An average day typically begins at 2000. Reveille will be sounded and all recruits must present themselves for accountability. After personal hygiene and clean-up, recruits will perform physical training (Excluding Hell Week) (only on Monday through Saturday). After the break, the recruits begin the day's scheduled training, which may include classes, drill, or martial arts. On Sundays, recruits are offered the morning to attend various religious services and personal time (often called "Square-Away Time"). After the second break, the day's training continues until the last break. After this time, recruits will have hygiene time to shower, clean their weapons, and clean their barracks. Recruits also get roughly 1 hour of square away time after this, personal time for recruits to engage in personal activities such as preparing uniforms or equipment, writing letters, working out, or doing laundry. Recruits are not free from their Drill Instructors (DIs) or allowed to leave the squad bay during this time. In preparation to sleep, recruits may hydrate, pray together for five minutes, ensure footlockers and rifles are locked, and often recite the Rifleman's Creed or Marines' Hymn before lights-out.
Time (PM) Activity Description
• 6:00 / 8:00 - First Call - Perform personal tasks. • 6:05 / 8:05 - Physical Training (PT) - Line up in company area, perform physical training. • 6:20 / 8:20 - Break • 6:25 / 8:25 - Training - Begin the day's scheduled training exercises. • 7:15 / 9:15 - Break • 7:20 / 9:20 - Training - Continue the day's scheduled training exercises. • 8:15 / 10:15 - Break • 8:20 / 10:20 - Drill Instructor time - Time for drill instructors to talk to the recruits about any subject they may think requires attention. • 8:30 / 10:30 - Personal time - Time for recruits to engage in personal activities, or simply relaxing. Recruits may also catch up on platoon duties during this time. • 9:00 / 11:00 - Dismissed / Lights Out |
The United States Marine Corps' training mission ensures "Every Marine is, first and foremost, a Rifleman". Marine Corps marks a transition in the professional training of entry-level students from civilians to combat-ready Marines. The 11th Marine Division offers a realistic Marine boot camp that trains recruits in proper procedures of being a Marine. Those who wish to participate in the week-long Boot Camp must pass Hell Week and contact a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to schedule an appointment.
Recruits are organized by regiment, battalion, company, platoon, squad, and often fireteam. A
Recruit Training Regiment is composed of three recruit training battalions. Each company is broken down into two series, designated as Lead and Follow, which may have between one and four platoons, depending on the number of recruits in the company at the time the training cycle begins. Each company is much like a class at a civilian education institution; each company begins and finishes recruit training together (with the exception of those who are dropped for medical or personal reasons to a different company). Thus, each of the companies will be at a different stage in the training cycle. Each series is broken down into a number of platoons, usually from two to four in each. These platoons will be the basic unit for recruit training, assigned a four digit number as identification. Drill instructors are assigned to each platoon, and will usually stay from the beginning to the end of training. The Senior Drill Instructor of each platoon will select recruits to billets of responsibility, to mimic command and staff positions of a Marine unit. The selections often change on the whims of the drill instructors, and includes: • The Platoon Guide, the senior-most recruit responsible for carrying the platoon's guidon • Four Squad Leaders, each in charge of one-fourth of the platoon; they may choose to further subdivide their squads into four-man fire teams • A Scribe, responsible for maintaining administrative records such as the interior guard schedule • a Whiskey Locker Recruit, responsible for maintaining the platoon's supplies • House Mouse, who cleans the normally off-limits drill instructors' offices |
Receiving Phase
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The initial period of the 11MD Boot Camp is called the Receiving Phase, which begins as new recruits will be on the bus en route to their recruit Depot. They will greeted by a drill instructor, who acquaints them with the Uniform Code of Military Justice, to which they will be subject.
