Were the DIs holding back?


Did they refrain from being COMPLETELY psychotic in front of the cameras? I noticed they didn't swear as often as I had anticipated. They also didn't hit any of the recruits.

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All I have to go by is my own experience from Parris Island in 1979. Based on that experience yes,they held back quite a bit while the camera was rolling.

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From what my recruiter tells me the entire process has changed alot. They aren't allowed to touch you anymore, the can't curse at you (which I figure is a lie),and they are only allowed to drill you 3 minutes they the have to back off and tell you to get away. Thats why alot of times in this film you'll see the D.I.s looking at their watches.

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To answer the OP's question, YES, they were probably holding back.

There's no uniform reality at USMC boot camp, so you can't say "The Marine Corps does this" or "Parris Island does that." Everything depends on the particular battalion, the particular company, and most importantly, the particular drill instructors.

I went to MCRD in '06 in Charlie Company 1st Battalion. 3 out of our original 4 DIs were fired from the platoon and NJP'd for beating the s**t out of recruits. Recruits didn't rat on them; our CO started noticing kids reporting to medical with black eyes saying "this recruit ran into a whiskey locker door" and s**tting blood from being kicked in the kidneys, plus 3 recruit suicide attempts (bleach poisoning, hanging, jumping off roof).

They launched an investigation and eventually recruits were faced with the decision: do I keep this a secret so I can keep getting beat, or do I put an end to it? The line 'held' for awhile but eventually it broke, and the whole thing ended and we got new DIs. Frankly, we had 2 hardened grunts in our platoon with PTSD who probably shouldn't be put in charge of anything at this point as they were clearly somewhat unstable. One would come back drunk sometimes and choke somebody out for having a crooked footlocker marking. Bad dudes; they needed another billet. They were supposed to be teaching us lessons, not turn into degenerates who make us want to go UA.

Anyway, the above is one of the reasons it makes me crazy to hear guys who went before me say that the Corps has "changed" and the new guys are "soft" and all that. Believe me, devils: they're still swearing and swinging at recruits. Hell, my first experience on Black Friday was being picked up by the throat and getting some knuckles to the orbital socket. I was the first one in my platoon to find out about eye contact the hard way.

However, I know people who graduated in other companies around the same time--India and Kilo, for example--whose experiences were pretty tame. Depends on the focus of the company. When I went, Charlie wanted a reputation for physical toughness, so they basically beat their recruits. India was all about being "squared away" with perfectly-rolled sleeves and put-together uniforms. Depends.

I suppose that's why some guys report having such a great time at boot camp and are nostalgic for it. I think that if you're nostalgic at all for boot camp, you had a fairly mild, second-rate experience. Boot camp was a total nightmare for me. When I got out, I said I wouldn't go through it again for all the money in the world because life is just too short to go through that personal hell again--and I meant it. Still do. But that has a lot to do with certain DIs and certain companies that valued physical and psychological intensity. Bet the guys whose DIs were concerned with rolling sleeves are the ones who are the most nostalgic for it.

P.S. Regarding skilletroks' claims, here's what I remember.

Depending on a number of factors, they CAN and WILL hit you. I could name 100 things that were done to me, but a pretty solid example is getting buttstocked in the face (forehead, actually) with my M16, "Jarhead"-style, for accidentally dropping my bolt carrier on the deck.

They ALWAYS swear (just not with cameras/officers/women/seniors around)

The 3-minute limit to IT rule is NONSENSE. Sure, all these things are in writing, but pretty much none are observed. I got IT'd 5 times in a row once for about 5 minutes apiece, and another time just once for almost 40 minutes. Thought I was gonna die. And my replacement senior would try to find "uncooperative" kids in the platoon and IT them with steam engines, stomping their boots on the deck so they'd get shin splints and get dropped to the next series--everyone's nightmare.

So that stuff may not appear in the movie, but believe me when I say it happens... A LOT.

Your experience may vary.

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Ok I was skilletroks and have since changed my account name as you can see.
I completely forgot I got on this thread so long ago.

Here my experience as of 1 year ago.

I was hit, spit on, cursed at, IT'd for upwards of thirty minutes, got dirt kicked in my face many times, screamed at, kicked, rifle IT'd and many other things I don't care to remember about. So to answer op's question....Yes the Drill Instructors held back alot when the cameras were rolling.

Oh and I wasn't complaining about boot camp in my post. I hated/loved boot camp. I love my job and I love my Corps.

LCpl Sorrows
3/23 India
Semper Fidelis

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legally you can not hit recruits. Kinda obvious.

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HAHAHAHAHHAAHA, that's funny. I got punched twice. Once in the back of the head because I couldn't find my pack fast enough and the other time in the collar bone for god only knows why.

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