Kew is for Quantico
Joe Kewish, WG'06
Issue date: 9/26/05 Section: Insider
The next morning we rose around 0400 (or 4:00 AM for you civilians) so that we could "wash our dirty, nasty little bodies and brush our nasty teeth," as the Gunnery Sergeant put it, before reveille. At 0430 we were on the line, dressed in our war gear, and ready for the day. We were first marched around the parade ground in tight formation until we got it right (after many pushups) and were then taken over to the chow hall for breakfast. After inhaling our French toast and scrambled eggs, we were rushed outside and hazed for a few last minutes. Then, as the sun rose over the Potomac, our tormenters sat us down and transformed themselves into thoughtful, encouraging human beings. We talked about why the Marine Corps initiates candidates the way they do, and the benefits of such an environment. These people, who initially seemed utterly insane, were revealed to be well-trained and highly capable Marines working toward a common purpose and goal.
A new day was starting; we were determined to make our expert mentors proud. The first activity was the Leadership Reaction Course (LRC). This set of obstacles allowed each member of a "fire team" to take turns leading their teammates through a nearly impossible task. Each scenario involved copious amounts of imaginary minefields and explosives that stood in the way of an objective. However, as we progressed through the obstacles we learned that good leadership and strong teamwork could achieve success, even if our physical abilities failed us. More importantly, each of us received detailed and insightful feedback on our leadership style from our group leaders. After only ten minutes of observation, these Marines could identify the strengths and weaknesses in our leadership giving us practical advice we could extend to other aspects of our lives.
After the relatively cerebral LRC, we endured MRE's (Meals, Ready to Eat) and moved on to the Combat Obstacle Course. This is the course you see in the slideshow. This is the course where we wondered if we were going to get hurt. This is the course where we slithered through the mud, crawled under barbed wire, and scaled a cliff with our bare hands (okay there were ropes involved, but we weren't connected to any of them). It was physically demanding, for sure, and we weren't even obeying signs like "push ups-50," or "sit ups-200," or "triceps dips-100,000" (okay, I made that one up).
A new day was starting; we were determined to make our expert mentors proud. The first activity was the Leadership Reaction Course (LRC). This set of obstacles allowed each member of a "fire team" to take turns leading their teammates through a nearly impossible task. Each scenario involved copious amounts of imaginary minefields and explosives that stood in the way of an objective. However, as we progressed through the obstacles we learned that good leadership and strong teamwork could achieve success, even if our physical abilities failed us. More importantly, each of us received detailed and insightful feedback on our leadership style from our group leaders. After only ten minutes of observation, these Marines could identify the strengths and weaknesses in our leadership giving us practical advice we could extend to other aspects of our lives.
After the relatively cerebral LRC, we endured MRE's (Meals, Ready to Eat) and moved on to the Combat Obstacle Course. This is the course you see in the slideshow. This is the course where we wondered if we were going to get hurt. This is the course where we slithered through the mud, crawled under barbed wire, and scaled a cliff with our bare hands (okay there were ropes involved, but we weren't connected to any of them). It was physically demanding, for sure, and we weren't even obeying signs like "push ups-50," or "sit ups-200," or "triceps dips-100,000" (okay, I made that one up).