How to get through Marine corps boot camp

I've been in the Marine Corps for a little over two and a half years now so I'm speaking from experience. I've had so many people from my hometown or just people I know that wanted to join the marines ask me how boot camp is and how hard it is. Here is a little advice that I think will help you understand what boot camp will be like.

Ok here’s probably the most important thing you will need to know about what to expect from boot camp. Anything else after this is just good advice for the little things. You ARE going to get yelled at yes but it’s not as bad as it looks on TV or anything. Everyone goes in thinking it is going to be the hardest thing in the world but honestly it’s not. Really they just mess with your head. When I went through boot camp I thought for sure I was going to get ran to the dirt but it really wasn’t all that physical. I mean I'm a pretty fit guy but even if I wasn’t there were guys in with me that were in far less of shape than me. It's really the mental part of it. Not being able to talk to your family and friends for three months is pretty hard on some people. It's not the easiest thing to go from seeing whoever you want to being with a bunch of people you've never seen before and having to live with them and only them. That was probably one of the hardest things for me considering I was a "Social Butterfly" as my mom likes to call me. The other factor that really gets to people is the fact that they have to do exactly what someone says down to the "T" without back talking or asking why. No other job in the world can treat you like the Marine Corps so yea it's a little tough to get used too. All in all if you want to get through you will get through. You'll get to boot camp all nervous and scared and before you know it you’ll be on your way home a marine and you’ll look back and say "man where did the time go." You'll also notice that people will start asking you the same exact questions that I get like "how hard is it" or "Do they beat you up" and things like that. You can only think back and laugh when they ask you these questions because you'll remember that you were once there but now you understand. I personally thought boot camp was the easiest part of the Marine Corps because you always know exactly what to do. So don’t be scared, boot camp is just the beginning... wait for your first combat deployment it'll be a doozy if you’re afraid of boot camp.

Time         Activity             Description 

5:00AM     Wake-up          Wake up and perform personal morning tasks. For males, shaving is mandatory every morning.

5:10AM      Fall-in              Line up in company area, perform morning physical training (calisthenics and running).

6:30AM      Morning chow

8:30AM      Training           Begin the day's scheduled training exercises.

12:00PM     Noon chow

1:00PM       Training           Continue the day's scheduled training exercises.

5:00PM       Evening chow

6:00PM       Drill instructor time Time for drill instructors to talk to the recruits about any subject they may think requires attention. Mail call is also performed during this time.

8:30PM       Personal time Time for recruits to engage in personal activities, such as writing letters, working out, doing laundry, or shaving.
Recruits may also catch up on platoon duties during this time, such as barracks cleaning or boot shining.

9:30PM        Lights-out       Time for recruits to sleep.

Just doing this update to let you know how everything went. I am about 5 months out of the Marine Corps and finished my 5 year enlistment. In that 5 years I was NJP'd twice, went on 3 deployments, pick up a team leader billet and then a squad leader billot for a bit, and even left as a Cpl (E4). That's is a pretty good history for an infantry Marine or I like to think that. I had a lot of hard times and fun times and looking back on it I am glad I did it. No regrets except for maybe getting busted down in rank twice.

Hey guys, I just wanted to stop in and update this a bit. I was recently asked by my brother's girlfriend if I could talk to her brother about what boot camp and the Marine Corps is like because he was about to leave for Paris Island. I called him up and we talked about a bunch of different things and I kept coming back to the fact that boot camp is a beast that changes all the time. From what I talked about with him I think the most valuable piece of advice I could give him was just don't look like your uncomfortable or exhausted and you will do great. Remember that drill instructors feed off weakness so if you show no emotion and just do it boot camp will feel a lot easier than if you let them know how it was effecting you. Pretty much just stone face it gents and before you know it you will be off having beers in some other country one a deployment. (That is if you get a non-combat deployment)

One more thing, if any of you reading this have already done boot camp I would love for some stories. Just write out your experience with boot camp and drop it in the comments box and I might add them to the hub. Thanks guys.