The Reality of Boot Camp (Part 2)

The 13 weeks of boot camp were tough for both Josh and I, but in very different ways. For me, I had to find ways to fill my time and distract myself and stay busy, but for Josh- every minute of his day was planned and directed by his drill instructors. He wasn't allowed any time of his own, let alone able to make even the smallest decisions about how to spend his time. It is hard to imagine what this would even be like, but getting to spend almost a month with him after boot camp, I heard more and more stories and examples of what it was like-living with constant orders. 

One of the first things I noticed about Josh when I saw him for the first time in 13 weeks on family day (despite the amount of weight he had lost) was the hoarseness of his voice. When he spoke for the first time, it sounded like he was recovering from a severe cold, or hadn't talked yet after waking up. I came to discover that this was due to all the yelling he had been doing over the entirety of boot camp. He didn't get to talk- but oh did he yell. Every command from his drill instructors (DI's) had to be followed with a response, a loud one. It took a few days of resting his voice from the yelling and talking normally for him to sound like himself again (thankfully). As far as the weight loss goes, he did look very different when I saw him. I knew from the experience of others that he would lose weight, but he definitely lost more than I had imagined. The crazy part in seeing all of the new Marines that day was how similar they all looked to one another. They were obviously dressed alike, and had similar lean body types. As I was scanning the crowd, trying to find Josh for the first time, I looked right past him. It wasn't until I did a double take that I actually saw it was him, and ran up to hug him. Josh lost over 20 pounds during boot camp, but it looked like more since he had gained muscle as well. I later found out the weight loss was largely due to his self control. During meal times, (which they called "chow') the recruits were sent through a cafeteria line of food. They were ordered to put food onto their tray quickly (of course- everything had to be done quickly), but they had freedom over what they chose. Josh said he avoided a lot of carbs and focused more on protein and fruit and vegetables (which made his dietitian wife happy to hear!). They also had to be strategic about the speed in which they could eat their food. The quicker items were best- since they were trying to eat as quickly as they could. For example, Josh told me he would often choose squeeze packets of peanut butter that he could open and squeeze into his mouth in one swallow. Good thing he has always been a naturally fast eater as well! It was funny being with him immediately following boot camp and seeing him take his time and savor his food. I've been trying to get him to do that for years, but it finally kicked in after boot camp. Oh, also during meal times Josh said they were usually being yelled at by DI's the entire time to hurry up and finish. They had to keep their heads down and keep their elbows and body in a certain position. What a crazy way to have to eat every meal. 

The barracks of boot camp were also an intense experience for Josh and the recruits as well. They were the typical "racks" (or bunk beds) that you picture from all of the military movies. It was one large open room, not divided by doors or anything, with all 76 of his platoon mates together. They each had a small locker of their belongings next to their rack, which had to be locked at all times. Their usual sleep schedule was 8:00 PM bedtime until 4:00 AM wake up call. This was often interrupted by "fire watch", which was a rotation they all went through of being up during the night to keep watch, do chores, etc. They would usually have fire watch for 2 hour shifts. Josh said he usually got his watch right in the middle of their sleep schedule, somewhere around midnight. The other crazy thing about nighttime in the barracks was bathroom breaks. Right before bed, all of the recruits were forced to drink an entire canteen of water (not sure of the size, but I'm guessing it was a lot), and then go to bed. If you had to get up to make a head call (what they refer to using the bathroom as) in the middle of the night, you had to wait your turn (only 2 people allowed to go at a time), and then you had to do a full set of pull ups before you could go (which was about 20). Josh, being an overachiever, would often get up during the night to workout more than was necessary, and practice his pull ups and sit ups. Those, along  with a 3 mile run time, were what all of the recruits were tested on and had to reach a certain number by the end of boot camp. No surprise that Josh reached the maximum requirement for pull ups, sit ups and got an excellent time on his run. Such a stud :) 

In our travels after boot camp, seeing family and friends in multiple states, Josh was often asked the question of the hardest part of boot camp and the best part of boot camp. I was touched to hear him say, repeatedly, the hardest part was being away from me. He has been through several rigorous programs so far (fire academy and paramedic program) which challenged him mentally and physically, so he said boot camp was not as hard as he had imagined in some ways. But being apart from me was harder than he imagined. We have grown so much in our (almost) 4 years of marriage, and have developed a deep reliance on each other. Being apart truly did feel, for both of us, as if a part of us were missing. It was nice to know I was not alone in feeling that, and that despite his insane schedule, he still found time to miss me! When asked the best part of boot camp, he would usually say receiving a special honor from his senior DI for scoring the highest academic score in the entire company (not just his platoon but all of Echo Company-441 recruits). He was given a challenge coin, which is a special military coin with a nostalgic history. Josh stood in front of his whole platoon and received the special award, along with some kind words from his DI, which do not come often! He also said one of the best moments for him was receiving the level of expert for his rifleman shooting. As you can tell, I am proud of how well he did overall! 

If you are like me, you have always imagined and pictured boot camp to be full of running, physical training, obstacle courses and much more. I was surprised to hear from Josh that running was not a large part of their routine. He said the longest runs they did were 3 miles, and those were few and far between. The majority of the rigorous physical activity came from marching in formation (for hours at a time) and hiking (usually with 80 pound packs on their backs and rifles in their hands). The focus was more on those activities, because that is what they will be doing more of in the future. Josh said his body just got used to being sore, and he learned to push through it. I was unsure of what he would need during his 10 days of leave, which turned into more than that thankfully, but we still ended up hiking and running often. I guess once his body was in that mode it was easy to keep going. 

I asked Josh about the other recruits, since he did not mention anyone in particular in his letters over the course of boot camp. Being one of the oldest people there, (and affectionately given the nickname Old Man of 2113) he did not connect personally with most of the 17 and 18 year olds there. He was more of a mentor or older brother to them, which he said was exhausting at times. He was also the prayer leader, which meant many of these guys were coming to him continually for prayer needs. He did not have anyone to share deeper things with, or connect emotionally. He said writing letters to me and others was the only outlet for that during all of boot camp. I have no doubt he made a difference in many of those young mens' lives, though, by being an example of a man of God. That was one of the main reasons he felt God leading him to enlist rather than be an officer, so I know he was already used well in that area and will continue to be used as well. 

There are many more stories and experience from boot camp, but I will stop here for now. If anyone has specific questions, feel free to comment and ask them. I will be happy to try and answer them the best that I can!