Marine Corps Boot Camp
There are many aspects of Marine Corps boot camp that give it the reputation it has of being the most difficult and stressful of the military branches, but one aspect of it stands out far from the rest. Discipline. Marine Corps boot camp is a combination of physical and mental training, but behind everything you do in training discipline always comes first.From the moment you wake up you are overwhelmed with stress, initially only rushing out of bed to stand on line with the other recruits. As time goes on more and more you are allowed to carry on with tasks for getting ready for the day on your own, but in the beginning it can be very aggravating. You make your bed (rack) as ordered, then await further instruction. Then you get dressed to the commands to put on each article of clothing individually. The Drill Instructor counts down at an alarmingly fast pace, rushing you and looking for any recruit that makes a mistake or not fitting in with the others. These recruits are punished the same way you take punishment for any mistakes in bootcamp, quarterdecking. Quarterdecking is when the Drill Instructor pulls one or more recruits away from the platoon and begins to run him through various exercises reacting quickly to changes of pace as well as exercise. Any slip of discipline here brings on much worse quarterdecking and punishment.Quarter decking is used in many ways to weigh on the minds of the recruits as well. Punishment for your mistakes seem fair, but their goal is to teach you that you are all a solid unit, not individuals. The constant punishment for the mistakes of another begins to weigh on the minds of recruits, taking form as anger and resentment. Many times recruits are brought almost to tears in their frustration at the continued mistakes being made by the other recruits in times of punishment. After all, its their goal to break you down before they build you back up again.It is this punishment as well as the stressful environment that prepares the recruits for decision making in combat environments in the future. They must be able to think clearly, as well as react to orders given without any hesitation. All throughout bootcamp the recruits are given more and more cues calling them to instantly initiate an action of some sort. Sometimes it can be a word or sound not made by the Drill Instructor, for example the instant reaction to call out "A. A. Cunningham, 1912!" when an airplane flies overhead. Or when the Drill Instructor calls out "Discipline!" they must reply immediately with "Instant willingness and obedience to orders, sir!" These are typical ways to train recruits to react quickly, as well as teach them values or history behind the Marine Corps.Discipline is deeply ingrained in every part of bootcamp, and can be seen from the time the recruits wake up to the moment they go to sleep. Even in the night recruits take turns standing posts called firewatch to watch over the squadbay as the other recruits sleep. It is this training that is essential to creating a Marine that is ready for the difficulty and stress of combat, creating a much more capable fighting unit.
