Prepare For Boot Camp

If you are looking to become a United States Marine there is a little event ahead of you called Boot Camp.  There is no doubt about the fact that the Marines run the most difficult boot camp in America, bar none.  What you must realize is that we are not talking about follow on training such as the Navy Seals or the Army Green Beret Training, we are talking about Basic Training.  The emphasis is “basic” training because this is where a Marine learns the basic elements of what it takes to become a United States Marine.  Is Marine Corps Boot Camp the hardest military training in America?… no, not by any suggestion is that what we are saying.  The point we hope to get across to you is that The Marines have the most difficult training program there is, when talking about basic training.  What we would like to be able to do is help you prepare for Marine Corps Boot Camp.

There really are many things that a person needs to get ready for when the decision has been made to join The United States Marines.  More often than not the average uninformed individual thinks that in order to prepare to join The Marines they just need to be in good physical condition.  That could be no further from the truth and here is why.

When preparing for Marine Corps Boot Camp the following aspects are what will make or break your ability to graduate:

• The Mental Aspect
• The Emotional Aspect
• The Physical Aspect
• The Intelligence Aspect

The Mental Aspect
We list this first because it is all too often overlooked when a person starts to prepare for Marine Corps Boot Camp.  The mental aspect is the most important factor when discussing survival in Marine Corps Boot Camp.  What we are talking about is the mental state, and not the intellect.  Although the level of intelligence is one of the aspects we discuss, the mental aspect is more closely related to the emotional aspect, but yet it is different.  When we discuss how to prepare for Marine Corps Boot Camp and talk about the mental aspect, there is a direct relationship to how well a person can perform under stress and how well they perform in boot camp.

Stress is created in boot camp and the best way to stop yourself from cracking up is to prepare for what is going to happen while you are in Marine Corps Boot Camp.  The reason stress is created in boot camp is because that is what will be experienced in combat and combat is what is what you are really being trained for while in any boot camp.  One should NEVER forget that the military has one mission and that is to prepare to advance the needs of America on the modern day battlefield, and there is a great deal of stress on the battlefield.  Actually the amount of stress on the battle field is much more than what is experienced in boot camp.  When trying to prepare for Marine Corps Boot Camp a person must understand that the most important preparation that can be done is to learn how to deal with stress.

The stress that is inflicted in boot camp is designed to create a pressure that will crack the individual that is not well prepared.  The best way to prepare for the emotional aspect of Marine Corps Boot Camp is to educate yourself to what is coming.  If the mind is trained to expect what is happening, the event will not be as stressful.  Keeping the stress level down is how a person needs to prepare for Marine Corps Boot Camp.  By gaining the knowledge of events that are going to happen ahead of time, the stress level of the event is minimized, which in effect promotes mental wellness.  This is what most people will refer to as “mind games”.  By understanding what is going on around them, a recruit is able to understand the mind game that are taking place, which in itself…makes the mind game that much more bearable.

Click Here for over 125 pages of information about Marine Corps Boot Camp

The Emotional Aspect
The emotional aspect of boot camp is also stress related but the difference is that this type of stress is born from within.  Do you miss your lover?  Are you homesick?  Do you just hate to exercise?  The emotional aspect of preparing for Marine Corps Boot Camp can really be traced back to the mind frame a recruit is experiencing because of the emotions that are internal.  What happens here is that a recruit will show some sign of weakness and the Drill Instructors will be on it like a fly on….you know what.  Then the instructor will expose that weakness to the platoon and then punish the unit for the problem of the individual.  When this happens the recruit is getting it from all ends and that compounds the stress level, which could result in the ultimate failure of the recruit.

The best way for an individual to prepare for Marine Corps Boot Camp is to learn to expect what is ahead on the training calendar.  The future recruit should know how long training will last, what events will take place, where will they take place.  What are the scores needed?  What are the lessons that must be learned and most important is the individual must be prepared to deal with any personal issues that may arise in their life.  Will they receive a break up letter?  Will “Mommy” try to send cookies?  Will the girlfriend send some “porno” style photograph?

If the individual knows in advance what to expect and prepares in advance, they will have a much better chance of keeping their emotions in check, which will keep the stress level manageable.  Once again it all boils down to the stress factor.  Being able to prepare for Marine Corps Boot Camp is the single most important thing a person can do in advance before reporting in for recruit training.  The preparation that informs the individual of the upcoming events is the key to being able to achieve high scores as a Marine Recruit.  Stress management through advance knowledge keeps the emotions in balance.  A person that has balanced emotions is hard to get off balance by the Drill Instructor.

The Physical Aspect
The physical aspect of Marine Corps Boot Camp is NOT what everyone expects it to be.  The average person on the street thinks that the typical Marine recruit needs to be some muscle stud that can run as fast as a tiger.  While those assumptions do wonders for the Marine Corps recruitment quotas, they really have very little basis in fact for what it takes to prepare for the physical aspect of Marine Corps Boot Camp.

