muddysmind.com

that was a horrible foxhole!

get back out there and dig me another marine!

haha

"that was a horrible foxhole!"

*That* was suppossed to be a foxhole!? I thought it was a latrine. You're right, muddy, that *was* horrible ....now drop and give me 20 marine! :-)

that was a damn good fighting hole (we don't dig foxholes!) considering that the soil was pure sand. When we tried digging it deeper, the walls would collapse, our NCOs just said eh, it's deep enough. Had a water sump and a grenade sump in it though.

"that was a damn good fighting hole"

Ahh! Which would explain why it *didn't* look like a foxhole. Yes, it does look like a damn good fighting hole if I do say so my *own* damn self. Besides, if it's good enough for your NCOs then what more could you ask for.

"(we don't dig foxholes!)"

Touchy touchy touchy :-)

Seriously, though, I actually *did* think that was a fighting hole (not that you'll believe me after I made that "latrine" joke) and not because muddy told me but because I've seen them on t.v quite a few times enough to know what they look like. Ok, so I *still* don't know as much about the military as you, cwilli (where's he been lately anyway) and Muddy....but I am picking up somethings on my own along the way. That's something isn't it? :-)

mrs. muddy: marines don't drop and give you x number of push ups...we get ITed...aka quarterdecked. I'll have to explain that one day. Sadly, thoguh it's the most original form of bootcamp punishment in the military, none of the documentaries ever talk about it.

"marines don't drop and give you x number of push ups"

Oh, no! I wasn't talking about giving me 20 push ups....I was talking about giving me 20 *DOLLARS*. But I definately can see where the confussion was.

"we get ITed...aka quarterdecked. I'll have to explain that one day."

Yes, you will...as I have *no* idea WHAT that means other than some form of "punishment"?

It essentially works like this: the DI has your but for 8.5 minutes. You go to the "quarterdeck", which is a square area at the front of the squadbay, or to a sand pit outside (which really sucks with all the sand fleas) and you stand of the position of attention until the DI says something.

He might say "push" to which you must drop as fast as you can, start doing push-ups and sound off "Push, aye, aye, sir!" and he might keep saying push and everytime he says push you have to respond like that. Then he might say crunch, theny ou do crunches. He might says hop, then you do side straddle hops. It gets particularly interesting when he says something like "Climb-hop-crunch" (which was ony of my DI's favorites.) Then you'll do 1 4 count moutain climber, 1 4 count side straddle hop and 1 crunch and then start over until he tells you do something else. Might you, whenever he tells you to do something, you must respond by sayings whatever he said followed by "aye, aye sir!" Course you don't just say it, you sound off (basically yell as loud as you can."

This gets even more interesting cause you have 3 to 4 DIs. 1 is the Senior Drill Instructor. He'll rarely IT you, but when he does you will wish you were dead. 1 is called the "Heavy." He'll never IT you. He teaches you drill and stuff like that. The other 2 guys are called the 3rd and 4th hats, aka the killers or the bulldogs. They are the ones usually doing this to you. At the end of it all, you'll have more respect for them than any of the others because they were the ones that instilled discipline in you.

Now this is a form of punishment, but, sometimes (like on sundays during field day...) they'll just call you up to the quarterdeck for the heck of it. Also, this is probably the thing the single handedly gets you in shape better than anything else you do in bootcamp.

May I take this time to say:

Daaamn!!! I now have a new respect for you.

I have somtimes wondered what *I* would have been like in bootcamp if I would have let those recruters talk me into joining the military after high school. The only mental pictures that come to my mind are something of a cross between Private Benjamine and Gommer Pile. Maybe not to *that* extreme but the bottom line is .....it would NOT have been pretty....and I guaruntee, they would have BEGGED me to go home. :-)

No, they wouldn't have. One of the first things my SDI told us: "We will continue to train you, long after many of you have given up on yourselves."

If anything is a realistic depection of bootcamp, I'd say it's somewhere between full metal jacket (minus the beatings, those only go on in 3rd Bn these days) and the documentary on it that the discovery channel shows from time to time.

Trust me though, the first time I saw my DIs, whoa t that moments looked like the biggest, baddest Marines I'd ever met, that was the scariest moment of my life. They told us, that they tried to make bootcamp a constantly stressful enviroment, so if we didn't crack then, combat would look easy and we wouldn't crack in combat.

Well, it sounds like you've been trained for a future to definitely be proud of (obviously). Muddy even told me about that test you recently passed as well. Congratulations btw. Wasn't it a vision test to get into flight training school (I hope I said that right - probably not).

Actually, my cousin joined the Air Force (forgive him...we can't *all* be Marines :-P ) to specifically become a fighter pilot himself (He called it a "fly boy" which I assume is the same thing?). Unfortunately, I think he failed the vision part not to mention 2-3 yrs. after that, they found out he is a type 1 diabetic anyway. He's still in the Air Force but now he's doing photography.

Wow! I'm surprised he's still in. Usually diabetes will get you a medical discharge.

The Air Force requires 20/20 vision, as does the Navy. The Marine Corps requires 20/40 vision. The other side of that is that the air force will allow you to have lasik, the Marine Corps will only allow PRK and that's only if you get accepted into a special program.

I have been physically okayed for flight. I had to have a flight physical (including an EKG.) I had to have a vision test (including a depth perception test which I had previously failed.) I had previously been rated as 20/40 both eyes. This time the docs rated me 20/20 both eyes and I passed the depth perception.

I also had to take an aptitude test which I passed with flying colors ont he first try which a) surprised the heck out of everyone including me and b) is unusual.

"Wow! I'm surprised he's still in. Usually diabetes will get you a medical discharge."

Yeah, I think he feels pretty lucky. He's been in since '89 and if I'm not mistaken (which I probably am) he was diagnosed early to mid '90's. He used to say that he plans to stay in until he retires or at lest until they kick him out....whichever comes first.

"I had to have a vision test (including a depth perception test which I had previously failed.)"

I'm glad to hear you did well on your tests this time, but how many chances do they give you to pass? And what exactly *is* the next step now? More tests, training and school?

next: I go to OCS for 6 weeks. The vision tests were just normal eye exams. My previous exams were when I enlisted and when I arrived at bootcamp, they were irrelevant to this because the officer programs are completely seperate.

AFter OCS I come home, do another year of school (assuming i don't spend a few months in afghanistan) and then go back to OCS for 6 weeks again, come home, finish school then I go to The Basic School. AFter that I go to Flight school.

Ah, I see (with contacts btw - *I'm* blind as a bat). So basically, you'll have alot of free time on you hands, huh? hehehe

Well, good luck at OCS where ever that will be and keep us posted....as if you wouldn't. :-)