Upstate educators get a taste of boot camp, up-close view of life as a Marine

1st Marine Corps District
Story by Sgt. T. T. Parish

Date: 03.05.2012
Posted: 03.05.2012 16:45
News ID: 84766
Upstate educators get a taste of boot camp, up-close view of life as a Marine

MARINE CORPS RECRUITING STATION, ALBANY, N.Y. - A group of 40 educators from Upstate New York will get an "insider's look" at the making of a Marine during the annual Educators Workshop at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., March 27 – 30, 2012.

Marines from Recruiting Station Albany will be escorting a group of high school teachers and administrators to one of only two Marine Corps Boot Camps during the all-expenses paid workshop, which gives local high school educators and administrators the opportunity to learn about the Marine Corps and Recruit Training.

Media are also invited to cover the workshop, as well as speak to local recruits who are in the process of earning the title, Marine.

During the four-day tour, area educators will participate in a variety of events. The workshop includes briefings about Marine Corps Recruiting and the Recruit Training process as well as the mission of the Marine Corps as America’s 9-1-1 force. Attendees will also observe and participate in several recruit training events, to include the 54-hour rite of passage known as "The Crucible" as well as firing the M16-A2 service rifle. The workshop will conclude with a Boot Camp graduation ceremony, which is the culmination of the 13-week transformation of a civilian young man or woman into a United States Marine.

During the workshop, participants will also have an opportunity to visit Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C., where they will meet and talk to Marines currently serving on active duty in a variety of fields, and have a chance to see some of the equipment Marines train and fight with.

Media will have full access to the Recruit Training Depot and have a chance to talk to recruits from their local area at different stages of the Recruit Training process.