Don't Quit !
During my Marine Corps boot camp experience - I learned early on that you don't quit! It was simply not an option! When I did witness individuals during boot camp give up - they paid a heavy price. When we were on the rifle range - a Marine in my platoon decided that he had enough - and he put his hand in front of his own rifle barrel - and blew his hand off. It may seem like the easy way but… There was another time we ran in formation in boots over five miles to the beach. Then we ran into the ocean in platoon formation - came out of the water and were told to roll around in the sand. As you can imagine - the sand covered our wet bodies and clothing - and then we began our run back. One Marine dropped out of formation because he could not run any further. The Drill Instructor told me and another Marine to carrying him - while the others ran in formation around us - all the way back to the barracks. Marines don't leave anyone behind. Begin Living A More Purposeful Life The Rewarding Life You Deserve  the ultimate goal of taking the hill... We were in combat training - and I was a squad leader. Our mission was to take over a small village that was being held by the enemy - and then if successful - go through a heavily wooded area - with the ultimate goal of taking a hill that the enemy held. Now although this was only training - I took it very serious - and wanted my squad to accomplish our goal. Everyone before us had failed. In this case the enemy was several Drill Instructors - who were of course very well trained. My squad did accomplish the first successful mission of the day - and it was due to the fact that I altered the plan. I did not follow the norm that all the squads before had. I understood that everyone before had failed - why not try something different. So we did. We approached the village from an entirely different direction surprising the Drill Instructors. We did the same for the hill we were to take. In that case we circled around the hill and came up from the back. Call it cheating - but we kicked butt - and were rewarded by the Commanding Officer for being innovative and stepping out of the box. May cost you more than you think... On another day - our Drill Instructor had found a comic book - something that he considered contraband. He then had us stand in front of our racks - which is another term for bed - and wanted someone to confess. Well - as expected - no one did - so he ordered all the windows closed - and we began exercising. The barracks were not air conditioned - and it was August - so the temperature was unbelievable. Every now and then he would stop us - and ask again for a confession - and got the same result - no one confessed. Pools of sweat surrounded each of us. We were being pushed to the brink of exhaustion. After about two hours - one Marine just stopped - he refused to do even one more exercise. I won’t go into all of what happened because it was brutal - but he was hand cuffed and hauled off to correctional custody. I don't know to this day if the Drill Instructor just made up the story of the comic book - or if he had actually found it. Don't quit - don't make it an option - it could mean the difference between success and failure. It could become a habit. If your looking for a great book about Marine Corps Boot Camp check out this one from Amazon. You should be able to pick up a new or used copy very cheap. Semper Fi! Thank you and May God Bless You! The information contained in any article provided by Leadership-Skills-for-Life.com, has not been prepared, endorsed, or reviewed by any form of licensed legal professional including but not limited to an attorney. Nothing on the Leadership-Skills-for-Life.com website should be taken as legal advice, but instead should act as a useful resource in providing general information that may be useful to members of the general public. All visitors are encouraged to consult with a licensed attorney/lawyer in all legal matters. You should not act, or refrain from acting, based upon any information on this web site. This information does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Thank you for reading my article on Don't Quit - click here to Return to my page on Leadership Stories
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