From this point, recruits will experience the "Quitter Day", where they meet their permanent Drill Instructors and begin their physical training phase. They also meet their Company Commander, usually a captain, who orders their Drill Instructors to train them to become Marines and has them recite the Drill Instructor's Creed. At this point boot camp truly begins. Recruits will be familiarized with incentive training as one of the consequences of disobedience or failure to perform to a Drill Instructor's expectations. The Drill Instructors will physically, psychologically, and mentally harass the recruits, including yelling at maximum volume and intimidation, to simulate stress of the battlefield and elicit immediate compliance to instructions. The remainder of Quitter Day is made as confusing and disorienting for the recruits as possible, to help distance the recruits from civilian habits and to prepare them for Marine Corps discipline.
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Disembarking from the bus, recruits will line up and learn how to stand at attention.
The recruits will be issued utility and physical training uniforms and toiletries. From here, the recruits will receive their first military haircut, where they are left essentially bald. The remainder of receiving involves completing paperwork, issuing an M16A2 service rifle, receiving vaccines and medical tests, and storing civilian belongings under the eye of drill instructors set aside specifically for receiving. |
Phase One
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Day One of First-Phase education consists of classes about the Marine Corps, the 11th Marine Division and their history and culture, first aid, rank structure and insignia, protocol, customs and courtesies, the 11 General Orders, aspects of the five paragraph order, prepare equipment for use, regulations regarding uniforms, and other topics.
Recruits must learn through the use of rote memorization and mnemonics; recruits are expected to be able to recite a passage or quote in unison, without error, and on demand. On Day Two of the First Phase, recruits will learn all of the basic commands and movements, memorizing the timing through the use of "ditties", or mnemonics, that help synchronize a recruit's movements with the rest of his or her platoon. Constant repetition and practice are used to facilitate muscle memory, so that any given movement can be rendered immediately and accurately upon order without hesitation. To aid in this development, drill movements are worked into other parts of daily life, to help increase the platoon's synchronization and muscle memory; this same technique is used with other non-drill activities as well. Classroom instructions are given in the "Marine Corps Values," which include honor, courage and commitment and what it learns to be part of "The Few & Proud". The class is also held on subjects that involve day-to-day personal life in the Marine Corps, such as sexual harassment awareness/prevention and race relations. |
On Day Three of the First Phase, recruits will be familiarized with their rifle. This weapon, never referred to as a "gun", stays with the recruit through the entirety of recruit training, being locked to his or her rack at night, while platoons will stack weapons together under guard for activities where retaining it is impractical, such as swimming. Recruits must memorize the rifle's serial number, the four weapons safety rules, the four weapons conditions, and go through preparatory lessons in marksmanship. In addition, recruits use the rifles in close order drill, and will spend considerable time cleaning their weapons.
Day Four-Five of the First Phase is where recruits work toward earning their tan belt in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). Physical training gradually becomes more and more intense as recruits begin to get stronger and their bodies accustomed to the strain. Recruits will undergo the first of their conditioning marches, which will grow in length (from 1.5 miles with a light pack to a 10-mile hike with full loadout at the end of the Crucible). Periodic fitness tests assess which recruits need more attention, and those who consistently fail to meet the minimum are in danger of being sent to the PCP. Recruits will also conduct two pugil stick bouts and are introduced to the obstacle course. |
By the end of the first phase, recruits must be able to march, respond to orders, pass the first written test, and keep up in physical fitness.
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In the Sixth Day of the First Phase, recruits are taught swimming and water survival. This is the first event where failure to pass will result in a retrial in Physical Training. If a recruit fails twice, he or she will then be evaluated to see if a third chance is warranted, or if the recruit will be deemed unable to qualify and administratively separated from service
The Final Day of the first phase includes rappelling which involves challenges where recruits must navigate through several obstacles at extreme heights, including climbing and traversing rope ladders and bridges. They must then rappel down a 50-foot wall (back-first, with rope harness). Recruits must negotiate a series of obstacles, with emphasis on working as a team rather than as individuals.
