Why People Flunk Marine Corps Boot Camp: Top 7 Reasons

We have been asked the question of why people flunk Marine Corps Boot Camp over and over again, so we decided to create this page in an effort to provide a concise answer.  The reason why people flunk Marine Corps Boot Camp is not always the same and yet many of them are closely related.  We have compiled a list of the top 7 reasons why we think people flunk out, or wash out, of Marine Corps Boot Camp.  The list is not in a rank order, as each reason is personal to the recruit that flunks out.  Flunking out is what is important, and not the reason why the recruit flunked out.  Flunking out of Marine Corps Boot Camp just means you failed.

Click Here: If You Don’t Want To Flunk Marine Boot Camp.

    Injury:  There are times when a recruit falls off a rope or twists a knee and becomes hurt to such a degree that they cannot continue on with Marine Corps Boot Camp.  When this happens the recruit is stashed away in some platoon waiting to heal.  This is a very frustrating time because the recruit has realized the dream to become a Marine is dead and yet they cannot return home.  The reason the recruit cannot return home is two-fold.  First off, the recruit needs to heal, but more important to the Corps is they do not want to send home recruits that look beat up and /or abused.  It does not make good public relations.  This is a reason why people flunk Marine Corps Boot Camp.

     Criminal:  There are times whena civilian slips into boot camp and starts training like everyone else.  Then one-day while the platoon is sitting quietly in the squadbay, two men in suits walk in and take a recruit with them, and that recruit is never heard from again by the their fellow recruits.  The reason for this is because they had some outstanding warrant on them or some such criminal charge that did not get caught on the initial processing.  Once a recruit actually enters active military duty, their is another, deeper background check performed.  This follow on background check sometimes turns up a recruit that has not been so honest.  This is yet another reason why some people flunk Marine Corps Boot Camp.

Drugs:This reason has been given its own section because it is very common.  A very popular reason why recruits get sent home is because they smoked pot or did some other drug right before they reported into boot camp.  One of the first things a new recruit does when they get off the bus at a Marine Corps Recruit Depot is they take a “piss test“, which the rest of the world refers to as a urine analysis drug test.  A new recruit will pee in the bottle and off goes the sample for testing.  It takes a few days/weeks to get the results, so somewhere along the line the recruit gets pulled away from the rest of the platoon.

     Too Fat:  Yes, we said it  Too FAT.  This reason actually falls under an umbrella of reasons why people flunk out of Marine Corps Boot Camp.  The actual reason may because the recruit cannot keep up with the physical training.  Maybe the fat brought on some other health issues that warranted the expulsion from Marine Corps Boot Camp.  The end result of being obese will start with the Drill Instructors giving the recruit more attention than they will want.  This negative attention will bleed over to the fellow recruits getting angry with the fat one because the platoon will be punished since the fat one cannot keep up.  If a recruit is too fat they will become the focal point of everything the Drill Instructors can throw at the recruit.  If you think that this is rude or not “politically correct” you would be right if your were in the civilian world.  In the glow of Marine Corps Boot Camp, your feelings mean nothing.  If you are fat and can’t get over the wall, you are a liability.  if you are fat and can’t keep up with the platoon, you will need to go to the “pork chop platoon” for further and additional training, or go home.  It is that simple  If you are too fat in Marine Corps Boot Camp the deciding factor will be if the individual has the internal drive and motivation to keep up with the rest of the unit.  Being fat is not a automatic get sent home, it is just an issue that will require additional intestinal fortitude to overcome.

Click Here if you are worried about your weight

     Lack of Personal Drive: If a civilian shows up and is really not committed to becoming a Marine, there is a very good chance they will fail. The commitment to becoming a Marine will need to transcend personal discomfort and personal needs.  A recruit that does not have the internal drive to continue and carry on will falter along the way and fall behind in training.  This is when the gray area becomes apparent because the lack of personal drive will allow, for example, a minor medical injury to become a chance to be sent home.  When a recruit has a lack of will to carry on through the most difficult time in their life, it becomes easy to roll “the reason” into another reason that will offer them the opportunity to quit.  A recruit that does not have the internal and ongoing will to graduate Marine Corps Boot Camp, will allow a non-essential cause for failure to blossom and grow into a reason that can become tangible enough for dismissal.  The possible list of reasons in this category are virtually limitless, but they are there for the weak recruit to take a hold of, and then use that excuse for the rest of their life.  The excuse that manifests itself for dismissal from Marine Corps Boot Camp will be retold to family and friends over and over so many times, that after a while the failed recruit starts to believe the reason really was substantial enough to warrant leaving boot camp a failure.  Lack of personal drive is one reason that people flunk out of Marine Corps Boot Camp that starts while still at home waiting as a “poolee” to start boot camp.

