Complaints, Likes, Impressions and Rambles

Orientation:
So basically it was 5 days of fun! It all blurs together because I have an awful memory to begin with and when each day is 20 hours long and you do a godzillion things stories and timelines get FUBAR-ed.

The first day I got to detail stories out. The next day I was able to write a list of things worth nothing so:

I was top 2 for strongest as well as top 2 for fastest, the 1st strongest and 1st fastest definitely were not well rounded like I was. Which allowed me to make a good impression on the staff. The guy who is quick though is skinny, so he can do 16-10 pull-ups while I only hit 14 the first day. We did a three-mile run and it was a piece of cake, at the end we raced to see which squad would get first. I was in second (with the fastest and strongest guys which was nice), and I came in third behind the fastest guy and a SGT Steele who is 28 and is starting college and ROTC in the grey area between a second and third year. So it wasn’t too shabby. One of the staff actually started chasing me and warned me to not let him pass him, so I think I cut him off at a turn and pulled away the last 20 yards, almost catching the SGT Steele.
As a marine option I was put in charge of a naval guy who needed help (damn navy) I had to basically be responsible for him at all times and make sure he got his shit together (and he did) I like the whole trying being the best thing, it’s fun and you get more attention, which sometimes involves a lot of screaming but I had a good time being shouted at.
During the swim test the demonstrator demonstrated the side-stroke by putting his head underwater, and he specifically said to do that, then I do it and my observer tells me not to (god damned contradictions, happened all week, it was fun seeing the staff not be on the same page with each other, one time the whole freshman group was ordered to do one thing, then ordered not to do it, then the process repeated 2 more times, that was fun to deal with). The swimming test also had me fill trousers with air, which was fun because I’m sitting there treading water with my feet buttoning the pants up after I took them off in the water and I’m spinning in circles just cause I feel like it and I’m really relaxed not really giving a shit and the staff is kind of looking at me like WTF is this guy doing? And then a few seconds later I’m the first one done and out of the water.
During the swim test one instructor walks up to me and asks if I played football I say yes and he says I should join the “Blood Bowl,” an ROTC flag football game between UCLA and USC. I think I impressed everyone with my “massive” muscles; it was fun being asked to join the flag football team the unit puts together.
PEOPLES NAMES! I hate names, names are hard to remember, even harder when everyone else is fucking them up and everyone is shouting some weird grunt that only sounds like the name a little bit. Each time we had to walk past someone during O-week we had to greet him or her. Of course I couldn’t remember any of the staffs names “Good morning Mr/Ms….Shit…” That got a me a few ear fulls but it was all in good fun.
Wearing my uniform and walking around campus = AWESOME! I really enjoyed sitting at the airport with my hair cut all militarily and such but the looks given here with the uniform on are a billion times better! For example: walking into my dorm during a move-in day the older students are all greeting the freshman waving flags and shirts screaming and having a good time, I walk by and the stop and stare for a bit and are in awe. My roommate was chilling in our room today too and his two friends looked scared when I walked in. The girl asked what grade I was in and was surprised to find out I was in her grade.
THANKS DAD! For giving me a “marine only” belt, the first day I get questioned where I got my belt and I had to go on and explain everything because supposedly ONLY marines are supposed to have them. Just because of a belt I get put in the spotlight, and who’s the naval jackass that did that to me? FATHER!


