Leadership skills are put to the test during 12 Stalls

Photo By Sgt. Angelica Annastas | Recruits of Charlie Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, try maneuvering a tire though an obstacle during the 12 Stalls event at Edson Range, Weapons and Field Training Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Sept. 23. Sometimes the recruits had to try several plans before being able to complete the task given to them. Today, all males recruited from west of the Mississippi are trained at MCRD San Diego. The depot is responsible for training more than 16,000 recruits annually. Charlie Company is scheduled to graduate Oct. 2.  

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, CA, UNITED STATES

09.23.2015

Story by Lance Cpl. Angelica Annastas 

Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego     

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Week after week, recruits face different challenges of recruit training. They must learn to work together and are tested daily on the skills they learn as they grow as recruits.

Recruits of Charlie Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, honed important team building and leadership skills by participating in 12 Stalls event of the Crucible at Edson Range, Weapons and Field Training Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Sept. 23.

The Crucible is the culminating event of training that allows the recruits to apply all the skills and knowledge they learned during training. They spent nearly 12 weeks working up to it by conducting events such as the Bayonet Assault Course, the Obstacle Course and the Confidence Course, which developed problem solving, physical conditioning and teamwork skills.

The 12 Stalls is a set of 12 different challenges designed to test the recruits’ mental strength. The recruits are formed in to squads to complete the challenge and are given only the task, basic equipment and minimal guidance from the drill instructors.

“It allows them to utilize the skills they’ve been taught throughout training,” said Sgt. Jon E. Austin, drill instructor, Charlie Company. “It gives them the chance to think outside the box.”

Before the event, drill instructors briefed the recruits on overall expectations for mission success. Recruits were required to work together to complete the missions ahead of them.

The responsibility of being squad leader changed with the different challenges, allowing different recruits the opportunity to be in a leadership position. For some, taking leadership roles was a new experience.

“12 Stalls is important because it is the definition of small unit leadership,” said 29-year-old Austin. “It forces the recruits to participate in a leadership role, and for some it can be challenging, especially when trying to effectively execute a plan.”

It is not uncommon for recruits to argue during this event. Often times, each recruit believes his way will be the most successful. That is where leadership comes into play. Squad leaders had to bring their team together to try and make sense of their next task. The squads contemplated different plans of action and tried several different methods until the challenge was successfully completed.

“It had a lot to do with discipline and trust,” said Recruit Joshua W. Harvey, Charlie Company. “All this teamwork helps us build patience with one another, and it’s important that we learn how to communicate as a team. It’s not easy, but we’re learning.”

Some of the obstacles involved standing on high pillars and figuring out how to cross them with only a plank of wood. In one case, the challenge was to get the squad and a barrel over a wall using nothing but a rope that was attached to the top of the wall.

To make the challenges a bit trickier, certain obstacles had red areas painted on them, and recruits who touched the areas with any body part or equipment became a casualty. All casualties had to be moved to an evacuation point, leaving fewer members of the squad to complete the challenge.

At the evacuation point, the casualties were required to run a marked course with 30-pound ammunition cans before returning to their squad.

“I think it’s good to have the mindset to never give up because our bodies can always push us further than we think they can go,” said 18-year-old Harvey. “It’s also the fact that we get to say we’ve done it that makes it that much cooler.”

With just a handful of days until Charlie Company graduates, the company drill instructors believe the recruits are ready to move on to their next stage of training.

“It’s interesting to watch their transformation and to just see how far they’ve come,” said Austin, native of Minneapolis.

• Date Taken: 09.23.2015
• Date Posted: 09.30.2015 19:00
• Story ID: 177672
• Location: MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, CA, US
• Hometown: MINNEAPOLIS, MN, US