I joined the United States Marine Corps when I was 17 years old. More specifically, 5 days after my 17th birthday my mother had to go with me to sign the papers for my enrollment because I wasn’t legally old enough to do it myself (you have to be 18). Believe me, she didn’t want to do it, but I felt it was my duty to defend this country and she respected my decision.
Less than 8 hours after I graduated from high school I was on an airplane to Marine Corp Recruit Depot in San Diego, CA, where I was to spend the next few months of my life. Since that time people have often asked me what USMC Boot Camp was like, often comparing it to the movie Full Metal Jacket. And I tell them in most ways it was actually a lot worse than that movie.
Now there is a documentary called Ears, Open. Eyeballs, Click. which gives you a real view of what it’s like. Watching the clips that follow bring this all back as if it was yesterday – although it was 20 years ago. The thing to keep in mind when you watch these videos is that it’s like this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 13 weeks straight.
Before we get started, here is why you join the USMC:
Mom – the ones that come next will probably make you cry. You might not want to watch them…
From the moment you arrive at MCRD the yelling begins. These guys just arrived in San Diego at the airport and aren’t even on the bus yet:
They torture you as a group, then they torture you individually, and all that is within the first hour!
Later in the training it gets a lot worse. Here is a little three part video giving an overview of the entire process of becoming a US Marine:
- Week 01 – Receiving: 2 a.m. new recruits arrive at Parris Island, SC.
- Week 02 – In the Barracks: Bringing discipline into the recruits routine.
- Week 03 – Bayonet Assault Course: Turning instruction into intensity.
- Week 04 – Pugil Sticks: Facing opponents for the first time.
- Week 05 – MCMAP: Learning Marine Corps Martial Arts.
- Week 06 – Rappelling: Overcoming fear.
- Week 07 – Grass Week: Learning weapon safety and technique.
- Week 08 – Firing Week: Firing live rounds.
- Week 09 – The Confidence Course: Overcoming obstacles as a team.
- Week 10 – Day Movement: Simulating tactical scenarios.
- Week 11 – The Crucible: 54 continuous hours of physical and mental challenges. It all comes together here. Teamwork , leadership, discipline and all of skills they have learned.
- Week 12 – Emblem Ceremony: Receiving the Eagle, Globe and Anchor and the title “Marine”.
Semper Fi!
hey im thanking about going to the marines but im only 14 is it worth the 12 weeks of boot camp and also my m.o.s would be infintry whats yours?
So much good gouge here. I have a blog of my own on USMC OCS.
storiesfromocs.blogspot.com
I was and always will be fascinated by how the Corps changes civilians into Marines. They’ve honed it down to a science after a couple of centuries of practice.
hey ,i just get out from army 6 months ago,,army is soo politics and stupid ass hell with all that high speed stuff,,how marines do it today or they aceppt any prior service from army,,and i get RE-1 dischrge,,somebody i need answer
Hey, I am 14 and I’m going to finish High School in 2015 and I am thinking of joining the Marines!! I am in quiet good condition can do 20 pull ups + 110 sit ups in 2 minutes! I also have the SA Swimming Record for 50m Backstroke!! But the only problem is that I live in South Africa!! I want to know if I can join the US Marines??? Please let me know!! Thanks!!
Zane!! :)
Zane,
To enlist, you must be a U.S. citizen or a resident alien. So if you move to the US, you can join. Otherwise, no.
Cheers,
John P.
mr john,,i was in the army active for 4 years and half i went twice deploy to afghn 12 monts deploy,,with 101 arb division 4 bct ,,fort camp bell KY,,im civilian now,,but interest to join USMC Reserve ,,i get RE-1 discharge honorable,,are they still enlisted prior service from other branch,,
Absolutely they’ll take you if you served in any other branch and left in good standing! Just call your local recruiter and they’ll get you in. Semper Fi!
