helping son prepare for boot camp

[kmrtnsn]

Can he do that in the morning, then again in the afternoon? Core fitness and endurance.

[Bill Bryant]

kmrtnsn, you seem to be telling me that the USMC wishes all their recruits were "city boys" with no experience with firearms instead of "country boys" who have grown up hunting rabbits in the woods, knocking down clay pigeons and pheasants, bringing home a deer every Thanksgiving, and so on.

I'm taking your words into very serious consideration, but I need to put them into a context. Are you a USMC drill instructor? Officer? Current enlisted? What's the perspective you're coming from?

Also, a question for others with USMC connections. Do you agree with kmrtnsn?

I'm not trying to stir anything up here. I'm all ears and eager to learn. I just need to put this advice in the right file.

And kmrtnsn, thanks for your input. Thanks very much.

[kmrtnsn]

Bill, a typical recruit Platoon starts out with about 80 and graduates around 50. All have different levels of aptitude, experience, and motivation. It is far easier to train and turn 80 individuals into a unit if you do not have to un-train prior experience, good or bad. The goal is to have everyone on the same page. Marine basic is built around breaking down, unlearning, and building up and training to a common standard. The way Bill Jr. shot a deer rifle in the Dakotas is irrelevant and in the Corps way of doing things, quite possibly wrong, and yes, training a "city boy" with no prior experience, and thus no preconceived notions and/or bad habits is in many ways preferable.

Prior enlisted Marine NCO, current LE trainer, and please elicit all the advice you can get.

[Bill Bryant]

The way Bill Jr. shot a deer rifle in the Dakotas is irrelevant and in the Corps way of doing things, quite possibly wrong, and yes, training a "city boy" with no prior experience, and thus no preconceived notions and/or bad habits is in many ways preferable.

What are some habits Jeff might have with firearms that the USMC would consider "bad"?

[kmrtnsn]

Bill, suffice to say that when it comes to shooting dynamics, the mechanics and manual of the killing of men is significantly different than the killing of deer and pheasants.

[OkiBomber]

Let me just say that i would greatly recommend not running in boots. Distance running in sneakers that properly fit is far more beneficial. I train in boots and armor(with plates) quite religiously, however i've had years of conditioning. The vast majority of that training has come from personal experience. Boot camp is more about breaking you down physically, mentally, and spiritually then anything else. It is easy to perform when one is rested. It is a whole other ball game to do it tired and miserable for 3 months. My point is this: learning to be motivated is great. Teaching yourself to be self-motivated is far superior. When I left boot it didn't take long to notice which marines around me were self starters and which just went with the flow. NCO's go ape shit most of the time having to deal with immature marines. Its not just the physical strength of an individual but the maturity of that individual as part of a group. I'd rather have to work a little harder with a marine to get them to perform physically then battle them all day every day because they are immature. You train your son how you feel you should, but don't forget that it is quite common to overtrain the body. Few people teach themselves to be strong in the mind let alone teach their children.

As far as shooting is concerned i don't see a problem as long as your weapon is some kind of M16/M4 platform.

Good luck with your modern day "Agoge" !

Sgt Garcia
USMC EOD

[OkiBomber]

delete

[Bill Bryant]

Bill, suffice to say that when it comes to shooting dynamics, the mechanics and manual of the killing of men is significantly different than the killing of deer and pheasants.

That goes without saying.

[ZGXtreme]

I will echo the same statements regarding shooting. The best shooters out of my company at MCRD San Diego were the ones who had never fired a rifle before. They had no "bad habits" for the PMI's to break them of. What habits did they have? I honestly couldn't tell you since I was a little stressed most of the time.

The other big recommendation has already been noted, PT. That one thing in and of itself will put him ahead of the curve, enabling him to mentally concentrate on the many other aspects of Recruit Training.

In the area of Knowledge I would pretty much limit it to memorization of the General Orders and the Rank Structure. Anything else is going to come with time.

I'd speak with his Recruiter about what he recommends your son do. The biggest thing I can point out is that he doesn't get so wrapped up in preparing for MCRD that he misses living his senior year. While PT and shooting are important aspects of Recruit Training the bread and butter is mental. If he is mentally strong he will do fine. And that is something he doesn't really have to practice per se.

Regardless... he could step off the bus in average shape and knowledge and do fine so long as he is mentally prepared to the best extent possible. I'd just do the above things listed if he wants to be super prepared and reiterate that he needs to enjoy the time between now and then without focusing so hard that he misses out on life in front of him.

[Failure2Stop]

I think we discussed this a while ago, though if I recall it was more about getting a rifle to "prepare" your son for Boot Camp.

I echo the sentiment of others that have said to avoid "teaching" your son marksmanship. The program has been running for over two hundred years to get what is needed, when it is needed. Depending on his MOS you might consider some other training after his MOS school.

Sounds like the physical fitness is going well. Good.
Keep in mind that mental fitness will be just as tested, and is much less developable in an "outside" environment.

Three months seems long, but as long as he is determined, it isn't too bad.