Monday night we packed our packs for our 20k hike that we would set out on Tuesday morning. We literally packed every single piece of gear that we owned into our packs. It was by far the heaviest pack I had ever hiked with. Everyone went to bed very anxious because this was the furthest distance we hiked with the heaviest pack and at a very fast pace. We woke up the next day still very anxious to get over with the hike and move forward with graduating. We were told too that we would have a little bit of reward waiting on us when we got done. Following the hike we would shower, find out where everyone would be stationed, and get to go to a hotdog cookout hosted by the local YMCA.
The hike was very fast paced at the beginning but slowed down a little the further we went on. It was a similar route that we took for the 15k. The first few miles were relatively flat before they turned into a trail that went up two of the tallest hills in the SOI area. I felt really good after we climbed the two tallest hills because I wasn’t near as sore or out of breath as I was the last time I hiked it and I was carrying more weight. Afterwards we hiked on the ridge of one of the biggest mountains with the ground gradually rising and filling. At the end of the ridge you have to go down this very sharp descent that has been named the ankle breaker because the loose rocks and steep angle can create a lot of ankle injuries. At the bottom you travel along a dry creek bed that is nicknamed the microwave because the sand and rocks soak up the sun and it’s a good 5-10 degrees hotter in the creek bed than everywhere else. It’s really painful on your joints and feet because of all the weight that you put on the loose rocks. After a few miles on the creek bed we got back to the area where all the barracks are and made our way back to our squad bay area.
We turned in our weapons had a quick shower and made our way down to the parade deck where the cookout was going on. Right before everyone had been told where they were going to be stationed so everyone was hanging out and talking about that. All of the friends I made during the training are going to North Carolina with the exception of one that will be going to Recon Training with me. It kind of sucks making friends all over again but I guess that’s just the nature of the beast.
The rest of the week was spent turning our gear in, doing an intensive cleaning of our squad bay, practicing for our graduation, and taking care of a few administrative matters. We all also got the pleasure of cleaning weapons from 6:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday because the armory kept saying they weren’t clean enough and wouldn’t take them back. Needless to say we were all pretty ill on Thursday night.
Friday we had our graduation ceremony. For those that had family in attendance they may have gotten to spend 30 minutes tops with them before having to get on shuttles to take them to their units or to the airport. For those of us that didn’t we went to lunch together at the chow hall and went back to the squad bay and changed out of our uniforms we wore for graduation. All of us that were going to the Recon Training Company were outside sitting on our sea bags when a Staff Sergeant from RTC came and picked us up. He immediately told us that we had two minutes to get our packs on and get in a formation ready to move. We quickly followed him to a flat bed truck. He then told us that we had four minutes to get all of our gear on the truck and get into a formation behind the truck again. Afterwards we were led on a quick run to the Recon huts by a more senior student in RTC. Once we got there we were given a few minutes to throw our gear in a room and get our medical and dental records out for processing.
The Marines have a way of making the first day at any school the most disorienting and nervous experience ever. This was no different. We had to quickly adapt to a new way of doing things and move with a sense of urgency while learning new names and ranks. Some of my peers that came with me messed up as well as some of the more senior students that were outside in a formation. As a punishment we had to do something the Recon Instructors call 25 and 5. It’s basically 25 pushups followed by 5 pushups where you yell “Wanna Be” for the first four pushups and “Wanna Be Recon” for the last one. We later learned that this punishment was dished out because some of the students didn’t know the Recon Creed verbatim.
After turning in our records we went to a classroom and waited for probably 25 minutes before an instructor came in. We filled out some forms, went over the rules we had to follow while a student in RTC, and were given a sheet with the creed on it. Also we were given our initial gear issue which consisted of a rope and a camelback. We have to wear the rope around us at all times and we are responsible for learning several knots. At any time an instructor can ask us to tie one of the knots and if we are unable to complete it in time I’m sure that our bodies will be getting punished. The instructor then told us the basic idea of Recon Indoctrination Program (RIP), which is what we will be in until we are deemed; fit enough to enter the Basic Reconnaissance Course (BRC). We were told that we would spend 5 days in the pool a week and 5 days on land either running or lifting weights. The instructor then stated “And gentlemen there aren’t 10 days in a week. We PT a lot here.” We knew then that our bodies were going to be in for a shock as soon as the training started.
After the classroom instruction we got in a formation outside the instructors huts and took care of a few more administrative matters. The instructors then came out and told us that we had to go to dinner, but had to be back in 30 minutes. Unfortunately it’s a 15 minute walk to the chow hall from the Recon huts so we ended up running there, drinking two PowerAde’s, and running back. We were released on liberty a few minutes later. We all took the next hour or so getting settled into our new homes and started to mark our new gear. I and a few other guys spent the night in and caught up on some sleep since we didn’t get much the last few days of SOI.
Saturday we took a shuttle into Oceanside and went to Wal-Mart to pick up some protein powder and vitamins. We weren’t allowed to take any sort of supplement during SOI but we are allowed to take them now to assist in recovery and muscle building. We also got dinner at a restaurant and watched a UFC fight.
Sunday I spent some time learning the creed and squaring some gear away. I’m sure I’ll be practicing the creed later on as well. We are all really anxious and nervous for our first day of training tomorrow. Now that I’m in RIP I’ll be able to get liberty for a few hours every night. It will be nice to be able to talk to family and friends every night and it will also be much easier to stay on top of my blog. I won’t have access to the internet till the weekends but at least I’ll be able to write my thoughts down. During the next few weeks I’ll try to go back and fill in the missing weeks from my SOI training and post some more pictures now that I’ll have some more time and fewer distractions.
Until next time...
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