I joined tin 1984 went to bootcamp in july and graduated in september and it was a 24 hour 7 days a week hell week. the first day was something i had never exspeienced ever before made my dad yelling at me nothing and he was a marine also. i do agree that the physical part needs to be constant and all need to finnish giving 110 percent no quiters. and politacle and parents not allowed cadence should be whatever keeps you going so if you say pussy or pain so what. its about building marines not boyscouts. every generation says that its getting worse. i think its about time the generals start listening. semper fi he marine corps
Devil Dog, I am 15 years old and I can’t wait until I can enlist. I agree 100% with your views. I want to become one of the best human beings on the planet when I graduate from basic. I want to be proud for the rest of my life that I did what others can’t even think about. I want to serve my country and be a part of every thing people talk about when they say “Marine”. I can only hope that they get harder on recruits by 2015. There’s a reason I want to be a marine. If I wanted to be trained then I’d join the army. I want to be a Marine.
ATTENTION ON DECK MARINES: I am the son of a career Navy sailor. I did 5 stinkin’ years in the Army( medic, jump-qualified, detached to 10th Spec Forces Group Bad Tolz FRG) after high school. In college after ( Bachelors in Nursing), I was an enlisted Crewchief in the daggone Air National Guard (country club MF’ers), walked away from them when I EAOS’d…. A year later I had early mid-life crisis, and joined the USMCR ( 1 – 25 Inf) as a 0331 (machine gunner to you civilian pogues) …. in 1999, AT AGE 34, I WENT TO MCRD PARRIS ISLAND SC!!! C COMPANY PLT 1006 1ST RTB… truly, I never felt as much pride in my military accompl,ishments as I did in gradding Parris island and marching by Iron Mike. True, in 1987 us army basic they were still doing “wall to wall counselling” and by 1999 the Mothers of America had ruled that out on MCRD, it’s still plenty tough….. the Corps teaches moral integrity and honor because there is IMPLICIT trust in your seniors; without faith and trust in core values, we are nothing.I was called up in 2003 for OIF, and again in 05 for OEF (TOROS!)…. To any young wannabe Marine, THOSE lessons in moral integrity really will stand by you for a freakin’ lifetime…. ie, when u are subsequently tempted to do wrong, to steal – you will find yourself saying” my integrity’s worth more than that,…” because the Corps and its Objectives instill that in YOU. forever.truly….do yew unnerstand that,recruit? Out here, brothers….
Hey Sgt. Pad…Went through P.I. with Platton 306 and graduated December 1966. Our Sr. D.I. was a SSGT E.C. Jones. He was bad ass, hard corps…but got relieved before Elliot’s Beach. Last I saw him was after graduation ceremonies standing in the crowd, no longer wearing is D.I. cover. I heard he got busted, sent to the Nam but, saddly, never made it back.
Im 17 now and i have been wanting to be a Marine for years. I have been in the Air Force, Army, and Navy JROTC and yet i still decide to stick with the marines. I cant wait to graduate from high school and go straight in for boot camp. Who says females cant be a kick ass marine. I believe i can do it without a doubt. Its my dream!
me u suck
That’s kind of shocking to read Devil Dog’s description of boot camp in 2007; I enlisted in 2000, and I didn’t see skating like that. When I went out in the fleet, some of the older guys would say “boot camp ain’t as hard as it used to be” and I believed them because the political correctness crap was in full swing then, but I still thought that boot camp “did it’s job”. Nowadays, if they keep making it softer and softer, that’s gonna cause a lot of problems which will just feed the public’s hysterical view that Marine boot camp is too barbaric, and it needs to be made easier.
I arrived in Parris Island in June of 1998 and graduated on September 11, 1998. Prior to joining the Corps, I had played football for ten years of my life and considered myself to be in pretty good shape. Wrong! Boot camp when I went through it was 24 hours a day, 7 days a week physical and psychological punishment. From the quarterdeck, to the pit, to coming in from p.t. and being marched through the showers with every other shower head turned from freezing cold to boiling hot. Being given thirty seconds to eat your breakfast and when you weren’t done, the d.i. picked up your tray and dumped it. Being woke up at 3am to get on line, count down while still half asleep and then to watch the d.i. dump mattresses all over the place and count backwards from twenty to remake the racks! During rifle week, when we did night fire, we got back to the barracks and the stripped us, patted us down, scanned with the metal detector and God help you if you weren’t fast enough at proving to them you hadn’t taken a live round as a “souvenier”. It got ugly at times and there were times when I and others got thrown around a bit and other time when they broke us down to nothing.
