Transformative Experiences
Our reading from “Ghost Stories” concerned itself both with the author adapting to new cultural norms in a new country as well as the experiences of grad students in the crucible designed to transform them into subject matter experts. Our supplementary reading from “Beamtimes” was also largely about the transformation of undeclared college students into senior high energy physicists. These constructs are in many ways a rite of passage, where the applicant proves their worth to the community before being admitted.
This resonants with a transformative experience I underwent in the early parts of 2006, when I went to Marine Corp Recruit Depot San Diego for Recruit Training, otherwise known as boot camp. It’s an experience that has left indelible marks on my thinking and perceptions of the world.
A primary theme of boot camp is the breaking down of individuality. Civilians cannot be transformed directly into Marines, they must be stripped down and rebuilt. This process begins when the recruit arrives at the San Diego airport. After making his (only male recruits are trained at MCRD San Diego, all females attend Paris Island in South Carolina) way to the USO, the recruit is immediately accosted by screaming Drill Instructors who harangue him into a formation of other young men. No talking, moving, or looking around is permitted. Recruits are bused throughout San Diego (MCRD is actually adjacent to San Diego’s tarmac, so the route is purposely circuitous) with their heads between their knees to increase the sense of isolation and confusion. A whirlwind of controlled chaos ends some eighteen hours later when the freshly shorn, identically dressed recruits are instructed on how they are expected to sleep for the next three months. Recruits are kept perpetually off balance for the next month.
USMC boot camp also indoctrinates recruits into the culture of the Marine Corps. I had no particular opinions about the other branches of the military prior to attending boot camp, but for some time afterwards I regarded the Navy with pity, and Army with disdain and the Air Force with a contempt only exceeded by that I felt for the, ugh, Coast Guard. I was convinced that the Marines were the biggest, baddest fighting force ever to live, and that my status as a Marine set me above everyone who lacked it. Not better or more worthy than, as I accepted that I may have to lay down my life for my fellow Americans, but still separate and somehow above. My attitudes have mellowed somewhat since, but for some Marines these are lifelong attitudes.
Finally, boot camp also teaches all the iconography and lingo that go along with military service. Between the rank structures, endless acronyms and naval terminology, it’s a wonder military members can ever have a cogent conversation with a civilian. I learned different practices, as well. Towards the end of my pre-deployment leave, my parents asked my why I always announced when I had to “make a head call” (use the restroom). That’s just one of the things Marines DO, and it had never occurred to me that I had never do that before.
