Knowledge

There are several things I want to know before I head off to boot camp. Here's the list. I'm going to keep track of it as I learn.

*Rifleman's Creed (Done)
*11 General Orders (Done)
*Code of Conduct
*Marine Corps Hymn
*Rank Structure and Pay Grade (mostly memorized, just have a bit of trouble with the SNCOs)


Current Weight: 168

Hair Dilemma

I'm debating whether to cut my hair. I like it long enough to pull back, but I also like it short enough where I don't have to. Almost everything I've read suggests shorter hair is easier to deal with in boot camp, and I've never been one to put in a lot of effort into my hair. With summer coming, short hair won't be bad at all. Currently, my hair is around shoulder-length. If I cut it now, there's no way it will be long enough to pull back by October, so it will have to stay short. This is the style I'm thinking about (I know, I know. I'm a dork, but it's really cute).

Slacking a bit

I slacked off a bit earlier this week, but I'm back on track. It's tough being on top of my game all the time when I don't have anyone but myself holding me accountable. I'm going to do it, though. I will get there, no doubt about it.

My aunt Mary called last night. Grama told her that I was intent on joining the Marines. She was very supportive. I've been afraid to tell most of my family because I didn't think they would be (my cousin Amanda wasn't. She was a bit nasty about it), but everyone else so far has been excited for me. Not really what I expected, but I'm happy about their reactions.

Making Marines

I'm glad I finally watched it. That was really motivating. I want to become a Marine so bad I can feel it. I know it will be hard; I know there are times I will want to quit, but I won't. I need this, more than I've ever needed anything. It's where I belong. Seeing those who struggled throughout boot camp finally get their Eagle, Globe, and Anchor... I was so touched. I can't even imagine what I'm going to feel when I'm in their position, and I will be in their position. I will not give up. I've come too far already. I'm going to be a Marine.

Below 170!!

I weighed in this morning and I'm below 170 (I hit 169) for the first time in five years. Only 20 pounds to go! I'm pretty excited. Here's hoping I can keep it up.

I bought a mini-stepper this morning. It was really rough on my calves and shins just bouncing around randomly during a movie. I'm hoping the mini-stepper will relieve some of that and help me keep up the exercising. Right now, I'm going to use it while watching Making Marines.

Quick Update

I've started doing the Shred and BL videos again. I stopped using them because they get boring, but I burn calories so much faster with them. So I'm going to try to stick with it this time. I got all my runs in this week (well, Saturday is my last run for the week, but I don't usually skip that one). It helps having a personal wake-up call Tuesdays and Thursdays. Gotta love moms. I'm down to 171, too. Only about 22 pounds to go. I've readjusted my goal to the end of June, but I'm going to try to push it so that I can DEP sooner. It'll still be awesome to go home the end of May. Even if I only lose another 15 pounds before then, I'll be 40 pounds lighter than the last time I saw them. How cool is that?

On a completely unrelated note, have you seen that Scottish woman from Britain's Got Talent who everyone is making a big deal about? I watched it tonight, and wow. Totally unexpected.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone. I hope all is going well. I got up and went for a run this morning. Right now, my lamb is marinating for dinner tonight.

I just got done talking to my Grama. I'm always bummed when I hang up the phone. We don't talk a lot (she's not much one for words), but she practically raised me. We lived with her until I was 16, then we moved only half a mile up the road (it was still on her property--she has 800+ acres). I lived with her again for a year or two when I moved back home from Ohio, too. What really gets me is she never used to be affectionate. I don't recall her ever saying "I love you" when I was younger. But now she says it whenever I talk to her, see her, or get a letter from her. It makes me sad, in a way. I think she's starting to realize her own mortality (she's 75, I think), which sucks. She's Grama. She should live forever.

A Little Reminder

I often hear people express irritation that we are still fighting "that war." Here's a little reminder why we're fighting the war on terror. It breaks my heart.

A would-be suicide bomber aged 11 has been arrested alongside Taliban fighters.

Known only as Abdullah, the youngster was caught crossing the mountains from Pakisrtan's tribal region into Afghanistan wearing a jacket packed with explosives.

Police say he is the youngest terror recruit they have ever come across. Abdullah has also become Afghanistan's youngest prisoner but he is still being held at a top security prison in the capital, Kabul.

Abdullah has become the world's youngest terror suspect after he was caught wearing a jacket filled with explosives

Originally from Peshawar in Pakistan, Abudullah was training to be a suicide bomber and had learned the principles of jihad - holy war - at the religious school in Pakistan where he was taught.

Abdullah was interviewed by ITV News's International Editor Bill Neely, who wrote about the visit in the Mirror.

His full interview will be screened on tonight's ITV News at Ten.

Mr Neely said he was shocked at the picture of innocence before him.

'I'd been told I would meet a youth who had been arrested with a group of Taliban fighters – but I didn't expect the picture of apparent innocence that confronted me,' he said.

'I watched this little boy speak, his high-pitched voice so innocent, pouring out the detail of an adventure he had clearly relished.'

ITN journalist Bill Neely said he was shocked at how innocent Abdullah appeared

Mr Neely said Abdullah's days were spent reading the Koran and his evenings were taken up learning how to load weapons and how foreigners came to Muslim lands to kill them.

Abdullah's younger brother Amin, 10, is also a student at the same school.

Abdullah told the journalist, his favourite weapon of choice was the Kalashnikov because he found the trigger of the pistol hard to pull.

When Mr Neely asked the 11-year-old how felt about becoming a suicide bomber he said he knew he 'would end up in pieces.'

He also said he knew the difference between suicide and sacrifice and that he wanted to kill non-Muslims when he grew up 'so they can't come to our homes and kill us.'

It is not yet clear what authorities will do with the boy but it is likely he will be returned back to his religious school.