     Lack of Preparation Academically:  Preparation for Marine Corps Boot Camp is one thing that an individual can never get enough of,…and whatever they do to prepare,… will leave them ill-prepared for Marine Corps Boot Camp.  To flunk out of Marine Corps Boot Camp a recruit really has to flunk out because the individual recruit is offered time and time again an opportunity to succeed.  If a test subject is causing trouble the recruit would have to be a rock to not be able to pass it eventually.  The academic portion of Marine Corps Boot Camp is not the reason for many recruits being sent home from boot camp.  What causes the trouble is that the academic portion of boot camp is really just another faucet of stress that must be overcome to graduate.  If a civilian does not study before they arrive at the recruit depot to start basic recruit training, then the amount of stress will increase overall, compared to the civilian that studied before arriving at boot camp.  The point you need to understand is that the academic studies, in them-self, are not difficult.  It is only when the academics are thrown at you with the rest that is going on, that makes it difficult.  If a civilian studied all of the subject matter prior to becoming a recruit, the level of stress would be reduced exponentially.  The lack of preparation academically only leads to increased stress, that some individuals just cannot handle, and that is just another reason why they flunk out of Marine Corps Boot Camp.

         Easily Intimidated:The Marine Corps really does not want some mindless drone running around looking to start a fight, but they do not want a person that can be intimidated too easily.  If a civilian shows up to recruit training and takes the training and the treatment they receive too harshly, they will end up being intimidated and they will flunk out and fail Marine Corps Boot Camp.  A recruit needs to be able to stand up and stand tall to the constant barrage of verbal abuse they receive while at boot camp.  Anything less will cause the recruit to fail boot camp and be sent home as a civilian.  The recruit cannot take the treatment at boot camp as a personal issue.  If the Drill Instructor sense a weakness, they will work at using it to intimidate you right back to the civilian world.

If you want to become a Marine, you have to make it through Marine Corps Boot Camp.  If you are not prepared for what that means, you will have a tougher time than you need to have.  Marine Corps Boot Camp is not some unbeatable experience, as demonstrated by the graduation ceremonies that take place weekly.  If you are going off to boot camp, then you have made the commitment and that commitment will only have one of two outcomes.  You will either become a Marine or you will fail.  PERIOD!!!!  You will spend every minute of everyday in Marine Corps Boot Camp dealing with the issue of becoming a basically trained Marine.  Either you prepare now or you don’t. If you choose to not prepare now you may still graduate, but your time in Marine Corps Boot Camp will suck much more than it has to.

Lack of Preparation Physically:  It is not by accident that the reason for not being physically prepared for boot camp was listed last.  Most outsiders will disagree with this, but the truth is that The Marine Corps Boot Camp process is not designed to kick out and fail the weak from becoming a Marine.  One of the first things a recruit has to do when they arrive at Marine Corps Basic Training is what is called the Initial Physical Fitness Test (PFT).  If you arrived at boot camp, chances are you will be able to make the minimum requirements to start and continue boot camp with your platoon.  If you have the ability to qualify at the initial PFT, you have the physical ability to graduate.  The entire Marine Corps Boot Camp system is designed to take ANY civilian and work them hard and push them physically so they will be able to march on the grinder (parade deck) and graduate as basically trained Marines.  It would be silly to think that the entire system would be set up to “hire” civilians and then not have a system in place to promote being physically fit.  Once again, preparation is key, because if an individual shows up for Marine Corps Boot Camp and has a good physical condition, their stress level will be lower, and they will be able to not “freak out” when the entire world around them seems to be crashing down around their ears.  The point of being fit beforehand will only lower the overall level of stress that the recruit will have to endure.  Before you get done reading this…LISTEN UP!!!!!!  Being out of shape does not mean you will fail Marine Corps Boot Camp just as much as being in shape DOES NOT guarantee you will graduate a Marine.  It all comes back down to personal drive, will power and overall commitment.

Click Here to learn how you can prepare for Marine Corps Boot Camp