Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46What I Love About Young Marines Recruit Training By YM/Pvt Cassidy Castaneda Mountain View (CO) There are many things I love about re- cruit training! The thing I love the most is the PFT. I liked the flex arm hang, push ups, sit ups, and the running. I also loved the marching. It was challenging at first, but I got better and better. It was awesome to learn new movements each day during recruit training. My favorite is the facing movements, I’ve gotten really good at them. It is motivating to get things right (or everyone has to do push ups). The next thing I loved about recruit training was the hill.I like the hill because I don’t have a big hill at home,and since I have a lot of energy I can do it pretty fast. Most of the recruits liked the hill, too. Then, there’s the food! It was amazing! We had chili, sloppy joes, eggs and bacon, and lots more. We even had snacks in between each meal. The last thing I liked about re- cruit training was studying with other recruits for the big test the next day. We became friends in those two weekends! My favorite person in the Young Marines is the Unit Commander. When he yells, it’s kind of comforting and he can be actually pretty nice sometimes. All of this is what I loved about recruit training! Mountain View Young Marines learning to march in step. Recruit Training: The Opportunity to be a Young Marine By YM/PFC Jackson Waters Mountain View (CO) I’m very excited to be a Young Marine, and here are some of my reasons. My dad is a Marine.When he went in he had very long hair, then the Marines changed him. He went to war and got to see many countries, too. Each week, I’d see my mom, dad,and sister go to the Young Marines. I want to be a part of that, too. A main focus about the Young Marines is learning about the dangers of abusing drugs. I never ever want to abuse drugs, and learning about them will help me, and I will teach my friends to live drug free, also. The next reason I want to be a Young Marine is to get in better shape. Re- cruit training has already helped me, I got 15 more laps on the pacer test in PE at school than I did before. I can also knock out push ups, which I could never do before. Another reason I am look- ing forward to being a Young Marine is to help and honor our veterans. I think it will be really cool to meet and speak with a veteran of World War II or the Vietnam War. My grandpa was a veteran of the Ko- rean War, and my dad is a veteran of the Gulf War. I can’t wait to be a Young Marine.I loved recruit training. UC’s hill is the best! It is difficult, but fun. When I was done, I felt really proud of myself.Even when the UC asked me,“Did you get a flat tire, Whisky 4?” I kept going. (It was not funny at the time, but now I think it is). I also liked the classes.They were hard, and I never learned so much informa- tion. The Drug Demand Reduction class was my favorite. The recruits are really nice and it feels like we are working on something big together. I’ve never had so much fun working before; doing push ups, studying, and polishing my boots. This is what Young Marines do, they get things done, no matter what. Following two full weekends of recruit training, Mountain View (CO) Young Marines graduated 17 new Young Marines. With the biggest recruit class the unit has ever seen came many moments of reward, challenge, and perseverance. Rang- ing in age from 8-17 these recruits gave it 100% through classes, Physi- cal Training, and Close Order Drill. It was all hands on deck with most of the unit either mentoring a recruit, on kitchen duty, or serving as Chaplin. With classes on Young Marines History, military customs and courtesies, citizen- ship, physical fitness, health and nutri- tion, field skills, leadership, first aid/CPR, and Drug Demand Reduction, there was much to learn. Each recruit answered the mental and physical challenges with a resounding perseverance and never-give-up atti- tude. Finally, on March 21, 2016, the recruits walked across the stage earning the ti- tle of Young Marine.The new Young Ma- rines marched before parents to high- light what they had learned in drill.With the recruits almost doubling the size of the unit, We are excited to see where these new Young Marines will take our unit. -- Submitted by Traci Waters, Registered Adult, Mountain View (CO) Young Marines From Recruits to Seventeen New Young Marines RECRUIT TRAINING: Work and Rewards ESPRIT ONLINE | Page 12