Tips for Nerds on Their Way to Marine Boot Camp (Part 2)

6) Don’t be afraid to ask questions. The old saying, “the chain is only as strong as the weakest link,” is nowhere proven more correct on a day to day basis than Marine Corps Recruit Training. If you don’t know an answer or am not sure how to do something, ask a fellow recruit first. If they still can’t help you, request knowledge from a drill instructor. They might be vicious, blood-sucking animals but it is their job to train you and teach you, and reaching out for help shows your initiative (another of the 13 Leadership Traits.) They night call you an idiot but you won’t be when they are done teaching you.

7) Take advantage of every single PT session you have. This includes delayed entry program nights before shipping out for boot camp and every physical event while you are there. Unfortunately, this also means the inevitable IT sessions. As hard as it will be, if you’re ever ordered to the sand pit or the quarter desk make the most out of it. They’re only allowed to punish you that way for anywhere from five to ten minutes, if that. It’s a great workout opportunity. Give your all when surmounting the obstacle courses or on runs. Put your heart and soul into the martial arts training sessions. Do a few extra pull-ups and crunches during square away time. Because anything you can do to harden your bodies will be put to the ultimate test during the Crucible, and for those Hollywood Marines such as myself, there’s also the Reaper at the end. Even the strongest in my platoon struggled to get up that mother fucker. Make the most out of your physical training.

8) Practice your handwriting before you ship so you don’t get writer’s cramp easily. There are no phone calls home while on board the depots. The only method of communication you will have with the outside world is through letters, and you only get an hour a night to write home and a few extra on Sundays. The faster you write without getting cramped the better, because there’s no greater feeling than hearing your drill instructors call out your name during Mail Call and throwing a piece of mail at you. Letters from home will become your most treasured possessions, and any letters you send to your parents or grandparents or significant others will be treasures for them, as well.

9) To make it easy on yourself, break your time down into chunks so that it helps you keep treading on. Take it one chow at a time. Three chows a day times seven is twenty-one chows, and multiply that by however many weeks you have left and it will be easier to progress. Watches (time pieces) are not allowed and there are no clocks on the bulkheads, so there is no other way of keeping track of time. Or if you have a little more motivation than I did, take it one day at a time. Every night when square away time comes around, check off another day in your knowledge book. Congratulations! You have successfully survived another day in the harshest boot camp in the United States armed forces. It really is an achievement and it does wonders for your morale, if you let it. Just take it one day at a time and never stop pushing.

And finally, the last piece of advice I have for you nerds out there wanting to be Marines is this–don’t forget who you really are. You’re a nerd. You’re intelligent, smart, and you carry the strength of mind. The Marine Corps NEEDS you! The vast majority of Devil Dogs only care about getting drunk, screwing around, and being jackasses to anyone and everyone. No offense to my brother and sister Marines, but most of them are stupid. But you are not. You make up for what they lack in a CRUCIAL way. They might not respect you or acknowledge you, but that’s their problem. Without smart men and women like us the Marine Corps will fail. And those with brains are the ones who really get ahead in the military, even the Corps. So in a way, you have kind of a step up because you have a brain. If you put it to use, you can make some outstanding things happen for yourself while you’re in. Who knows, maybe those grunts who laughed at you during boot camp will end up throwing you a salute one day when you have brass on your collar instead of bars. And never forget that the most dangerous enemy in the world is a smart Marine.

Semper Fi, geeks!