Pool Function

I went to a pool function on Friday through Saturday at Camp Williams, which is an Army National Guard base. We had Drill Instructors come out from MCRD and we basically got a small taste of what Boot Camp will be like. When the DIs came in in the morning and woke us up, we had a kid pass out on the floor because he got so scared. The same kid ended up getting us a lot of extra punishment exercise because he was an idiot and wasn't doing what he was supposed to. I really hope that I don't ship out with him! Anyway, We were taught a little bit on drill and the Combat Fitness Test. I tell you what, when you do the CFT you are exhausted. It doesn't matter how strong or mean you are, you will be tired when you do it. I went repelling for my first time, free fall and walking on a wall, off of a hundred foot tower. I also got to meet an aircrew of a C-46 E helicopter. I even got to look through the aircraft. Over all, the DIs were jerks, but that's their job. They aren't there to make you feel warm and fuzzy all over, they're there to stress you and work you until you drop and then work you some more. That's just a basic overview of the Pool Function. If you want to find out more what it's like, go ahead and come to the next one that they have, it truly shows you what you are. OORAH!

MARINE Gonzales

Armillio is no longer a Recruit. He has emerged victorious from the sands of MCRD, San Diego and has become a member of the most elite organization of warriors in the world. He is now a Marine! I think he is a Private, but he might be a Private First Class. It doesn't really matter, because he will be promoted there (if he is just a Private) soon anyway, he's a good Marine.
Anyway, I am looking forward to joining him, and I can't wait to ship out on June 2nd! OORAH!

Recruit Gonzales III

This is another excerpt from a letter to me from Recruit Gonzales, A.A.
Hey, Dalton,

How's life goin' in the real world? Everything going good here, only a few more weeks to go! That's good that you've been motivated to work out more, it's going to help when you get here. If you get all your general orders and chain of command and all that stuff memorized good and get some of the history down you'll have no problem here. I remember at P.T. you did pretty good, so don't stress yourself to much it's not really that bad! Boot Camp is pretty much a mental game, so my advice for when you come is to remember everything happens for a reason and keep your eyes on the prize.
Recruit Gonzales, Armilio A.
Well, you just have a couple more weeks left. Hang in there and come out a Marine. OORAH!

The Office

I have a new recruiter, his name is Sergeant Sugano. He's HUGE! He looks like a life size action figure, no kidding. I'll try to get some new pictures of the office as it has changed somewhat.
For now, OORAH!

Recruit Gonzales II

This is another excerpt from a letter from my friend Recruit Gonzales, Armilio.
Hey, Dalton,
how's it goin' bro? I got all your letters, don't worry ha ha. We've been up north though and there's not very much time to do anything so I write when I have some time on my hands. We shot "table one" this last week and I qualified expert so that was pretty cool. We did our eight mile hump yesterday and it was way easy! 5 miles was harder. How's poolie life? Any fun pool functions? Anyone ship from Logan recently? Well write back soon thanks for writing!
Rec. Gonzales
Well, Recruit, you only have about six more weeks. It takes hard work and a lot of motivation to even make it that far, so you've got what it takes to go the rest of the way. OORAH!

Recruit Gonzales

This is an excerpt out of a letter sent to me by Recruit Gonzales, Armilio.
"Well bootcamp is goin' all right, the first two weeks really stink I'm not gonna lie, but it's mainly 'cause we were not used to it yet but now it's more of a routine and it"s just like Wheeler says, "You gotta take it one chow at a time." I didn't fully get that until I got here, haha!
( At least it's good though!) Time goes by pretty fast it feels like we've only been here a week but it's already been a week almost! I hope it goes faster I can't wait to get home and see everyone!"
Well, there's a peep into the world of a recruit at MCRD. I will try to keep the blog posted with excerpts from letters as I want you guys to know what's goin' on up at San Diego. OORAH!

Boot

My friend, Armellio Gonzales, has shipped off too Boot today and will be there for three months during which time he will be transformed into a lean, mean, killing machine. Even more, he will become a Marine. I can't wait to join you! OORAH!