Yes, it was definitely similar.

They had a saying, it was something like 'first battalion makes men, second battalion makes Marines, third battalion makes machines.' first battalion is closest to the parade deck and is under a more public eye than the other two. third battalion is off the beaten path and sequestered, and drill instructors were notorious for doing whatever the frick they wanted.

I went with a full head of long hair. So those assholes who cut hair in the first 15 seconds of the movie - they are real and they are BRUTAL. They take the clippers to you and if you get cut they don't give a frick, keep right on going. Saw some kid whose head was pretty fricked up standing in formation, they also brag about it later, pretty sure they race each other to see who can clip the fastest or something. I didn't get cut by some miracle but they showed no mercy.

quote:
Was there a “Private Pyle” in your unit?

Yeah, there is always one shitbird who can't stop getting in trouble no matter what he does. They (the DIs) zero in on whomever they see as the weakest link and crush them. For us, he was a tall skinnyfat guy with a weird looking face, I'll never forget him because I was near him when he got the silver bullet, and one of the other recruits mocked him later to his face and said he 'squealed like a pig.' when the thermometer got shoved up his arse because he was a heat casualty, when really he was just a quitter. Funny shite.

quote:
Was your drill sergeant anything close to Gunnery Sgt. Hartman?

You have 2-3 depending on platoon. the senior DI is basically the dad. Tough but fair, handles personal issues, takes time to teach, and you wish he was around most of the time. Then you have your 'drill hat' Tougher and fairer, runs drill most of the time, has a mean streak but only if you piss him off. Finally you have the 'kill hat' whose job is to make you hurt. Generally the most sadistic of the group. Ours was this Dolph Lundgren looking motherfricker who ended up being a pretty nice guy.

quote:
And “blanket parties”… how often did that actually happen?

We had a couple fistfights between recruits, no ganging up against 1 person though.

I could go on and on, I had an interesting and in many ways unique experience in boot camp.

This post was edited on 1/6/22 at 7:52 pm

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Posted by TexanTiger68

Houston, TX

Member since Oct 2021

4339 posts

Posted on 1/6/22 at 8:03 pm to USMCguy121

quote:
'first battalion makes men, second battalion makes Marines, third battalion makes machines.'

Hah ... I never heard this one but it makes a lot of sense. 3rd Bn seemed to have the trouble children. 2nd Bn (I was there in F Co.) seemed to be for reasonable folks (core logistics and grunts) and 1st Bn was for the "cerebrals"

Nonetheless, I kid somewhat as we're all Marines. Semper Fi, gents.