But here’s the thing: when I joined, I had very little confidence in myself, I got pushed around a lot growing up because I was small and sheepish and wouldn’t defend myself. I was easily intimidated and believed it when someone told me how worthless or stupid I was. And believe, I was a guy that grew up with the most supportive parents in the world. Unfortunately, I let the opinions of those around me in school affect my own self worth.
When I graduated: I was lean, I was toned, I was strong and most of all confident. I walked with my head up and my shoulders back and meaningful purpose to my step. I would’ve taken on six guys at once because even if I couldn’t take all of them, I didn’t give a shit because I certainly wasn’t scared.
I was 18 when I went through it and I’m 31 today and the lessons and the confidence still resonates. Semper Fi.
We had the night inspections too. 1998 a kid killed himself at the range.
Hey, I am enlisting March 1 (my 17th bday). I want to be a MOS 1812, (M1A1 Tank Crewman) but, I was wondering if I could get MSG duty of my MOS is Armor? Or would I have to go Inf. to get MSG duty? I grew up on Camp Pendleton,CA. My dad was in the Corps from 88-99. He was with 2/4 Echo, he was a Mortarman, but he has advised me to stay away from Arty and Mortars and they cause deafness fairly quickly, he is deaf in his left ear from it. But anyway I was wondering if anyone could tell me if I can still apply for MSG duty even if my MOS is 1812. Semper Fi
S.P. if you’re still listening, any MOS can volunteer for MSG but you have to be eligable to get a security clearance; also they don’t just give you the exact MOS you ask for, so you may not end up a tanker.
Hey everyone, I’ve been reading everything on this and I will just write down some random stuff that may answer some questions or comments on what others have said. I was in for 7 years and just got out 6 months ago with a BA degree in hand. I’m currently working on my Master’s and I’m a GS-12 in Homeland Security. The biggest piece of advice I would give to young men aspiring to be a Marine, it to try to go to college first. Being an officer has so many more positives than being enlisted and it’s better for your future if decide to get out or retire. If you know you don’t have the discipline to finish college right now (like me when I joined), then you should take the route I took. Being a PFC and LCpl sucks. But like some have said, it just may make you stronger and I believe my experiences in the Corps made me very strong.
Your training will be as hard as your Drill Instructors, some are intense, some are not. We started wth 76 and graduated with 54 (and thats after 10 pick ups). So, we had about a 40 percent attrition rate. We were honor platoon and we won nearly every contest between the other platoons. We also had three suicide attempts (1 almost succeeded), 1 UA who made it all the way to Arizona (escaped from San Diego), and a few sent home because they were deemed psychologically unable to adapt. The rest of the drops were injuries or got too sick. So in my opinion, we were trained hard in 2003.
Croatia, yes you can join. You will have to locate an overseas recruiter in Europe I believe. But do not hold me to that.
Choosing MOS. Hey, it’s all who and what you want to be. If you are concerned about your career and monthly income after the USMC, I would advise you not to go into infantry unless you just don’t make the grade on the ASVAB. If you have a GT score of 110 or higher, you definitely need to stay away from infantry and use your intelligence for something more specialized. At the time of my entry, I had a GT of 110, BUT I had been arrested when I was a dumbass 16 yr old for drugs. That kept me from getting intelligence or other fields that required a clearance. So, I went LEGAL admin. Well, just because it says LEGAL, doesn’t mean you will be learning about the law which I found out when I got to MOS school (that was my fault for not doing research). However the Corps just had a different plan for me altogether and I ended up getting to do a lot of all the fun stuff that a Marine loves to do. Fire different types of weapons, pick up detainees, security convoy missions, humanitarian assistance missions, HMM-V courses, helo missions, train with other militaries, tech training, etc. So, in alot of ways, I got the best of both worlds because I was on a MEU. ANYWAY, think about your MOS and what your intentions are. Just because you are one MOS, doesn’t exactly mean that is what you will be doing your whole USMC career. The higher the GT score requirement and clearance, the higher the pay later on in life. Recommendations are 0511 and 0231, these have great civilian careers as well.
