A Russian farmer caught on video commanding a bunch of ducks to get in line and follow him into a barn might make the most effective Marine drill instructor ever. The video shows a man emerging from his barn, shirtless. He then crouches down, screams, and gets an entire flock of ducks into line in seconds before leading them into a barn. Total time: 30 seconds. [HTML1] If he can lead waterfowl like that, imagine what he could do with recruits. Compare the king of the ducks to new recruits at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. It takes three Marines…
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A New Hampshire 18-year-old who completes boot camp this week is returning to his high school for his graduation, but was told he has to cover his new uniform if he wants to participate in the ceremony. Brandon Garabrant will graduate from Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island on Friday, WMUR reported. He’ll then fly back to New Hampshire to attend his high school graduation and was planning to wear his new Marine Corps uniform there. But his mom told WMUR that the school’s principal emailed her to tell her that all students should wear school caps and gowns to…
Every Marine knows that drill instructors can yell, but you might not realize how much training they go through in order to be able to do it right. Military Times’ Senior Video Journalist Colin Kelly got up close and personal with some students at DI school aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. There, they learn how to project their voices correctly to avoid serious damage to their vocal chords. The staff noncommissioned officers run drills just like they will in boot camp to train their voices not to break. The instructors at the schoolhouse stand a set pace…
They’re in your space, in your face, in your nightmares — but screaming aside, what’s really going on in the heads of Marine Corps drill instructors? Drill instructor duty is no joke. Whatever recruits do, DIs do. And the Marines on the three-year-long special duty assignment set the example for what it takes to become part of their Corps. That means yelling the loudest, moving the fastest and having the most squared away uniforms. Marine Corps Times was afforded access to drill instructors aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., recently to find out some of the secrets behind the…
A new recruit is about to step onto the yellow footprints — only he needs four of them, and they need to be paw-shaped. Rct. Chesty XIV, the new Marine Corps mascot, met his drill instructor, Sgt. Chesty XIII, for the first time this month. And judging by the look on the sergeant’s face, it seems he’s prepared to use some serious knife-paws on the pup. Rct. Chesty will fill a long line of English Bulldogs who represent the Marine Corps. He’ll likely meet important players like the commander in chief and the defense secretary, which is why he’ll need…
Harry Chaires and his wife, Nan Cuchens, recently traveled to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., to see their nephew graduate from boot camp. It was a bittersweet trip for the couple from Tallahassee, Fla., because it brought back memories of the day they watched another new Marine walk that same parade deck. Their son, Lance Cpl. Daniel Chaires, was killed in action during a 2006 deployment to Haditha, Iraq. He was an infantry rifleman with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines. And the Marine left quite the impression on his young cousin, Anthony Cuchens Jr. Cuchens joined the Corps as…
When you think about some of the most romantic places you’ve been, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., probably doesn’t top that list. But Cpl. Jonathan Camp said his boot camp graduation day was one of the happiest of his life. So when his girlfriend, Pfc. Kathleen Finn, had her own graduation day there, Camp thought it’d be the perfect place to ask her to marry him. Camp, 21, is an infantryman currently working on recruiting assistance duty in Erie, Pa. He drove nearly 15 hours down to Parris Island to see Finn, 22, graduate. He brought poolees –…
This week’s Marine Corps Times takes a look at the new physical fitness requirements for female Marines and the impact the change is likely to have on the entire force, not just women. In a forcewide message last week, Marine Commandant Gen. Jim Amos announced that women will be required to complete three pullups to pass the test and eight to achieve a perfect PFT score starting in 2014. The change is likely to impact promotion fairness and unit training for men and women starting in 2013. The flexed-arm hang will remain as part of the Corps’ initial strength test…
If you’ve been to boot camp recently there’s a good chance you’ve handed Uncle Sam a hefty chunk of change — $1,200 to be exact, and that’s for a set of education benefits you could have gotten for free. To date, more than 100,000 people have enrolled in the Montgomery GI Bill across the armed services, requiring a $100 monthly buy-in for a recruits’ first year of service. This week’s Marine Corps Times examines an issue that first came to our attention in July when a Marine contacted the newspaper with questions about how each boot camp informs recruits about…
Justin Henderson left for boot camp in January 2011. More than 500 days later, he’s still there. Henderson is stuck at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. after catching pneumonia 13 days into training. He’s now awaiting a Physical Evaluation Board, which requires paperwork to pass through the Defense Department and Veterans Affairs to get his disability rating. He stays in a squad bay with Leonard Carter. Carter had to leave boot camp in June 2011 to have a tumor removed from his leg. He is also awaiting a PEB. Both have since been told by their doctors they’re…
