OOO RAHH

I'll have more to add on this later, in the meantime, I just wanted to test how this picture looked online. For those who may not know, my nephew Matt enlisted in United States Marine Corps and left for Parris Island, SC this past January. He is currently embarked on the CRUCIPLE, which is the final test towards becoming a Marine. I borrowed this info below to explain better.

The culmination of recruit training is the Crucible, an intense field training exercise designed to build unit cohesion, reinforce core values, and complete the transformation from recruit to Marine. The Crucible is the defining moment of the recruit training experience. As a right of passage, the 45 Concepts and Issues Crucible is a 54-hour ordeal that tests the mettle of every recruit (and DI). The physical and mental challenges are intensified by sleep and food deprivation.

The Crucible focuses on six major field events and is augmented by eleven challenging Warrior Stations. Throughout this rapid paced exercise, emphasis is placed on the importance of teamwork in overcoming adversity
and adaptive problem solving. The teams of recruits, under the leadership of their drill instructor, succeed as a team. The experience pushes recruits to their limits and is a poignant culmination to the transformation process.

So, his platoon left for the Cruciple at 2am Thursday morning and will finish Saturday morning. During that time, he will be allowed 8 hours sleep, no not in a row and maybe not even that much and he will be carrying 2.5 meals. Upon finishing, they will be treated to a feast fit for Warriors.


Aside from letter writing, Matt has been totally cut off from home during this 13 weeks. Next Friday is Graduation Day and along with his parents, grandparents, myself and other family members, we are taking the trip to South Carolina to celebrate. We're all looking forward to seeing what he has become.

Oh, the picture above is for a shirt that we all will all be wearing on Thursdays Family Day.

More to come later.

Jamie