what was it like? could DIs beat you? was it brutal?
2007-03-16 06:34:40 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Military
I went through in 1970 and the cursing and physical abuse was at its peak.
However, I still work around young Marines as a contractor and I stand in awe of these magnificent bastards. They don't make them any better - trust me!!!
2007-03-16 06:45:21 · answer #1 · answered by SnowWebster2 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I went to Marine Boot Camp in June 1967. It was tough and the D.I.'s could be brutal. It was an experience that will always remain with me.
Getting sworn at and an occasional beating helped to develop the mental and physical toughness necessary to be a Marine.
I hope to God the kids going through Boot Camp now are tough enough to deal with what they'll face in Iraq.
Marine Boot Camp has always been the toughest of all the military recruit training. It will always need to be as the Marine Corps is the world's finest fighting force.
it was
2007-03-16 14:21:20 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
My Dad was at Paris Island in the early 50's. From his stories, it was brutal. The Drill Instructors would whip your butt at the drop of a hat.
Post Vietnam (late70's), he returned to Paris Island as a DI, and while there were a few more restrictions, it had not changed much.
He's now in his 70's and is still one of the toughest men I've ever met, and I've served with some.
2007-03-16 13:57:13 · answer #3 · answered by Scott T 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I knew a Marine that went to Parris Island back in the thirties. He was later stationed as part of ships company of the USS Alabama (BB-60, currently a floating museum in Mobile, AL), and he is a plank owner (meaning the original crew). He told me of the wild stories they all heard before enlisting, about drill instructors beating recruits, some of it resulting in death. But he said that in his thirteen weeks there, he only witness the drill instructors hit one recruit, after that recruit snapped and tried to attack a drill instructor during bayonet training.
At the time, drill instructors carried what was called a swagger stick, similar to a rider's crop, but thicker. He said it was nothing to be in formation and the drill instructor to think you weren't straight enough and give you a whack with it. Even though you could get away with a lot back then, he said that there was nothing that would be considered abuse (other than verbal), even for 1930's standards.
When I went to Parris Island in 1996, it was nothing for a drill instructor to "adjust" a recruit's uniform, or help him 'fix' his posture. But I never witnessed a beating. Just a great deal of verbal, mental and emotional harrassment, all of which made me stronger in the end.
2007-03-17 14:06:02 · answer #4 · answered by The_moondog 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tough! I was hit quite a few times actually.
2007-03-16 13:39:03 · answer #5 · answered by Centurion529 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It was a lot tougher and produced better soldiers.
2007-03-16 13:42:05 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Nothing changes no matter what is told to you.
2007-03-16 13:37:49 · answer #7 · answered by Student 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