MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT, San Diego (KGTV) – We often drive past the boot camp where the United States Marines are trained, but unless you have served there, you probably don’t know what goes on behind the walls.
A group of educators from San Diego and around the world recently attended a week-long boot camp to give their students a better idea of what it means to serve our country.
Their first stop was the legendary yellow footprints. This is where the transformation begins as soon as the recruits arrive.
“It was very confusing,” said Susan Pilgrim of the San Diego Job Corps.
Pilgrim said at least once a month someone asks her about a future in the military. Her boot camp experience has given her the skills to answer those questions.
“I wasn’t prepared for what was going to happen and I didn’t want to get in the way or make a wrong move, so I was very cautious while trying to understand what was happening,” she explained.
The instructors then learned the boot camp rules that apply to Marine life.
“There is a lot of screaming and yelling, but there is also time to learn,” says Marine Corps instructor Sergeant Emmanual Medina.
Sergeant Medina led Pilgrim and the rest of the group from start to finish, answering all of the instructors’ questions, such as where the recruits leave their belongings and whether they can exercise their religious freedom during basic training camp.
The instructors even received some feedback from their civilian colleagues.
“I was confused. Maybe you should speak more clearly,” said one of the teachers.
After the processes were set up and any ambiguities were cleared up, the next stop was the barracks, which the recruits will call home for the next 13 weeks.
They also witnessed and participated in a fitness test.
All in all, it was an eye-opening experience for the influential personalities.
“It gives me a better perspective when talking to my students who are considering a military career,” Pilgrim said.
Pilgrim comes from a military family and had some idea of what to expect.
She now has a strong understanding and ability to motivate the next generation of military personnel.
“I get off the bus this morning, scared and my heart pounding. I’m not going into the military, but I just understand what’s at stake. I think I’ll have a lot of information,” Pilgrim said.
The workshop takes place several times a year at the MCRD.
