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Protected: Recruit love letters

27 Feb 2008 | Enter your password to view comments. | Continue reading »

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Training day AD-4: Drill Instructor School Graduation

19 Dec 2007 | 14 Comments | Continue reading »

“These recruits are entrusted to my care. I will train them to the best of my ability. I will develop them into smartly disciplined, physically fit, basically trained Marines, thoroughly indoctrinated in love of Corps and country. I will demand of them, and demonstrate by my own example, the highest standards of personal conduct, morality [...]

Training days 53-55: Crucible observation

16 Dec 2007 | 2 Comments | Continue reading »

From “Rite of Passage: Making Basic Training Tougher” by Jim Garamone, 23 February 2004. Images meticulously selected and edited by yours truly. “We have two missions in the Marine Corps — to win battles and make Marines,” said Col. Bob Hayes, assistant deputy chief of staff for operations and training at the recruit depot here. [...]

Dead Marine’s poem

11 Dec 2007 | 8 Comments | Continue reading »

Get Together by The Youngbloods. The #10 song in the country in 1969. Get Together by The Youngbloods After two and a half months of aimlessly wandering the halls of Drill Instructor School, I noticed this poem for the first time today. It was sandwiched between a couple of Vietnam-era uniforms and assorted memorabilia in [...]

Training day 35: in dreams

19 Nov 2007 | 5 Comments | Continue reading »

I had a nice little sit down chat with a military psychologist this morning. It was apparently in response to some paperwork I had filled out in the early days of DI school. I was one of fourteen Marines interviewed. Out of seventy-two. The conversation dealt specifically with my disclosure of physiological and psychological “abnormalities” [...]

Training days 26-34: Basic Warrior Training

18 Nov 2007 | 2 Comments | Continue reading »

How does two weeks pass without much to say about them? Maybe that means I’ve settled into the routine? The only real thing of note was BWT last week, which translated to a few days “in the field” smeared in cami paint and charging around the woods like a bunch of ROTC pinheads on a [...]

Training day 25: reveille, cockroach style

5 Nov 2007 | 13 Comments | Continue reading »

The picture you’re seeing to the right is the actual size of the cockroach that awoke me from my peaceful slumber at 2:00am this morning. He may not seem like much, but wait until the little bastard crawls into your ear and then tell me you’re not envisioning a thousands eggs being laid in your [...]

A mother’s PostSecret

31 Oct 2007 | 17 Comments | Continue reading »

I was browsing PostSecret.com when the Marine Corps emblem in this postcard caught my eye. I wish it hadn’t.

Training days 1-13: two week recap

21 Oct 2007 | 13 Comments | Continue reading »

I’ve got two loads of clean laundry piled on my rack to fold and put away, Drill Card 1 to practice, a movement or two to memorize out of Book II, Individual Movements Without Arms, uniforms to prep, garbage to take out, my PT Pack to ready for the morning, and I’m wasting entirely too [...]

Admin day 2: Drill Instructor School

3 Oct 2007 | 9 Comments | Continue reading »

It’s DI school, class 1-08, Parris Island, South Carolina folks, and tomorrow is the official kick off. I arrived Friday morning after a sixteen hour drive from Corunna, MI and basically wasted the weekend away working on this website and screwing off. It wasn’t a mistake, necessarily. There’s really nothing a man can do to [...]

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The author.Born in the year of the Dragon, the author grudgingly accepts the fact he has too many interests and not enough time. A cyclist as long as he can remember, an avid yet inconsistent writer since age eleven, and a U.S. Marine since age twenty-one, the author also adds computers, snowboarding, and motorcycles to his list of interests. Incidentally, he is aware of his inability to make a living from any but the Corps. The author accepts this as fact and remains optimistic. Feel free to drop him a line.

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  • Jayme on Drill Instructor duty, Parris Island: A retrospective: Huh?…
  • Mike on Drill Instructor duty, Parris Island: A retrospective: Perfect. I take what I want, and leave what I don’t want, to each…
  • SeanD on Confused Marine debuts hybrid service uniform: And btw i was amoc 18 like 8 years ago….
  • SeanD on Confused Marine debuts hybrid service uniform: I thinknits bullshit about receiving bad advice. All throught bootcamp what is it?… MODS or…
  • SeanD on Recruit survival guide (politically correct remix): Ppl seem to forget what Marines do, they would like. Hats to train recruits to…
  • Kaylee on A mother’s PostSecret: There’s always another way to interpret something. One’s interpretation is an opinion, not a fact….
  • Jayme on A mother’s PostSecret: In your words, it makes perfect sense. But they aren’t HER words. Her words are…
  • Kaylee on A mother’s PostSecret: Maybe she’s just scared to lose him. I have several very close friends that joined…
  • Jayme on Better off a memory: Yes, it is. What was haunting? The visit? Your memory of this? The story?…
  • Your goddaughter on Better off a memory: Is this when you gave me that blue dolphin necklace? This…this haunts me….
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  • Adda on Drill Instructor duty, Parris Island: A retrospective: Jayme, Spot-on! This must be the 6th time I’ve read this and my reaction…
  • Jayme on 5 things men want women to know: For the record, I’m a closet Danielle Steele fan. Read a lot of her books…
  • Brittany on 5 things men want women to know: It’s nice to see a man’s perspective on relationships as so many articles are written…
  • Jayme on 2009 Eastern Division [rifle and pistol] Matches results: What’s so special about that score in particular? Contact the range where the matches were…
  • Percival on 2009 Eastern Division [rifle and pistol] Matches results: Hey how can i get the scoring roster from a 2009 Far east division championships…
  • Jayme on Drill Instructor duty, Parris Island: A retrospective: Plenty of good stuff. None of it comes to mind right now though….
  • John on Drill Instructor duty, Parris Island: A retrospective: I mean damn. Is there anything good about leaving to go the drill field? I’ve…