RecruitParents.com Newsletter
a Place to Connect & Share 
In This Issue
What's After Boot
Newsletter Preferences
Network with Other Recruit Parents
Recruit Respect: Protecting Privacy
Marine Corps Uniforms
Commandant's Reading List
Understanding Battalion Structure
The Recruiters
In the Classroom
Firing Week & Qual Day
10-Day Leave
Travel Planning
Did Your Marine Graduate?
 

A special note for parents of newly graduated Marines:

 

If your son or daughter has already graduated from Boot Camp, you can opt out of the "Recruit Newsletter" by entering your email address after clicking the SafeUnsubscibe icon at the bottom of this email.

Change your options to remove "Recruit Newsletter" from your selections. Then, make sure to sign up for our Marine Parents newsletter to continue your journey!

 
Parris Island
Graduation Dates 
Visit the Recruit Parents pages on our OPSEC-compliant Marine Family Network. Click your Recruit's graduation date:

 

June 14, 2013 

 

June 28, 2013 

 

July 3, 2013 

 

July 19, 2013 

 

August 2, 2013 

 

August 16, 2013 

 

August 23, 2013 

 

August 30, 2013  

 

September 6, 2013 

 

September 13, 2013 

 

September 20, 2013 

 

October 4, 2013 

 

October 11, 2013   

 

October 18, 2013 

 

October 25, 2013 

 

November 1, 2013 

 

November 15, 2013 

 

November 22, 2013 

 

November 27, 2013  

 

December 6, 2013 

 

December 13, 2013 

 

December 20, 2013 

 

San Diego
Graduation Dates 
Visit the Recruit Parents pages on our OPSEC-compliant Marine Family Network. Click your Recruit's graduation date:
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What's After Boot

 

 

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June 19, 2013
Greetings!

Congratulations to our newest Marines who graduated Friday, June 14:  1st Battalion Alpha Company and 4th Battalion Papa Company from MCRD Parris Island, and 2nd Battalion Golf Company from MCRD San Diego.  A big Ooh Rah to all of our newly-minted Marines!
Earning the Title, a Bootcamp Documentary
Order Now..

For those of you who are just beginning your journey through boot camp as a recruit parent, we would like to welcome you to MarineParents.com and extend our congratulations!

We've added a coupon to the bottom of this email to save $5 on your order at the EGA Shop. Gear up to show pride in your soon-to-be-Marine!  www.EGAshop.com

 

You're on a new journey to becoming a Marine Parent. The pride is indescribable, but you may feel you are in an unfamiliar world with a whirlwind of emotions and never-ending questions. We are here to help you find the answers you've been looking for...
Marine Family Network
Providing You a Place to Connect & Share® 

 

Marine Family Network, an outreach service of MarineParents.com, is a social networking site exclusively for Marine and recruit families and friends who are looking for place to connect and share with other Marine families. Our privacy and OPSEC guidlines are implemented throughout the interface.

 

The networking features on MFN are limitless. Connect with families who are experiencing the very same emotions you are within the hundreds of groups and sub-groups dedicated to each stage of your Marine's career.

 

To get started, visit www.MarineFamilyNetwork.com and sign up with a username and password. Create your personal profile and join the groups that interest you. Upload photos and videos and discover everything else MFN has to offer.  So join MFN and find, "A place to connect and share®!"   

 

Recruit Respect: Protecting Privacy
Becoming a Marine Parent
 
Recruit Respect: Protecting PrivacyYour recruit is on his or her way to becoming a Marine and learning a vast amount of new knowledge. As parents and family members of a recruit, you've got a lot to learn about the Marine Corps lifestyle as well. But one of the most important things you'll learn is respect for the privacy and safety of your soon-to-be-Marine.
 
The internet is a vast array of informational websites, chat rooms, message boards, social networks, and online communities for folks with similar interests to share news and stories. Certainly, hooking up with other families with recruits going through bootcamp at the same time gives a sense of belonging and adds to the experience, but be careful what you share.
 
Personal information about Marines or recruits should not be shared in any online environment, including, but not limited to, identifying information such as last name, email address, phone number, birthdates, and addresses. You should use discretion when providing any personal information.
 
Identity theft is rampant, and something as simple as a graduation date with a comment about his or her birthday being in two days is enough information for potential thieves to be successful. Keep your recruit safe; share your feelings and emotions, but do not share your recruit's personal information.
 
Marine Corps Uniforms
Learning More About the Corps
 
Marine Corps UniformsMarines are not known just for their battlefield prowess, but for their unparalleled standards of professionalism and uncompromising personal conduct and appearance as well.
 
It is a Marine's duty and personal obligation to maintain a professional and neat appearance. Furthermore, wearing the uniform should be a matter of personal pride to all Marines.
 
Marines have various uniform combinations which are worn for various occasions. To help you gain a better understanding of Marine Corps uniforms, we've placed a uniform chart on RecruitParents.com.
 
From the Commandant's Reading List: The Red Badge of Courage
A Must-Read for All New Recruits! 

 

From the publisher: 

Wars change, warriors don't.

We are all warriors. Each of us struggles every day to define and defend our sense of purpose and integrity, to justify our existence on the planet and to understand, if only within our own hearts, who we are and what we believe in. Do we fight by a code? If so, what is it? What is the Warrior Ethos? Where did it come from? What form does it take today? How do we (and how can we) use it and be true to it in our internal and external lives?

The Warrior Ethos is intended not only for men and women in uniform, but artists, entrepreneurs and other warriors in other walks of life. The book examines the evolution of the warrior code of honor and "mental toughness." It goes back to the ancient Spartans and Athenians, to Caesar's Romans, Alexander's Macedonians and the Persians of Cyrus the Great (not excluding the Garden of Eden and the primitive hunting band). Sources include Herodotus, Thucydides, Plutarch, Xenophon, Vegetius, Arrian and Curtius--and on down to Gen. George Patton, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, and Israeli Minister of Defense, Moshe Dayan.

Understanding Battalion Structure
Information for Recruit Parents
 
Recruit Training Battalions Understanding the StructureThere are two facilities for recruit training. They are called Marine Corps Recruit Depots (MCRD). They are located in San Diego, California and Parris Island, South Carolina. The acronyms for each are MCRD SD and MCRD PI.
 
Though there are some exceptions, for the most part, the Mississippi River is the dividing point for which MCRD your son or daughter will attend. Male recruits west of the Mississippi River attend MCRD SD. Male recruits east of the Mississippi River attend MCRD PI. All female recruits attend MCRD PI (no exceptions).
 
Each MCRD includes Recruit Training Battalions, or RTB. Each RTB has a color and crest associated with it. RTBs are divided into companies, and each company is divided further into platoons.
 
The Recruiters
Marine Corps Recruit Receiving
 
Marine Corps Recruiting Video Every Marine, in every Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), plays a crucial role in the overall mission of the United States Marine Corps.
 
Marine Corps Recruiters, MOS 8411, must be thoroughly familiar with the enlistment process from applicant prospecting to preparation for recruit training.
 
Their duties include, among others: screening applicants to determine eligibility relative to physical defects, moral character, criminal involvement, age, drug abuse, education, etc., as well as scheduling working applicants to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test at the MEPS, among others...
 
In the Classroom
Training Phase I - Getting Started
 
In the Classroom... Marine Corps HistoryDid you know that, in addition to physical training during boot camp, recruits spend time taking academic classes?  

New recruits have much to learn and therefore must spend a great deal of time in the classroom during recruit training.

Recruits in Marine Corps boot camp take classes covering subjects such as: Customs and Courtesies, First Aid, Marine Corps History, USMC Mission and Organization, Terrorism Awareness, USMC Leadership, Official Policies and Organizational Values, and Operational Risk Management.
  
Firing Week & Qualification Day
Training Phase II - In the Midst 
 
Rifle Qualification DayQualification (Qual) Day is the last day of Firing Week during recruit training.
 
During Firing Week, or the second week of marksmanship training, recruits start before sunrise preparing their rifle, the range, and themselves to shoot the known-distance course of fire.
 
As recruits practice shooting they are assisted and evaluated by their Combat Marksmanship Instructor, their coach, and their drill instructors. All are working to assist the recruits to ensure that the fundamentals have been learned and that each recruit shoots as well as he or she can.
 
On Qual Day, all recruits try to shoot their best and strive for the coveted "Crossed Rifles" of the Rifle Expert badge.
 
Recruits Earn 10-Day Leave
Training Phase III - The Final Stretch 
 
Recruits Earn 10-Day LeaveDuring training phase III, your recruit is in the final stretch of boot camp and thinking about what happens after graduation.
 
The next phase of training is SOI, or School of Infantry, but new Marines are entitled to one day of travel and ten days leave before reporting to SOI. Your new Marine may report to SOI early in order to save leave, if desired.
 
Your Marine should listen, read, pay attention and ask questions about his/her orders before departing the Recruit Depot. Your Marine will have a copy of his/her orders with them when s/he leaves the Recruit Depot. 
 
Travel Planning
About Boot Camp Graduation
 
Travel Planning MCRD GraduationsMaking your travel plans to San Diego or Parris Island is easy enough, but what about your soon-to-be Marine? Will s/he travel back home with you for 10-day leave? How do you know what time to arrange flights?
 
If you didn't discuss this with your recruit prior to leaving for boot camp - and most of us did not - and the letters you're getting from your recruit aren't giving you the answers you need, where do you turn?
 
When should you buy your ticket? Will your recruit graduate on time? The projected graduation date is NOT set in stone for each recruit. Most recruits graduate with the company and platoon after 13 weeks of training. However, if your recruit becomes ill or injured, the graduation could be delayed. 
 
Save
$5
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TODAY ONLY, enter coupon code 2013GRADUATION at check out.

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Offer Expires: Midnight Central Time, June 19, 2013

 

We hope this week's edition of our email newsletter has been useful for you and your family. If there are topics you would like us to address, or if you have other suggestions for the newsletter, please contact us.


The banner used at the top of this newsletter is a March, 2005 USMC photo by Lance Cpl. Joseph L. DiGirolamo. See www.marines.mil for additional credits.
 
MarineParents.com, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity. MarineParents.com, Inc. was founded in January 2003 in response to parents' needs to find information and to have "a place to connect and share"® with one another during deployments. Our free online services and connections have expanded to support and educate Marine moms and dads, spouses, families and friends. We've helped more than 100,000 Marine and recruit families during boot camp, training, active-duty and deployments. We've shipped more than 34,000 care packages overseas to our Marines in Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa, sent thousands of prayers and letters to injured Marines and served thousands of meals to wounded heroes and their families on the East and West coasts. You've found "a place to connect and share."®  

 
God Bless and Semper Fidelis,
 

Tracy Della Vecchia
Founder and Executive Director
MarineParents.com, Inc.