Watching a deal on PBS on the Marines starting with boot training. All of them have this "What the fuck have I gotten into" look.
I think that they have the same "oh shit I really screwed myself" look in any boot camp. Just that the marines have more for the poor guys to look scared about.
Indeed, when I was a guard at Palo Verde nuclear facility a long time ago (btween my Air Force and Army service) we were 90 percent ex-military (from all branches). The Marines' description of basic was some scary shit. They used to fuck those guys up, physically and mentally. I'm sure it's toned down, but not by much.
When my oldest uncle joined the Marines after Pearl Harbor, the very first guy off the bus at boot camp got clocked in the jaw by the senior drill instructor- just fuckin' K-POWED him. Then he yelled: "Welcome to the Marine Corps!" Apparently that was standard practice back in the day.
Doubt it- that's the just the way things were back then. A lot harder, with no 'stress cards' for boots to hold up when the pressure got to be 'too much'. Once that boot pinned on his : and assumed the title of 'Marine', he probably wore that punch to the jaw like a badge of honor.
Got a photo somewhere of Dad doing PT in the snow, wearing nothing but boxer shorts. He actually looked like he was enjoying it!
Sell that to someone who isn't in the military (at least the Army). A lot of my buds became drills (it's only a 2 or 3 year special assignment) and they're no more imposing than anyone else. Lots of folks are forced to become drills because their number came up and they have to do it, like recruiting. Most do it because it often helps get you promoted faster.
