What It Takes To Survive The Marines' 54-hour Final Test | Boot Camp
this marine corps recruit isn't actually injured he's playing the role of a wounded marine during a simulated casualty evacuation oh you drove faster now sir and his fellow recruits have to drag him inch by inch to safety it's not a comfortable thing to carry someone on your back and drag them through the mud you sweat more in training so you bleed less in combat [Music] it's part of their final test at boot camp known as the crucible a 54-hour event that all recruits must complete fox you're breaking down i sir insiders spent four days at the marine corps recruit depot in paris island south carolina to chronicle one company taking on the challenge the last step before officially becoming marines the crucible occurs in week 11 of the marine corps 13 week boot camp the day before recruits from the gender integrated hotel company assemble in front of their barracks for a briefing although female recruits have trained at paris island since 1949 gender integrated companies didn't emerge until 2019 as of january 2021 this group of recruits was the most gender diverse company of enlisted recruits in the history of the marine corps and among those in hotel company are a brother and sister from georgia 21 year old lacero cisneros and his 19 year old sister myra my sister and me are here doing the crucible together we're in the same company we usually don't see each other often but we always get like a glimpse of each other it's actually motivating just being able to see him be there i know that there's somebody here that knows me he's going through this with me he knows the pain i'm going through at 0-200 or 2 a.m it's lights on in the squad bays of hotel company hit it guys we had to rush very stressful thinking about how the day was going to go recruits don their desert utility uniforms known as desert camis fold the first shade with you and your rag mate now they square away their racks and ready their gear which weighs about 50 pounds while some recruits may be smiling now they won't be for long after one final trip to the head the recruits form up outside to officially begin the crucible we all understand what that means right yes sir you should probably scream a lot louder their first task a long hike in the cold darkness approximately six miles in length so nothing too arduous for the beginning but just enough that they understand like hey you're on your own we're not getting you bust out there you're going to walk out there just like you're going to walk back when the sun comes up the events of day one begin corporal dunham immediately alerted his fellow marines to the threat each crucible event is inspired by an actual occurrence in marine corps history corporal durham covered the grenade with his helmet and body and before the event begins the squad leader educates the group on its historical significance he saved their lives with at least two fellow marines all gears should be on you are facing four light it up two calls pick it up this group begins with an enhanced obstacle course i don't know why you're spawning when you're struggling with a simple obstacle so the obstacle course is out there they've seen it all before it's just now we're adding a couple more factors in there to make it more difficult now they also need to safely transport 35 pound ammo cans across the course when recruits fail to negotiate the obstacles their drill instructor orders them to do burpees and they're punished as a group although this recruit was able to conquer the obstacle her fellow recruits were not i'll let you get down between burpees so she had to pay alongside them [Music] go go [Music] pepsi miami seti yeah we got some something that's crazy only six hours into the crucible and tensions are starting to flare you want to freaking roll your eyes at me no sir are you sure yes sir because i literally just saw you do that no sir so a lot of times they could get frustrated because they're cold they're uncomfortable no sir you gotta add your problem no sir execute the diagram training that's a very common thing that we see oftentimes the recruits just correct themselves though because at this point they already know what's right and what's wrong fortunately they'll soon have a chance to blow off steam when they step inside a structure known as the octagon [Music] [Applause] recruits fight each other with bugle sticks [Music] they're tired they're hungry and now we're pitting them against each other at some point you are going to be face to face with somebody through all these conditions and you're still going to have to be aggressive enough to win the winner of the bout runs through a hatch below a sign that says devil dogs [Applause] the loser reports to the penalty box where they perform a series of planks and other exercises intended to motivate them to avoid returning there go and they soon get a chance to redeem themselves all recruits face off again in one-on-one body sparring i think this is a way to just kind of keep them on their toes and keep them cognizant of their actions or the other person's actions recruits are only allowed to strike the body with no punches allowed above the neck but stray punches do sometimes land all right now i gotta throw this gear away and injuries can occur all right what company is this hotel company there's a saying in the core that every marine is first and foremost a rifleman recruits spend two weeks devoted to marksmanship during boot camp during the crucible recruits combine the skills they've learned on the firing range with movement in a simulated squad attack all right so first it's going to be cover and move all right and then automatically you're going to movement under fire right if people are shooting at you automatically going to go to the prone right you're not going to give yourself that easy target right yes sir the squads move together through a wooded area before they reach the entrance to the range so you're going to stay tight for this tree line you're going to run to that block go go go go go go go go right here recruits fire blank rounds during the event which simulates providing cover for their fellow recruits while they advance you're going to call that guy to that bird stay alive by now these recruits have worked up an appetite [Music] it's supposed to be santa fe rice and beans don't taste the rice they're used to going to the chow hall getting three square meals a day now they're going to be receiving essentially field rations right our meals ready to eat mres these are spicy jalapenos i know they're jalapeno typically a single mre counts as one meal for the crucible recruits have to ration five mres over the course of the event mix it up just right it's like pudding it's the best pudding you will ever taste in your life that pudding right there [Music] there are no naps during the crucible during breaks for chow recruits are tasked with posting