\"You Can't Handle the Truth\"

"Code Red"  A Few Good Men.

Since finding out about one of my friends from the Marines being shot and killed as a police officer, I've been getting into contact with more and more of my friends from the Corps.  This is a double-edged sword however, as the bad memories come back with the good.  One such good/bad memory is directly related to "Hazing".

Yes, hazing happens in the Military.  I can specifically recall 7-8 hazing incidents in which I either was a participant of some sort, or knew about directly.  Some good, most bad.

Incident #1 - Bootcamp.  This is where they strip you down, and rebuild you into a real Marine (although, they only really provide the foundation.  You learn how to be a real Marine in the Fleet).  We were in Phase 2 of bootcamp.  This phase is know (or was known) as the Marksmanship phase.  We were bussed from MCRD San Diego to Camp Pendleton.  Here we learned how to shoot a rifle properly, and qualified for basic marksmanship. 

This was also the phase where Marines who went "UNK" (unqualified) were dropped from their current platoon, into a platoon just arriving for qualifying.  This means their graduation was also delayed by 2 weeks.

Usually, the recruits who went UNK worked hard to get "Qual'd" and get moved back to their original platoons.  However, there was always that 10% who were shit-bags.  Well, my platoon just happened to receive one of those shitbags.

This guy did not want to be a Marine anymore.  The polish the recruiter told him was stripped bare, and he no longer wanted to be "One of the Few..." 

Problem is, is he did his best to get our entire platoon in trouble every chance he could.  Team work was stressed heavily in boot camp, and when one recruit fucked up, the entire platoon paid for it.  Let me tell ya... those Marine Drill Instructors may have not been able to touch a recruit, but they came up with some very creative ways to punish us.  Just imagine doing push-ups and other calesthenics in the shower (fully clothed) while the shower was on full blast, as hot as it could go, and the DI's had pored bleach all over the floor so that the steam from the shower spread it through out the air.  But anyways...

So finally, our shit-bird got us in trouble one time too many, and the majority of the platoon was pissed.  He was on crutches because he supposedly had twisted his ankle during forced march, but we were pretty sure he was faking it so he could ride in the "Ice Cream Truck" (The recover vehicle), and not have to do the upcoming 15 mile, full pack hump up the "Grim Reaper".

So, this was about a week before we were scheduled to ship back to MCRD San Diego for Phase 3 of Training. 

I don't recall specifically what the shit-bird did to get us in trouble, but the platoon leaders had had enough, and that night, a "blanket party" was arranged for him.  Now, this wasn't the traditional "Full Metal Jacket" blanket party.  My platoon had a lot of boys from the inner-city, and they didn't roll that way.

Instead, they pulled his ass out of bed, and started beating the shit out of him in the middle of the squad bay.  He fought back, but he pretty much was getting his ass kicked. 

All of a sudden, the DI (one DI stays with the recruits every night, but in a seperate room) came charging out of his room screaming "What the fuck is going on?"

The lights were off, and right when the DI came out, the shit-bird got hit in the face, full on with his own crutch.

Everyone scrambled back to their bunks and the shit-bird was sitting out in the middle of the squad bay bleeding from the nose.  The DI (who I think was barely awake) yelled at him to get back to his rack, which he did, and the DI went back to sleep.

Nothing came from the "Blanket Party".  I didn't participate, although I watched.  The shit-bird didn't rat anyone out, and in fact, he was dropped again, to another platoon.

About a week before we were scheduled to graduate, one of our DIs asked what had happened that night.  Since we were so close to graduation, the DIs were nicer, and gave us a little more respect.  The platoon leaders told him what went down, and although he didn't condone what the platoon had done, he laughed, as he knew the shit-bird was getting in trouble for the specific reason to get the platoon in trouble.

Was this hazing?  Not really, but I put it into that category because it was violent.

Incidents #2 through #5 later....