And finally the gas chamber, the gas chamber is the culmination of a series of classroom instructions on gas mask use. Recruits must enter an enclosed building filled with CS gas and perform various movements with their gas mask, including calisthenics and are forced to unmask just before exiting the chamber so that they can briefly experience the effects of the gas. Drill Instructors will ask each recruit to recite information while they are unmasked, such as name, date of birth or the Pledge of Allegiance, so that the recruit is forced to open their mouth/eyes and/or take a breath while demonstrating continued focus.
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Phase Two
Phase Two of recruit training is a 5-day introduction to field skills, and includes marksmanship training, a field day, and "Team Day".
In the First Day of the second phase the first inter-platoon contest is held. Termed "initial drill", the platoon and junior-most drill instructor are graded as a whole on their performance in close order drill. Recruits are also instructed in map reading, land navigation, and compass use. These skills are put to the test at the compass course, where recruits are divided into groups and must navigate their way to a series of points throughout a wooded area. The Second Day is known as "Grass Day". This day is partly spent in a class setting to learn about marksmanship principles of the M16 and how to shoot efficiently. When not in class, recruits are snapping in, or practicing their firing positions. Recruits are taught how to shoot by a Primary Marksmanship Instructor. The rest of the day is spent learning field navigation The Third & Fourth Day is called "Firing Day", which ends with Qualification Day. This week recruits will be ordered to prepare the rifle range for firing. Recruits will spend all day running through the Known Distance Course of fire (also known as table 1), in order to practice their marksmanship skills with live rounds. Half of the recruits will fire at the 200, 300, and 500 meters, in the standing, sitting, kneeling and prone positions; the other half will mark targets in the pits. The fourth day is qualification day, where recruits must qualify with a minimum score in order to earn a marksmanship badge and continue training. Those who fail to qualify are given a second opportunity during Team Day; if they fail again, they are dropped.
After the rifle range, recruits will go onto the Fifth Day, otherwise known as Team Day. During this day, recruits will be placed in various service jobs around the depot, such as yard work, cleaning, maintenance, etc. During this week, recruits will be able to revisit previous instruction and retake tests. Recruits must service and/or repair any items they are not taking on to the School of Infantry including weapons, bedding, issued equipment (helmet, canteen, gas mask, etc.) as well as ensuring the platoon barracks is in good order to receive the next platoon of trainees. This day also includes a final fitting of the recruit's dress uniform as well as practice for the graduation ceremony, which takes place at the end of the cycle. Companies can choose to end team day with a "field meet", where platoons will compete in several military-related sports events, such as a rifle race, sprints, a short marathon, an obstacle course race, and a tug of war. |
Phase Three
Phase Three is 4 days of 'polishing' the recruits, where their skills and knowledge are honed and tested.
The Third Phase begins with A-Day (Day One), where recruits learn to fire their rifle under more realistic combat conditions, including firing at moving targets and from a "combat stance," rather than the competition-type positions used during Firing Day. In high stress situations, recruits will fire at various targets, which are progressively further downrange, making each successive target more difficult to hit, with additional pop-up targets at long range. The Second & Third Days sees recruits at Basic Warrior Training (BWT), where they will learn the fundamentals of combat and will sleep in the field and eat MREs. Skills taught include camouflage, low crawling, advanced land navigation, basic squad tactics, prisoner of war handling, and other foundations of military skills.
