OK Im back. Now where did I leave off?
Let me tell you about boot camp. Air Force is 6 weeks. Army is 8 weeks. I think the Navy is around 8 weeks too. The Marines have 13 weeks. Yes 13. We have no liberty on the weekends. You get to make one, maybe 2 phone calls....one when you get there, and maybe one before you graduate. You are given 8 hours of sleep every night, unless you have fire watch, then its cut down to 7 or even 6. Trust me, 8 hours seems like enough, but you get worn out so much it feels like you just take a nap every night. You sleep every night at 9, wake up at 5. You learn to take a crap at night because during the day....good luck trying to find the time to do anything except take a piss. You are constantly on the move, always doing something. If for some reason there is nothing to do, the Drill Instructors will find something for you to do, and it wont be fun. They could have you dump out your footlockers, run back and forth around the barracks, or my favorite, have everyone get out something that everyone has the same of (like shirts, boots, or blankets) and make a big pile of it in the middle of the barracks, then give everyone a ridiculous amount of time, usually ten seconds, for everyone to get all their stuff back. HAHAHA those were good times. You'll see people end up with like a size 6 and a size 11 boot trying to put them on and hide it from the Drill Instructor. Some fun stuff.
To me, boot camp was not all that hard. I read you are not a good distance runner. Dont worry about that. Im a good example. Before boot camp, I couldnt run worth a damn. I could run probably run a half mile before I started breathing heavily and then started walking. And to top it off, I got shin splints frequently. People thought I was crazy for joining the Marines because they knew how "good" of a runner I was. I remember before going to boot camp my 1.5 mile time was like 15 minutes. PATHETIC! You have to do it in under 12:30 at boot camp. So when i got to boot camp and had to take the initial strength test (IST) I did like 12 pullups, and 70 some crunches, passing those two. For the run, it felt like i was running for an eternity. But I knew if i didnt pass the run time, I would be sent to PCP (physical conditioning platoon) and held back until i can pass the IST. Trust me, theres no better motivation than not wanting to stay in boot camp longer than you have to. I passed just barely with a 12:10 time.
As long as you can pass the initial strength test, which do 3 pullups, 45 crunches in 2 minutes, and run 1.5 miles in under 12:30 youll do fine. The Marines will break you down and build you up. Trust me, by the end of boot camp, running will be easy for you. For your final PFT, you are required to run 3 miles in under 28 minutes. WIth all the hiking and running you do prior, your legs and lungs will be so strong 3 miles would be a walk in the park. I lost 20 pounds in boot camp. I went in at 180, came out at 159. I had to throw away all my old clothes because they were too big on me. I went from a size 36 to size 32, and a large to a medium. The transformation is not only physical, but mental. I didnt know I could push myself so far until I was put in a position to do so. It almost like you are brainwashed to confident in everything. Confident to the point you are borderline cocky. Dont ever tell a Marine theres something he cant do, because he will find a way to get it done.
If there are any questions you want me to answer about the Marines, fell free to ask. Theres nothing I enjoy more than telling people how great the Marine Corps is.
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