UNIT MYYM By YM/Cpl Alicia Voisin Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office (LA) On March 24, 2018 the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office Young Marines went to the Crawfish Cook-off. YM/LCpl Hailey Picone led everyone in attendance in the Pledge of Al- legiance. The Young Marines assisted with the care and control of all the bounce houses that were located far away on the other side of the cook-off. Young Marines made sure that all the kids were playing safely throughout the day. They also were able to enjoy boiled crawfish during their breaks.They are always willing to help out anywhere. They also really enjoyed helping out on this nice day. Hooray! PPSO YMs: Keeping Kids Safe at a Local Crawfish Cook-off Our (Five Days) Visit to MCRD Parris Island, SC By YM/LCpl Tyler Rodriguez Imagine School North Port (FL) As you know, in order to become a United States Marine you have to go to boot camp, and if you’re on the eastern side of the United States, you’re sent to the one and only Parris Island, South Carolina. Our unit took a trip to South Carolina and spent 5 days at the training depot. You might be thinking, “Cool, you got yelled at for 5 days straight?” Well, it wasn’t all yelling. We learned what recruits have to do in order to earn the title of a United States Marine. This includes the crucible, which is a 54 hour final training in week 11 before graduation. The crucible challenges Marines mentally, physically and morally. We were also able to run on one of the many obstacle cours- es available, that I had trouble with. Obviously, we couldn’t just be wandering around, picking and choosing what we wanted to do. We had a real drill instructor guiding us around the depot, and explaining what everything was. Sgt Maj Hicks was a very un- derstanding man who explained what we did wrong, so we could learn from our mistakes... the hard way. Looking back,when I heard about taking a trip to Parris Island I was thinking it would be easy but I’ll give it to you straight,the running back and forth made me sweat a bit, but it also gave me a chance to be a leader and help the rest of my squad succeed. I had my difficult times at Parris Island, but at the end of it all I loved it. I’ve learned so much from those five days and now I’m starting to consider joining the Marines when I graduate. Who knows, but maybe when I do, I might see Sgt Maj Hicks again, but hopefully he’s ranked up and will give me a better workout than before. By YM/PFC Cody Williams Imagine School North Port (FL) I am going to tell you about my experience at Parris Island, South Carolina. My favorite thing was the confidence course. I liked it because of the team work and it was just fun in gen- eral. I also liked the O-course, and the chow was very good. While at Parris Island, I learned to apply the three Young Ma- rines core values: Leadership,Teamwork, and Discipline.Those were just a few things I liked about the trip but there were many more. Now, I am going to tell you about the things I disliked. The worst thing was having to get up early. I didn’t like it when people did not do what they were supposed to do with their racks because when that happened, everybody got yelled at by the DI. Other than those couple of things, I had a great time. I suggest that we go again in the future. “The Worst Thing Was Having to Get Up Early” By YM/LCpl Jaeden Stephens Imagine School (FL) Over our Spring break, my unit took a volunteer trip to Parris Island, South Carolina, for 5 days. As my dad had gone there, I wanted to see what it would be like. Everyone going knew it wasn’t going to be a vacation, yet I think everyone liked it that way. We ran obstacle courses and a confidence course. We also went to a laser firing range Special laser equipped weapons were used. We also went into a gas chamber, it was an experi- ence that can never be forgotten. The drill instructors are also an unforgettable group of people. I recommend anyone to go, if their unit has the chance. “It Was an Experience That Can Never be Forgotten” Young Marines Esprit ONLINE 7