From Boys To Marines

A Marine recruit stumbled from the ranks and collapsed on a dirt trail. A corpsman, her medical bag bouncing in the dust, hustled over to the fallen man. The recruit was bathed in sweat, his face clammy and sickly green. As the troop column marched on, the drill instructor cried out, " here comes the silver bullet ". The recruit was about to receive the ultimate indignity a shiny rectal thermometer to check his body temperature. It happened on the trail for all to see: pants down, buttocks bared. The column kept moving. It was the final day of the Crucible, a three day ordeal in the harsh , scrubby foothills of Camp Pendleton. If a recruit survives the Crucible, the midpoint of the 13 week boot camp, he will likely survive to graduation.