Molding Marines: Phase II

Tusk & Quill Co-founder and Editor, Sanjay Lohar, reflects on his time as a recruit at Parris Island, training to become a U.S. Marine. Read Part I here. 

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Phase 2: Just Coming Around

You’re well into your second month at the Island. The first month seemed to drag by, but you’re now thoroughly acquainted with life as a recruit. 

You’ve learned how to talk like a recruit talks, you’ve memorized your rifle’s serial number, and everyone can finally put on their socks and boots without having to start over.

You did a lot in Phase 1: you’ve been issued a rifle along with other gear, you’ve passed the Initial Strength Test and have kept getting stronger and faster, you’ve learned your 11 General Orders  and a whole lot of ditties.

At the end of Phase 1, your platoon completed the Initial Drill evaluation. This was a test of your progress and a competition; it was an opportunity to prove that recruits in your platoon learned the basics of drill, and had been inoculated enough against stress to function when given orders.

You all waited for the Drill Instructor (DI) to give the command to “Fall in!,” and ran into place onto Peatross Parade Deck. With the scrutinizing gaze of your senior DI, and other Marines, observing you closely, your DI read off a card with a series of commands, memorized them, and began to issue the orders to you. The DI is being tested just as much as you are. You realize that everyone is constantly being evaluated.

We are watched and judged throughout life; the Marines are no exception. Whether it’s something as innocuous as picking up a piece of trash from the ground, or something more complex like the way you treat your subordinates, there is always someone watching. Some are watching to reprimand you, others are watching you for inspiration or guidance. As a Marine, you set the example for those around you. Your conduct must always be above reproach, and your moral character spotless. You could lose everything else, but no one should snatch your integrity.

Your platoon won Initial Drill, so now you can gloat over the booger platoon. They’re the worst platoon in your company, and none of the recruits respect them. You’ve never seen the DIs smile, but winning Initial Drill definitely puts them in a good mood. You avoided incentive training…for a few hours. Their hard work throughout the first few weeks was not in vain.

Your DI initiates a command  “Forward..”

“Stand tall, lean back!” comes back the thunderous response from your platoon.

“..March! Left, Right, Lo’, Right, Left…”

As the platoon marches away from Peatross, you hear the booger platoon being run through a round of incentive training in a nearby sand pit. Multiple DIs are screaming at the recruits to do push ups, mountain climbers, side straddle hops, and screaming questions at the recruits to test their knowledge under pressure. You feel bad for them because getting ITed is always painful, but it feels good being a winner.

Among the issued gear were two pairs of boots. Made of thick leather, and an even thicker rubber outsole, these boots are emblazoned with the Marine Eagle, Globe, and Anchor on the ankles. You’ve been instructed to keep one pair unworn, except for special occasions. You wore those special boots during Initial Drill.

Now that you’ve finished Initial Drill, you’re allowed to blouse your boots by cuffing the bottoms of your trousers and tucking them in on themselves around an elastic band. Your DIs showed you how it’s done. Their boot blousings always look fresh so you paid attention hoping to pick up some good tips. 

The Marines don’t stuff our trousers into our boots like the Army and other military services do; your DI makes sure you understand how disgusting those boot blousings are. The privilege of blousing your boots is a small, but significant indication of your progress toward becoming a Marine. Not only are you finally starting to look like a Marine, you’re starting to understand what sets you apart from other services.

Multiple times a week all the recruits from your company cram into an auditorium, and your DIs fall strangely quiet. While here, you have a brief respite from their demands. This is where you get more formal lessons on Marine Corps history, traditions, military regulations, and other topics. The “classroom” DIs teach you the lesson as well as an accompanying ditties, call-and-response phrases that help you remember the facts and recall deeper knowledge. Although simple, they are surprisingly effective and easy to remember. You’ll continue learning ditties throughout your time in the service.

“First Commandant of the Marine Corps is?”

“Sir, the first Commandant of the Marine Corps is Captain Samuel Nicholas, Sir!”

As the story goes, the young Captain Samuel Nicholas walked into Tun Tavern on Nov. 10, 1775 and marshaled the men there to enlist into service for the war to be fought against the British. Congress had authorized Captain Nicholas as the highest ranking officer of the Continental Marines, who would be posted on the fledgling US Navy’s ships as sharpshooters and security forces. He was Commandant for nearly 8 years, and left the service as a major. You find it curious that the first Commandant was only a captain, whereas Commandants of the current era are four star general officers.

“Grand Old Man of the Marine Corps is?”

“Sir, Grand Old Man of the Marine Corps is Archibald Henderson, Sir!”

The fifth Commandant of the Marine Corps was Brigadier General Archibald Henderson, who was in the role for an astonishing 38 years, and stayed in the service for over 52 years. He was responsible for expanding the Marine’s mission set into expeditionary warfare and into the nation’s military force in readiness, which the Marine Corps prides itself on today. The Marines still stand ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, to seize strategic landing points which enable follow-on campaigns by the Army’s larger units.

The US waged war against Mexico during Henderson’s tenure as Commandant. At the Battle of Chapultepec (1847), near the close of the Mexican-American War, a small contingent of Marines were among the larger force of Army troops. These consisted of several officers, their non-commissioned officers (NCOs), and riflemen. The battle raged fiercely and resulted in the Marine officers being killed or seriously injured. Seeing the gaps in leadership left by Marine officer casualties, the NCOs quickly took charge and successfully completed the assault.

Before this battle, Marines wore a dark blue stripe with red trim. To commemorate the Marine losses during this battle, dress regulations shifted slightly to make the entire stripe a blood-red. Marines must earn the right to many things, including wearing blood stripes. Marine officers earn theirs after receiving their commission. The enlisted look forward to receiving them with promotion to the first NCO rank of Corporal. Since its inception, we have worn the blood stripe on our dress uniform, calling to mind Marines who have spilled their blood in service to our nation throughout history.

Your thoughts drift off to daydreams of the day you’ll earn the rank of Corporal. Maybe you’ll even get promoted to Sergeant. Would you come back to this island as a Drill Instructor? It’s not completely out of the realm of possibility, but the military discipline and rigor embodied in the DIs seems nearly unattainable.

A deep voice whispers in your ear “Hey, recruit. We don’t want to pay attention to the class, right? Good, get up and get outside.”  The only constant at Parris Island is the seeming omnipresence of the DIs. You look forward to finishing Phase 3 and graduating.

Read Part III here.

Sanjay is a prior service Marine infantryman, who served aboard Camp Lejeune. He reported to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in April 2013. He deployed twice: once with 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines to Okinawa, Japan and again with 2nd LAR, attached to a Combined Arms Company to Bulgaria. Sanjay is also a Co-founder and Editor at Tusk & Quill. 

Opinions expressed are solely the author’s own and do not reflect the views of their employer.