
We received a letter from Michael yesterday. He starts out with some news about another recruit in his platoon... "This past week has been rough. One of our recruits who didn't want to be here stopped participating all together. So, Tuesday the boys in blue came and cuffed him and he is spending 3 months in the brig. They asked him if he wanted to go to the RSP (Recruit Separation Platoon) but he cussed them out."
He hasn't written for awhile as his platoon was busy preparing for Initial Drill (Sep 29). Unfortunately all that hard work still put them in last place - the losers - the booger platoon. Michael says, "The drill master went up to Senior Drill Instructor and told him we were the worst platoon, so Senior said, "I don't give a sh__, you tell me who the worst platoon is when we get out of chow, or class, you tell me who is the worst platoon when someone walks into my house and my platoon sounds off with more volume and intensity and passion than any other platoon in the company..." and then a few more vulgar swear words. We all felt better after that. So this past week we found it in us to sound off louder than any platoon in the Lima company."
This past week he did log drills, close combat fighting, pugil sticks II, and Initial Physical Fitness Test. He said log drills sucked, close combat was sweet, he lost his pugil sticks match because he was fighting against two guys both of which were over 180 lbs, and he kicked butt on the PFT - he did 13 pull-ups, 101 crunches, and a 25:00 3- mile run. However, he threw up 3 times after the run. He just wasn't feeling well all day.
He continues writing the next day........"Today is a new day. We start second phase today! We changed our guide-on flag from yellow to red, we unbutton the top button of our blouse, and we blouse our trousers. Blousing the trousers is simply rolling them a certain way so you see the tops of our boots."
He went back to medical to take care of his sickness once and for all. He wanted to get some meds before heading up north for Phase II. He'd been told by some 3rd phase recruits that if you go to medical up north you are more than likely getting dropped. There are so many things happening everyday that if you miss one day you are screwed. So... while sitting in medical he writes about the "kick ass day yesterday."
"We started our day with chow and then classes. We had Marine Corps History 6 followed by Interior Guard II. From class we marched straight to the Confidence Course. We did three of the obstacles: Stairway to Heaven, Tough One and Slide for Life. Stairway to Heaven is the obstacle you see in movies. It looks like a giant ladder made of logs which spread farther apart as you climb higher. It goes about 35-40 feet in the air but you don't climb all the way to the top. Tough One was my favorite because it was the hardest for me. You begin by climbing a 25 ft. rope and then grab onto two logs and pull yourself up and thru another log above the one you are holding. Then you walk across about 20 ft. of logs spaced one foot apart from each other. I looked down and my heart started racing. Then once you get across you climb another ladder. Once at the top of this ladder you reach between the logs to grab a rope. Rope in hands, wrap your right leg around the rope and swing out. So... between 35 and 40 feet in the air holding onto a rope, hand-over-hand yourself down. I was SO scared because of the height, I was shaking furiously. But with some encouraging words and a deep breath I did it. There aren't very many safety precautions....no safety nets, no harness, no helmets...just your strength, camies and a cover (hat). One of our recruits was at the top of the first rope and fell! The Drill Instructors told him to get up and go to medical. So he hobbled off to medical. I felt bad for him. The final obstacle was Slide for Life. This is also one you may have seen on TV. There are 3 ropes attached to a tower. Climb up the tower and mount the rope. Lean forward and pull yourself down face first. At half-way point let your legs down so you are hanging by your hands only. Kick your legs up and crawl down feet first. If you fall at any time you are going to be very wet as there's a pool of water under the ropes. It was sweet! Once we finished we double-timed back to our house and showered. Then we had noon chow. From noon chow we went to our first water course. We put on camies (no boots) and swam 25 meters in shallow water. After that we walked to a platform about 8-9 ft. in the air and stepped off. There is a certain way you walk off... arms crossed, feet crossed, look up, look down, and step. Then we had to tread water for 3 minutes followed by a 25 meter swim in 12-ft. deep water. The worst part is that your hands cannot come out of the water at anytime. But our gear makes it really easy to swim. "
"The Lord works in mysterious ways! I'm still at medical and I have bad news and cool news. The bad news is that I have bronchitis. Here is the cool news...... So you know how I've been thinking about why I joined, right? Well I had to get blood work done and I went in the room and there is a young girl sitting a a desk who asks me for my SSN. She tells me to walk over to a room and I do. She steps in and says, "I'm only 13 days older than you." Weird, a girl in the Navy only 13 days older than me is going to be doing blood work on me. She asked where I'm from and she said she too is from a small town. Then she goes on about how she misses the small town life, farms, country music, etc. Then she asked what I did after graduation. I told her and she though it was awesome. I told her how I wasn't sure why I joined and she simply said, "yeah you do." She went on explaining why I joined and it made sense. I feel so much better because of her. Well, I am back at the house and I've been put on bed rest. So I get to sleep the rest of the day. It is currently 14:00 (2:00 pm). I miss you all. Keep sending letters/cards!"
