Good Luck to Third Battalion - Kilo Company & Fourth Battalion - Papa Company as they embark on the crucible.

2am thursday morning, keep them in your prayers

A Parent's Crucible Prayer

When you awake this morning to begin the crucible k

now I walk every step with you.

When you hump all those miles over rough terrain,

know I am by your side again?

When your rations are low and your belly is hungry,

know that I wish it wasn't you but instead me?

When your feet ache and are blistered from stress,

know that I am carrying you deep in my chest?

When you are tired and sore and almost ready to fall,

realize I would have carried it all?

When you have little sleep and your eyes are red,

know I would give you my bed?

When you push and pull for that extra mile,

know that I am so PROUD and standing tall,

with such a big smile?

When you left for boot camp, I went to one too.

It's the one where Mom's and Dad's

worry over all you are going through. I can't eat dessert,

without knowing that you have had no treats,

I feel guilty for resting, when you have had tired feet.

I anguish over every tough moment, I think you have had.

I cry when I miss you, I cry when I am sad,

I cry over your letters that declare your love for "Us".

I cry thinking about the day you will come home.

I cringe at the thought of someone yelling at you.

Even though I know it's what they have to do.

I lose sleep just wondering how you are,

I pray and think and even wish upon the stars.

Now you are almost through and soon

you will be One of The Few The Proud, a New MARINE.

I get an Honor too for going through

the Boot camp for Mom's and Dad's.

I get to hug you and hold you in my arms.

I get to see how beautiful you really are.

I get my bright shining star.

No I don't get a medal or a pin to wear

I don't get to sport that awesome Marine Hair.

My reward is one that can't be seen.

It's called "Being the Parent of a U.S. Marine."

posted by: darlene r.

Cant believe it, I got a letter today!

July,23 2009

Hey MOM,

Today is training day 57. I can't believe it

14 & 1/2 days til graduation,

tomorrow is the practice app.

It' the test that we have to report in and do a moto run,

next Thursday we step off to the Crucible.

I can't wait, its all about team work.

I can't wait to see you,

oh Monday is third phase test, BWT was fun!

All this week was nothing but drill,

Final Drill is actually Wednesday.

All today was classes,

in fact one of them was first term Marines and Marriage.

Anyway square away time is just about over.

I miss you & love you Eric Ann

ERICA also enclosed a check off questionnaire I sent her...

I highlighted in red what Erica checked off and wrote in..

Dear Mom: (check all boxes that apply)

1. The reason I have not written to you is:

______All my fingers have stress fractures too (how did that happen?)

______I forgot your name and address

______Everything is the same here everyday and I don't think I have anything to write.
(so just write: Dear Mom: everything is the same, Love(every week at least)

______I forgot my name

______I am too busy cleaning, cleaning, cleaning

______I am too depressed

______I am too psyched about being here and have forgotten you

______Oh come on Mom, mothers don't need letters, only recruits do (NOT)


2. I spend my day doing the following:

______working on odd jobs, studying my manuals, doing limited pt

______developing my new cleaning fetish

______twiddling my thumbs (oh wait, they are fractured too)

______practicing my drills

______exactly what my drill instructor tells me to do

keep^ others motivated

______trying to ^ stay motivated


3. When I think about home Sometimes I wonder:

_____if you have rented out my room

_____if you have cleaned my room or

are saving it for my new talents

_____if you have given my room to the dogs as their new playroom

_____if you have become a champion on wii games (fat chance)


_____if you miss me or are just making

that up because the support groups tell you to say that

____if you joined Marine Moms even though I told you not to



4. When I try to describe the meals here I think

_____why bother, they are all better than Mom's cooking

_____no, wait a minute, there is pot roast,

steak and ordering Pizza, Mom's good at that

_____the meals here are healthy,

I like them, and the drill instructor is looking over my shoulder

_____better than MREs


5. Here is what the doctor said last time I saw one:

______things are healing nicely just be patient and take it slow

______things are not healing nicely but be patient and maybe they will

______well there is a problem and surgery is in the future

______great work, you should be out of here in no time

_____cleared for what kind of pt________________________

_____banned from what kind of pt_______________________


____best guess for when you can

start regular pt or pcp___________________


6. What is okay for Mom to send me:

_____my dogs (just kidding)

_____my wii (sorry again)

_____DVDs (which ones)

_____magazines (enough with the magazines?)

_____stamps

_____paper

_____pencils

_____envelopes

_____calling phone cards

_____bumper patrol

_____arch supports


_____what other items?

_____sudoko, word puzzles?

_____books (which ones)

_____photos (of what?)



7.My general mood can be described as:

