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.