There was talk that he would get phone calls this week but it's not guaranteed. He said, "Mom and Dad's phone service is retarded and won't accept collect calls." Sniff! I think that means he's tried to call us and couldn't get through!
While sitting waiting for church to start he continues on....."Well, I don't know today's date for sure. It's somewhere around the 28th, 29th, or 30th. Katie and Ryan, congrats on 3 years of marriage... I know that was this past week. I can't remember if there are any birthdays or not. Oh, a special thanks to those who sent pictures... they're taped in my foot locker. Also thank you to everyone who has written me letters. I received quite a few this week and I will try to respond to all of them but it may take some time. Another thing is I am not sure how mail works once we go up north. I'll try to find out. I am going to try and write more people. I miss..........." (I guess the church service started) He adds a P.S. --- Last night at mail call I received the most mail out of our whole platoon - 14 cards/letters. I was SO excited! Thank you all so much!! Am sorry to say I will not be able to answer all of your letters and I will have to cut back because up north time is short. Thank you all again from the bottom of my heart. Feel free to send pictures.
There you have it. I hope I haven't confused you too much with the sequence of events. I was a little confused myself as he started and stopped writing several times throughout the 5 pages that he wrote. At least we all know that he's thrilled to be getting so much mail. Keep up the good work everyone! I think I'm just as happy as Michael knowing how much all of you love him, that you care enough to take time to write to him. I hope this upbeat letter is an indication that he's turned a corner and is truly enjoying this step in his journey. I recently received some awesome info about what he's doing during Phase II. I will write that for you soon. Until next time.......thanks everyone for your love and support. It means so much to Michael, Ken and I. We love you back!
Julie
He hasn't written for awhile as his platoon was busy preparing for Initial Drill (Sep 29). Unfortunately all that hard work still put them in last place - the losers - the booger platoon. Michael says, "The drill master went up to Senior Drill Instructor and told him we were the worst platoon, so Senior said, "I don't give a sh__, you tell me who the worst platoon is when we get out of chow, or class, you tell me who is the worst platoon when someone walks into my house and my platoon sounds off with more volume and intensity and passion than any other platoon in the company..." and then a few more vulgar swear words. We all felt better after that. So this past week we found it in us to sound off louder than any platoon in the Lima company."
This past week he did log drills, close combat fighting, pugil sticks II, and Initial Physical Fitness Test. He said log drills sucked, close combat was sweet, he lost his pugil sticks match because he was fighting against two guys both of which were over 180 lbs, and he kicked butt on the PFT - he did 13 pull-ups, 101 crunches, and a 25:00 3- mile run. However, he threw up 3 times after the run. He just wasn't feeling well all day.
He continues writing the next day........"Today is a new day. We start second phase today! We changed our guide-on flag from yellow to red, we unbutton the top button of our blouse, and we blouse our trousers. Blousing the trousers is simply rolling them a certain way so you see the tops of our boots."
He went back to medical to take care of his sickness once and for all. He wanted to get some meds before heading up north for Phase II. He'd been told by some 3rd phase recruits that if you go to medical up north you are more than likely getting dropped. There are so many things happening everyday that if you miss one day you are screwed. So... while sitting in medical he writes about the "kick ass day yesterday."