_____ok

_____still motivated

_____homesick

_____depressed

_____sad

_____excited

_____in awe of my drill instructors

(still looking over your shoulders?)

_____bored

_____learning new stuff every day

_____frustrated with how long it is taking

_____ok with how long it is taking



8. I wish you would tell the following to write to me:

This form letter is:

___________stupid

___________entertaining

____________better than having to write a letter

____________boring

____________a cute effort by my Mom

____________a manipulative way for my Mom

to get me to write because she looks for a

letter every day and feels sad when there

isn't something at least some of the time

but she doesn't want to make me feel guilty

but how about thinking about her for a change?????

Love, your recruit

posted by: darlene r.

PFT is today!!

lady recruits working on their PFT

PFT The Physical Fitness Test (PFT) consists of three parts: Male Pull-Ups (max of 20) Female Flexed Arm Hang (max of 70 sec) Crunches (max of 100) 3.0 mile run (Female min 21:00 minutes/max 31:00 minutes) (Male min 18:00 minutes/ max 28:00 minutes) The run times are for ages 17-26

(you get more time if you are older) each event is worth a 100 pts (300 is perfect)

For example a male with 20 pull ups, 100 crunches,

and 18:00 min 3 mile has a PFT score of 300. Each pull up is worth 5 points,

and each minute slower than the minimum is a loss of 6 points

(broken down into 10 sec increments)

and each crunch is worth 1 point. Minimums are for 17-26 year old 3 pull ups/15 sec arm hang 50 crunches 28:00 minute 3 mile run(male)/

31:00 minute 3 mile run (female) not being able to meet any one of these areas means

failure of the PFT even if the other two areas are outstanding.

In order to pass you must also have a

combined score of 135 of all three components. Minimums are for 27-39 year old 3 pull ups/15 sec arm hang 45 crunches 29:00 minute 3 mile run(male)/

32:00 minute 3 mile run (female) not being able to meet any one of these areas means

failure of the PFT even if the other two areas are outstanding.

In order to pass you must also have a combined

score of 110 of all three components.

posted by: darlene r.

another sign

Hope you all got your letters in the mail today....

if you send them later she will receive them, just after she becomes a Marine if all goes well.

Another sign, Erica has talked about the Marines for a long time you know like I said,

you think oh its the I'm going to be a doctor or lawyer thing...

2004 Miss Erica's Freshman year, I don't remember what class it was,

but Erica had to make a map of sorts of her life Past, Present and Future.

It was so cute that I framed it when I was working at Michael's Arts & Crafts.

Sorry for the glare..its the glass

yep its graduate high school, marine corps, graduate college,

and doctor we'll see about that one,

think the mind has changed but you never know :)

written & posted by: darlene r.

This is it!!

AS you can see by the schedule this week, this is it! So get those letters in the mail. Monday tomorrow is the last day for her to receive the letters just before The Crucible! Make sure its all positive, she has to know how we are pulling for her and we know she can Bring It!

Again I thank you and Erica thanks you for all your prayers and support! ~Darlene

Week 11 - Final PFT & Testing, Crucible -

This schedule is of course

subject to change based on weather,

holidays and the needs of the company.

TD60 Monday
Today is a BIG day!

There are two of the

graduation requirements today!!!

- Final PFT is first thing in the morning.
- 171 question written test
- test is combined with the

practical application part (which is Tuesday)

to make one score -- a recruit must pass both

parts as a graduation requirement.

They get 2 hours to complete it,

but it is multiple choice

and they have been going over the

information since they got to Parris Island.