Final last two pieces of advice. TRAVEL! Do not try to select a location close to home. Who joins the military only to stay close to home? Go out and explore all what the Corps has to give you to you. GO MSG!!! I got to travel to 25 plus countries and dated all kinds of women from every skin color, different languages, and customs. Enjoy and embrace the adventure, you’ll regret it when you’re older.
USE tuition assistance and GI BILL!!!! Ask your college buddies or high school friends who didn’t join the military how they are paying for school. If it isn’t their parents, they are taking out loans that will keep them in debt for quite a while. I have no debt, all of my school is for free, and I’m getting paid an extra $2,000 A MONTH to get my MASTER’S. This is on top of my GS-12 paycheck. Who gets paid the equivalent of 40,000 a year to go get an advanced degree???? NO ONE else except military vets!! TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE GI BILL, ITS THE BEST THING THE US MILITARY OFFERS VETS!!!
Do not get into trouble while you’re in the The Corps, it could ruin your professional career. The Corps will be very good to you if you’re good to the Corps. Semper Fi
I’m only 16 years old and i Graduate in 2012. Sorry to hear that the Marine Corps is getting soft, I was really hoping to go through all the works that a usual marine would go through. I ‘m not really in top physical shape but i believe i can get in good shape about time August of 2012 rolls around. I just scared as hell when ex-Marine buddies of mine told me that I was gonna have to run like five miles each day!! I knew that I wanted to be a Marine since I was 6 years old but i still don’t know what my specialty or field of expertise is going to be yet. I still need some suggestions but I might be leaning towards infantry. MARINES CORPS FOREVER!!! I FOREVER SALUTE YOU!!!
Hi can i join Marines corp if i am not from US?? i am from Croatia
I’m not 100% certain about this, but I think you can if you have a green card…
John P.
How then to get that green card?? I now english perfectly
15 but I want to join when I get out of school I want to be in the band of brothers and be always faithful to our great nation I have been working out I weigh about 110 not sure if weight matters I can run fairly well I just need work on pushups thanks for the videos and thank you all for serving Semper Fi!
I went through P I in 1963 and it was as hard as my brothers had explained to me. See I had two older brothers that went through P I in 1956. P I was not easy and I was with the 3rd Bat. Plt 358. Back then we were U S gov. Property,There was not stress zones. The only thing that we had was the black flag days. If the days temp went over 99 degrees we were not allowed to go outside the barracks,but we did everything inside. I would like to thank my DIs for the hard work that that made the whole plt become a unit. Thanks again Sgt E C Jones SDI
Ahh, yeah I can’t wait to get to MCRD Parris Island!! 11-April 2011 , but what I can’t wait for is when I cross that parade deck as a United States Marine!
I ship off to boot in April
I’m in decent shape, and I have four more precious months to bring it.
I still struggle with running, but I can sprint like its nothing… Its the endurance part that is killing me. I’m scared to death, but I believe I have the heart to earn the title.
I finished boot camp November of 1998. I was extremely physically fit when I begun training (16:30 3miles / 25pull-ups, etc, etc.) and I would never call what I went through at Paris Island in 1998’ “a Joke”. I suppose boot camp became “a joke” sometime after 1998’ because it certainly wasn’t “a joke” when I went through it. It’s a damn pity if this is indeed true; it makes me want to punch a whole in the wall. Being a Marine is supposed to be something that is earned, not a walk in the park. Now days it seems it doesn’t matter either way. You might as well join the Navy, Amy or Air Force.
boot camp was a joke, everyone graduates. There will always be marines that slip through the cracks. But you will always need those turds to clean the barracks and CP, heck they even clean my office. I work in the s-4. grad PI in dec 06.
I am disappointed the videoclips were reviewed due to youtube violations, but a definite thanks for sharing.
I’m excited about making the choice to join. I’m only in the process of testing, but if I pass, I will definitely be amongst the others joining bootcamp. I look forward to it.
Who gets fast food, the recruits? I made phone calls home but it was only to tell my parents I was being dropped to MRP and would not be graduating when they thought I was. I was on the Island in 2000 and I remember being, as a platoon, in the pit or on the quarterdeck all the flipping time. We were on the lower deck in my first platoon and the upper deck in my second platoon and it only slowed us down if we used the hand rails, I can’t remember if we were allowed to or not, but I do know if we weren’t down in a certain amount of time we got it.
Watching some of the clips brings back a lot of memories, mostly good. I arrived on the Island 22 Feb 2000 and did not get off until 15 Dec 2000. It took so long to graduate due to many many stress fractures and a couple of broken bones, but I made it.
Thanks for the memories.
I’m working to get into Boot Camp right now. I have one more thing to handle in about a week and then off to MEPS. My recruiter says mid April at the latest for Boot Camp. Though I read all of your stories about how it’s much easier, I am without a doubt that this will be the most challenging, yet rewarding experience of my life. I look forward to it. I can’t wait to join this country’s finest, to see my DI welcome me to the Marine Corps after the Crucible. I can’t wait.
Im 14 years old and I wanted to be a Marine since like 3 and im looking forward to it.
I have the same to say as CPL E. I went to bootcamp in Jan 2001 at MCRD, and when I got to the fleet, the seniors were always complaing about how easy bootcamp was compared to the old days. And now, hearing this rumors/stories about how it’s even softer, truly breaks my heart as a Marine. Boot camp was tough for a reason. We scream PAIN for a reason, so that we don’t fear it, but embrace it!
Oh and one more thing, one thing I’ll never forget is how i spent all my Bdays! haha! I went in at 17 yrs old out of highschool as well. My 18th birthday was spent in 29 palms (i was 0341), during the Sept. 11th attacks. My 19th Bday was overseas at Africa, my 20th AND 21st Bday was spent as Duty NCO at the barracks. And though you might think “damn that sucks”, but not really. It was a pleasure to serve my country on my birthdays.
Even if bootcamp really has softened up, don’t worry gents. For those of you going 03xx, when you get to the fleet, your seniors will fill in the gaps. That will never change. Oops, i shouldn’ta said this in public, now those damn politicians and parents are gong to attack the fleet units! :D
Don’t worry Brenna. I spend my 18th birthday in boot camp also, but it was uneventful. ;-)
John P.
im a senior at seventeen. im going to bootcamp in august of 2009. ill be spending my 18th birthday in bootcamp, i heard they were especially hard on you for your birthday, but im still more excited as ever. i love the idea of being a female marine bad ass. 5 more months and ill be there.
ill see you on the island brother i leave sept 1st lima com. 3rd bt
I leave in 5days i not as nervous as i expected but im going into 3rd battalion i know it will be hard no matter if its soft or not and the USMC is still the greatest most badass military in the entire world!
I Plan of joining the Marines when im older, im 16 right now. I dunno if you guys have heard of it, but i did a program called “Devil Pups”, Without doubt the hardest thing ive ever done. We ran a half mile more than we did the last day every day for 10 days. The Stress, cursing, yelling, and punishments are all similar to Regular Marine Corps boot camp. I hope to God that the Marine Corps isnt getting softer during training, it really does bother me. Like the ARMYs new bootcamp, freaken Devil Pups was harder than that i bet. I agree with the Marine below me, its too bad about the parents and politics, its a damned shame it its true. I hope this reverses itself it it is happening, somthing to be really proud of if, or when, i get through the training.
Devil Dog,
I’m sorry to hear that they’ve “softened” boot camp a bit since I was there in 2000. We ran all the time, yelled the word “pain” all the time, pushed/shoved/ran down stairs never once holding a railing. And if you could not complete all parts of the Crucible, it was up to the company commander to decide if you could graduate. No one in my platoon fell out so I don’t have first hand knowledge of what they’d give you a pass on. We’d do endless (I’m talking HOURS) sessions on the quarterdeck doing all manner of pushups, mountainclimbers, divebombers, running etc. until the floor was slick with sweat.
