by Tyson Abaroa

Created on: March 27, 2009   Last Updated: March 29, 2009

It will be tough not to sound like Jack Nicholas in A Few Good Men, but the last thing the military needs is armchair Generals criticizing recruit training. I found myself on a bus bound for Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in 2002.

This was not the boot camp of the nineties when most of the Corps watched as a few other Marines did the operations in small conflicts. My boot camp was preceding the Iraq war, and during Operations Enduring Freedom, and Enduring Eagle. My Drill Instructors were tougher, meaner, and more demanding. They knew the possibility that our entire platoon would see combat operations, and a few would see actual blood, sweat, and tears combat. We trained to fight and react under extremely stressful operations. Nothing else in my life could have prepared me more for my Deployment to Iraq than my three months in Boot Camp.

From Boot Camp I went to the much more relaxed Marine Combat Training and my MOS School in Virginia. Immediately after checking into my unit in 2003 my battalion was mobilized and sent to Kuwait. The Invasion of Iraq was the most confusing time of my life. The principles and habits I formed in Boot Camp were what pulled my platoon and me through the Iraq war successfully. When scuds missiles were inbound the only person freaking out was the civilian reporter attached to our company. When everything was moving around us and we didn't know where to go, we trusted our senior marines and obeyed every order. When we observed suspicious activity we quickly and calmly reported it. The ability to be calm under pressure was the most important trait I took from Boot Camp and brought to the War in Iraq.

It is easy for some to watch reports on cable news shows and judge us. I was yelled at; I was called names, at the appropriate times I was adjusted according to my mistakes. Mistakes in Boot Camp can be corrected. Mistakes in forward operations can be fatal. Every movement, every class, every exercise in recruit training is meticulously scrutinized and planned to instill the ability to not only function in a combat area but to succeed in combat. Winning is the only way to get our brothers and sisters home, making winning our only option.

Boot Camp may not seem very pretty or even politically correct. It's not! It is that way to make men and women that can succeed. Civilians should be able to see portions of our training, because they are flipping the bill. However, when it comes to criticizing our tactics they need to remember that the United States Military has been winning and losing battles and wars for over two hundred years. We know what works and what doesn't work. We are learning how to adjust our training daily. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines are all capable of defending our freedom because of tough and thorough basic training.

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