Reading List

I figured this was as good a place as any to keep track of the books I've read off the Marine Corps Reading List.

Private to Lance Corporal

• First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps by LtGen Krulak (Partially read.)
  
• MCDP 1 Warfighting (Finished)
• A Message to Garcia by Elbert Hubbard (Finished)
• Rifleman Dodd by C.S. Forster (Finished and loved it)
  
• The Soldier’s Load by S.L.A. Marshall (Can't find a copy)
  
• The Ugly American by Lederer and Burdick (Finished)
• Ender's Game by O.S. Card (Finished and loved it)
  

Corporal

• First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps by LtGen Krulak
• MCWP 6-11 Leading Marines
• Battle Leadership by Adolph Von Schell
• Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley
• Gates Of Fire: An Epic Novel Of The Battle Of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield (Finished)
• Imperial Grunts by Robert D. Kaplan
• Small-Unit Leaders' Guide to Counterinsurgency

Sergeant

• First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps by LtGen Krulak
• MCDP 1-3 Tactics
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu (Own it, not read)
  
• Tip of the Spear by Sgt G. J. Michaels (Currently reading)
  
• Infantry Attacks! by Erwin Rommel
• With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa by E.B. Sledge (Finished and loved it)
  
• The Village by Francis West (Finished and loved it)
  

Staff Sergeant

• First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps by LtGen Krulak
• MCDP 1-2 Campaigning
• This Kind of War by T.R. Fehrenbach
• Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose (Finished)
• The Face of Battle by John Keegan
• A Bell for Adano by John Hersey
• Utmost Savagery : the Three Days of Tarawa by Joseph H. Alexander

Gunnery Sergeant

• First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps by LtGen Krulak
• MCDP 5 Planning
• The Savage Wars of Peace by Max Boot
• We Were Soldiers Once and Young by Moore and Galloway
• On Combat : the Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace by Dave Grossman with Loren W. Christensen
• Breakout by Martin Russ
• Victory at High Tide by Robert Heinl

Master Sergeant / First Sergeant

• First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps by LtGen Krulak
• MCDP 1-1 Strategy
• Reminiscences of a Marine by John A. Lejeune
• Fields of Battle by John Keegan
• Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence
• On Killing : the Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society by Dave Grossman
• Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson

Master Gunnery Sergeant / Sergeant Major

• First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps by LtGen Krulak
• The General by C.S. Forester
• No Bended Knee by Merill Twining
• Achilles in Vietnam : Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character by Jonathan Shay
• The Mask of Command by John Keegan
• The Arab Mind by R. Patai

Officer Candidate / Midshipman

• First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps by LtGen Krulak
• MCDP 1 Warfighting
• The Armed Forces Officer by S.L.A. Marshall
  
• A Message to Garcia by Elbert Hubbard
• Rifleman Dodd by C.S. Forster
• The Soldier’s Load by S.L.A. Marshall
• Ender's Game by O.S. Card

Second Lieutenant / Warrant Officer

• First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps by LtGen Krulak
• MCWP 6-11 Leading Marines
• Fields of Fire by James Webb (Finished and loved it)
  
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu
• The Anatomy of Courage by Baron Charles Moran
• On Infantry by John English & Bruce Gudmundsson
• Small-Unit Leaders' Guide to Counterinsurgency
• The Soldier’s Load by S.L.A. Marshall

First Lieutenant / Chief Warrant Officer 2

• First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps by LtGen Krulak
• The Bridge at Dong Ha by John Miller
• The Face of Battle by John Keegan
• Reminiscences of a Marine by John A. Lejeune
• Counterinsurgency Warfare; Theory and Practice by David Galula
• Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson

Captain / Chief Warrant Officer 3

• First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps by LtGen Krulak
• For the Common Defense by Millet and Maslowski
• The Mask of Command by John Keegan
• The Savage Wars of Peace by Max Boot
• On Combat : the Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace by Dave Grossman with Loren W. Christensen
• The Arab Mind by R. Patai

Major / Chief Warrant Officer 4

• First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps by LtGen Krulak
• Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer
• The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman
• The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides (“The Landmark” version by Strassler recommended)
• The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas L. Friedman
• Grant Takes Command by Bruce Catton

Lieutenant Colonel / Chief Warrant Officer 5

• First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps by LtGen Krulak
• Masters of War by Michael I. Handel
• Supplying War by Martin Van Creveld
• Carnage and culture : landmark battles in the rise of Western power by Victor Davis Hanson
• Defeat into Victory by William Slim
• Triumph Forsaken : the Vietnam War, 1954-1965 by Mark Moyar

Colonel to General

• First to Fight: An Inside View of the U.S. Marine Corps by LtGen Krulak
• Dereliction of Duty : Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the lies that led to Vietnam by H. R. McMaster
• Supreme Command : Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime by Eliot Cohen
• Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger
• Feeding Mars : logistics in Western warfare from the Middle Ages to the present by John Lynn
• The Crisis of Islam : Holy War and Unholy Terror by Bernard Lewis

Miracle at Belleau Wood

I finished today. It is truly a captivating book. Alan Axelrod shows you so many aspects of the battle. You get to see the struggle the Marines went through to even get into the fight; you see the lengths the Army went through to cover up the Marines' roll. But best of all, you get to see why the Marines are so amazing. The bravery and heroics are astounding. Even as the French were fleeing, the Marines stood their ground, through artillery fire, machine guns, and even mustard gas. After reading this, my desire to become a Marine has been revived (I never stopped wanting it, but I was starting to lose sight of the goal).

I wanted to provide a snippet to illustrate some of the incredible and almost unfathomable actions the Marines took, but there are just too many to choose from. If you haven't read it, it's definitely worth the time.

And for those who didn't already know... the Marines won!