Denise Goes to Marine Boot Camp!

Last week I had the opportunity to go on an adventure of a lifetime.  I went to Parris Island, South Carolina for four days of Marine boot camp! Now I didn't enlist and then get dishonorably discharge!  No, I was a part of the Marine Educator Workshop, RS Louisville/RS Cleveland.  (That's Marine lingo for recruiting stations Louisville and Cleveland).  I spent four days learning what the Marine Corp is, what their philosophies are, how a recruit becomes a Marine, and more.  I was not prepared for what I was about to face!

Let me give you a brief account of my week.  After flying all day and waiting for everyone to arrive, we were then taken on base for dinner and a briefing of the week.  Then it was back to the Holiday Inn in Beaufort for a good night's sleep. Not so bad, right?   Wednesday morning the 4: 00 a.m. wake up call came!  Ouch!!!  Chow was at 5:00 a.m. and on the bus by 5:30!  What happened next was not on the introductory film the night before.  We pulled up to the recruit processing building and were greeted with a sergeant SCREAMING  at us to get off the bus and line up on the yellow footprints!  This is exactly what the recruits go through when they arrive in the middle of the night on Parris Island.   I'll be honest, I was scared shitless!  I didn't know what they were saying or what they wanted me to do.  They just kept screaming!  We were then "ushered" into processing where we met with our drill instructors for the week.  Our DI was Sergeant Wasserman.  What sweetheart?!?!?!?!?!?!?  Oh man, he had worked us over for at least an hour on formations, ditties, and commands.  But in all honesty, he was a good guy.  We even nicknamed him Sergeant McDreamy!  (View the video below.  It is a brief look at Day 1.   And yes, that's me, in the pink not knowing what to do!  I was scared!)

For the next 3 days we were ensconced in Marine recruit life.  We moved everywhere in formation to the barking orders of Sgt. Wasserman.  We visited the musesum, pool facilities, the crucible, and flight hangar.   We participated in various activities such as the rifle range, rappelling wall, leatherneck square, confidence course, and  mixed martial arts. (No, I did not get to rappel!  There were 90 people and only 16 got to do it.  I wish I had though.)  We watched colors and graduation.  We really got to see what it is like to live the life of a Marine recruit.

While we were "treated" as Marines, I have say that the everyone we met and talked with were so nice and accommodating to our needs and questions. They really wanted us to learn about the Marines and what they stand for.  I knew going in that we would have lunch each day with recruits.  So on Tuesday night I asked the commanding officer if it would be possible to have lunch with one of my National Honor Society students who was a current recruit.  They couldn't make me any promises, but they made it happen.  When got to the chow hall on Wednesday, there he was!  He had no idea why he was there!  In fact, he didn't even recognize me because he wasn't expecting it at all.  We weren't sure if we were allowed to take pictures, so with the help of my table mates, we went on a covert operation!  The result was this picture of Tyler and myself.  I was able to send it to his girlfriend and family!  They were shocked to receive that text message!I want to thank the Marine Corp for making it happen.


When people ask me questions, the most frequently question asked is what did I learn?  This  is hard to answer because I learned so much! The most important thing I learned was respect.  I grew up respecting the armed forces, the flag and the Constitution of the United States.  Before my week of boot camp, I had surface respect.  It was what I was taught.  Now I have heart respect.  I get it now.  I have seen it, "lived"it, and breathed it.  I have a deeper understanding that doesn't come without such an experience.  Veteran's Day is now something I get.

I want to thank the US Marine Corp and General Lori Reynolds, and all of the personnel who made this trip possible. I want to thank all of the Marines who spent time with us throughout the week for teaching me what it is to be a Marine. I want to thank Captain Maurer, Sgt. Hollis, Sgt. Stewman, Sgt. Lemasters for being our escorts from Cleveland to Parris Island and back.  Thank you to Sgt. Bragg, our LV recruiter, for driving me to and from Cleveland.  And to Sgt. Wasserman,  aka Sgt. McDreamy, thank you for making our week so enjoyable.  You knew the perfect combination of  being drill instructor and teacher with a lot of gentleman thrown in!  Oorah!

View Day 2-3 here!






Make Every Day Count......
Denise