This week is called New Student Orientation. Our fourth-class midshipmen arrived at the unit to begin
orientation into the unit and life as a fourth-class midshipmen. So it's fast and furious,
It's pedal to the metal all the time sunup to sundown revelry zero five all the way until them going to bed at nine o'clock.
It was more than I was expecting, there were definitely times where I thought "what have I got myself into?"
You had eyes on you at every single moment, so you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself to really stay focused.
It's designed to break down
barriers as you receive 27 individuals from all different backgrounds and then get them to come together to work as a team.
But it's not boot camp, it just is putting them in a little bit of a chaotic environment.
Mentally I wouldn't say I was as prepared as I was physically. I wasn't expecting Staff Sergeant to be in my face on
the first day. I wasn't expecting the troop handlers to be as intense as they were.
All the instructors, we've all been through college
we know what it's like. Being a part of the ROTC program and having this week-long orientation really sets them up for success.
Our mission is to create future Marine Corps naval officers, but that doesn't happen in a week.
You witness an amazing amount of progress, you watch them break down,
inability to follow simple orders, and then you watch them grow as a cohesive unit and now they're working together as a team.
This week was actually amazing. I'm so much more confident in myself.
I really opened up and took charge.
I've definitely learned not just what life in the military will be like, but just life in general.
I'll remember all the people.
It's crazy what a week without phones and with as much pressure as there was, you feel like you've known them for a lot longer
than you really have.
As soon as I put on the uniform it all became very real to me. Going through this week,
I didn't fully realize that this is my career now, this is my life, this is my uniform
I'm gonna wear, and I'm going to wear it to serve my country. I can't stop smiling right now actually.
This is a top-tier program, all the way from Halsey to Newcomb, I mean, those individuals
changed the way that we fight wars as an organization today
and it's seen in the way that these midshipmen 1st through 4th class conduct themselves in the day-to-day basis.
It's a great thing to be a part of.