VUMS, Bill Morgan has no problem in recalling events of Recruit Training which is called Boot Camp and has a meaning of something low down as on the boot. More properly said might have been Sole Camp. No, it is not Soul Camp! You can’t get any lower than the sole of boot the underside of a shoe or boot.        

(Are you starting to get the picture?) 

Photo to the left is Bill Morgan & DI MGSgt Joe Annese, USMC Retired, meeting for the first time in 55 years. (2005)

Here, I will attempt to give you an overview of Recruit Training in United States Marine Corps as described by the Drill Instructor (DI) and it is made up of (3) Three Part Schedule starting with DAY One (1) which is about subjecting the recruit to shock, all thinking stops and your mind is open to one thing and that is the Drill Instructor.

Within 10 minutes after getting off the train in San Diego, CA in 1950, we were in formation and nothing was right or acceptable to the Receiving DI. He said, Line up an arms length from the recruit in front of me. I did and in doing so, I touched the other recruits shoulder and the DI said, "Do not touch that man" and Crash a swagger stick hit me and nearly passed thru my arm. I bent forward in pain, he kicked me and said, standup straight. I did and I knew right then and there that this is a "No Fun Place" and the end of Smiles. NOW, the recruit realizes who is in control and it is not the recruit. For the first time in our life, we understood that it is about the Corps and not us. "Now they have our attention?"

With that having been done, the orientation to the Corps begins and may never end, on Day One the recruit will study military subjects and physical training. In other words this is the beginning of the transformation of the Civilian Mind to the Military Mind. (Not all make this transition cycle) In 1950, we had 32% failure, or drop outs. In retrospect, I have a deep sympathy for those that could not make it. They leave with something that may haunt them the rest of their life knowing that they failed. Some say, "I don't care". Maybe some do but most know they have failed.

Next, is the recruit’s version of the training.
DAY One (1) Forget the Train and unloading, next we built a four man tent and moved into it as our new home. We will begin our first day in the early dark hours (0500) of the morning. The once happy recruit and former civilian has stepped off the train into a world of total confusion and disorientation. His mind begins racing with thoughts of “How did I get here, is this really happening and if so, why me?“ Most recruits have heard several times that the world will end some day. But, is this the day? Quickly, he realizes that the world did just end for him. No, Life will ever be the same from this day forward. “I know, I have been there, done that!”

Our DI is not a friendly nice guy like the recruiter back home. Nothing pretty or nice about this brutal, insane dictator that the recruit just met. It is beyond his conception that one human being could treat another in such a sadistic fashion. In his daily struggle to survive, the recruit becomes nearly insane wondering if the dictator that is in charge will allow him to live just one more day. Slowly the hours become days to weeks, will it ever end? The secret and silent crying in the sack at night subsides as the mind becomes numb as the exhausted and drained body literally dies away leaving behind his civilian way of thinking. Forgotten are the supercilious values and goals that fired enlistment. (Was I deaf and blind, what did I really hear the recruiter say.)

Graduation is a thought in the recruits mind, but he may not live that long, he thinks. The recruit lives in a mental halfway house, and in his mind is an unconscious existence state of thinking that may never end.  One night after lights out, the recruit lies on his rack contemplating "the worst mistake I ever made in my life." The body and the mind have reached the limits of endurance. Slowly, he begins to make a decision. His first thoughts are that he cannot continue another hour much less another day. That is the end of the thinking process, he sinks into despair and will soon be released to return home as a failure and face shame the rest of his entire life. (This is no joke, it is actual thinking.) As thoughts continue, it includes the drill instructor as the focal point. Anger begins to rage within the recruit. Further thought heightens the anger within to real anger. The irreversible decision is made, "I will not let that *#@ sadist of a being defeat me."

Second Part begins the next morning at roll call. The recruit responds in a voice that is sharp and quick, loud and distinct, and permeated with a tone of defiance. On the parade deck his movements suddenly become snappy, displaying a newly found arrogance. Despite the aching body, his physical training scores rocket upwardly.  The recruit has engaged the drill instructor in a mental duel. He is determined that he will excel and that the drill instructor will never again single him out. Yet, as he struggles it seems that the drill instructor is answering the challenge and singles him out with continuously accelerating the demands ever increasing expectations. With grim determination, the recruit has grown to meet the challenge.
Finally, one day the recruit is astonished with the sudden realization that he has executed a command, perfectly and with relative ease. His mind engages in further introspection. He notices the transformation of mind and body. Gone is the deep-seated defiance, replaced with absolute confidence. He has achieved the "Gung Ho!" attitude, which he will have for the rest of his life.

DAY 50 or so is the big chunk or the bulk of the training, the recruit will begin with rifle training or marksmanship training, some combat exercises and some endurance hikes. The recruit is exposed to hand grenades, rocket launchers, bangalore torpedoes, light and heavy machine guns, demolitions and more. Just a little of this and that and no plan to over do this part. They are not ready for the "Double Whammy" yet! It appears the main goal is to get everyone qualified with the current rifle in use; mine was the famous M-1. Here again, I have sympathy for those who did not qualify. In my opinion it is very easy for anyone to qualify, I did at age 16. The trick is listen, be calm, don't hurry and squeeze off the round, no jerking, please.

DAY 60 with 32 or so to go (Will it ever end?) involves mostly looking for the dangling participles or better called “Irish Pennants” of the over all training program, it involves a lot of work details including mess duty or working party in the chow hall. (I don’t want to make light of the mess duty assignment, it is a shock of a life-time. (30 days in all)  During this phase the DI will go over a final review for release, are we ready? This is followed by graduation. This could be the happiest day in a recruits life and if not it is one of them! Free at last, they think! However, those 98 days as the recruits thinks of them may be a little different. Then the above words by the DI.

Now, the Final Part has begun. The recruit now struts, proud and tall. Graduation, wearing the Eagle, Globe and Anchor, and being awarded the title "Marine", no longer thoughts of outwardly or inwardly as “Gooney bird, scum, boot, etc. He minimizes his own participation. All credit is given to the drill instructor. All earlier attitudes give way to one of genuine deep respect. "If I ever go into combat, I want him as my leader."
The former civilian will be forever a Marine and the drill instructor will live within his mind forever. Now, he understands this, "Once a Marine, always a Marine."
The above is a collection of thoughts, comments, and stories that I have personally exchanged with my fellow marines in person and by reading their comments and there are too many to name here.
On 16 November 1950, with about 1000 plus other recruits, I proudly strutted across the Parade Field, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California before approximately 50 spectators and  having earned the right to wear the Eagle, Globe, & Anchor with title, "United States Marine." Not bad for a 16 year old!

The mental phases or parts of training as perceived in the mind of the recruit are based upon my own impressions and reflections from the time. My DI, Sgt Joe Annese further indicated that the phases of training were forced by design and that the drill instructor is intensely aware of the current mental condition of each individual recruit. It was my greatest pleasure to have the opportunity to visit with my DI, MGSgt Joe Annese, his wife, and son Roy in the year of 2005 in New Jersey. What a great reunion just 55 years later.