So you kiddies wanna be Marine Infantry. Some have said Marine Infantry are the finest in the world. Hell I was even told that by a S/F Colonel who was a crusty bastage.

So do you have what it takes?

Any idiot can elist for infantry but not everyone can be one. So listen up. And those women who want to be infantry you listen as well because this is a small sample of what we do.


My only disclaimer is this is from the late 80s and mid 90s. So some gear may have changed but an infantrymans lot has never changed.

In Garrison:

0530 wake up call in the Barracks or Squadbay

0530-0600 Morning Clean Up of your room and the barracks. Tighen your racks, sweep and mop the floor of the room and the entire barracks.

0545-0600 Fall Out for PT

PT can be Company, Platoon or Squad. Mostly it is Company.

They start with the side straddle hop or jumping jacks to you civilians. Then you do any number of other exercises. Most units do 15 repetitions. You will do AT LEAST 15 and it can go up to 50 repetitions.

Then the formation run begins. It is at least 3 miles. Depending on who is leading it and their style it could be fast, it could be moderate but it is NEVER slow.

It can be over any manner of terrain, you can run on the street, the beach and always up a hill if one is around. <I do not mean a small mount, I mean a HILL!>

The hill will normaly be the peak of PT and then it is a jaunt back to the company area. Although evil Commanders have been known to double the run up the hill once, twice and even thrice.

Back at the company area expect some cool down stretches, maybe push ups and then get the word from the CO about the run,

"It was a good run...." is a good thing but it also means the CO is going to push it harder and faster next time.

"It was a bad run...people had trouble...ya need ta reach down." life will soon suck for you as the runs will become longer and harder. Those who fell back will be on remedial PT running at night and on weekends and maybe at lunch in addition to regular PT until the 1st Sgt says otherwise. Life really sucks for you!

0730-0900 PT ENDS <Yes they go that long>

After the dismissal of PT formation you are on cool down time. Shower, clean up, reclean the barracks from the mess you made from showeing and tracking in grass and mudd from PT. Get dressed in your uniform.

1000 Classes or MCI time or just waiting around for the word of what is going to happen.

A few may be put on a working party for Regiment, Battallion or the Company Office where you may be a runner, phone watch, racking dirt, cleaning HQ or even supply helping move or sort or clean.

Classes will be normaly given within the platoon by the squad and fire team leaders. They can be on weapons, ambushes, patrols, navigation, call for fire.

1100/1130 Chow formation
The company forms up to get the word. They are then breifed on what is going on, what will be happened and what to do after chow as well as a status report of what has been accomplished. Then dismissed for chow.

Durring chow you hit the mess hall, the snack shake, the roach coach and a few even sleep or hit the PX or run personal errands that need to be done durring the day.

1300 Noon Formation

Administrative formation to make sure everyone is back from where they have disapeared to durring chow. Any new word is passed.

Weapons are drawn and then they are cleanned.
There may be a few more classes or gun drills/formation immediate action drills

1530 Weapons are turned in and you wait for the word. Maybe a class or study landnav, gunnery, or other things until formation.

1600 Fall out to the company area waiting for formation.

1615/1630 Company Formation:

The CO will address you say "It was a good day we got alot accomplished, we still have alot more to do ......"

1st Sgt will address you with anything he has to say.

Gunnery Sgt

Then you will be dismissed

Then the Platoon Commander and then the Platoon Sgt. Then you are dismissed.

Of course then the Squad Leader may have his thing.

Then you head off for evening chow. Often this is the only time of day that you will go to the Chow Hall.

Evening is spent getting ready for the next day, doing laundry, hitting the base snack shake for soda/beer video games etc, maybe a trip to the base theater, or even going out in town if a freind has a car or you have a car. Other options include reading and listening to music and maybe TV in the company rec room or a buddys room who has a TV and VCR.

Then the night ends and the day is repeated.

The activities are pretty standard. Occasionaly there will be a official class demo from say engineers, maybe a lecture from the Chaplain or SgtMajor asking for money for Navy Releif or something like that. The order of the activities can rotate as well.

Normaly you are expected to fall out 15 minutes prior to the official time of the formation.

And Thursday is a field day. That is where you clean EVERYTHING!!! I mean you clean even the light fixtures Q-Tip clean, remove the plate to electrical outlets Q-tip them everything. And if one person fails the whole company or platoon depending on the CO starts ALL over. I have had field days last until 0400.


So this is what a basic routine day is like
Now you know

Jess

All units in the Corps PT, or should PT, every morning. It doesn't matter where you are or what your MOS may be. How far you run, how fast, up what hills is all determined by whoever is in charge.

