POSTMARKED 07/13/2009

AFTER FACING THE MOST VICIOUS MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CHALLENGE OF MY LIFE
VICTORY IS ABSOLUTE, I AM A MARINE

Sorry to spoil the ending with the attention getter but it's true, I've finally made it. We kicked Monday off with the gas chamber. Let's just say I underestimated it. I didn't believe a gas could mess me up so bad. Once subjected to CS gas I started coughing so bad I couldn't breathe. My lungs were burning and my eyes were glued shut because they stung so bad. I had snot running down my face as I was forced to do jumping jacks. It was horrible and I've promised myself to never underestimate something as much again.

Tuesday was the start of the Crucible. We woke up at 2 AM and were immediately up and hiking to our first Crucible stations. Everything looked foggy and confusing in the dark and we were all frightened of the unknown. The toughest and most notable challenge on Tuesday was Basilone's Defense. Essentially we got split up in our 4 man fire teams and had to charge up a heinously steep hill while carrying ammo cans full of sand weighing around 35 pounds each. We had to stay aligned with our fire teams all the way up or we would be made to do it again. Every fire team ended up doing it at least twice. My fire team did it 3 times because we couldn't align. It was a heart popping experience. When we hiked to other stations we'd grab the handle of the recruit's pack in front of us. It sucked because the recruit in front of me was 5'2" so I had to bend way over while power walking 3-4 miles to the next challenge. Speaking of which, we ended up hiking a total of 54 miles during the Crucible. We also only had 3 MRESs to eat during the 2 1/2 days. This got especially rough for me at the end because I shared a full MRE with other recruits as they'd either had theirs stolen or were horrible at conserving food. We also got 3 hours sleep per night. It's technically supposed to be 4, but we all had an hour of firewatch because of our small platoon. Another notable part of the Crucible was the Battle of Fallujah. Here it consisted of 12 stations replicating obstacles in Iraq, such as crossing rivers, evacuating injured Marines, and assaulting through sewers. It was honestly pretty fun despite how challenging it was.

Wednesday had more challenges. I don't remember much because I was so dead tired. I just know I'd black out while hiking to a station, then get woken up because I'd run into the recruit in front of me or stumble on a rock. Before then I'd never thought it possible to fall asleep while walking. We sparred in the afternoon. I was matched up with recruit Apple (6'1", 175 pounds). I personally wasn't looking forward to the fight because I'd already sent a fellow recruit back a couple weeks. They denied my request to fight someone from another platoon. Anyway, my fight with Recruit Apple was dumb. Basically I pumelled him for a minute straight all the while listening to the Senior and First Sergeant yell at him for being a sissy. He kept turning his side to me, so doing what I was supposed to I started chain landing kidney shots. After a while the First Sergeant, apparently bored, told me to start throwing uppercuts. I did, three times, and feel terrible about it still.

Thursday we woke up at 2AM again and marched 10 miles to the Reaper. Everything was foggy and foreboding just like Tuesday. I didn't realize I had gotten to the Reaper until I was standing right in front of it because of the fog. The Reaper consists of 4 major hills. The first one is the biggest and kills your motivation, the last one is the steepest and must be charged up. It was a heart popping experience and by far the most physically challenging obstacle in boot camp if done how it's supposed to be done (some limp wristed Mary's took breaks between hills). After the Reaper we hiked back to our Eagle Globe and Anchor ceremony. It was such a great feeling knowing I had conquered every obstacle to come before me within the past 3 months. What can I say, you can't stop this beast. My best friend here at boot camp, Brock Groom got promoted to PFC. He requested I pin his chevrons on him during the ceremony. It was such a great honor. I've realized I have a completely new outlook on life thanks to boot camp and God. To sum it up, no guilt in life, no fear in death. Everything happens for a reason and is in God's hands so why worry about the future or dwell on the past? I can honestly say I can't think of anything I fear right now aside from reverting back to the unsure and lazy person I used to be. I'm much more open to exploring life and am excited to do so.

Bertroche Out

PS: Ask me about my rifle salute the next time you see me.