It will include questions on

general military knowledge

(like what time is morning colors on base

and What color DOD sticker do you salute),

first aid (like how to treat a wound

or how to cover a chest wound),

and also basic Marine Corps History

(like who are the only two Marines to win

two Marine Corps Medal of Honors and

where did the battle of Belleau Wood take place)

TD61 Tuesday
- PRACAP

(which is the practical application of what

they have learned in First Aid & customs

and courtesies such as how to board a ship

and how to report to an officer.

They will demonstrate these techniques

to the instructors of the course to show

that they are efficient in them.)
- a haircut
- platoon photo

TD62 Wednesday
Today is:
FINAL DRILL
Then the rest of the day will be fairly easy

to help them for the crucible...

they will have several classes on mentoring,

leave and liberty as well as

some Corps Values classes.

TD63 Thursday
1 week from Family Day!
You certainly don't need me to tell you

what the recruits are doing today.

It is finally time for the big challenge

that we have all been waiting for while biting

our nails for the last 11 weeks....

starts at 0200 (2 AM)

This is the official

USMC headquarters definition:

The culmination of

recruit training is the Crucible,

an intense field training exercise designed

to build unit cohesion, reinforce core values,

and complete the transformation

from recruit to Marine.

The Crucible is the defining moment

of the recruit training experience.

As a right of passage,

the 45 Concepts and Issues

Crucible is a 54-hour ordeal that tests

the mental of every recruit (and DI).

The physical and mental challenges

are intensified by

sleep and food deprivation.

The Crucible focuses on six major

field events and is augmented by

eleven challenging Warrior Stations.

Throughout this rapid paced exercise,

emphasis is placed on the importance

of teamwork in overcoming adversity
and adaptive problem solving.

The teams of recruits,

under the leadership

of their drill instructor,

succeed as a team.

The experience pushes

recruits to their limits

and is a poignant culmination

to the transformation process.

An overview:

during this time they will be given

4 MRE's (meals ready to eat) and

about 8 hours of sleep total

(about 4 each night).

They will march about 40 miles total

in humps and between different stations

carrying their packs and rifles.

They began this "test" at 2AM (EST)

Thursday morning

after getting up at 1AM to get ready.

TD57 Friday
Crucible Continues!

By the time most of you wake up

(if you slept at all that is)...

they will be on the DOWNHILL SLIDE!!!!

Yippeee!

TD58 Saturday

The company of recruits, DIs,

corpsman, and officers should complete

the last of their march back to Battalion.

This is an incredibly

emotional time for them

(yes even for the guys! )

They realize that really

the rest of boot camp

is just a walk in the park.

They will be issued their emblems

(EGA)- Eagle Globe & Anchor-

by their drill instructors in a private

and memorable ceremony and

are now officially recognized as

trained Marines for the first time.

Then it is time for them to take part

in the Warrior's Breakfast!

Yummy, bacon, eggs, sausage, ham, grits,

oatmeal, pancakes, steak, french toast,

hashbrowns, fruit, milk, juice and

even soda for the first time since arrival on island.

In the afternoon they will begin cleaning up

their equipment from the crucible and

preparing it to get turned in.

They will then finally get to go to bed

after their regular square away time

later in the evening.

I am sure basic Marines and DI's,

corpsman, and officers alike will have

no problem falling asleep tonight.

They are MARINES!

12 days to go

You know ... you start thinking what was it that made your daughter want to be a US Marine.

Was it that her grandpa Bill is a very proud Marine and talked about how he wished had stayed in?

Was it how very patriot her family is, I still cry when the flag goes by in a parade or ? I can't explain it. Did I instill it in her head somewhere along the way.

I was in her room today cleaning up my scrapbook stuff thats everywhere,

( I was supposedly going to work on while she was gone..LOL)

When I looked up at her shelves of Beanie Babies that she collects, We had started with collectable Babies, one from the year of her birth 1990, and then I saw it, I actually had forgotten I bought it for her in 1991, she was a year old???? wow

yep 1991 Marine Corps Barbie

written & posted by:darlene r.