This book is for anyone looking to enlist in the Marine Corps, those who have been in the Marine Corps or those who want to know what it is like to go through Marine Corps boot camp. It will answer the questions that you may not get from your recruiters and tell you first hand the secret to surviving Marine Corps boot camp.

Welcome to one of the most unique families in the world. By proxy, you will be inducted into a group that is older than our Constitution. It is an honorable organization with a long history of warriors. You are about to be the parent of one of those warriors. Without the knowledge and facts of what to expect, this journey can be scary. It is important to learn myth from fact and to ensure that you do everything you can do to support your future Marine and keep yourself from worrying. If you are a Marine veteran, or come from a Marine Corps family already, this book is a great resource. It can help you compare your experiences with how the Marine Corps is conducting its training now. Many things have changed throughout the history of boot camp, but many things have not. This book can provide you with an opportunity to brush up on what's new and discuss what is the same. This guide has information from multiple official United States Marine Corps web sites and endeavors to be as current as possible. The 13 weeks of recruit training will fly by before you know it. While you won't be there personally to witness the transformation, you will be able to learn what is happening to your recruit. The best thing you can do is educate yourself on what your recruit is going through so that you can learn what will be expected of him/her as a United States Marine. This book is designed to help you do just that. It will give you a glimpse of what it is like as a recruit in boot camp and what you, as a parent, will need to know. It will also explain how you can help your recruit while he/she is in boot camp and what not to do. When graduation rolls around, you will be prepared to see your new Marine and understand exactly how the graduation process works. Also, we will explore what happens to your Marine after boot camp. His/her journey is only beginning at that point. There is still much more that your Marine will learn as he/she is sent to Marine Combat Training, his/her Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) school and then into the fleet. The adventure doesn't stop with graduating boot camp. Your Marine is going to need your support for a long time. The best thing you can do is prepare yourself with the education and knowledge that you can be a successful Marine parent. This is an exciting time for your future Marine. He/she is embarking on a journey that few will ever understand or comprehend. It will change their lives in so many ways. It is important as their parent that you understand why they call the Marines, "The Few. The Proud." It is a way of life that is difficult to explain unless you have lived through it. However, this book is going to do its best to explain it in a way that makes you beyond proud that your son or daughter chose the Marine Corps as a foundation for the way to live an honorable life of service to our country.

Inside the marine corps and what it takes to become "One of the few, the proud, the Marines."

Stories, mostly humorous, some nostalgic, about Marine Corps Boot Camp. What wasn't funny then can be humorous now. Marines, relatives, and friends submitted over 400 first-hand stories. The best of these are in this book. As one new Marine said to the author, "Nothing's funny in Boot Camp." But it is, years later.

Just before the dawn of the Global War on Terror, Kieran Michael Lalor left his career as a high school social studies teacher, endeavoring to fulfill his lifelong dream. Lalor followed his father and brothers footsteps into the United States Marine Corps. This Recruit presents Lalors nightly journal entries, beginning with the uneasy trip to the recruiters office and the eerily quiet midnight bus ride to Parris Island. Lalor describes the wicked combination of fatigue, nerves, disorientation, misery, loneliness, and homesickness that conspire to keep him from his goalalong with the hours of close order drill, push-ups, hand-to-hand combat training, the pit, and the unrelenting mind games. Witness the nasty recruit-on-recruit infighting that results when young men struggle to survive while being pushed past their limits physically, mentally, and emotionally. Gaze at the target from the five hundred yard line on Qualification Day, when failure means at least an extra two weeks on the island and the added humiliation of failing the quintessential test of a Marine. Experience the rappel tower, night firing, the infiltration courses, and long, back-crushing humps. Struggle with Lalor and his platoon as they try to overcome the Crucible, the final obstacle before claiming the title of United States Marine.

Gripping and dramatic, Yellow Footprints reveals the extraordinary journey of becoming one of the proud...and one of the few. Set in 1969 during the height of the Vietnam War, Yellow Footprints details the grueling training of Platoon 3074 to prepare them for the mighty ranks of the U.S. Marine Corps. From the harrowing first few days to the camaraderie forged by the men who shared this ordeal, author Jack Shipman presents an unrestrained look at boot camp not often viewed by the public. Yellow footprints mark the entrance to the Receiving Barracks at the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, South Carolina, and San Diego, California. Along with the other new recruits, Jack Shipman took his first steps on those footprints to either become a proud U.S. Marine or wash out of the toughest military training in the world. Shipman's attention to detail and his frank assessment of his experiences offers a highly readable account for those seeking to learn the fundamentals of Marine Corps history.