By YM/CPL Nicasio Cruz Greater Cleveland (OH) I am YM/Cpl Cruz and this is my National Summer Camp ex- perience.This years summer camp was at Camp Rainey Moun- tain in Clayton, Georgia. After we unpacked and settled, we headed down to the dining hall and ate chow. The next day we got into the swing of things and received our sched- ule of classes. My class- es included Communi- cations and Search and Rescue. Each day, the schedule remained the same with the excep- tion of Thursday, which was a free day. On that day, the 12th Sergeant Major of the USMC, Gene Overstreet, came to visit, and it was so fun to meet him. The Glock pro team came to visit us as well and shooting with them was also very fun. I emptied a magazine in under six seconds. Even Sgt Maj Overstreet said I am a good shooter.I also got to shoot .22 caliber rifles while I was there and I was pretty good at that as well. My unit and I also got to go on a hike to Big Rock. It was a challenge but it was the best when we got to the top. We fin- ished in an hour and 53 minutes which was better than most units. On Wednesday and Thursday, we had something called Chester’s Mo- tor Show which was really fun. There were a number of fun games, music, lights and much more. On the last day, we had our last campfire which was really fun but also really sad because I made many new friends from all over the U.S. Before leav- ing, we signed each other’s shirts. I plan to maintain contact with them. National Summer Camp: A Gathering of New Friends By YM/Pvt Thomas Sapp Mecklenburg County (NC) When my unit, the Mecklenburg County (NC) Young Marines, went to National Encampment in Camp Rainy Mountain in Clayton, GA, I had a blast! My unit had gone there before the summer before for the Division Six Encampment. It was run by the Boy Scouts of America. You are offered options of what classes you could take. I had chosen Fishing for period 1 (I was the only one in my unit to do that). After that, I had Small Boat Sailing for periods 2 and 3. Then was af- ternoon chow. After that, I had rifle for period 4. I was supposed to have Orienteering and Map and Compass., but I was the only one to choose these classes, so I had to go to Wilderness survival for periods 5 and 6. Finally, I had the pleasure of meeting and shaking the hand of the 2017 Young Marine of the Year,YM/SgtMaj Angel Luiz Orozco. All in All, I had a blast at Na- tional Encampment. National Encampment: A Place to Learn, Have a Blast By YM/LCpl Julia Jones Tampa Bay (FL) Regimental Encampment was a lot of fun. My favorite thing was the Zipline and rapelling. My second favorite was the qualified field. Personally, I love to go Ziplining because you are up and you get the wind which feels good after walking all day in the sun.And I just like to go ra- pelling because of how high you are and you use coordination. I liked the qualified field. I liked it be- cause I love to be in nature and when you are camping, you are. I also like learning the different knots and how to tie and use them. Once I leaned the dif- ferent knots, I could get things signed off in my guidebook., which was nice since I am working towards the rank of Corporal. I had fun learning about cooking in the field as well. Dr. Frank knew a lot about being in the field. He helped me learn a lot.The other good thing about it is I got a ribbon. I was able to meet people from all over the state of Florida. I even got to meet another LCpl Jones. I also got to see different styles of lead- ership. Some I will use as I get higher in rank. I believe this will help me be a bet- ter leader. I really hope I can go to Regi- mental Encampment again, and do these activates. I also want to try marksman- ship next time I go to camp La-No-Che. 1st Florida Regimental Encampment: A Lot of Fun! YOUNG MARINES ESPRIT Online 25