Tuesday activities

You are welcomed to recruit training the same way recruits are; you ride in on an old school bus, are greeted by a Drill Instructor and proceed off the bus onto our famous yellow footprints. For about 5 minutes, you are immersed into the very first stage of boot camp - receiving. After this immersion, we walk you through the receiving area and explain all the moving parts. You will then receive a welcome aboard brief which is usually given by the depot's commanding general.

Today's activities revolve solely around recruit training, and you'll see them negotiating our confidence course. We will step into the hot and humid swim tank where our water survival instructors will explain the techniques taught to recruits to help them survive in the water.

Some of our martial arts instructors will give you a demonstration showcasing some of the techniques every Marine will learn, and then they will lead you through practical application of some of the easier techniques. One of the last activies of the day gives you the chance to grab a rubber rifle, don a flak jacket and kevlar helmet, and attack a modified version of our bayonet assault course. You will only go through about half of the course, but in so doing, you will get an idea for the fitness level required to undergo this training day in and day out.

Thursday activities

This is usually our longest day with us loading the buses bright and early at about 5:15 a.m. and head north to Weapons and Field Training Battalion aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Emblem Ceremony

Most people believe recruit graduation is the pinnacle event of boot camp, but there's another event that happens before graduation which has more meaning. The event is not open to the public, and therefore, few get to see it in person. This VERY emotional event is known simply as the Emblem Ceremony, which marks the conclusion of our 54-hour character building exercise called The Crucible. The recruits you will see in this ceremony have hardly slept and hardly eaten over the previous 2 days, and they've poured their heart and soul into the training which has led up to this. During the ceremony, one of their Drill Instructors will present them with an Eagle, Globe, and Anchor signifying they have finally earned the title MARINE. It's amazing the emotion that a little piece of metal will elicit from the new Marines. Those who still have the energy to cry will probably do so, and the ones who don't will do so when they recover. It is truly a defining moment; one they won't forget, and certainly one you won't forget either.

Marksmanship training

Battalion personnel will give an overview of Marine Corps marksmanship training, and you will see one of our live-fire ranges. You will also get to put some of our marksmanship principles to use in our Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer.

Wednesday activities

We load up the buses and head to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar which is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. Aboard MCAS Miramar, you will have your first panel discussion. About half-a-dozen Marines volunteer to field your questions; the only coaching we give them is to be honest and open when answering a question.

You will also see some of the living quarters for the junior enlisted Marines here. Remember, this workshop is meant to represent the first four years of a typical enlistment, and the vast majority of Marines in that category are single junior enlisted male Marines. I want you to keep that in mind when looking at their rooms. These same young men probably didn't even know how to make their bed before they joined the Marine Corps let alone pick up their room in mom and dad's house; now, they take part in a weekly "field day" (clean up) before their rooms are inspected by senior Marines for cleanliness.
On our flight line, some of our aircraft will be on display along with the men and women Marine officers who fly them.

We have lunch back at the depot with some musical entertainment provided by an ensemble from the depot's Marine band. The Marine Corps' music program is one of the most underrated and least understood programs we have. In between songs, the band members will give you a brief overview of the program and relate some of their unique experiences.

The day is finished off with some more recruit training observation including one of the ways we build our recruits' character.

Friday activities

Our main order of business today is witnessing recruit graduation. Rightly so, there is quite a bit of pomp and circumstance surrounding this event, and you'll see Marines in some pretty snazzy looking uniforms, some of them even carrying swords.

Over the past few months, these young men have poured their hearts and souls into some of the world's toughest training. If you compare them to the recruits you saw earlier in the week, you will notice the pride emanating with their every move. Their platoon moves as one; their shoulders are rolled back and heads held high.

These new Marines will greet their loved ones a different person from when they first stepped onto our yellow footprints. Their life will now be guided by our core values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment.