June 18, 2014
RecruitParents.com Newsletter


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Congratulations to our newest Marines, 3rd Battalion Lima Company from San Diego as well as 1st Battalion Bravo Company and 4th Battalion Papa Company from Parris Island, for graduating this Friday, June 20! A big Ooh-Rah goes out to you all!  

 

For those of you who are just beginning your journey, we would like to welcome you and extend our congratulations. 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.


If you've been looking for answers to your questions, we can help you.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

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Tracy Della Vecchia

Founder and Executive Director
MarineParents.com, Inc.

 

Marine Corps Marathon Bibs Are Still Available!
Sign Up Now to Secure Your Spot!

Marines support their own. As new or soon-to-be Marine Parents, this is a mantra you will likely become very familiar with in the near future. Often, Marine families adopt the same mindset and do what they can to support their Marine and his or her new "brothers" and "sisters." One way to provide that support is by joining Team Marine Parents, a group of individuals, generally parents, family and friends of Marines, who participate in athletic events nationwide to support our troops. The mission is to raise funds and awareness of the organization's outreach programs.

 

Since 2013, Team Marine Parents™ has been a U.S. Marine Corps charity partner. Through charity partners such as Team Marine Parents, thousands of individuals from around the country have the opportunity to compete in the Marine Corps Marathon, the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon, and numerous other Marine Corps-sponsored running events while raising funds in support of a personal cause.

  

Charity partners are given a predetermined number of running bibs to distribute to their team members as they see fit, allowing the members who receive those bibs to avoid having to risk not getting a spot during the public-registration rush.

  

At this time, Team Marine Parents still has 23 bibs available for the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon. Each bib costs $110 and requires you to join Team Marine Parents and pledge to raise $500 for the Marine Parents outreach program of your choice (one of the smallest minimum fundraising requirements among all Marine Corps Marathon charity partners).

To join TMP and get your Marine Corps Marathon bib today, please click here...
Recruit Respect: Protecting Privacy

Recruit Respect: Protecting Privacy
Your 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.

 

Click here to read full article...
Marine Corps Uniforms

Marine Corps Uniforms

Marines 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.

 

Click here for uniform chart... 
Learning New Terminology

 

Learning New Terminology There are literally thousands of acronyms in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and all branches of the military as well as hundreds of new terms to learn. 
 
Recruits in Marine Corps boot camp learn to call a flashlight a "moon beam," a pen becomes an "ink stick," and the bathroom is "the head." 
 
MarineParents.com created a terminology page as a starting point for recruit families. The reference contains terms that are most important to learn during recruit training. 

 

Click here to view terminology...
Understanding Battalion Structure

Recruit Training Battalions Understanding the Structure

There 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.

Click here for the breakdown of each MCRD...
The Recruiters

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...

 

Click to keep reading and watch video...
In the Classroom: Training Phase I

In the Classroom... Marine Corps History

Did 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.

Click here to learn more...
Firing Week & Qualification Day: Training Phase II

 

Rifle Qualification Day

Qualification (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

Bootcamp Graduation
During 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.

Click here to read more...
Travel Planning: About Boot Camp Graduation

Travel Planning MCRD Graduations
Making 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.

 Click here to read more...
In This Issue
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 20, 2014 

 

July 3, 2014  

 

July 11, 2014 

 

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

 

June 20, 2014  

 

July 11, 2014 

 

Spread the Word!


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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 an IRS-approved 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 38,000 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,

 

  Web Signature

Tracy Della Vecchia

Founder and Executive Director
MarineParents.com, Inc.

 


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