Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Advice for my son in USMC Boot Camp

Tell him the easiest path through mcrd is to "stay invisible", which means don't 4uck up and don't showboat.

The invisible recruit is like Jedi level stuff.

I, was not invisible, so I can't tell ya how its done. Lol!

You have mentioned the tooth brush story, IIRC!!!

Tell him you love him, that you're proud of who he has become, to never forget all who love him, and that you will have his back, no matter what.

Getting through boot camp without the CC(Navy)/DI(Marine Corps) without either of them remembering your name is the best option by far.
I'll send one up for him tonight. He needs all of the prayers that we cann give him.

I don't know how it is now, but in the old days if you got a letter with perfume you ate the envelope. If you got a box with food you shared it with everyone but didn't get any yourself. Don't send either one.

Just tell him he can make it. Everything he does, do it 100%. Pretend like it's football camp and you are trying to make the team. I didn't volunteer for anything until ITR, the day we were out shooting the M60, throwing hand grenades and such was Marine Corps day at Disney land. We were running late and if we didn't make it on time we didn't get to go. I wanted to go so volunteered to run back with the M60. I don't know it that is the reason but got a meritorious out of ITR.

Stay squared away, stay invisible. DO help the stragglers and chit birds this will be viewed as helping your fellow Marine by the DI's. POSITIVE attitude because Boot camp is just one long psych evaluation.

Don't put any jelly donuts in your foot locker.

DON'T VOLUNTEER!!!!

I couldn't stop laughing at their stuff either. I got the nickname of "Smiley".

Boy did I do a lot of sqat thrusts over it!

I agree with not sending snacks, write letters regularly for mail call, and imploring the recruit to stay anonymous by keeping his mouth shut and doing his job. At graduation I saw our son's drill sergeant say something to him when he shook his hand. When I asked him afterwards he said he told him "good job, you avoided me." Our son said that was the greatest compliment he could have heard.

Gratitude sent for your son's service!

Do what he's told...the way he's told...when he's told...be a team player....no more, no less

When I went thru it I was advised to 'Salute it if it moves and paint it if it doesn't.
Half of what you learn will help your tour easier and educational and the other half will help keep you a live

Jim

yeah cause your the one who sent him a bag of candy imagine that!!!!!

just take it one day at a time!! simple as that!!

Step back. Tell him nothing. Allow for him to learn how to deal with the Service. Some might hurt for the short term but he has to learn on his own.

Somewhere after the initial shock wore off, I learned to take it one meal at at time, just gotta make it to lunch, now just gotta make it to dinner etc. Time flew after that. Crazy as it sounds boot camp was looked at as one of best times I had in the Corps by myself and most of the other Marines I served with. You cant find a better source for comical stories than USMC boot camp.

This is the best advice^^. There's no advice you can give that's going to make one whit of difference for him so don't try. Just tell him you're proud of him, his dog is doing good, and his girlfriend is staying faithful. Beyond that it's his ball game.

A big part of boot camp is taking a teenager and breaking the apron strings to Mom and Dad. All the well meaning advice of "this is how we did it in the old days" is pretty much useless.

Just all of the normal stuff that is going on in letters. Let him see something mentally different than the world he is living in, just for a moment.

How you cant wait to see him at graduation. Lets him know that it will end soon and loved ones will be waiting.

Advice, they cant stop time. If you do pushups all day, that is one day closer to graduation.

I worked for a while with the Peruvian FOES (Spec Ops Force/Navy SEAL equivalents) bootcamp as the Doctor on the base. Despite being quite tough training I was able to tell the instructors just want to separate the wheat from the chaff and when you want someone to defend your country you want the toughest meanest SOB out there. The physical pain goes away and is endurable, it is the psychological crap that wears them out. I saw very prepared physically apt individuals lose it.
One cold winter night thet had them in the pool and the instructors asked how long they had been there, and that he would get them out soon. Then he turned around and blasted "The Dr. just told that the human body can endure extreme temperatures like this for 6h!" ... mind games all the way

Seeing 60-70% of wannabees drop off I always questioned as I saw the graduating ones if they mentally changed or they were just more resilient. I think it is both.
When you write to him tell him you love him, that he can do it and that you are proud of him.