Boot Camp Part 8

July 16, 2009
Camp Lejeune
17:32

My apologies to those who follow this blog. I just haven't been feeling all that great to write over the past couple months, but I'm trying to push myself out of this slump and get back into it.

Sunday Part 2

I left out "Field Day."

What happens every Sunday during Recruit Training? A little thing we like to call field day. For most people this is a day during the last few days of school in elementary school where you get to skip classes and play sports all day. For Marines it means cleaning.

In Boot Camp it entails this:

There are about twenty racks on each side of the squad bay. All of them must be moved over to the opposite side of the squad bay to sweet and mop in their place. This means we have to move all of the footlockers as well and all of the shoe displays underneath the racks. For inexperienced recruits this can lead to mixing up each others' shoes or footlockers. We are given about an hour by our DIs to get everything done. This includes cleaning out the head, rain room, shitters, pissers, ladder wells (stairs), and every nook and cranny we can find. On Monday morning, the squad bays of each platoon are inspected by company level personnel and they decide if you pass or fail. This is reduced to an individual level while in the Fleet Marine Force.


Monday

The fairytale that is Sunday is now over. We've learned how to field day and cleaned everything. Everyone knows Monday as the last day before training begins. Why is this important? This is the day we get our M16's issued to us. Of course I'm pretty exited about it and am prepared to feel like a badass. I know that the weapon will become a burden eventually (not realizing the extent of it) but I'm not going to let that bring me down yet.

We march past the house of knowledge by the large building where the yellow footprints are from the first night of arrival. Past it and on the right is the armory. I know our platoon isn't the only platoon there to receive weapons. Some, if not all of the other platoons from follow series are there as well. We halt and file off from out formation to stand behind long tables with nothing on them. We're under an overhang and still outside, not sweating though because the heat in San Diego is dry heat.

Of course, the entire time giant jumbo jets are landing at the airport directly in front of me and the sound drowns everything out. After a few minutes some Corporal gets up on a tower in front of us that's about three meters high and begins instructing us on what's going to happen. We're going to get M16's.

Eventually we file off. Recruits carrying their old rifle back from the weapon rack with them to their original spot at the tables are trying to hide smiles of pride and exitement. This is particularly apparent with Crump I remember (who was known as Einstein in receiving). Finally, my row filed off. I remember being between Mellies and another guy who I was beginning to single out from the others as being entertaining to talk to. I forget his name. Since we were alphabetical it obviously began with an M, but I don't recall. Wait, I got it: Miller. Miller was in front of me and Mellies, the human box of rocks was behind me.

The first time I held an M16 was actually in mini-boot camp, so I wasn't all that surprised at how light it felt, but I was still kind of tingly I guess you could say. It was an exiting time to be at Boot Camp.

We laid the M16's out and were then issued cleaning gear. This includes some metal rods, a tooth brush thing, some CLP (lubricant), and other brushes and such to clean the weapon with.

Afte being issued I believe we signed a form and then had to memorize our rifle serial number.

10274137

I still remember.