security over the course of the 54-hour event recruits sleep only three to four hours a night and this is where it happens in structures known as sea huts how tired are you right now for now i have like good energy left to complete the day i've been trying to ration my food and been trying to keep a steady mind three more days before becoming marine for lacero his day comes to a close with one of the most intense events of the crucible let's go you gotta save his life a simulated casualty evacuation in a combat scenario i think it takes 40 seconds to bleed out listen listen to him you're freaking out you're not making the right choices all right sir no choice is still a choice you just stand there looking at me confused he's already bleeding out you just helped him slow the bleeding all right sir you're being too slow you're not communicating where are you even going you came from this direction i sir fox you're breaking down i sir now i know that if you ever need to help anybody you can't even help you can't do anything cause he's not okay cuz his legs just got blown off i said he's gonna turn the kid on and he's scared and he doesn't know what's happening got eyes on your head you'll be all right bud we got you let's go sisters let's go i've been learning a lot lately combat training combat care this recruiting notice that he still has a lot to learn meanwhile myra attempts to negotiate one of the most intimidating obstacles on paris island the 30-foot tall stairway to heaven ready step step together which all recruits must attempt without any safety equipment together i joined the marine corps with my older brother because of financial need i was going to college i needed the money and the career i want to follow is pediatrician so obviously i have to go to medical school for that and i obviously thought well i need the money and so i went to the recruiting station and i told him in the phone call i have a brother do you remember him and they asked me to bring him over so we went both together they just convinced us and we joined it turns out that having a sibling and training at paris island isn't that uncommon we met another pair of siblings in hotel company the relationship has grown stronger because at home we kind of just separated we only played xbox together from across the hall until we came here we knew each other but we didn't really like talk every single day like we have been for the past three months it's a pretty great feeling because whenever you think that you can't like turn to someone you can always just turn to your actual blood brother they're in the rear right yes tonight i'm going to basically pray a little bit for strength as the sun sets on day one of the crucible these recruits are in for a long night and an even longer day ahead [Music] this is simulated casualties play a big part and one of the most challenging crucible events the battle of way city named after one of the bloodiest battles of vietnam where an estimated 10 000 people died including more than 100 marines loudspeakers place sounds of gunfire and explosions to create a more realistic combat environment along with simulated mortar explosions that occur when a spark plug ignites a combination of propane and oxygen triggered by the push of this [Music] button the goal of the event is for each fire team to maneuver across the area with all casualties and gear intact drill instructors designate recruits as casualties if they fail to conceal themselves during their approach it's the responsibility of the still healthy recruits to transport the casualties recruits must climb over walls crawl through sand and barbed wire he's bleeding out all while slowly moving the casualties i need assistance out [Music] embrace the suck couldn't have been more true here once you embrace the suck and you look to your left and your right and you see the guys next to you doing it it just makes you want to push even harder and some of them will crack a smile and then you'll crack a smile and it just keeps you going sir macdonald sir he's bleeding out hi sir recruits who stay healthy and who don't have to tend to casualties are free to negotiate the course as long as they don't do anything that catches their drill instructor's the attention gets even more grueling in the rain which is where we found myra and her squad thanks to a passing storm what began as dirt quickly turned to mud my hip is starting to hurt and i had trouble keeping the weapon off the sand so it was really hard this morning the recruits move into the woods to navigate a series of obstacles as a team which in the rain made things trickier for lazaro and his squad it has been very exciting pushing through since like the beginning of boot camp to the end and and happy to be here with my sister having a once in a lifetime moment i've seen a lot of improvement in myself i try to work on myself more like more than just physical recruits are invited to share their personal stories in sessions called core values i've been pushing myself as much as i can everywhere i can and while i had this march for college i never had the motivation but somehow the marines was the one thing i wasn't motivated for you know that one thing that everybody says that helps push them through that's my mom and that's my dad he passed away two years ago and it's been hard on her so it's kind of hitting home and i'm here so i can't wait to call her and be like yo mom finally did it i feel like i found a part of myself that i didn't have before and i never really fit in anywhere else as day two winds down all that stands between these recruits and officially becoming marines is a nine-mile hike back to the parade deck for hotel company the crucible has come to an end but one last step remains each recruit receives their eagle globe and anchor emblem symbolizing that they have officially become united states marines for the recruits it's what they've been battling for for these past 12 weeks and a lot of times it's what they've wanted ever since they were a child it is absolutely amazing to see these men and women who have fought so hard for what they want and to finally see them achieving it [Music] we started this together we were going to end this together yes what did that feel like when you put that in your hand it felt like hope a new future for a family are you proud of her yes she has accomplished maybe surpassed me i'm her older brother so i see she has grown to become a very strong woman and murray are you guys hungry yes howard how excited are you for this breakfast oh very soon very excited [Music] while the eagle globe and anchor ceremony is the most anticipated moment of boot camp the warriors breakfast may be a close second they're so happy to be indoors at that point and they get steak and eggs to them it's probably the closest thing to home-cooked meal they can get while they're here they're incredibly happy [Music] [Music] you
2021-02-22 06:25
