I wanted to share the letter below because I think it is touching & it makes me, as a DI wife, so proud. It was written by a recruit from the first platoon Bryan worked with as a Drill Instructor, earlier this year. This recruit noticed the dedication of his DIs and the sacrifices they make in order to make Marines. He wrote this letter during boot camp during his free time, and after graduation he sent it to his Senior DI who shared it with us.
The Epitome of the Corps
The United States Marine Corps has long been recognized as the most feared fighting force in the world. The mental fortitude and unrelenting physical endurance displayed by its members has carved a shelf in the annals of history, and to this day instills prides and awe in the hearts of Americans.
There are few however, who understand where this strength and courage comes from, and fewer still who understand just what it takes to make suck fierce warriors out of men. Of the many men and women who server the Corps, its Drill Instructors serve it best.
As in the rest of the Corps, Drill Instructors come from all walks of life; whether the blue-collar world of working life, or the upper-class world of spoiled life, once they dedicate themselves to their country they shed their previous selves and adopt the styling of the Corps.
What separates them from the average jarhead, then, is not their campaign cover, nor their lack of full-grown follicles, nor is it their ferocious and unforgiving demeanor; these they gain through hard work and service. What separates these men is the level to which they take their love, their dedication, their undying commitment to the Corps.
Perhaps the single greatest misunderstanding the public suffers is that idea that the Drill Instructor serves in only this capacity. Few understand that the Drill Instructors billet is a secondary MOS (Military Occupational Specialty), a “B” billet specially restricted to enlisted men and which requires an additional barrage of intense study and training, for whether it be a legal clerk or a scout sniper, each Drill Instructor has already served in another field. Thus we understand that these men become Drill Instructors not by force, but by choice. To truly understand this, one must understand exactly what that choice entails.
The average male get between eight and ten hours of sleep per night; the average recruit will get between six and eight hours; the Drill Instructor on the other hand, would feel blessed to get more than five, but will generally get between two and four hours any given night. The average male will burn roughly 1,500 calories a day performing minimal physical labor, and will generally consume between 1,500 and 2,500 calories a day over three square meals. The recruit will burn between three and five thousand calories every day, depending on the day’s schedule, and will consume between 2,000 and 4,000 calories, also receiving three square meals every day. The Drill Instructor will burn roughly the same amount of calories as the recruit – generally more- but will usually receive one, perhaps two square meals each day, and must to his best to supplement this diet in whatever brief moment of rest he might find.
Essentially, the Drill Instructor will both eat and sleep about half as much as the recruits he trains and far exceeds any comparison to the average man, making the Drill Instructor seem superhuman (which he just may be).
How does he stay driven? How does he stay focused? How does he stay awake? (He doesn’t always but he is allowed a slip or two). The answer is simple: Pure, deep selfless commitment to the Corps.
As recruits we understand the awesome things that these men do, we observe and, in time, recognize respect, and even love the training they put us through, because we understand that they have given so much more; having already given much, they knowingly make a conscious effort, a conscious decision to sacrifice more, and through it all remain upright, showing no pain, but discipline. These men who make us warriors, the Drill Instructors who make us men, are the standards which we will use to base our conduct and service in the Corps.
Some will never understand, but those of us who do, who have seen recruits struggle to walk five miles with a seventy pound pack and seen Drill Instructors wearing that same pack, run back and forth, pushing their recruits to finish, or who have seen tired recruits fall back on runs and seen exhausted Drill Instructors finish and turn back to egg their recruits on, or who have seen a recruit fall sobbing on the Reaper, claiming he could not finish, only to have a Drill Instructor, already carrying eight rifles on his arm, grab the recruit by the should straps and drag him to the crest of the hill, all the while screaming at the others to “suck it up” and to “move faster”- those of us who have seen these things, who have heard that dedication and felt that commitment, we understand, even if not entirely. We honor and we respect those men who devote their service, who devoted their lives to the future of the Corps- to each of us.
As recruits many believe that their dues are paid and their respects manifested once they cross the deck of the grinder and earn that Eagle, Globe and Anchor. Most of us however, know that we can never truly pay the debt owed to those men who make the Corps. The best we can do is to attempt to emulate that perfect devotion through our own hard work and sacrifice, and through continued adherence to those values they instilled in us. We salute the men (and women) who train us, who make us, and hope our efforts inspire all, both military and civilian, to do the same, for we know that our Drill Instructors stand for everything we are. They are the epitome of the Corps.
Pvt. David J. Haines, USMC
Platoon 1002 Alpha Co. 070330
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