OORAH! II

Pool Function

2009-04-18T20:19:00.003-06:00

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

2009-04-16T17:43:00.003-06:00

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

2009-03-30T20:40:00.008-06:00

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

2009-02-25T20:35:00.002-07:00

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

2009-02-25T20:27:00.006-07:00

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

2009-02-02T18:27:00.003-07:00

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

2009-01-05T21:11:00.002-07:00

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!

PT

2008-12-01T22:04:00.002-07:00

We had PT the other week, as usual, and I was the senior poolee, not usual. It was in July that I signed in so that makes it about six months that I've been in the D.E.P. I'm used to Gotteridge being the senior man. He's a poolee that has shipped out already. We went running for 1.5 miles and we stopped every once in a while to do some different excercises, the same thing we always do every P.T. I don't think I did as good of a job as I should have, but I'm working on that. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the next P.T., and if I'm senior poolee I now know what to do. OORAH!

Work Out

2008-10-29T20:18:00.007-06:00

One thing I've noticed with some of the other poolees is that they are having a hard time with the P.T. One thing that would help is if they worked out on their own time. Not only does this better your physical condition, but if you only work out at P.T. you waste Staff Sergeant's time, your time, and if you have a ride, you waste their time to haul your lazy rear to the office. A Marine returning from Boot Camp recommended the Armstrong Pull up Challenge. I started it and it increased my number of pull ups immediately. Since then I have drastically modified it but I still do the pull ups.
Another thing is that Staff Sergeant said that to condition yourself you need to do more than just pull ups, crunches, and running. Combat, and everyday life for that matter, woks more muscles in your body than just your biceps, thighs and calves, and gut. What of your triceps, neck muscles, chest, etc.? You gotta work those two.
Besides, working out will give you more energy, make you look better, and make you able to do more. I always privately laugh when I see the public school's PE teacher, he's huge! So get out, work out, and never,never quit! OORAH!

PT

2008-09-08T21:48:00.004-06:00

Finally got some pictures of PT like I said I would. First, the Recruiter Depot. Second, my PT buddy Armelio doing pullups. Last, The Man himself, Staff Sergant Wheeler. OORAH!

ACT

2008-09-02T20:21:00.002-06:00

I contacted my recruiter about the ACT to see if I needed to take it to get into the Marine Corps, or whether they wanted me to take it, or what. He said it was not necessary to get into the Marine Corps, that I had taken all the tests for that already, but that I will need to take it later anyway to go to college. Just thought this would be a helpful post for the other poolees out there. OORAH!

PT

2008-08-27T20:09:00.004-06:00

We whent to PT on Monday at the recruiting station in Logan. We did the IST (1 1/2 mile run, 2 mi. of crunches, as many pullups as possible), and I got 12:38 on my run, 69 crunches, and 7 pullups. The pull ups had improved by one and the crunches improved by two. Though my run was slower as last time was 11:49. I have gotten to where I will pass the IST, but I am working toward getting better anyways. You always have to push yourself or you will grow complacent. Anyway, I am looking forward to the next PT. OORAH!

Poolee function 20080816

2008-08-19T19:45:00.006-06:00

Figured I'd give an example of the typical poolee function. FUN, EDUCATIONAL, and MOTIVATING!!! Seriously though, it really was all that. We hiked in Layton canyon in squads (I was put in Logan's squad because Brigham does not have its own Recruiter, YET) and we ate MREs for lunch. When we ate, we received lessons on the four steps to first aid, respect to Marines, and a written test on the knowledge book every recruit gets when he/she joins the DEP. The classes were taught by Staff Sergant Wynn, Sergant Madrano, and Staff Sergant Montgomery respectively. When we got down, we did a Kim game. Basically, each squad gets two minutes before the hike to look at and memorize a still life arranged by Staff Sergant Wheeler. When all the squads return from the hike, we must tell our scribe what we saw and he draws it. We won. I am looking forward to the next function, and I am glad we were able to start developing a sense of comradarie which is necessary in the Marine Corps. OORAH!

Pics of Me I

2008-08-19T19:18:00.003-06:00

Couldn't put one in of my PT uniform as it wouldn't download right for some reason. But the pictures are my DEP certifacate, my "shrine", and me swearing in.

OORAH! II

2008-08-18T20:20:00.001-06:00

First one failed (mainly due to my laziness in forgetting my account password), but I'm hoping to do better this time around. I fixed my profile and I plan on adding some new posts soon. Enjoy! OORAH!

2008-08-18T20:18:00.005-06:00

I just swore into the Marine Corps Delayed Entry Program. My MOS is intel. (I'm not sure which aspect of intel though) I will have some pictures posted soon of my "shrine" of combat literature, my PT uniform, my certificate sayiing I'm in the DEP, and me swearing in. I will also post pictures of PTs and Pool Functions to which I bring my camera. I'm open to comments (yea, and critisism) and POST COMMENTS SO I KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!!