Respect, Admiration & Bright Future

The Marine Corps arranged for us teachers to join a company of recruits in the outdoors where they were gathered for lunch. The picture above shows the recruits in position and waiting for us to join them. We arrived there on two buses and were given boxed lunches and power drinks like the recruits.

We spread out and sat among the recruits under a shelter as shown in the first picture below. This particular company was in their third or fourth week of twelve weeks of training. Most recruits were tense and didn't volunteer much more than to answer a direct question. It was somewhat difficult to get them to relax and open up.

Female recruits were kept separate from males as shown in the second picture below.

Six or seven news outlets followed us throughout the four days. Both print and TV media were represented. The reporters were from hometown areas where we teachers live and work. The bottom picture shows an NBC affiliate crew from a town in Maryland. The press interviewed trainees whose hometowns were in areas of their news coverage.

The lunch was nutritious and we enjoyed our visit and talks with the recruits. The ones I spoke to were proud of their decision to join the Marines and expressed confidence and pleasure with their performance in training. I expressed to them my admiration and respect for their service and assured them of a bright future.

Have a good week and return here on March 18 for an update about our trip to Parris Island!