Dude just described a normal day in GARRISON with accuracy and honesty. What you do in the field is another thing. And like PT, activity in the field is also determined by who is in charge. The best you can hope for is a good company commander who is dedicated to real training.

I admit that I did gloss over a few things and left some of the more eventful things out but then that varries and is not normaly routine. As you said and I say it too things vary according to your command.

I however, did try to describe a routine day in the field. But is there a routine field op? And how do you describe just 1 day? The only way would be to do a sanitized field op. I'll work on it.

S/F

Jess

Thanks for describing it for all of us. Is this routine 6 days a week?

Sometimes 3 days a week, sometimes 7.

Marines work on salary, so they can keep you going as long as they want to.

Usually just 5 days a week though.

After getting out, I thought the time clock was the coolest thing there was.

I gave a baseline of what the average day is like.

Without anything special going on yes. There may be more PT or less depending on what the activity is, who is pissed or who got laid the night before. And how your CO is.

If your platoon is Duty platoon then you will have to supply bodies for company working parties. If the company is Duty Company as well then you will have to supply bodies for Battallion or Regimental Working parties.

And it is normaly the **** birds and new guys who get those duties. Mopping floors, buffing floors, racking leaves, racking dirt and painting rocks are a few of the tasks.

There may be a few classes at fields where engineers may have set up a series of tripple wire and other defences for you to study and devise ways to breach wire. Maybe even practice with Bangalore Torpedoes <the idea behind this is hairy!>

Other things that may happen durring the week:

Weapons Inspection by the Lt.
BAS for shots or medical record check
CONAD for admin papperwork
SACO breif
JOB
Early liberty <turned loose at 1500 maybe>
Duty NCO or A Duty <24 hour post>
Cleaning Platoon Gear field phones, radios etc
Feild Day because some one did something stupid
Fun and Games
Afternoon PT

Other activities that are not so routine are:

SWET TRAINING
Rapelling
Audio Visual for interactive weapons training
Classes at the Base or Higher Unit Level
Swim Qual
Weapons Training
MOUNT
Mess Duty
PMing the units Vehicle
Snapping in for the rifle range
Piss Test

One thing about the Grunt Life style, it may seem boring and mundane but it is unpredictable. And there are NO typical field exercises other than you go to the field live in the feild and then come back and have a new aprection for plumbing and hot water.

How often do you get the shots?

Being an Infantryman isnt hard. It seems like it at first but it turns out to get pretty routine and easy after awhile. Being in the Infantry just sucks. Id say choose a different MOS if you want to have any sort of good time in the Marines.

quote:

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Originally posted by Killin_it_allday:
How often do you get the shots?

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It seems like just about every month. Realistically though expect to be a pin cushion 3 or 4 times a year.

quote:

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Originally posted by JBRuscitto:
Being an Infantryman isnt hard. It seems like it at first but it turns out to get pretty routine and easy after awhile. Being in the Infantry just sucks. Id say choose a different MOS if you want to have any sort of good time in the Marines.

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Cheer up there PFC. Try to keep a good PMA.

Interesting replies from kids who are E1s and E2s. Either they have bad attituides and have been busted, or they are still learning the ropes.

In the end it is up to you and what you make of your time. Is it hard HELL YES! Does it take getting used to HELL YES! But you need to prove yourself to those around you and show your worth. These in the infantry gauge their people by seeing if they are either an asset or a liability. If you are new then you are a liability because you do not bring anything to the unit. You actualy take from it by requiring more time and sometimes resources which is all part of the learning process.

However, once you are brought up to speed and prove your worth then you become an asset. Then you are accepted as one of them and all goes smoothly. Buck the system and your time will go slowly and you will always be considered the Boot. And no one will want to share a hole with you or anything else.

So go with the flow, don;t make waves, learn everything you can and show you are making an effort to the others in your unit.

As for it sucking, yeah at tmes it sucks. Living on 1 canteen a day in a desert, or being pissed on in Oki or Fuji for a week and being bone cold all sucks. But, everyone else has the same feelings and yet no one *****es. It is the unspoken brotherhood. And it is something you can laugh over at a club sometime with those who you shared those times with. Then those times that it "SUCKED" will be something you and your bros you shared those hard times with can look back on forever with pride, because YOU DID IT!

And let me burst the bubble right now, does it get easier after Boot Camp and MCT ITS/SOI?

Some would say yes. But NO it doesn;t. It just seems so because you now know the system and are used to it whereas before when you were learning the ropes it was alien.