We will not lie to you and tell you that you do not need to be in shape when you arrive at boot camp.  What we will tell you is that the entire training program of Marine Corps Boot Camp is designed to take the weakest person and then give them the needed training to put them in top physical condition.  The condition required to become a Marine really should be summed up as being able to have a large amount of stamina or endurance.  The ability to be the fastest or the strongest is not required and nor is it expected.  What is expected of a recruit is the physical ability to be able to endure what the Drill Instructor inflicts upon the recruit.  It really does not matter how much weight you can lift…the instructor can give you so much you can’t lift it again.  It does not matter how fast you can run if the instructor tells you it is not fast enough.  The physical aspect of preparing for Marine Corps Boot Camp is closely related to the mental and the emotional aspect….much closer than you may realize.

If you are the strongest recruit in history and yet you cannot obey and do what the Drill Instructor tells you to do, you will fail.  If a recruit cannot bear the stress of boot camp their strength is not relevant.  Granted it is best to be in decent physical shape when you arrive, but the end fact is that only the strong willed can push themselves past the point where THEIR body fails.  The training that is experienced in Marine Corps Boot Camp is such that the mind is sharpened to such a point that the emotions are under control and the body just does what the mind tells it to do.  The mind is really the boss of the body and the entire program at Parris Island or San Diego is set up to bend the weak emotion-ed and to bend the thought process through mental stress.  Those that arrive at boot camp knowing what to expect are the ones that experience the least amount of stress.  If the stress can be minimized while at boot camp….the entire process becomes so much easier and so much more achievable.

Learn How To Stay Emotionally Balanced In Boot Camp

The Intelligence Aspect
The intelligence aspect of Marine Corps Boot Camp is often underestimated by the every person that shows up at a Marine Corps Recruit Depot.  The facts and stuff that needs to be memorized while in boot camp is not difficult, by any standard. (Internal Link: Click Here For Some of those Facts)   The problem with the mild academics that need to be memorized is not the simple facts, but what is swirling all around you, while you are in training.  The simple facts that need to be memorized are easy, as long as the pressure of boot camp is not happening to you.

What a person can best do prior to reporting into Marine Boot Camp is to memorize all of the facts that need to be learned.  How far does the M16A4 shoot?  Where was the Marine Corps birthplace?  What is the difference between heat stroke and heat exhaustion?  How do you board a ship…where do you salute?  The list goes on and on and on….  What a future recruit needs to do is gather as much of the syllabus of boot camp ahead of time and memorize it, before reporting into boot camp.  The simple truth is that if you learn all of the memory points prior to showing up, the stress level will be minimal.  By learning all of the mundane facts, your chances of doing better greatly increase because your stress will be very manageable, and that is the best way to graduate from boot camp.

In Conclusion we want you to realize that if you want to do well in boot camp, then you better prepare for Marine Corps Boot Camp like nothing y0u have ever done before in your life.  The experience that will soon take place will be so alien to you that the only way to prepare is to gain as much knowledge as you can ahead of time.  Sure you will have to run and jump and all of that, and that is expected. What you must prepare for is the total package and that includes all of the factors we discussed in this longer than normal article.

To prepare for Marine Corps Boot Camp you should gather from your recruiter all of the information about boot camp he/she has to offer. Get it and study it till you know it all and can repeat it without hesitation.  If your recruiter cannot provide what you need or you want even more knowledge, then download the ebook that is available below.  The cost is minimal and if that is the deciding factor of whether you pass or fail Marine Corps Boot Camp, you would be a fool for passing it up.

Prepare for Marine Corps Boot Camp now, or suffer the consequences when you get there.  As always, the choice is yours!

Semper Fi!

INSTANT ebook Download to help you prepare for Marine Corps Boot Camp

If someone wanted to train for Marine Corps Boot Camp, what would you tell them?

We hear this question quite often about how to best train for Marine Corps boot camp and the answer is always the same.  The common misconception is that Marine boot camp is simply about running and jumping and doing pull ups and having a Drill Instructor screaming in your face.  The sad truth is that getting ready, physically is only the very tip of the training.

What most do not realize is that boot camp has so much more to what is going on, as a recruit, than simple physical exercise.  I do not want to make you think for one second that being fit is not important because that would be a severely lacking untruth.

When you report into boot camp the biggest thing that you have going against you is the fear of the unknown.  That fear is what keeps your mind in high gear all the hours of each day.   That fear is simply not knowing what is really going on all around a recruit.

After boot camp many Marines have commented that they enjoyed boot camp because they were simply herded around like cattle and were always on time because of the ever present Drill Instructors.  That fact has some good points that are true, but I want to take it one step further, since you asked the question as to how best prepare for Marine Corps boot camp.

The single most important thing you can do to help you get ready for Marine Corps boot camp is to train your body, while also training your mind.  I have created this website with the single focus of being able to not only SURVIVE Marine Corps boot camp, but also be able you to EXCELL at Marine Corps boot camp.

In order to excel in Marine Corps boot camp you will need three essential things.

1. Fit body
2. Mentally prepared
3. Emotionally adaptability

Fit Body
Of course you know what it takes to have a fit body.  If you are not sure how to get your body ready you simply need to be a healthy weight and be able to run, jump and do pull-ups and crunches and side-straddle hops and mountain climbers and a host of other “things” that will require physical exertion.  What really does not matter is being in super physical shape because the Drill Instructors are trained to be able to pound you into the dirt with little regard of your physical condition.  Everyone will be pushed to their limit, no matter where that limit may be.  They will be pushed to their limit.