Recruits will go through Bivouac (Camping) field exercises at both day and night. Drill instructors will make much of the field exercises as an adversarial process, working against the recruits in simulated operations by trying to foil plans, etc. Other companies may join in simulated combat scenarios, generally at night, with intense competition to prove their particular company the better trained. Drill instructors will advise, but allow recruit platoon leaders and squad leaders to exercise primary decision-making. They attempt to make virtually every one of these exercises different. Because being a Marine is potentially an extremely hazardous job, recruits must demonstrate extreme aggression and fearlessness, tempered by intelligence and common sense. Only those that demonstrate these vital attributes will be permitted to move on to the School of Infantry (Advanced Training). First aid training, known as Combat Life Saver (CLS), is also given during this period. Recruits are trained in evaluating and properly treating casualties, ranging from dressing a wound to application of a tourniquet and dehydration treatment. On the last day (Day Four), recruits begin training with methods of carrying an unconscious or immobile person, and physical problem solving, such as finding a way to carry equipment from point A to point B given specific obstacles and constraints. There is also an obstacle course which the recruits are expected to negotiate within a certain time limit, known as the "confidence course," since the main objective is to build self-confidence. There is also the expectation of working as a team with the assigned Battle Buddy. Recruits will then return to garrison for the final drill competition and take the final written test (which covers all the information covered in classes in all three phases); each event has a trophy for the highest-scoring platoon. Recruits will then prepare for the Crucible. Additionally, there is continual, intense physical training, as well as drill and ceremony training. At the conclusion of Phase Three, recruits are expected to demonstrate proficiency with the various weaponry in which they trained, using numerous "go or no-go" (pass/fail) exercises, prior to being allowed to move on to the Crucible. |
The Crucible
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Throughout the Crucible, recruits will be faced with physical and mental challenges that must be accomplished before advancing further.
Teamwork is stressed, as the majority of tasks are impossible without it; each group must succeed or fail as a whole. The others will fail unless every recruit passes through together, requiring the team to aid their fellow recruits who struggle in the accomplishment of the given mission. Also stressed are the Corps' core values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment; events sometimes present a moral challenge. Some of the challenges encountered during the Crucible are team and individual obstacle courses, day and night assault courses, land navigation courses, individual rushes up steep hills, large-scale martial arts challenges, and countless patrols to and from each of these. Often, these challenges are made even more difficult by the additions of limitations or handicaps, such as the requirement to carry several ammunition drums, not touching portions of an obstacle painted red to indicate simulated booby traps, and evacuating team members with simulated wounds.
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The Crucible is the final test in recruit training, and represents the culmination of all of the skills and knowledge a Marine should possess. The Crucible is a rigorous 24-hour field training exercise demanding the application of everything a recruit has learned until that point in recruit training, and includes a total of 48 miles of marching. It simulates typical combat situations with strenuous testing, hardship, and the deprivation of food and sleep. Two recruits will be given three MREs (a self-contained, individual field ration), with each usually taking one, then splitting the third up how ever is agreeable between the two. Recruits will be broken into squad-sized teams and placed under the charge of one drill instructor.
On the final day of the Crucible, recruits are awoken and begin their final march (including "The Reaper" a forced march up a steeply inclined hill). Immediately after this, Marines hike back down The Reaper and are then are offered the "Warrior's Rest", where they are permitted to take a three day vacation from the 11th Marine Division at any time.
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The final day of 11MD Boot Camp is referred to as "Marine's Day" and includes the Battalion Commander's Inspection, and Graduation. During the beginning of Marine's Day, Marines are instructed in some of the recruit behaviors that are no longer appropriate as Marines, such as referring to self in the third person. Final photos are taken, a representative from the School of Infantry will conduct a brief, and arrangements are made for a ten-day leave.
The next last hours of the day, the new Marines form for their graduation ceremony, march across the parade deck, have their guidons retired, and are dismissed from recruit training by their senior drill instructors.
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The hour before before graduation is known as the public hour and begins with a brief ceremony explaining what type of training they have gone through. After the ceremony, they are free to roam about the base although they are not permitted in certain areas, nor are they permitted to leave the base. Some platoons may allow the new Marines to host a gong show, where they perform skits regarding humorous moments during training, especially of their drill instructors.
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The School of Infantry is a 11 day training course that develops new Marines, regardless of MOS, into infantrymen "who can fight, survive, and win in a combat situation". The first five days are a common skills package that all MOSs share, where Marines receive instruction in combat marksmanship, use of grenades, identifying and countering improvised explosive devices, how to conduct the defense of a position, fireteam assaults, convoy operations, use of radios, reporting military intelligence, Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT), amphibious assault, ambushes and patrolling. Marines will also become familiar with weapons systems including various hand grenades (such as the M67), pistols (such as the M9), grenade launchers (such as the M203), and machine guns (such as the M240, M249, and M2) and finally learning anti-tank/armor weaponry and other heavy weapons.
