Teachers experience ‘finest fighting force’

Scrambling off of a military vehicle in Parris Island, S.C., 41 Central Florida educators looked above the Marine Corps emblem and read, "Through these portals pass prospects for America's finest fighting force: United States Marines."

The Marine Corps invited 41 Central Florida educators to Parris Island last week to stand in formation and experience what it's like to be part of one of the most agile fighting forces in the world.

The Educators' Workshops, which are arranged throughout the year, invite high school teachers and faculty from around the country to the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot in Parris Island. The ultimate goal is to give teachers the knowledge necessary to help high school and college students make decisions about their potential future in the military.

High school students often ask their teachers for advice, while college students may also go back to some of their high school-era mentors for similar help.

College students can follow several routes into the Corps: Officer Candidate School, ROTC or enlistment. Enlisting, however, will not make that student an officer.

The teachers were assigned Staff Sergeant Kevin Brock as a drill instructor for the week. Practicing similar drill tactics used on new recruits, teachers were forced to practice marching drills and walked in formation to each event in the workshop.

On the first day of the workshop, teachers stepped off of the military Blue Bird bus at 6 a.m. and onto the yellow footprints, which are the famous first sights of a Marine Corps recruit. The footprints  show a new recruit how to stand in still formation.

The educators were then briefed on various statistics and were given a question-and-answer session with drill instructors, officers in charge of depot operations, and recruiters.

"Seventy percent of those that apply for the Marines do not even qualify, but seventy-five percent of our Marines are ages 17-21," Colonel Kurt Grabowski said. "It's not about making robots or war machines; it's about making better citizens."

After watching a swim demonstration where teachers learned survival techniques for Marines in the water, as well as participating in an ISMT (Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer), teachers had the opportunity to eat lunch with new recruits.

Only 10 days into her training, Kahreemah Richardson, a 20-year-old recruit from Orlando and former Valencia student and employee at SeaWorld, told teachers she joined the Marines Corps because she wanted more confidence.

"I needed more discipline and self confidence," Richardson said. "If you like to take more than a one-minute shower, you shouldn't come. It's not a place to be pretty."

After lunch in the mess hall, teachers were taken to the Battle of Khe Sanh shooting range where they were allowed to fire up to 30 rounds from an M16-A4 service rifle, which is the newest variant of the M16 system. Their targets were pop-up dummies.  

"Shooting was an intense moment," said Kissimmee Middle School teacher, Marc Brigham. "Very exciting."

Educators also toured the Parris Island Museum and talked with museum staffer and Vietnam War veteran Aulton Kohn, who was a Marine in "The Walking Dead" battalion. Out of 36 Marines that he was with in Vietnam, only Kohn and one other Marine survived an ambush at Da Nang.

On Thursday, teachers learned about "The Crucible," a 54-hour long test that recruits must pass as their last step to becoming a Marine. The test involves six main events that challenge the recruits in areas such as strength, duration and teamwork.

Recruits get four hours of sleep over 54 hours and only get three meals for the entire test. It is designed as a stress test that spans the challenges of sleep deprivation and hunger while simulating a war environment.

Educators were allowed to participate in one part of The Crucible, which involves solving puzzles with various large objects such as barrels and beams. One of the challenges involved moving a container of decontaminant over two poles to the other side.

Later in the afternoon, teachers were allowed to try their luck at several different courses of the Confidence Course, including the inverted wall and balancing logs. After that, they were given the opportunity to fight a Marine martial arts instructor with pugil sticks.

"I think the reason it's also called a confidence course is pretty obvious," Sergeant Paul Robbins Jr. said. "The more the recruits perform each obstacle, the more confident they are next time they have to do it."

On Friday morning, the final day, educators watched the "Morning Colors" ceremony, a Marine tradition performed on every base around the world at 8 a.m. with the raising of the flag.

This was followed by Company A's graduation ceremony of Platoons 1024-1030. Recruits who started boot camp on Jan. 28, were ceremonially introduced to the public as Marines.

"The week was very informative. It will be easier to be more direct with students about the Marines, like ‘Yes, this is for you,' or ‘No, it isn't for you,'" said Liberty High School's Jaymily Solano. "It's no longer second-hand knowledge to me."

In addition to the educators who attend, the Marine Corps also tries to bring ROTC instructors to the workshops, as they will continue to work with students into their college years, as well.

Former Marine Master Sergeant Milton Clifton of Riverview High School is an ROTC teacher.

"For the first time in several years," Clifton said, "I was doing what they were doing again instead of teaching it."

------

To see the photo gallery, click here.