"We started our day with chow and then classes. We had Marine Corps History 6 followed by Interior Guard II. From class we marched straight to the Confidence Course. We did three of the obstacles: Stairway to Heaven, Tough One and Slide for Life. Stairway to Heaven is the obstacle you see in movies. It looks like a giant ladder made of logs which spread farther apart as you climb higher. It goes about 35-40 feet in the air but you don't climb all the way to the top. Tough One was my favorite because it was the hardest for me. You begin by climbing a 25 ft. rope and then grab onto two logs and pull yourself up and thru another log above the one you are holding. Then you walk across about 20 ft. of logs spaced one foot apart from each other. I looked down and my heart started racing. Then once you get across you climb another ladder. Once at the top of this ladder you reach between the logs to grab a rope. Rope in hands, wrap your right leg around the rope and swing out. So... between 35 and 40 feet in the air holding onto a rope, hand-over-hand yourself down. I was SO scared because of the height, I was shaking furiously. But with some encouraging words and a deep breath I did it. There aren't very many safety precautions....no safety nets, no harness, no helmets...just your strength, camies and a cover (hat). One of our recruits was at the top of the first rope and fell! The Drill Instructors told him to get up and go to medical. So he hobbled off to medical. I felt bad for him. The final obstacle was Slide for Life. This is also one you may have seen on TV. There are 3 ropes attached to a tower. Climb up the tower and mount the rope. Lean forward and pull yourself down face first. At half-way point let your legs down so you are hanging by your hands only. Kick your legs up and crawl down feet first. If you fall at any time you are going to be very wet as there's a pool of water under the ropes. It was sweet! Once we finished we double-timed back to our house and showered. Then we had noon chow. From noon chow we went to our first water course. We put on camies (no boots) and swam 25 meters in shallow water. After that we walked to a platform about 8-9 ft. in the air and stepped off. There is a certain way you walk off... arms crossed, feet crossed, look up, look down, and step. Then we had to tread water for 3 minutes followed by a 25 meter swim in 12-ft. deep water. The worst part is that your hands cannot come out of the water at anytime. But our gear makes it really easy to swim. "
"The Lord works in mysterious ways! I'm still at medical and I have bad news and cool news. The bad news is that I have bronchitis. Here is the cool news...... So you know how I've been thinking about why I joined, right? Well I had to get blood work done and I went in the room and there is a young girl sitting a a desk who asks me for my SSN. She tells me to walk over to a room and I do. She steps in and says, "I'm only 13 days older than you." Weird, a girl in the Navy only 13 days older than me is going to be doing blood work on me. She asked where I'm from and she said she too is from a small town. Then she goes on about how she misses the small town life, farms, country music, etc. Then she asked what I did after graduation. I told her and she though it was awesome. I told her how I wasn't sure why I joined and she simply said, "yeah you do." She went on explaining why I joined and it made sense. I feel so much better because of her. Well, I am back at the house and I've been put on bed rest. So I get to sleep the rest of the day. It is currently 14:00 (2:00 pm). I miss you all. Keep sending letters/cards!"
There was talk that he would get phone calls this week but it's not guaranteed. He said, "Mom and Dad's phone service is retarded and won't accept collect calls." Sniff! I think that means he's tried to call us and couldn't get through!
While sitting waiting for church to start he continues on....."Well, I don't know today's date for sure. It's somewhere around the 28th, 29th, or 30th. Katie and Ryan, congrats on 3 years of marriage... I know that was this past week. I can't remember if there are any birthdays or not. Oh, a special thanks to those who sent pictures... they're taped in my foot locker. Also thank you to everyone who has written me letters. I received quite a few this week and I will try to respond to all of them but it may take some time. Another thing is I am not sure how mail works once we go up north. I'll try to find out. I am going to try and write more people. I miss..........." (I guess the church service started) He adds a P.S. --- Last night at mail call I received the most mail out of our whole platoon - 14 cards/letters. I was SO excited! Thank you all so much!! Am sorry to say I will not be able to answer all of your letters and I will have to cut back because up north time is short. Thank you all again from the bottom of my heart. Feel free to send pictures.
There you have it. I hope I haven't confused you too much with the sequence of events. I was a little confused myself as he started and stopped writing several times throughout the 5 pages that he wrote. At least we all know that he's thrilled to be getting so much mail. Keep up the good work everyone! I think I'm just as happy as Michael knowing how much all of you love him, that you care enough to take time to write to him. I hope this upbeat letter is an indication that he's turned a corner and is truly enjoying this step in his journey. I recently received some awesome info about what he's doing during Phase II. I will write that for you soon. Until next time.......thanks everyone for your love and support. It means so much to Michael, Ken and I. We love you back!
Julie
Monday, October 8, 2007
Sending Mail Information
Hi Everyone......... we haven't received any letters from Michael since my last posting. However, I did find out that it's VERY important that we NOT send any mail that can bring attention to the DI. That means no colored envelopes, nothing on the outside of the envelope, etc... This may seem extreme but we don't want Michael to get any undue grief from receiving "goofy" mail. If you've already sent something like this (as I have) don't worry about it. From now on please send letters in a plain white envelope. If you send a card, just choose a white envelope. I know our Hallmark store is good about switching a colored one for a white one. Others will too.
I understand that Michael is VERY busy now that he's in Camp Pendleton for Phase II. I will share more information about that soon so that you have a better idea of what he's up to. I'm expecting fewer letters because of his busy schedule but will always let you know when I hear from him.
Julie
I understand that Michael is VERY busy now that he's in Camp Pendleton for Phase II. I will share more information about that soon so that you have a better idea of what he's up to. I'm expecting fewer letters because of his busy schedule but will always let you know when I hear from him.
Julie
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