It annoys me when I hear stories/rumors (who really knows if they’re true or not) about recruits getting fast food as rewards, making phone calls home and other nonesense. Even when I was there the previous generation of Marines complained about it being too soft and now it’s only getting softer. It’s too bad that parents and politically correctness is such a huge influence now.
lets not foget the Rose Garden….and getting quaterdecked…
I commend every Marine who has made it through boot camp, it is one of the hardest experiences in life and the majority of America does not have the courage to go through with it, let alone stay on course and make the military a career.
My only complaint is that boot camp is not the same as it use to be. It is still a huge challenge and I doubted that I was ever able to complete it, but I feel like I did not have as much pride (although I was still more confident leaving than before I left) after I graduated as the previous generations of Marines had.
I prepared for bootcamp in 2007 by getting in the best shape of my life and getting focused on letting the mental abuse make me stronger and accepting the fact that I would transform into an adult. Everyone told me that I would be a different person both mentally and physically when I graduate. While I was ecstatic that I had completed it, I felt cheated.
I was skinnier when I graduated but in worst shape. We ran maybe once a week, and never more than 3 miles. When it came time for punishment it was rarely push ups or other muscle building activities, but rather squating down for an extended amount of time to hurt our knees, walking back and forth, or swallowing sand.
I don’t have the first hand knowledge of Boot Camp in the 90’s and before, but I am certain that those Marines came out more hardened and more prepared for combat. I felt during most of the time that Boot Camp was a process, just getting each recruit through each step, and if he didn’t complete it correctly it was ok, the next recruit was up.
The final straw was when the Series Gunnery Sgt. yelled at us during the crucible and mentioned that we were the worst platoon but that they had to make exceptions for inferiority because they needed bodies for war. Any marine who would believe they have much to contribute to America (and I hope all of them do believe) was shattered by that comment, believing they were bodies rather than contributors.
I was marching home from the crucible, about to get my eagle globe and anchor, proud for never falling out and completing every obstacle, when the marine in front of me during the ceremony was in fresh cammies because he had suffered from heat exhaustion and did not need to do the final march home. I could barely stand and was teary from emotion, while the Marine in front of me (and many others) were there with me gaining something I don’t feel they deserved.
I saw many people transform during Boot Camp. Being 21 when I entered I had already been away from home and it was a little easier for me than for most recruits. I witnessed recruits gaining confidence, losing weight, learning discipline, and more importantly obtaining honor, courage and committment. But I also saw others who were not ready for the military yet still graduated.
The platoons need to be smaller. More DI’s. More personal instruction. More structured physical activity set out by each platoon rather than the company as a whole. Same with Mcmap. Marines are suppose to be the best of the best, but they will lose ground in history if their starting point and base is not the same as it use to be.
While in Bootcamp the following rules were set.
No running unless for PT
No yelling the word “Pain”
Cannot go down the stairs without holding the railing
Must complete 75% of the crucible to graduate
I am proud to be a Marine because I feel I am part of the best, I am giving back to a country I love, and because I know I completed every obstacle in Boot Camp and earned my eagle globe and anchor. I just pray that I will never have to see the integrity of the finest military force in the world lose its superiority and cost lives.
Basic Training created exceptional human beings in the past. Its time to start ignoring the parents and politics and go back to what works.
John,
Semper Fi! Thanks for putting this together. I graduated Parris Island in 1983 and remember watching Full Metal Jacket when I got home on leave. I could smell the swamp 800 miles away in my parents living room. You never forget that smell. Serving in the Corps was one of the best memories I have ever experienced.
68 was a long time ago. I left for the Island the day I turned 17. It was an experience I’ll never forget. Once a Marine Always a Marine
Semper FI
Schendier
What memories.I was only seventeen also.Dec 28,1955.P.I.
Thanks for sharing.
Seimper Fi
Al