MCRD San Diego -- While aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego recruits are given a series of classes throughout training to help them be successful once they become Marines.
During week nine Company M received a First-Term Marine Marriage Class June 14. This class is intended to help junior Marines prepare for marriage as a military member.
“The biggest goal is to give them all considerations for making such an important decision,” said Lt. Jarrod Johnson, chaplain, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, who taught the first term marriage class.
Johnson begins the class by letting the recruits know he’s not there to tell them what they should or should not do when it comes to marriage. Instead, he prepares them with statistics and knowledge.
The first slideshow gave recruits divorce rate statistics for military members and civilians. While civilians have a high divorce rate, military couples get divorced more often, said Johnson.
“I want to paint a realistic picture so they can look ahead and plan,” said Johnson.
A large amount of military divorces contribute to spouses not understanding military lifestyle. To prevent this, the Marine Corps offers various classes for spouses that explain why their military member might be gone for weeks or months at a time. Johnson explains to the recruits that they will not only be responsible for themselves but their spouse as well. They need to ensure they set their spouse up for success.
“When he mentioned we will be responsible for someone else’s success it really got me thinking,” said Recruit Martinez Felipe, guide, Platoon 3271, Co. M, 3rd RTBn.
Martinez gave his girlfriend a promise ring before leaving for recruit training. After receiving this class, Martinez still wants to marry his girlfriend but he feels he has a lot more planning to do before they tie the knot.
“I’m ready love wise,” said Martinez. “But I want to finish all of my military training first and figure out everything I need to for her. Before this class I was only thinking about myself.”
The series commander and the senior drill instructors also give their recruits advice based off of their experiences in the military. They stress that the recruits take care of their careers first then once they’re financially and mentally ready, to settle down.
“They usually just want details about the very next step,” said Johnson. “I’m trying to get them to look two steps forward.”