Remember what were your responsibilities in Boot Camp or training?

Show up in formation, keep your rack squared away and just do as you were told and everything would be taken care of for you.

In the FMF you have more freedom sure, but you have more responsibility. Keep your stuff squared away, the units gear, and then eventualy the welfare of your men and that they and their weapons are employed propperly.

As I have said many times the hardest day in Boot Camp was easier than the Best Day in combat, or many field operations. As is said so often, it is all relative. In this case it is relative to your maturity and abilities which should be at their peak by the time you are in the FMF.

S/F

Jess

You sound like a very enlightened person. I withdraw all previous statements.

Good Info MuddRollin
Thankks

quote:

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0530-0600 Morning Clean Up of your room and the barracks. Tighen your racks, sweep and mop the floor of the room and the entire barracks.

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I was wondering how this would work if you are married since I would live at one of the base housing or off base?

If you are married and don't live in the barracks, you STILL have to field day with everyone else. If you are unlucky and your platoon lives in a squadbay, you will get to field day the whole squadbay. If your platoon lives in a hotel style barracks, you will just field day the common areas. You will still be there until everyone is done field daying. I'm sure that it differs from place to place but that's the way we did it.

quote:

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Originally posted by IGOTGLOCKS:

quote:

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0530-0600 Morning Clean Up of your room and the barracks. Tighen your racks, sweep and mop the floor of the room and the entire barracks.

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I was wondering how this would work if you are married since I would live at one of the base housing or off base?

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I know of a couple units that would still have their off-base junior Marines show up and clean common areas.

Yeah it does depend on the unit and more so the commander. One CO as I have mentioned would have us Feild Day until 0400 every week. And married personel had to be there. LAter he would allow the married personel who lived out of the barracks to leave early.

Another commander had the people who did not live in the barracks clean the common areas and the POOF they were gone.

I know for the most part in my unit morning cleanup married people or others who lived off base didn;t have to do the morning cleanup.

One thing that always did irk me was that the married people seemed to get alot more off time in my old unit. Such as:

No weekend Duty
Long Lunch breaks for "personel" matters
Free days off or half days for "personal/family" buisness.
Better priority on reinlistment and FAPS
Fewer Working parties or other duty that would disrupt family life.
Mandatory holiday parties using company funds geared for family members. Which reinforced to the single people the lonliness of being away from home and family or the holidays.

Often they would consider these as factors with the married personel which often put an extra burden on those single Marines.

Anyhow that was the feeling in my unit and among my freinds, it may have been different in others,.

S/F

Jess

Good description of daily life...I sure don't miss Sqd ldrs searching for pvts and pfcs for working parties. One thing you forgot though...(maybe this was just us) pre-room inspection friday morning company humps! (and fun is had by all)

I didn;t forget the room inspections on Friday mornings nor the death runs errr humps. I MENTALY BLOCKED THEM OUT!!!! My therapist is going to be pissed at you now!!!

A Friday room inspection for field day is not a typical day. That is a "special" day. The day after field day. I didn;t want to confuse them with all the other stuff like the riendeer games that get played.


As for Friday Humps.

Well we seldom did them. Would would have Friday Battallion Death Runs. The old fart BN CO could really run!!!! So that would vary from unit to unit as his replacement seldom did anything like that.

So here goes to the kids;

In many hard charging units every Friday you will have a Battalion Formation. This could be after Battallion PT or just a BN run. Or in some cases a Hump.

It could also be BN PT followed by a run. Normaly these are boots and utes and not in PT gear.

The old man goes up makes a speach and then the PT begins and then a run or a Hump around the base or the immediate area normaly.

Then it is over and you form up and they make more speaches.

You may be given some cool down time to store your gear, weapons or even change over and go for a follow up formation once you are all dressed in you good formation uniform and more speaches, maybe some word on upcomming training evolutions or the training evolution you have just come off of. Maybe even an awared such as a Navy Acheivement Medal <rare in the grunts when compared to support units.> a meritorious mass, a promotion of an officer or staff NCO or one of them is kicked up to the headshed or even regiment. Then dismissed and then another speach by the Company CO,maybe XO, 1st Sgt, Gunny, then platoon Co, Platoon Sgt maybe guide then squad leaders. And then it is time for noon chow.

Luckily most Fridays like that were short days so you could be off by noon.

As for field day. You cleaned ALL night Thursday and then the inspection would be Friday morning. For those who failed well thats what weekends are for. It is not uncommon at least in my unit to have people field day all day Friday with an inspection Friday night or to field day Saturday.

S/F

Jess

bump

for the lost wannabe.