#marine classes

Alright, our Recruit is entering his second week of 1st Phase. By now he is getting into the routine of sleep, thrash, eat, thrash, classes, thrash, drill, thrash, eat, thrash, class, thrash, pt, drill, thrash, eat, thrash, drill, thrash, commanders time, sleep. Before I get into today's topic, our Recruit should finally be able to see some hair growing back and no longer look like a cue ball. This will be cause for much celebration to him and his fellow recruits. They will get hair cuts once a week to maintain a fresh look. All of it will be kept shaved on the sides with it allowed to grow on top, (no more the 3" on top though). It is called a "high and tight" and only looks good at boot camp and in combat. Enough of that. Today I will be talking about classes. Yes, there is class room work that doesn't involve the DI's thrashing them in front of the squad bay. These are legitimate classes taught by Marines who are experts in these fields. Over half of them will be about Marine Corps history. That's right, stories of where we come from and the deeds of those who have gone on before us. He will learn about great Marines like Presley O'Banion, John Daly, The Grand Ole Man Commandant Archibald, General John Lejuene, Gen "howling mad" Smith, and of course the greatest Marine Chesty Puller. He learn about the great battles from the birth of the Corps at Tun Tavern Philadelphia to today's Marines in Afghanistan. Battles with names like Belle Woods, Argon, Boxer Rebellion, Tarawa, Guadalcanal, Siapan, Iwo Jima, Pusan Perimeter, Chosen Reservoir, Huey City, Khesan, The DMZ, Kuwait City, Fallujah, and Marja. Some of these battles our Recruit has had family in and he will feel closer to them now. He will learn why the date November 10th, 1775 is so sacred to us. He will learn our blessed Hymn. He will feel the powers of those great men being pasted down through each generation of Marine to those still serving today. Those teaching him. He will learn that the Basic Training he is at now has hardly changed in almost all of those 200 plus years. Those deeds were done by men who have gone through what he is going through now. He will learn that it is the job of every Marine serving today to up hold and keep sacred the traditions and honor of those who have served before him. You can not know who you are and where you are going until you know where you've been. Welcome to the Marine Corps.