Day 3-4 was spent on the road. First we stopped by Point Loma Naval base to check out a Nuclear Submarine. That was cool but a lot worse than the trip I did with Mr. Flieschman Senior year on a different (same model though) nuclear sub. We went to Pendleton as well the third day. We shot M9’s and I scored a 223 out of 240. 3rd best of the freshmen BUT! I didn’t know the “learning” phase was also the qualifying phase. So I’m sitting there practicing being quick, not giving too much of a damn and not worrying about patience or accuracy, thinking I will get more ammo and be able to shoot better, that didn’t work out so well, so the 223 was what I had to deal with.
The night of the 3rd day we spent folding bunks, basically 2 hours of SSGT shouting at us and being angry with us for not being quick enough. That was fun, until I had fire watch at 0200 to 0300. That was actually really fun, waking up in the middle of the night to watch the barracks with 2 other guards. We were supposed to all walk around the bunks counting people and making sure nothing stupid happened and also were supposed to clean the barracks and bathroom. Of course OC Tran (who was watching us) gets angry at the two other people for not knowing their shit so I had to count, clean (mop and sweep) all by my lonely-es :( That was fun because he talked to my squad leader and I got a good reputation.
The 4th day we did some leadership obstacles, when I led my team through one I got everyone “killed” because my plan sucked ass, well actually I didn’t have a plan and the people I assigned to do shit had no idea how to adjust to the situation. So the only opportunity I was officially in charge of someone in the field led to a 90% casualty rate. After that we hit the O-course and I was dead tired so I didn’t compete in the fastest person to do the O-course, next time I hope. After the O-course was infiltration training, which actually was training us how a fire team assaults something so no crawling around stabbing people… BUT that was almost good, the Marine Options were put in one group (4 of us) and the SGT there put the worst 2 people in charge during our 2 times thru the course. No one knew what to do but me and I was the only one sprinting my ass of with my rubber M16. So as a unit we would have died but I think I made a good impression


Swearing in ceremony (day 5): Wake up at 0430 and realize I fell asleep before I ironed my uniform, I have an hour to get packed and get my PT gear on and 2 sets of dress uniform ready depending on what we would wear that day for the ceremony. I get it done and the Marines start off with their PFT. We were supposed to do a 3 mile run but the track was closed so we ended up running a made up route. I think it was more than 3 miles but what do I know? I keep up with SSGT Steele and at the end I offer to race him, the last 100 yards. We are head to head until the last 5 yards where finally I decided I wasn’t going fast enough and beat him, pulling ahead by a body width (not length).
Before the ceremony we put on our white uniforms, I couldn’t find my nametag and I swore to god I put it in my sea bag before I fell asleep, but I tell my squad leader and then I run all the way back to my dorm only to not find it. So I run all the way back, realize I didn’t check my sea bag pocket and THERE IS! All that running after a PRT for nothing. I was issued Midshipman 1st class shoulder boards and that’s no good because I’m only 4th class, so after the ceremony at the picnic 8 staff members come up and question me and I have to explain that I already told my squad leader and I was going to exchange them ASAP. That was entertaining having all these seniors and juniors and sophomores telling me that they should now call me sir or that they are now the same rank as me.
At the picnic OC Tran tells me if there was a draft for the Orientation members I was top 5 in the pick at least and that if he went to our commission ceremony he would hide in the shadows, whisper me over and take a quick picture then get the hell out of dodge. Basically the staff feels like our group is mainly shit and there was only 3 really squared away people (myself included) that the OC could name off the top of his head. And apparently the marine options are the worst physically fit the unit has had in a long time. There are 4 of us, one guy runs a 4,43 mile and then there is me. Then there is the guy who does 0 pull ups for our PRT today and then the other guy drops out of a 1.5 mile jog the first day.

Overall: despite me complaining I loved every second of it, worked hard from 0500 to 1800 each night then had a meeting/”class” with the squad for an hour. Then cleaned up and used the info I just learned to square away my uniforms and study the knowledge packet and hydrate, then bed at 0100-0200. Despite the work and lack of sleep it was a great learning opportunity and the whole unit knows now what to do and fix in order to meet expectations. I loved being shouted at, I found it humorous because I knew as soon as O-week was over everyone would be nice to us, and after the ceremony EVERY instructor changed, they were kind and were actually interested in us and were willing to help us out nicely, it was incredible to see the transformation of the instructors and surprise on all the other freshman’s faces.