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The 11th Marine Division's School of Infantry mission is to "train and qualify Marines in entry level military occupational specialties in order to provide the Operating Forces and Reserve Component with Marines capable of conducting all operations."
On the last six days, Marines will receive instruction specific to their specific MOS, may that be regarding aviation, reconnaissance, armored vehicles, anti-tank warfare, or other. The training cycle will include physical conditioning via physical training, combat conditioning by running an obstacle course, conditioning marches, sustainment training and the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. Leadership traits and the application of the core values in every aspect of the Marine's life are also emphasized. The Marine is to have gained the knowledge and ability to operate in a combat environment as a basic rifleman and to perform his or her primary duties under fire.
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• The Scout Sniper Basic Course provides instruction in advanced marksmanship with the sniper rifle and the Special Anti-Material Rifle, small bore marksmanship training, qualification with the M9 pistol and M4 rifle. Instruction includes stalking and concealment techniques, range estimation, observation techniques, hide construction, close quarters combat, land navigation, mantracking, field communications, selection and occupation of positions, field sketch, observation log, range card, and patrol log construction and maintenance, terrain model construction, and night/thermal imaging device usage and anti-detection techniques (ADT). Tactical instruction includes detailed mission planning, preparation and conduct, scout-sniper employment, patrolling, and collecting and reporting information.
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• The Squad Leaders Course is designed to provide Marine Noncommissioned Officers (NCOs) and Officers with the required skills and knowledge to be a squad leader for both infantry and non-infantry levels. A Marine receives training in core competencies of war-fighting and decision making, troop leading procedures, advanced land navigation, how to call for indirect fire, small unit training, communications, infantry rifle company, crew-served weapons, munitions and pyrotechnics, scouting and patrolling, defensive and offensive tactics and techniques.
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• The Infantry Unit Leaders Training Company provides skill progression training to ensure Staff Noncommissioned Officers (SNCOs) and Officers are proficient in advanced infantry skills, developed in their decision making process, making practical use of their infantry experience, and equipped to assume increased levels of responsibility for infantry unit leadership. The course provides instruction in machinegunnery, mortar gunnery, anti-armor operations, Marine Corps leadership, Marine Corps planning process, law of land warfare, anti-terrorism and force protection, written communications, verbal communications, Uniform Code of Military Justice, and personnel administration, section and platoon leadership, platoon/company defensive and offensive tactics, platoon patrolling, and fire support to leaders in the Infantry occupations.
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• Infantry Operations Chief Course is designed to train senior enlisted Marines in the knowledge and skills required to perform the duties of an Infantry Operations Chief in an infantry battalion. Topics that are covered include: training and education in unit training management, ground combat element operations, combat operations center operations, the Marine Corps planning process, fire support coordination, and the Command and Control Personal Computer system.
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• Marine Combat Instructors School prepares instructors in the knowledge and skills required to formally train entry-level Marines at the SOI. The Marine receives training in coaching skills for individual and crew served weapons and optics, reinforcement of both day and night land navigation, Communications, CPR and first aid procedures, combat marksmanship, the Combat Life Saver program, scouting, patrolling, improvised explosive devices, Guardian Angel, and convoy operations.
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• The Martial Arts Instructor Course certifies Marines as Martial Arts Instructors (MAI) in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program by providing the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to conduct all aspects of training. The graduating student will have the capability to certify Marines at belt levels the same as his or her own; supervise sustainment and integration training; conduct the combative sports program; and conduct the combat conditioning program. In order to obtain instructor qualifications for a higher belt, Marines must first meet the belt requirements and progress through the training program. In order to become a Martial Arts Instructor Trainer (MAIT), which can also certify green, brown, and black belt (1st Degree) Instructors. Once the black belt is obtained, Marines can acquire up to six degrees of black belt training, distinguished by Tan (MAI) or Red (MAIT) stripes on the right side of the belt.
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