Marine Corps Pooles

So there you sit, you went and did it…you signed the paperwork and have agreed to give the United States Marine Corps a shot.  You have decided that you are going to make a go and you have thus far summoned up the courage to stand on those little yellow footprints at Marine Corps Boot Camp.  You signed the paperwork and now you have some date on the calendar that is the date you THINK is when you are going to report into either Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) Parris Island or San Diego.  That date you have in your head (brain housing group) is there and now you are what is referred to as a poolee.

MARINE CORPS BOOT CAMP PREP BOOK

The term “poolee” really does not have much respect behind it and if you look and listen to the word, it does not even command the respect the word “recruit” commands.  In fact, the term almost sounds…well, kind of wimpy.  Oh but we have strayed from the intention of this little article and that intention is to make you aware that the date you think you will be going away to Drill Instructor land, really is a very flexible date.  As a poolee, you need to be flexible and very motivated.

By the time you enter the phase of Marine Corps Poolee you know your recruiters and you know those that are in the local recruiting station.  You have seen many young adults head off to boot camp and you have even seen some return.  It is more than like a few you saw head off, never heard from again and are now just civilians again, because they failed to become a United States Marine.  They went from civilian to poolee to recruit to civilian, and never earned the title of Marine.

If you want to make it in the Corps, you know you have boot camp ahead and that is the dividing line you must cross.  I will even bet your recruiter has shared some stories with you about their experiences and exploits and you are thrilled to hear them.  Let me be the first to tell you that the best stories are the ones they can’t tell you.  So, as long as you are a Marine poolee, you are not in the club yet.  I use the word club lightly.

What you need to do is plan to be a Marine poolee for half the time you expect.  The reason is because there is a great chance that you will be called to ship out boot camp earlier than the date you were told.  You need to prepare as if you have very little time left, no matter how much time you THINK you may have. The date you have is very fluid and when your recruiter calls you and asks if you are ready to move that date up, will you be ready to answer the call?

Your recruiter will put you through your physical workouts every now and then and he /she will more or less be very respectful in how you are evaluated, for the most part.  There may even be one point that you are exposed to “real Drill Instructors” that come out and scream and yell and do all what you would consider the cray stuff.  Although the Recruiter has done their very best, this is the portion that is lacking in the preparation for Marine Corps Boot Camp.  This is really not the fault of the recruiter, this is the point where YOU, the poolee need to take over.

Click here to LEARN some Drill Instructor tactics

What you will soon learn is that you cannot pass Marine Corps Boot Camp on your own schedule.  You will either be committed to making it a rock solid goal, or you won’t.  If you are gung ho and determined to become the best damn Marine that exists, then you need to train like you mean it, while in poolee status.  You need to run, jump and do sittups and pull ups and then run some more.  You need to do that each and everyday, but not to impress the recruiter, but to impress yourself.

The sad part of boot camp is that most wash outs from Marine Corps Bot Camp are not from the physical portion, it is because of the mental, or the emotional portion that the recruit can’t tolerate.  If you want to become a Marine you have to realize that it is the mind games that cause you to fail.  Have your recruiters talked to you about those mind games?  Are you aware of the tricks that are used?  Do you know how they cause the stress to pile up?  Did you learn how to bend under extreme pressure and not break?  The transition from poole to Marine is one that will take much more than a calendar date.

If you really want to be a Marine, then you need to train hard and ignore the date you were given.  Train like you are leaving next week, every week.  While you are training how to run faster you also need to understand the training process that you will be subjected to while at the MCRD.  By understanding the mind games and the stress inducers, your chance of navigating your way from poolee to Marine will increase greatly.  If you want to be a Marine, it will take much more than just a strong body, it will also take a mind that can handle the stress of boot camp, because war is so much more stressful.  If you can’t survive boot camp, no drill instructor will want to send you to the fleet and one day have to fight an enemy side by side with you.

Train hard. Train your body. Train your mind. Train like you have half the time. Train. Train. Train.  You can either prepare for it now, of suffer the wrath of not being prepared while at boot camp.

Click Here: How to prepare for Marine Corps Boot Camp

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