Weeks 5 and 6

Hydration is key!

Week 5

This week was one of my least favorites. Monday through Wednesday is Combat Swimming. If you want more info on this just ask and I will tell. I talked about it back in June or July on my blog. Anyway it is all the same tests except you have a pool FULL of screaming Drill Instructors. This makes swimming VERY stressful.

Gunny helps a Marine in swim Qual

Female recruits at Paris Island, NC

Thursday is the Pugil Sticks 3. This one is the best because it is held in the Thunder Dome. You can't see your opponent but you start on either ends, war crying until you get to the middle and then duke it out. About the best 3 mins of Boot Camp!

Friday is More History

Saturday is Movement to Edson Range on Camp Pendleton. This is a busy busy day. You have to spit knowledge the whole way there so it is a very miserable trip. The part I remember the most is seeing all the people at the gates. It gave me a huge sense of pride to see all those supporters there.

Week 6
Grass Week. This week is dedicated to learning the fundamentals of firing a rifle. You learn all types of stuff. 4 different firing positions, Standing, Kneeling, Sitting and Prone, which you practice all week. It is called Snapping In. You get in the positions that you DI wants and you practice looking at a barrel with targets on it. Prepare for body parts to fall asleep. You Snap In for hours on end...no exaggeration.

You also do a couple of "Death Marches" but that is up to you DI's. These are used to get you used to your pack for the Humps(hikes). These packs are AWESOME. The best way to describe it is how the supply chief did when I was in Boot. This pack is a Boy Scouts wet dream! You can fit TONS of stuff in it.

ILBE pack

Grass week is one of the easiest weeks there is. It is relatively stress free, not what you or I would call stress free, so that you can learn your fundamentals.

The part I remember the most about grass week, other than snapping in, was my sweater. We have these green Marine sweaters that we have to turn inside out because we haven't earned the EGA yet. We marched all over the place in this sweatshirt and it was the middle of June so naturally we sweated like pigs. The worst part was it wouldn't dry out overnight and you had to put this soggy sweater on every morning. ICK!

By this week you usually get to blouse your boots and unbutton you blouse unless you really tick off your DI's. This may seem like a little thing but it is a huge status symbol, probably the biggest one in boot. If you see recruits with un-bloused boots then you know they just got there. It is a pretty big deal. The worst thing is getting to blouse your boots and THEN tick off your DI's and they will make you undo your boots. It is amazing what can be demoralizing in Boot.