Mentally Prepared
Being prepared mentally is one thing that many Poolees work on while they are in the DEP program.  Being prepared mentally often amounts to nothing more than just doing the minimum, because of the foolish (and incorrect) thought that Marine Corps boot camp is all physical.  Often the only thing a person does while preparing for Marine Corps boot camp mentally is learning the General Orders and maybe some of the terminology and also some of other basic facts.  The truth is that Marine boot camp is loaded with classes and things that need to be memorized.  I will be the first to admit that the course curriculum is not that difficult when looked at from the slow and lazy life of someone that is not in boot camp.

That sad reality is that Marine Corps boot camp is so fast-paced and stress filled that having the time to study is what creates the issue.  Often many recruits that have difficulty MEMORIZING stuff find it difficult to master classes while a recruit.  It is not so much the material that is difficult, it is being able to get it all done while living the life of a Marine Recruit that has every second of every day planned and determined before they even enter receiving!

What is suggested is that you learn as much as you can BEFORE you go to boot camp.  You should learn and memorize the things that you need to know BEFORE you report into boot camp.  By mastering the course material now, you simply will not have to spend the time later.  If you learn the first aid, the customs and traditions and the M16 facts and the UCMJ and ……..  The point is that you should NOT wait till you are standing in formation on the yellow foot prints!  This procrastination is what most recruits do and this is why so many recruits have difficulty because they wait till the last second and try to master the materials while living in the stressed filled and hectic life of a recruit.

Emotionally adaptability
Emotions play a very big role as a recruit, but they may not be from where you think.  Depending on the situation you leave at home may determine your success as a recruit.  If you have a girlfriend or boyfriend and worry about them cheating on you.  If you are married and supporting a spouse or a child or a parent can all weigh heavily on your mind.  While you are a recruit the ONLY contact you will have is the mail.  If you receive word that there is an issue at home your Drill Instructor really will not care and you will have to deal with it , as a recruit.  You better get your emotions ready also!

In closing I just want you to understand that the physical portion of Marine Corps boot camp is tough, so it is a given you will need to prepare.  The hidden truth behind the curtain is that you will exist in a stress filled world that will not allow you to study much, so you really should get as much memorizing done, before you go.  The reason for this is not just to be able to graduate, but to help give you a chance to excel, which is what you should try to do.  Why not do more than graduate…why not start training NOW and be the Honor Graduate?

Click Here To Learn How To Study For Marine Corps Boot Camp

If you are looking to become a United States Marine the first thing that you need to realize is that you do not join the Marines.  What you really do is you apply for a chance to prove that you are ready to join the rank and file of the Marines.  If you are now in waiting to show up for boot camp it is strongly urged that you make an all out effort to prepare for Marine Corps Boot Camp.
If you are not ready to start Marine Corps Basic you will just crash and burn into the pile that decades of failed recruits have ended. Marine Corps boot camp is one event that each and every Marine remebers vividly no matter how long ago it took place.  If you do not prepare for Marine Corps boot camp as if your life depended on it, you are a fool.

Civilians do not survive in Marine Corps boot camp and if you do not leave the civilian behind, you will never march across that parade deck on graduation day.  If you make it to graduation day you will savor that moment for the rest of your life.  Looking back on my time in boot camp I remember so many events from Private Hill throwing up to Green sweating away at least 50 pounds of fat.  I remember people like Mahoney asking Captain Kirk to beam him up and Sgt. Barnjum rushing over screaming and yelling and then POOF!!! I never saw Mahoney again.  Mahoney is a prime example of someone showing up having not prepared for Marine Corps boot camp.

How to prepare your mind for boot camp

The truth of the matter is that if a person really wants to be ready for boot camp they need to appear like wallpaper.  They just need to be there and blend in at first all the while starting to excel in discipline and strength.  A new recruit needs to be able to arrive on those yellow foot prints and be able to withstand the constant and ongoing barrage of mind games that the Marine Corps Drill Instructors have perfected.

If a new recruit shows up and can run a perfect P.T. and yet still not be able to deal with all the mind games inflicted upon them, there is a great chance of failure.  If a new recruit wants to prepare for Marine Corps Boot Camp, they will sharpen not only their body, but also their emotions.  If a new recruit understands what and why, they will be able to be on that parade deck when graduation day arrives.

Do you have what it takes to be a Marine?  You really will not know until the challenges of boot camp become a reality in your world.  If you think it will not be a challenge, you are a chump, and chumps fail.  If you desire to become a United States Marine then you need to prepare for boot camp.  Your emotions and mind will not be ready by simply being able to run an 18 minute three mile.

Get you head in the game and learn to understand not only what the Marines are doing to you, but also how they are doing it.  Once you show up for boot camp you will not be able to ask that simple question.  Ask it now so maybe you can one day be called a United States Marine.

Get your mind used to the games…before you really have to play them.