Military

Marine Corps Basic Training: A Grueling Introduction to Chaos

An anonymous user asks, what is basic training like? Marine Corps basic training is extremely intense. It starts from the moment you set foot on those yellow footprints, in my case in San Diego. From there, it's nonstop. Constantly getting yelled at, constantly on the move. Even at night, you have fire watch. During the day, it's just constant chaos, chaos, chaos, chaos. And it's designed to build you into a Marine who's able to operate within situations that are extremely chaotic, most notably battle. It just doesn't stop. It takes a lot of people a series of weeks to adjust out of the boot camp mindset. They'll go on to MCT, they'll go on to their MOS school, and then by the time they hit the fleet, they've settled into a normalized way of operating as a Marine. But boot camp is the most intense experience that I've been through in my life. And I also went on to officer candidate school in the Marine Corps. So I can tell you firsthand, having done both of them, that mentally boot camp is harder than officer candidate school. Physically, officer candidate school is substantially harder. But the best way to describe Marine Corps basic training is chaos.

Marine Corps basic training is extremely intense and chaotic. It requires a lot of mental toughness to adjust to the nonstop chaos, but the purpose is to build you into a marine who can handle extreme situations.

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Marine Corps basic training is incredibly intense, starting from the moment you step foot on the yellow footprints. It's nonstop, with constant yelling and constant movement. Even at night, there's fire watch duty. Throughout the day, chaos reigns. The purpose is to mold you into a Marine who can handle extremely chaotic situations, particularly in battle. The intensity doesn't let up. It takes weeks for many people to adjust out of the boot camp mindset as they progress to subsequent training and eventually join the fleet. Boot camp was the most intense experience of my life, even compared to officer candidate school. Mentally, boot camp was tougher, while officer candidate school was more physically demanding. In short, Marine Corps basic training can be best described as chaos.

Deployed to Afghanistan's Helmand Province: A Riveting Account

Where were you deployed? I was deployed to Afghanistan, specifically Helmand Province and Camp Leatherneck. From there we ran convoys all up and down the Helmand River Valley. This map gives you a rough overview of the routes we took. I've kept it very vague for obvious reasons. Only one of these names is accurate. There's Route Red, Route Blue, and Route White. This is some footage I took of us parked on the side of the road of Route Red. Here's some other footage I took of us driving north on Route White. And this footage is us driving south on Route Blue. I went first in 2012 and a quick turnaround again in 2013 and ran countless missions all up and down the Helmand River Valley in Afghanistan.

I was deployed to Afghanistan in Helmand Province and ran convoys up and down the Helmand River Valley on routes Red, Blue and White.

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I was deployed to Afghanistan, specifically Helmand Province and Camp Leatherneck. During my deployment, we ran convoys along various routes in the Helmand River Valley. For security reasons, I have kept the details vague on the specific routes we took. However, I can share some footage I captured during our missions. This video shows us parked on the side of the road on Route Red. I also have footage of us driving north on Route White and driving south on Route Blue. I first deployed in 2012 and had a quick turnaround for another deployment in 2013. Throughout both deployments, we conducted numerous missions along the Helmand River Valley in Afghanistan.

9/11 and personal loss drove me to enlist

Why did I enlist in the military? There's two main reasons I enlisted. One, and most obvious for almost everyone who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, was 9-11. It was a very searing experience for all of us, especially those of us that were just barely old enough to grasp what was going on when it happened. It stuck with us because our parents were crying, the nation came to a standstill, everyone around us, our aunts, our uncles, our teachers, everybody was so devastated by what had happened and that it really seared into us that this was a horrific injustice that had been committed upon the American people. And as we grew up and came of age and got old enough to join the military, a lot of us did, to be a part of making right the wrong that was done to us on 9-11. The other reason was a friend of mine died in the earlier days of Iraq, a buddy of mine that I had gone to high school with, and he enlisted right after high school and had gone over there and had been shot and killed by a sniper. And I found out about it, I was actually at a party, a college party, having a good time, living it up, and it came on the news and I saw his face and I thought, oh my God. And it was really hard and I thought, why is it that his family and him have to make this sacrifice for the country and I'm just sitting here doing nothing? I was barely even paying attention. I didn't even know that he had joined the service or that he'd even gone to Iraq. And now I'm finding out that he had died. And that really compelled me to join the war effort, so to speak, and give whatever I could. And that's the main reasons that I enlisted and would go on to become an officer and go to Afghanistan and be a part of the war effort.

I joined the military in response to 9/11 and the death of a friend who had enlisted and gone to Iraq.

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I enlisted in the military for two main reasons. The first reason was the impact of 9/11. Witnessing the devastating effects of that day, seeing the nation in mourning, and feeling the injustice committed against the American people deeply affected me. As I grew older and became eligible to join the military, I felt compelled to be part of righting that wrong.

The second reason was the loss of a close friend who had enlisted right after high school and tragically lost his life in Iraq. Hearing about his death while at a college party made me question why his family and he had to make such a sacrifice while I was doing nothing significant. It was a wake-up call that pushed me to contribute whatever I could to the war effort.

These two reasons ultimately led me to enlist, become an officer, and serve in Afghanistan as part of the war effort.

What would be two pieces of advice you would give to someone enlisting in the military?

Enlisting in the military? Remember, everything happens for a reason and time is on your side.

What would be two pieces of advice you would give someone enlisting in the military? Two pieces of advice I would give. It's happening for a reason and time is on your side. And here's what I mean. Everything you go through in boot camp and a session training, and even once you hit the fleet, is happening for a reason. It might sound obscure, it might sound ridiculous, it might sound pointless, but something you're going through is happening for a reason. You might not know that reason while it's happening, and it might take you a few months or perhaps even a few years to understand why you're being put through what you're being put through. But it is happening on purpose and for a reason. And that should give you some comfort, because it takes a little bit of the randomness out of some of those experiences. The second piece of advice is that time is on your side. Everything in the military that's terrible has to come to an end at some point. That field exercise you're on where it's cold and you're wet and you want to get home, that has to come to an end. Time is always on your side of the military. And when you're suffering the most, just remember, it's got to end at some point.

My two pieces of advice for someone enlisting in the military would be to remember that everything happening is happening for a reason, and that time is on your side.

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Two pieces of advice I would give to someone enlisting in the military are: 
1. Remember that everything you go through in boot camp, training, and even during your service has a purpose. It may not always make sense in the moment, but there is a reason behind it. It might take time to understand why you're being put through certain experiences, but knowing that there is intent behind it can provide some comfort and perspective.
2. Recognize that time is on your side. No matter how difficult or challenging a situation may seem, it will eventually come to an end. Whether it's enduring a grueling field exercise or facing hardships, remember that time will bring relief and resolution. When you're feeling the most burdened, remind yourself that the tough times are temporary and will pass with time.

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U.S. Marine Corps Captain. Completed two combat deployments to Afghanistan. Awards: Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal. Employment History: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) Creative Director (Jul 2021-May 2023); Republican National Committee Creative Director (Aug 2019-Jul 2021); Conservative Review Film & Visual Media Director (Jun 2017-Aug 2019); One America News Network Production Manager (Mar 2015-Jul 2015); Cumulus Media Inc. Producer (Nov 2012-Mar 2015).

Leigh Wolf